I stayed here with my kid for 9 days in 2009, when it was a Holiday Inn. Took me a while to get round to writing a review, but hey...
We used the hotel as a base to explore the area, and attend the Rays games. It is in an excellent position right at the St Petersburg end of the iconic Sunshine Skyway bridge. The hotel itself was very friendly and welcoming, the staff were fantastic during our whole stay there and were always on hand to answer any queries we had, book taxis, etc. The 2 bar area (1 inside the main reception, another built on stilts on the beach) were great to hang out in for an hour after we returned from the games, and we met many other travellers. The small beach area was ideal and quiet, allowing me to sit in the stilted bar enjoying a cold beer while pitching balls to my son down on the beach for him to catch in his new mitt.
The pool area was very adequate, and the grounds of the hotel are lovely to stroll around and look at the varied wildlife that inhabits this area. It is very handily placed for the whole surrounding area. St Petes beach is a 10 minute drive, the Sunshine Skyway is perfect for exploring further South (we visited Sarasota and Port Charlotte to see the Rays minor league teams) and of course, the I275 is perfect for taking you north in to St Petersburg itself, Tampa and the beaches on the Gulf coast further north.
My only complaint was about the room itself, which was very sparsely decorated and wasn't cleaned as often as I would have liked. Although this was offset by the balcony giving views on to the bar and bay area, which was always lovely to wake up to in the morning.
I would definitely look in to staying here again when we come back over the pond to see the Rays, although I would maybe try to look for something a little more central to St Petersburg and Tropicana Field first. This would be a great fall-back option tho, I would have no qualms whatsoever about coming back!
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