My husband and I are flying into Orlando the first week of June and have four days to spend at one of the following hotels: Marriott Grande Vista (Orlando), Tradewinds Sirata (St. Pete Beach), or Radisson on Marco Island. I have the same rate for all three hotels for one bedroom suites. Have you stayed at any of these and which would you choose? (We did everything in the Orlando/Daytona area two years ago, so not a necessity and would like to see some more of Florida).

Hi Jean!
My mom lived in Marco- over the years I've watched it grow from a quaint beach island to an overdeveloped,crowded tourist spot with terrible traffic and no charm. Naples (7 miles north) is much nicer.
Orlando if you're not doing Disney or one of the other attractions is just an overdeveloped city and has bad traffic too.You have to drive all over getting around.
We spent some time in St Pete- that's my choice! They have a trolley/bus that runs up and down the road from Clearwater Beach to St Pete- so you can try many beaches and areas at your will. We found some excellent restaurants and some nice spots with live music. Try Don Cesar's downstairs restaurant for a great meal- or the gourmet one if you want to go all out. The whole area has so much more to offer than Marco or Orlando- beautiful beaches, good shopping, nightlife and restaurants. I think the Tampa/St Pete area is the best part of Florida for those wanting this kind of vacation. Enjoy!

We were in St. Pete's Beach area last week and I would also suggest this area. The Tradewinds looked like a nice resort. The other thing to keep in mind is if you are committed to flying into Orlando, then Marco would be a very long drive (4 hour + ) for a four day vacation. It took us almost three hours on Saturday just to get back to northern Orlando. Traffic was horrible. Just something to keep in mind.

Jean, if you do decide to go to Marco I wld. rec. the Hilton next door to the Radisson. It is much, much nicer. Personally, I wld. prefer a std. room @ the Hilton (But check out their Jr. suites)over a 1 Br @ the Radisson. Are you are already booked to fly into Orlando? If not, you may want to consider flying into Ft. Myers if you are seriously thinking of Marco. On the other hand, if you are committed to flying to Orlando, there are lots of other options (I do not know why you are restricting yourself to the hotels/areas you mentioned).

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think we are going to stay in St. Pete Beach. Like you said, it is more central and there are many things to do in the area. Thanks again for all your help.