One night in Clearwater

[Sweeney Todd]

At President's Weekend we are considering getting away from Orlando and going down to the Tampa/Clearwater area for a couple of days and staying one night in Clearwater - doing Busch Gardens on one of the days.
There will be 7 of us - 4 adults and 3 hobbits.

Couple of things I want to know -
Will it be as busy as Orlando will probably be that weekend?
What are best value hotels in the Clearwater area?
Would we be better off going down then trying to get accomodation on spec?

Thanks in anticipation of your replies.

Sweeney <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_1_112.gif' border=0></a>

 

[punkin]

I am trying to get a hotel for that weekend anywhere on the beach. I tried clearwater as well as some beaches further south. Many hotels seem to be sold out. I would not suggest going down without reservations. BTW, the prices are astrnomical for that whole week. Don't forget, it's also around valentine's day.