We have stayed on both coasts many times. I prefer the Space Coast because we can go to the Canaveral National Seashore, which is great, and there is more surf for playing. The Canaveral National Seashore is beautiful, clean and deserted.
We stayed on St. Pete Beach in 1999 and had difficulty finding anywhere cool and unique to eat. We were staying cheaply in those days and stayed at the Thunderbird Inn. For $50, it was great (our financial status has changed since then.). We found that from Daytona to Cocoa Beach there are lots of unique places to eat like Greek-American owned diners, JB's Fish Camp near New Smyrna Beach, etc. We looked at the Don Cesar in St. Pete while we were there and it was nice.
Also, we are driving from the Beach to Disney early Monday morning and staying in Tampa would require crossing Tampa at rush hour. Ive done that before.
We checked the Ron Jon but it was $300 per night. We decided on the Melbourne Radisson Oceanfront Suites for $150. Thanks to everyone that weighed in.