Closest beach resort/hotel recommendations to Busch Gardens?

[jenhelgren]

We were thinking about staying in a waterfront hotel during our 2 days at Busch Gardens because the park hours are pretty short. I know Clearwater area is amazing but I would prefer a shorter drive to Busch Gardens. I would love some recommendations for the closest/easiest drive beach/resort from Busch Gardens area!!

 

[mjhtvchick]

We were thinking about staying in a waterfront hotel during our 2 days at Busch Gardens because the park hours are pretty short. I know Clearwater area is amazing but I would prefer a shorter drive to Busch Gardens. I would love some recommendations for the closest/easiest drive beach/resort from Busch Gardens area!!

If you are talking gulf coast beach hotels, I believe the "closest" one would be the Holiday Inn on Clearwater Beach: https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/clearwater-beach/clwgv/hoteldetail?

The reason I say "closest" is that it is still about an hour to drive from there to Busch Gardens.

You could look further north (Dunedin area) but it is not nearly as nice.

There are a number of hotels in the downtown area of Tampa that are near the airport, restaurants and shopping centers. Have a look on Google Maps at hotels marked "Tampa Airport" or "Westshore". For example, there is a Residence Inn (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tpaws-residence-inn-tampa-westshore-airport/) right next to the airport and the International Plaza shopping center that is only a 20 minute drive from BG.