Nice beach hotel

[sunshineNJ]

We have never been to a Florida beach. I would like to know a nice Florida beach with a hotel right on the beach that has cool stuff at the hotel. My kids are early twenties and older teen. Thanks

 

[NinaBella]

We have never been to a Florida beach. I would like to know a nice Florida beach with a hotel right on the beach that has cool stuff at the hotel. My kids are early twenties and older teen. Thanks

Tradewinds Resort is very family friendly. http://www.tradewindsresort.com/

My family stays two properties down at Postcard Inn. It's an older hotel and brings in more the college crowd, but we can still walk to Tradewinds for the jetski's ect. if we want. I like Postcard Inn and don't mind the noisier college crowd. Local radio station often hosts parties here too. http://postcardinn.com/

 

[sunshineNJ]

Thanks! it looks great! Do they have any kind of meal plan? Are there restaurants within walking distance? What airport would service this area? thanks

 

[robinb]

I really enjoyed the Clearwater Hilton. It's right on the beach next to the Clearwater pier and at the head of the restaurant area. The beach is wonderful!

 

[kathy884]

I like the family run Sea Captain Resort on the Bay. It's actually on the Marina side, where the marina and dolphin watching boats are and right across the street from Clearwater beach. We stayed in a little suite -- bedroom with two queens, little kitchenette, and living room area. You don't have a private balcony, but all rooms go out to a big common area balcony with pool water view with lots of tables and chair. We loved sitting out there and enjoyed meeting and talking to some of the other guest too. Nice pool and little pier you can sit out on too. One nice restaurant that was really close by, and a very quick walk across the street to the great beach and pier. Not sure this would be what you are looking for, but thought it was worth mentioning.

Here is a link to Tripadvisor reviews:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ain_Resort_on_the_Bay-Clearwater_Florida.html

 

[wiserabbit]

Are you looking for a beach in any particular area of Florida? Here are my picks for the state:
St. Petersburg - Don Ceasar (Lowes) - full resort - with plenty of activities and food on site - airport close by

Miami Beach - Fountainbleau - full resort - lots of activity and food on site - major airport - great city for sightseeing

Key West - The Reach - full resort - but small beach area - food on site and a lot of stuff within walking distance - airport close by

Destin - Sandestin Hilton - full resort - lots of activities - food on site - airport close - and the softest, sugary powder sand with beautiful water!!!

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[NinaBella]

Thanks! it looks great! Do they have any kind of meal plan? Are there restaurants within walking distance? What airport would service this area? thanks

I live in Tampa, so I always have a car; however, there are restaurants in the hotels I named, plus you can eat at neighboring hotels. There are beach stores, convenience stores, and grocery stores within walking distance as well as shopping strips with antique stores I like to shop in. I also go to other resorts comedy clubs. You can look around on google maps for the street view and see different shops. Just know you are not limited to what that one resort offers.

The closest airports are St. Petersburg and Tampa airports. Tampa has more flights than St. Pete. I think renting a car would be ideal so you can drive to John's Pass, Fort DeSoto or other things you may want to do during your stay. There are tons of things to do. I still haven't made it to the indoor go-cart track but will try that out soon. I think my kids will like it.

Someone mentioned Don Cesar (The Pink Palace) and the hotels I mentioned are down the street. I worked a military conference at the Don Cesar and I would not call it family friendly. We had a standard room which was the size of a cruise ship room. The ambassadors did have large suites that were nice. It's an overpriced hotel. My friend stayed there for her anniversary and did not have hot water the entire stay. You can see the Pink Palace from the beach of the hotels I mentioned.


Other hotels in the same area:

Don Cesar
Sirata Resort
Beachcomber's Resort
The Alden Resort


In my opinion, Tradewinds is the largest and the most family friendly. Don Cesar has a "kids club" for parents who want to go out without the kids. Really, it's just babysitting. Walking around the resort everything is extremely upscale to the point I wouldn't want to take my kids there. They do have a nice ice cream parlor on the street level that I would take my kids to. But there are ice cream shops all over the place in St. Pete.

 

[JimMIA]

I think you're approaching things from the wrong perspective. You need to first determine which beach you want to visit. Florida has more than 1,000 miles of coastline -- second only to Alaska, which is beautiful...but not really the beach scene many picture .

Once you decide which beach, there will be numerous good options. Beachside hotels are not hard to find in Florida!

With older kids and adults, I would ask them where they want to go and what they want to do.

Do they want to gather seashells...or do they want to party until dawn?

Do they want to walk along tranquil beaches with the water lapping at their toes, or do they want to surf?

Generally, the Gulf Coast -- from Marco Island all the way to the Alabama border -- is the tranquil area. NE Florida, north of Daytona, is also more laid back, but on the Atlantic with real waves.

From Daytona south to Miami, you have sun and surf. From Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach, you have nightlife -- with the serious nightlife folks focusing on South Beach with occasional forays to Liquid at the Fontainbleau (which is well north of SoBe). (Understand that "partying" SoBe style is WAY more than you might do at home...or in college...or on spring break...or other amateur venues.)

The Keys are the Keys -- featuring fishing, diving, and drinking. A Keys vacation is a Keys vacation, and should not be confused with a beach vacation. There aren't many "beaches" where we could say the word with a straight face, but it's a great place with a style of its own.

 

[BrownHP800]

Perry's Oceanedge Resort in Daytona Beach is very nice and very affordable.