Clearwater/St Petes

[burt]

Just wandered what your opinions are on clearwater/st petes, thanks to a bargain offer from airfrance we will be flying into Tampa and thought a couple of days by the sea would be a nice way to start our holiday. Is there much to do at either of these places, which would you think is best to stay at, and any ideas on a nice hotel?

 

[kevin harrison]

Clearwater is beautiful beach. Lots to do for a couple of days. Head over to Busch Gardens also.

A good hotel is the Sheraton at Clearwater

http://www.sheratonsandkey.com/index.php

 

[rpbert1]

Havent been ,but decided to stay for a week next year, decided on St. Petes and the Doncesar

 

[~Piglet~]

Have stayed at the Hilton on Clearwater Beach - nice hotel, right next to Pier 60. Just over the road there is a marina with plenty of boats offering dolphin watching trips and sea fishing excursions for the day. Good for relaxing for a few days and as mentioned above Busch Gardens not too far away

 

[Ware Bears]

We spent three nights at St Pete Beach and it just wasn't long enough

We went on a boat trip where we saw loads of dolphins, caught the trollybuses up to Clearwater and visited the aquarium there, went to Fort de Soto park and visited Busch Gardens along with time spent eating, swimming, and relaxing on the beach. I could have spent a week there!!

 

[Big_D]

spent a week at Sheraton sandkey at clearwater for honeymoon hotel was 1st class. But that was back in 2000

 

[Shazzie B]

We did 7 nights at St Petes in 2006, after 11 nights in Orlando. It was great nice and relaxing, most of the hotels are right on the beach. We went to Busch gardens as reccomended already & the dolphin watch 'boat ride'. Why not do at the end of your holiday

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I agree it's definitely worth a visit, haven't been there for a few years so I cannot recommend a specific hotel.
As Clearwater and St Pete's are close to each other I would just find the hotel that suits your needs.

You may have to bear in mind there is a fair amount of construction work ongoing on Clearwater Beach, new hotels and a new 'walkway' that runs the length of the beach.

The Sunshine Skyway bridge that spans St Pete's Bay is awesome.

I know the Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach on Sand Key is supposed to be nice.
Overhead picture below, as well as the Sheraton/Hilton already recommended.

 

[burt]

We did 7 nights at St Petes in 2006, after 11 nights in Orlando. It was great nice and relaxing, most of the hotels are right on the beach. We went to Busch gardens as reccomended already & the dolphin watch 'boat ride'. Why not do at the end of your holiday

We thought as we are flying to tampa airport it would be ideal for the first 2 or 3 nights after a long day of travelling with 3 kids and me not keen on driving in the states it would be nice to pick up the hire car and not have to far to go.


Thanks for all your opinions we are going to book somewhere over the weekend, Thanks for those pics Johnny dont think there is much between any of the hotels but a sea view is a must.

 

[Ware Bears]

I forgot to say what hotel we stayed in at St Pete Beach. It was the Grand Plaza Beach Resort (the former Holiday Inn). We chose it in spite of some dire reviews because it was the only place we could get a gulf view in a room for more than 4 people ~ we weren't disappointed, the suite and hotel were lovely and I'd love to go back.

I made a point of watching the sunset from one of our balconies every evening

 

[burt]

This is a problem we have everywhere we go we are 2 adults 3 children and finding hotel room is a nightmare, The best we have come across at the moment is the marriott suites sand key looks a nice hotel and nice sea views but its a bit pricey still its only for 3 nights so might be the way to go.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

This is a problem we have everywhere we go we are 2 adults 3 children and finding hotel room is a nightmare, The best we have come across at the moment is the marriott suites sand key looks a nice hotel and nice sea views but its a bit pricey still its only for 3 nights so might be the way to go.

You will find at most coastal parts of Florida it can be difficult finding hotel/kitchenette type accomodation for a few people, easier if there are just the 2 of you etc

Many hotels also have limited parking and the fee's can be very high for this, especially down the east coast near Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

 

[burt]

So given a straight choice which would you choose to stay at st petes or clearwater, i know they are not far from each other but which of the 2 would you recommend?

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

Really enjoyed St Pete's. We stayed in Tradewinds Grand Island resort for a week in 2005 and it was fantastic.

Would recommend going there.

There are lots of things to do from going to Shell Island to Fort DeSota Park.

You will not be disappointed in which ever destination you choose, but for me it has to be St Petes.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I would just choose to go depending on which hotel I favoured.

If I had to pick one I would probably stay at St Pete's, but only if I found somewhere I really wanted to stay.

This site is really good:

http://www.beachhunter.net/beaches.htm

 

[Ware Bears]

I prefer St Pete Beach, restaurants within walking distance but otherwise very very quiet. We spent our evenings walking along the beach in the moonlight ~ it would have been very romantic if we didn't have 3 kids with us

We visited Clearwater but found it was too noisy and touristy for us ~ not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that we live in a seaside town so want to get away from all that when we go on a beach holiday, others will find that's exactly what they want.

 

[MorningGlory]

So given a straight choice which would you choose to stay at st petes or clearwater, i know they are not far from each other but which of the 2 would you recommend?

I haven't been to Clearwater beach, but I was strongly advised by people from the area to opt for St Petes. I'm glad we did, the place is paradise

We're staying there for 8 days next April/May, and i'm seriously considering booking this nice motel;

http://www.longkeybeachresort.com/

Can't get much closer to the beach than that!!

 

[MorningGlory]

Oh, and as for stuff to do....is it boys or girls you have? If you have a couple of boys, why not treat them to a baseball game

The Tampa Bay Rays are just 1 win away from reaching the World Series this year. Next season should be great at Tropicana Field, I reckon you would have a GREAT time

And it's in St Petes, only about a 15 min drive from the beach.

p.s I did a trip report of our visit, you can read about our day at St Petes here A couple of pics of the beach and the Sunshine Skyline bridge (5.2 miles long! ) and plenty of the game

 

[burt]

Thanks for all the opinions much appreciated, we are swaying towards st petes but did fancy a look at the pier in clearwater - so as johnny said i think we will just go with whichever hotel we fancy wether it be clearwater or st petes. Morning glory we have 2 girls and a boy, we will only be there for 2 or 3 days and intend spending one of them at busch gardens, so really looking for nice hotel on the beach with a few nice restaurants within walking distance.

 

[wayneg]

We visited Clearwater but found it was too noisy and touristy for us

We went to Clearwater for a week and was bored stiff after 2 days. Bit of activity after 6pm on the pier but that was it, maybe it was time of year it was Oct.
Coast is a day trip for us now, Clearwater put us off trying anywhere else. Visted Daytona beach and Cocoa in August both for about 2 hours each, thats long enough for us and the coast.
We prefer a pool to the sand/ocean and dont eat Seafood so not a good start to enjoy a coastal break