My family and I are coming into the Tampa area for one night and are looking for a wonderful place right on the beach thats good for kids of varying ages...9mos-11years old. Thought about Adams Mark but a friend said its run down????

If you want to be directly on the beach, you might try Sheraton Sand Key, which is adjacent to Clearwater Beach...all you do is cross a bridge. My favorite place is the Radisson Sand Key, which is across the street from the Sheraton, but is on the bay rather than the gulf side.

Jennifer,
whatever you do, don't stay at the Hilton Clearwater. My boyfriend and I had to stay their last Sept after being chased out of Palm Beach from Hurricane Floyd. After driving 3.5 hours to Tampa we checked in around 1A.M. and they still charged us an outrageous amount of money, plus the place was a dump, very dirty and dingy. I wouldn't stay their ever again. Thats the only place I have stayed, sorry I couldnt be of more help.
-Kate

How about a little south from there to Treasure Island? We stayed at the Island Inn Beach Resort. Its affortable, right on a beautiful beach, with a great pool, a kitchenette, and a room with a balcony? We really enjoyed our stay there. (can you tell?) Tons of shells, warm water... doesn't get any better than that!

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT stay at the Adams Mark in Clearwater Beach. Oh my gawd, we stayed there last year and it was AWFUL. As a matter of fact, when we complained about just how filthy and run-down the place was compared to the picture on their website, they told us that it was closing to be "stripped down to the bare structure" to be renovated. If, in fact, the renovation has occurred, maybe it would be ok. BUT, trust me, if it hasn't been renovated, you DO NOT want to stay here. I think that it was used as a Spring Break hotel because it was like there was puke stains on the carpet, stinky smells everywhere, filthy bathrooms, etc. We had booked this through travelscape and so we were pretty much stuck there. If we hadn't done that, we wouldn't have stayed one night.

The little balcony bar area by the ocean was ok. Food was so-so.

Ok, nuff said.

And I agree with Kate about the Hilton; we stayed there in March only because of a conference. It used to be two other chains; I think they are making an attempt to improve it, but we were unhappy with our room, the food, the noise.

Treasure Island is probably only a half hour ride from Clearwater....... maybe an hour (i'm not sure)

Jennifer...someone mentioned Sheraton Sand key and if you want to be very close to Clearwater that is the best in that area.

BUT...St. Pete is really no further than Clearwater from Tampa--you just take a different bridge to get to it--and instead of one traffic light after another and stop and go traffic you have getting to Clearwater, you have smooth sailing on I-275. The Don CeSar Hotel there is excellent, right on a beautiful beach, nice pool and in a quieter area than Clearwater. It will be more expensive than what you find in Clearwater, but worth the extra money IMHO.

Sanibel or Captive is the ONLY place I would stay in Florida!

Now Sandy, there are LOTS of wonderful places in Florida.

Clearwater Beach travel guide will help you find accommodations for you. Visit http://www.beachtourism.com

ps check out the live beach cam.