Gulf Coast Hotel Suggestions

[keasden]

I am considering a few nights at a beach resort during our trip next May. I spent a week at the Hilton in Clearwater in 1990 and wasn't overly impressed but I'm sure that was due parlty to it being my first time in Florida and not wanting to leave all the attractions in Orlando!

This time will be our 5th trip and seeing as we have 20 nights there thought we would drive to the coast for a few nights.

I have two requests to make,

1. Any suggestions as to a nice resort for a family beach holiday (max 3 nights)

2. Any particularly good hotel recommendations at any of the gulf coats resorts.

cheers.

 

[cbird]

It is a while since we spent any length of time on the Gulf Coast. But would suggest St Petersburg or Clearwater.
St Petersburg is good because of the proximity to Busch Cardens and a really good Explorations Science Museum. There is also a bowling alley within easy driving distance from the beach. Beach is great too.
Clearwater is lovely too and just a bit north there is the Countryside Mall which has an indoor ice skating rink useful if the weather is poor one day.
Have stayed at the Sheraton Sandkey in Clearwater although some time ago. This was lovely and if you join their preferred guest programme you will stand a chance of being upgraded. Free to join. I think Sandkey beach is better than Clearwater beach itself much bigger.
In St Petersburg we have stayed at the Sandpiper and Tradewinds hotels both were lovely and right on the beach.
Hope you have fun

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

It is a while since we spent any length of time on the Gulf Coast. But would suggest St Petersburg or Clearwater.
St Petersburg is good because of the proximity to Busch Cardens and a really good Explorations Science Museum. There is also a bowling alley within easy driving distance from the beach. Beach is great too.
Clearwater is lovely too and just a bit north there is the Countryside Mall which has an indoor ice skating rink useful if the weather is poor one day.
Have stayed at the Sheraton Sandkey in Clearwater although some time ago. This was lovely and if you join their preferred guest programme you will stand a chance of being upgraded. Free to join. I think Sandkey beach is better than Clearwater beach itself much bigger.
In St Petersburg we have stayed at the Sandpiper and Tradewinds hotels both were lovely and right on the beach.
Hope you have fun

I agree with everything cbird has said. Another hotel at Clearwater which is very nice is the Adams Mark, at the far end of Sand Key. Beautiful hotel, superb views.

Another thing worth bookmarking to do while around the Clearwater/St Pete beach area are the many boat trips - from dolphin watching on yachts, to snorkelling, all lovely and relaxing.

There is also an amphibious craft which does tours in St Petersburg - goes from The Pier and you travel around the roads and then in the bay.

If you need any further info, holler

 

[kevin harrison]

Another hotel at Clearwater which is very nice is the Adams Mark, at the far end of Sand Key. Beautiful hotel, superb views.

If you need any further info, holler

I've asked a similar question,about where to stay, to which I got no replies but anyway here goes....

The Adams Mark doesn't seem to exist anymore, at least not on their website, under what name does it trade now? or has it closed?

The fav for me at the moment is the Sheraton Sandkey Resort but am worried how far it is away from the happenings at Clearwater beach.

 

[Pootle]

I think the Adam's Mark hotel is now owned by Radisson. If you click here you will get information on all Clearwater hotels on Trip Advisor. I'm hoping to take some friends (who live in Clearwater) out to dinner so if anyone knows an especially good place to eat there, I'd be interested


(Think I haven't got the hang of hiding links, so here it is just in case )
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g34141-Clearwater_Florida-Hotels.html

 

[Miffy2003]

Moira, we had a lovely meal at a place called Cooters in Clearwater Beach.

Cooters Raw Bar and Restaurant
423 Poinsettia Ave
Clearwater Beach, FL 34684
727-462-2668

Cooters bills itself as the place where Clearwater locals come to eat and drink. That's often true. But among the clientele plenty of visitors are to be found, along with fisherman who need a decent meal after a long stretch on the water. In Clearwater Beach, the restaurant offers a real taste of the Florida lifestyle. Watch sunsets from the patio, and come prepared to party. Any excuse for a few beers will do, here, ranging from a rainy Saturday to ''Hey, I just finished another eight hours on the job!''

Choose from a menu that offers such homemade goodies as crab bisque, crab cakes, oysters on the half shell, steamed mussels, grouper, mahi mahi, peel-and-eat shrimp -- the list goes on and on. Those without a tast for seafood will find pasta dishes, steaks, ribs and burgers rounding out the menu.

Happy hours run daily from 4PM-6PM. Enjoy wines by the bottle or the glass while beer offerings, sold by the glass or in pitchers, include Budweiser, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Corona, Red Stripe, and Heineken

 

[Pootle]

Cooters sounds like just the type of place we are looking for - '.... sunsets on the patio .......' sigh I'm off to map it now on Rand McNally

 

[cbird]

I've asked a similar question,about where to stay, to which I got no replies but anyway here goes....

The Adams Mark doesn't seem to exist anymore, at least not on their website, under what name does it trade now? or has it closed?

The fav for me at the moment is the Sheraton Sandkey Resort but am worried how far it is away from the happenings at Clearwater beach.

Sandkey Island is just over a bridge from Clearwater. From memory there is a trolley service which calls at the hotels and makes the journey on a fairly regular basis. Otherwise you would need to drive. But there are some nice restaurants and shops on Sandkey

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

I've asked a similar question,about where to stay, to which I got no replies but anyway here goes....

The Adams Mark doesn't seem to exist anymore, at least not on their website, under what name does it trade now? or has it closed?

The fav for me at the moment is the Sheraton Sandkey Resort but am worried how far it is away from the happenings at Clearwater beach.

Sorry Kevin - I was only online for a few minutes yesterday before being booted off by my DH (he had to do some work, tut - spoiling my fun ). We preferred Sand Key to Clearwater, but then that was our first trip and it was all we knew. We personally liked the less "touristy" atmosphere on SandKey and it was literally only a 5 min drive or 10-15 minutes on the trolley bus into the town of Clearwater. Clearwater seemed to be a magnet for very loud, fast driving young kids cruising along the beachside bars most evenings, not our scene (and we're not that old ).

Problem is there is just so much choice

Happy choosing

 

[keasden]

Thanks for the suggestions folks, just thought I'd let you know what we settled on.

We hve booked three nights at the Hilton Longboat key Beach resort near to Sarasota. We were limited to wanting to book something from the Virgin brochure and this hotel fits all our requirements exactly, not too big (just over 100 rooms) on the beach (literaly) 4 star rated and only a couple of hours from Orlando.

Best bit is I consider we got a real bargin, just $189 for the three nights for a family of 4, thats direct with Virgin and taking advantage of my FVC 10% discount by simply adding it onto my exisiting holiday booking. The same room booked direct with the hotel on t'internet has a cheapest rate of over $300 per night, total was over $1100 for the same period!!!