louise1928

I am in the process of planning a 2 or 3 nights weekend girlfriends retreat, possibly April or May 2006. I am looking for a very nice but affordable beach front resort type hotel, with fabulous pool, pool bar, nice seating around the pool for drinks and chatting, and very near to shopping and nightlife and good restaurants. We are all from Philly, in our low to mid forties, and prefer not to drive anywhere, but stay within 2 hours flying time. I was thinking about Florida, but all suggestions welcome. Moderate price range is best for all of us.

All suggestions welcome. If you need more information let me know.

SloPugs

We had a great vacation in Key West in April a couple of years ago. The weather was perfect and it was SO relaxing and loads of fun. Great food too. There's a lot of information on the Keys here on the forum.

April_M

The Ocean blue hotel On Villano Beach in St Augustine FL. There is great food in St Augustine. All sorts of History. I really enjoyed the haunted carriage tour. The old Ocean Blue is more charming than the new one. All rooms overlook the ocean and have a balcony. On the inland side of the hotel there are porches the length of the biulding on all floors. there is no pool and the night life is over the bridge so it may not be good for you but it is cheap and i think all rooms are 4 oerson suites. I really enjoyed it.

shanharbi71

Hi - as a lifelong Florida resident, I would HIGHLY recommend Clearwater Beach - it's on the West Coast of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico (prettier than the Atlantic with white sand beaches and sun sets on that side) right next to Tampa and has a happening night life, gorgeous beaches, and lots of fun things to do! I stayed at a really great hotel on the beach last year for my anniversary, but for the life of me can't remember the name. It was on a strip where there were restaurants and things you could walk to and a lively night life. Just look up Clearwater Beach and you should find something great - have a relaxing and fun vacation!

Romy

Clearwater is nice - went there for a girls getaway a few years ago, very fun! I'd also recommend Ft. Lauderdale (i'm biased, i live here) - stay at any one of the big hotels on A1A near Las Olas Blvd. and you'd be on the beach and very close to lots of great restaurants, shopping and nightlife (all within cab or walking distance). Spirit Airlines offers good fares from Philly. Whatever you decide, Have fun!

rjscott

Ft Lauderdale is a good choice. Check out this website: www.sunny.org
It will give you lots of info on accommodations, restaurants, shopping. As already mentioned, Las Olas has great shopping and restaurants, as does the Water Bus route (so you wouldn't have to drive if you didn't choose to). Have fun!

megtr

I think I would stick with Clearwater...tends to be a bit cheaper than Ft. Lauderdale.

samschack

Being a life-long resident of Sarasota I can tell you that you most definitely would enjoy staying on Lido Beach. There are a couple of nice hotels right on the beach with the requisite pool and pool bar and both in very walkable distance to St. Armands where you will find a plethora of good restaurants. It is only an hour south of the Tampa airport or you can fly into SRQ although I'm not sure how easy flights in and out of our airport are from Philly. Regardless, I really think you'll find it meets all of your criteria for a good vacation.

justme22

what about bermuda? i know it can be a little pricey but sharing rooms should save money. another suggestion is savannah ga, hilton head, otherwise, clearwater or marco island? the east cost of floarida still has a lot of damage i am guessing it's that way in the west too, but i don't think tampa/clearwater got it too bad

megtr

Now that the above poster mentioned it depending on what you are looking for (and if you can find flights) Sarasota may be better than the Clearwater area. While our beaches in clearwater are nice it is more of a young party crowd. Sarasota (lido, siesta) are a bit prettier but offer a little more "class" and culture.