Don Cesar (St. Pete) vs. Sandpearl (Clearwater)
 

Which of these would you choose? I am trying to figure out a nice 4-night mid-March break with Hubs and 12 and 14 year old. Has anyone been to either of these places? Which would you suggest? We enjoy good good, the beach, spa and adventure.

Thanks.

Not familiar with the Clearwater Beach hotel, but the Don Cesear is lovely, but in general, we found St. Pete's Beach to be a bit too laid back when we were there. Other than the beach, not a lot to do unless you go into St. Petersberg. There is a state park there, but that's about it. Both beaches are beautiful, soft sand. We didn't find many good restaurants at St. Pete's Beach itself. We were there before the real estate prices plummeted in FL and I would be careful that the area hasnt declined even more. Friends returned home early from a family vacation to St. Pete's about 2 years ago because their kids were bored to tears. If you're not hooked into this particular area, you might want to consider Siesta Key, a little farther south. Lots to do and beautiful beaches.

Wow! Thanks for the information. Anyplace special that you have stayed at in Siesta Key? We're not tied in. I just found cheap airfare to Tampa.

Siesta Key has ton of condo rentals. The biggest problem you might find with condo rentals is that when it's "in season" there are weekly or two weekly maximum stays. Anna Marie Island is the right by Siesta Key. I would look at both. We used VRBO to find a place, but then contacted the condo mgmt and booked directly through the condo mgmt. I'm not familar with hotels, but there's probably many to work with. Longboat Key is also nice, but more upscale, less to do for kids. All are close to St. Armonds Circle which is loaded with shops, restaurants, etc. Also, all are right by Sarasota, so lots of options there. I think we flew into Tampa or Orlando because we could get direct flights, rented a car and just drove to Siesta Key. We've stayed in both Longboat and Siesta and we would choose Sista over longboat. Maybe because the year we went to Longboat my Dh had a broken ankle and I wiped out roller blading and was in bad shape for most of the trip.