Three ladies on a 'girl's weekend' looking for advice on a nice place to stay on Anna Maria Island. Would love to stay right o the beach, but only there for two nights (10/28 and 10/29). Would also welcome any advice as to which side of the island is the best-- should we stay further North or down toward the South end of the Island? Thanks!

ttt for you!!

We're leaving for AMI on Tuesday, staying at the Tortuga Inn, which has one side on the Bay and the other across the street from Bradenton Beach in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath Garden Suite. It looks great. I can update when I get back.

Have a great time! Will look forward to your post on your return. Thank you!

Harrington House is a great B&B, and they have other options for accommodations besides just standard B&B rooms. They are right on the water too!

Our whole family (22) stayed at the Blue Water Beach Club a few years ago. There were some rooms that were better than others. We had a nice corner room tha was steps from the beach! It was nothing fancy, but clean and the customer service was good. The spot is what makes it so great, being right on the water you can hear the ocean as you go to sleep at night. I had some great night sleeps while I was there. I will be going back some day.

Will check both of these properties out. Thanks for posting.

Our suite at Tortuga Inn was great. We traveled with another couple and there were 2 king bedrooms & 2 private bathrooms. I don't know how you might arrange that between 3 of you. But we enjoyed the shared kitchen, living room, deck, and the walled, open-roofed pool in the Garden Suite building.

It was a short walk across the street to the beach. A little longer walk to The Beach House restaurant, but it was convenient for appetizers.

We also used the trolley a couple times, when we didn't want to walk or drive, and there was a stop conveniently right at Tortuga Inn.

I would love to go back.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for remembering to post on your return. We are being offered Bldg C - just a hotel room for $150.00/night. Do you think this is a good rate? Do you have any secrets to getting a better rate at this complex? Thanks again!

We were in building F. C is the older part of the resort but the garden area in the middle is very attractive. Have you looked at the virtual tour?

http://tortugainn.com/virtualTour.cfm

No secrets. We booked directly with them and it was less expensive than the others we looked at. You might want to compare a couple other places.

Late Sept is off-season, "for rent" signs were very plentiful, so prices may have been lower. The parking area was nearly empty Tues - until late Friday, so I don't think there were many other guests during the week.

Hi

Most of the condos listed on this internet site are pretty nice. And too you might just find a more reasonable place. $150 a night for late October seems a bit high.

Queens' Gate, Smugglers Cove, most all of them are nice and most offer a glimpse of each property.

http://anna-maria-island.beachdirectory.com/

Thanks again to all. We ended up reserving the Dolphin Suite at Cedar Cove Resort. We were able to get the two bdrm for $139/night. Since the travel channel was just there last week filming the resort for a future airing of "Great Escapes" we thought this would be a good choice. Will post when I return.

Just wanted to give everyone a quick review of the Cedar Cove Resort on Anna Maria Island. It was certainly an island resort! Very small, but clean. No extra amenities, but we really were not looking for any. It was somewhat disappointing that we were not upgraded to a better room (on the ocean side, instead of the street side) especially since after the first night we realized that we were the only people staying at the resort. It would have cost the hosts nothing to offer us a better suite and we would have sung their praises. As it is I can only report on the great location and the clean rooms!