Can anyone give me some advice ASAP! We are traveling to Tampa and want to stay in or near ST.Pete Beach,...we're considering Don Cesar??(not hearing good things though), also seriously considering the Tradewinds Grand, and lastly I am very high on the Longboat Key Clunear Sarasota)...any advice would be great. We are a family of 4, two active boys ages 9 & 11 and are traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday!

Thank You ANYONE!!!!

Tradewinds & the Don are both nice. I would choose whichever is giving you the better deal.

Longboat Key is beautiful and a little less touristy. For this fact it may bore your sons after a couple of days.

thank you Christina!!!

Now anybody else???

Both Don Cesar and tradewinds very nice. Don Cesar (main hotel) more upscale. Don Cesar also has what they call their beach house... it's about one block up St. Pete Bch from the "main" hotel. The Beach house is a condominum that has nice accommodations and comfortable with fully equipped kitchens. There's a nice pool on-site and they have shuttle service to take you back and forth between the beach house and the main hotel. I would consider this as well.

Longboat key club is nice and less touristy as already mentioned. Nice beaches there as well. It's located approx an hour south from St. Pete.

Longboat Key is gorgeous with the whitest sand beaches that are so soft and the prettiest waters anywhere. There is a fair amount of things to do for kids such as the Mote Marine Laboratory where the kids can visit and see all that is being done. Our kids love it. You can rent boats on Longboat at Cannons Marine and take the boys fishing for the day. There's also a jungleland (name ??) in Sarasota that kids would like. Plus you're less than an hour from tampa and all that it offers plus 2 hours from Disneyworld.

Can't speak for St. Pete Beach items, but I will tell you that you and your children will love Longboat Key. I have never seen a kid bored there. And it is true that there are attractions nearby for families when you don't want to be at the beach. The sunsets, beach, and wildlife are truly fascinating on Longboat Key!

My family and I adore Longboat Key but we like the The Colony Tennis and Beach Resort (or is it The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort?) better than anywhere else. The condos are lovely and there's a great "big family" attitude about the resort. Free tennis, great beach, excellent fitness center, kids' programs, it's just great!

WOW! Thanks to those who replyed...I am now trying to decide between 3! places! I really appreciate the help, and I hope to hear more!!!

Much Thanks, Tracy

Our family stayed at the Tradewinds Grand last Thanksgiving. The kids enjoyed the paddleboats, the pool (they enjoyed ordering "virgin" strawberry daiquiris from the bar!), riding those big tricycle things in the ocean and biking.
We took a day trip to Busch Gardens, and while the park was fun, getting into that parking lot is the worst amusement park experience I've ever encountered. It was built so long ago that is just wasn't built equipped to handle hordes of traffic coming in.
We also spent some time in the Little havana section of Tampa; there was an outdoor market and some nice shops (our kids and my nieces and nephew are teens and liked the shops, plus there was a huge video-game place there).
Hope this helps.
Pam B.