abeacal

I think I have finally found a location that would work for our family vacation (8 adults, 7 children) However, I am having trouble finding information on Boca Grande and the Gasparilla Inn and Cottages. Would love to hear about the Inn, cottages and surrounding area.
Thank you!

tchoiniere

It is very nice area. It is right on the Golf Course. There is a nice downtown with a lot of little shops / restaurants. You can rent Golf Carts to drive around out there to go to the beach, etc.It is a bit of a drive to get off the Island to go anywhere and it is a toll bridge to go out. My parents live near there so every time that I come down, we go out there. How long would you be staying for? What time of year? I have seen George Bush (the older) there a couple of times as he stays there quite a bit.

abeacal

Thank you for the information. We are planning on 7 days at the end of October 2008 or early November 2008- definitely off season I'm assuming.
We are looking for a casual, relaxed atmosphere - but also somewhere that has a nice, special, atmosphere. (It's my father's 70th) Do you know if it's overly stuffy? We definitely want something nice but with 7 grandchildren (ages 2-9) we don't want to be uncomfortable either. The website looks great but sometimes its hard to really know.
Thank you!

tchoiniere

I think the Inn may be a little stuffy but its not around the island.

The 1 restaurant I have been to (parents have been to most of them) is South Beach. Very good seafood.

Make sure to walk down Banyan St. Banyan trees overlap the street. It is amazing.

This was one of the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Charley in 04 but it has recovered and you don't see any damage anywhere.

That is the very beginning of the busy season but early enough where it will not be overcrowded. For things to do, you could drive to Sarasota for part of a day (St Armands Circle, Mote Aquarium). Venice has a lot of restaurants - my parents go to Marker 4 every Friday night for Seafood. I really like the North Jetty in Nokomis to watch the boats, dolphins, manatees and the occasional Sea Turtle. You can see Dolphins from Boca too.There is also a Duckboat tour in Nokomis that the grandkids would probably like. I am probably going out on it in July so I will let you know how it is. For other shopping spots / restaurants, look into Port Charlotte along Rt 41 - Fisherman's Village has a lot of little shops / restaurants to walk around.

LindainOhio

It has been several years since we stayed at the Inn but it was lovely. It is an old Inn though and the group we were with, were more comfortable staying in Marriott type properties and did not like the older rooms. The dinners though, were really fabulous.

We did not see inside the cottages but they looked lovely at the time.

It was a great place to golf and ride bikes which are 2 of the requirements when we travel with this group.

One disadvantage, is that you have to walk down the street to the pool and you are not on the water.

With this group, we have cruised, stayed at Amelia Island Plantation, the LaPlaya in Naples(pre-renovations), and Seaside. We returned twice to Naples and 3 times to Seaside, renting the honeymoon cottages(or whatever they call the cottages on the beach).

I absolutely love the beaches around Seaside--the beaches of 30A. They are not winter beaches but are really wonderful in the shoulder seasons. They are very busy summer beaches. Really nice adult or family area. Lots of condos and homes available on the beach.

abeacal

Thank you both for all of the information. The island and the inn sound great.

'tchoiniere' if you head out in July and happen to remember - I would love to hear an up to date report!

tchoiniere

Definitely going there in July. Will let you know. Parents were at a restaurant near the Jetty today and saw 4 manatees swimming nearby along with a dolphin. But had forgotten their camera!!!

idlewoman

Was just visiting in Port Charlotte in July and went to Boca Grande 3 times to the beaches. There are 3 public beach areas and the first and second ones are very nice. You can find lots of shells and the swimming is nice. You can park at the end of some of the streets that lead right to the beach. There is a cute little beachfront resort that my mom has stayed at before. Can't remember the name but it's fairly small with a little pool near Banyan Street. She loved it. Right on the beach. Nice little ice cream shop and a few jewlery shops.

maribethp

ONe poster said these are not winter beaches. What? too cool? boca grande