My husband and I are going to be in Sarasota for 4 days in mid January and would like some lodging suggestions. We think we should stay on the mainland as we want to see the Ringling Museum, the state park, Venice, the botanical gardens and parts of old Florida. We want to avoid as much traffic conjestion as possible. Thanks for the help. Nancy

Don't know how traffic is in Jan., as we always go in the summer. However, if you haven't been there before, the mainland is very close to Lido Key and Longboat Key, and the ocean view is well worth the short travel time. We usually stay at the Longboat Key Hilton, but hotels on Lido would be closer to town.

I stayed not too long ago at the Radisson on Lido. It's a short walk to St. Armand's Circle, nothing more than a few minutes. It is a short drive on Hwy. 41 to the Ringling Museum. The Gardens are close as well. From there it is about ten miles to the interstate.

Why did you decide not to stay at the Residence Inn? It is a fine a convenient place to stay for a short vacation
Author: nancdb
Date: 10/21/2004, 08:10 pm
Message: Thanks for your suggestions. We will come in January. do you think it makes much difference if we stay on the mainland or on one of the keys? We will only be in the area for 3 1/2 days and I want to make the most of it, not sitting in traffic for long periods of time. We want to see Ringling Brothers Museum, Myakka State Park, the Botanical Gardens, Historic Spanish Point and take a boat tour. Cane we get all that done in the time we have available? We can get a good deal at the Residence Inn. Would that be a convenient place to stay? Thanks, Nancy

Where exactly is the Residence Inn?

Traffic will be busy then but not nearly as heavy as it is in March.

Yes, you will be able to do all of the things on your list in 3 1/2 days. You'll be busy, though. You could hit Ringling and Selby in one very full day if you don't linger too long at either. (FYI, the art museum is free on Saturdays, but not the Ca d'Zan.) Spanish Point and Myakka would definitely fill a second day. I'd hit Spanish Point in the morning because it closes around 4 or 5, while Myakka closes at dusk. Not sure which boat tour interests you.

You're leaving out the beach, which is a possibility depending on the weather (Siesta is great for visitors) and Mote Marine.

Sounds like a nice trip. Enjoy.

I'm also not sure where The Residence Inn is, but I would not come here and not stay on the beach, either Siesta Key or Longboat Key or Anna Maria. It is just over a bridge to go to any attractions such as Ringling, Selby Gardens, Mote Marine. The beauty here is definately the water - you can find anything from a little motel on the water to luxury acommodations.

I agree with jillann re: if you are staying in the area to stay on the beaches. We've just fallen in love with Siesta Key--it's a family friendly, beautiful span of beach great for walking and collecting sand dollars on the sand bars.

Since Tandoori Girl mentioned the Radisson on Lido Key, we actually ate Christmas Dinner in their lobby-level restaurant and found it was surprisingly good--one of us had turkey and the other ham--covered with a maple cranberry chutney, the homemade mashed potatoes and vegs were excellent as was the dessert. It was the perfect comfort food meal (esp. after we did an eight mile run early in the a.m.!) . We walked on the grounds also and it looked like a nice property. Anyway, Lido Key and St. Armand's are just a short drive from Siesta as well. Trust me that you can also check out the Venice area (although the beach can't touch Siesta) in a very short drive. We did a 1/2 day trip up from Englewood last year, there is a nice strip of shopping in downtown and some interesting looking restaurants.

As for Siesta, take your pick of condos, there really isn't a bad location on the beach, but have to say to condos up the beach further away from the village have excellent views of the crescent shaped beach, esp. from the upper floors.

In fact, now I'm jealous you get to go in January!

Jillann39 and hugglynn, read Nancy's post one more time. Why are you telling her she must stay on the beach? She wants to see the Ringling Museum, the state park, Venice, the botanical gardens and parts of old Florida. She never listed any beaches. Is it so hard to understand some people have different ideas about visiting places?
Residence Inn is in a good location for visiting all listed places.
Longboat Key Hilton has no charm at all. Long hallways, rooms ok but nothing special. It has a feel of a motel with higher prices, IMHO. We stayed there for a wedding.

Hello again, I've had five back surgeries and cannot lie on the beach at all so it's not necessary for us to be on the beach. Would it take up quite a bit of time for us to stay on Siesta Key and then drive to the mainland to see the things we want to see? I don't mind staying on the beach, but want to lessen the amount of time we sit in traffic. As I mentioned before, we are not interested in shopping, but in seeing the Ringling museum, the state park, Venice, the botanical gardens and parts of old Florida. I do appreciate the help.

Nancy

Nancy, traffic in Florida during January tends to slow down with all the snowbirds in town, and unfortunately, there's no predicting just how bad it will get. Hwy. 41 will take you where you need to go without too much work from any of those locations, including Siesta Key, so to answer your question, all the proposed hotels are good suggestions in terms of being centrally located. Hwy. 41 is the road that was used before the Interstate-75 was built. It is a 4-lane road so of course the traffic gets a little thick at time but it will not slow you down so miserably like traffic does in the NE. Regardless, you will be very close to all your destinations.

If you want to see some "old Florida", the Ringling is good. You might also want to take in the Gamble Mansion, a 19th century plantation home (think Tara and Gone With the Wind) that has been restored, and is now a FL. state park. It is a sparsely-touristed spot about 15 miles north of Sarasota via Interstate-75. It would take 15-20 minutes to get there on the interstate, and only a couple of hours to tour, if that. The grounds are spacious and the setting is picturesque. It is 2-story and the 2nd story is accessible only by stairs.

Have a wonderful stay.

The Ringling is free on Mondays and the Can d' Zan has reduced admission also on Monday. www.ringling.org.

The suggestion of Residence Inn is a good one - right by the airport, Sarasota Jungle Gardens and Ringling Museum - plus it is easy to get to the interstate from there to head south to enjoy Historic Spanish Point and the quaint downtown Venice. One great advantage is that Sarasota has lots of FREE public parking at its main beaches on Lido Key, Siesta Key, Venice and Manasota Key. In January you should not run into too much traffic & parking at the beach is not an issue. Be sure to stop by the historic Pagoda Visitors Center in Sarasota to get the latest on festivals & events during your stay