Trip Report: St Pete Beach/Busch Gardens
Nov 16th, 2008, 06:01 PM
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Trip Report: St Pete Beach/Busch Gardens
How sad that I am posting this and not another question! Can't believe it is over!
We had an easy flight from HPN to TPN last Monday and our only glitch was the immensely long line at Dollar rental car as I waited 40 minutes in line! Hard with my husband, Mom, our 2.5 yr old and just turned 4 yr old in tow. Anyway, had an easy trip after that to the Don CeSar and we got one of our two rooms right away (1pm?) Had a god sized corner room (#115) and a smaller room adjacent (#113) with a tiny bathroom....115 had a big bathroom which was great. Had a little view, too! No noise, across from us were stairs and saw no neighbors otherwise....super! My kids don't sleep well in hotels yet, so that was tiring, but otherwise we loved the hotel. It is not 5 star, but the service was. The room was nice, but again, not perfect. LOVED the whole lobby area, pool area, and the beach is fabulous. I have wanted to go to the Don ever since I saw Samantha Brown's TV show there and am glad I went. Lots of great service which was fun and a great first real family vacation. We ate lunch after we arrived at the Sea Porch which was very good food, then went to dinner that night at Skidders, where the food was OK and the atmosphere was not what we were looking for (diner-like.) The next day we had b-fast down the beach at Under Tow which had some good food, great location, and then dinner at Crabby Bills....good food, great outdoor seating for us! The next day we had the pleasure of driving down to Pass A Grille for b-fast (cannot recall the name at the moment! Sea Horse?) and it was GREAT! Great food, service and atmosphere and we all fell in love with the little town. We wished the Don was there! My hubby and I had dinner that night a the Maritana Grill and that was good, but not worth the $. We have a lot of great restaurants near where we live and this was not up there. Service, again, was great, but the food was just good. Bummer. Had continental b-fast at the Don the next day (the best croissants!!!) and then went to Embassy Suites/USF/Busch Gardens. While at the Don, we went to the ST Petersburg Pier (fun for an hour or two) and to Fort Desoto...we had no idea how beautiful this beach/park is otherwise we just hit the beach, pool, and I went for my runs.
Went to Busch Gardens for Thursday afternoon, and then for Friday AM and back to the hotel (great space, just an OK room) for their happy hour and then to dinner at Antonios (great food and service) Thurs night, then to Tia's (good food and service) Friday night. Busch Gardens was fun and they have a great kids area, but I did miss St Pete!
Overall it was a great trip. I would def go back to the Don and that area as the beach was amazing and everyday for us was 75 and sunny. I am exhausted as we didn't sleep well, but our 371 photos show what a great time we had regardless on our first family vacation.
Thank you so much for all of your help. It was much appreciated! Every March we go to visit family (and ski!) in Utah, so our next trip (Naples this time perhaps!) will be next fall...I can't wait ti start planning!
Thank you again!!!
Sarah
We had an easy flight from HPN to TPN last Monday and our only glitch was the immensely long line at Dollar rental car as I waited 40 minutes in line! Hard with my husband, Mom, our 2.5 yr old and just turned 4 yr old in tow. Anyway, had an easy trip after that to the Don CeSar and we got one of our two rooms right away (1pm?) Had a god sized corner room (#115) and a smaller room adjacent (#113) with a tiny bathroom....115 had a big bathroom which was great. Had a little view, too! No noise, across from us were stairs and saw no neighbors otherwise....super! My kids don't sleep well in hotels yet, so that was tiring, but otherwise we loved the hotel. It is not 5 star, but the service was. The room was nice, but again, not perfect. LOVED the whole lobby area, pool area, and the beach is fabulous. I have wanted to go to the Don ever since I saw Samantha Brown's TV show there and am glad I went. Lots of great service which was fun and a great first real family vacation. We ate lunch after we arrived at the Sea Porch which was very good food, then went to dinner that night at Skidders, where the food was OK and the atmosphere was not what we were looking for (diner-like.) The next day we had b-fast down the beach at Under Tow which had some good food, great location, and then dinner at Crabby Bills....good food, great outdoor seating for us! The next day we had the pleasure of driving down to Pass A Grille for b-fast (cannot recall the name at the moment! Sea Horse?) and it was GREAT! Great food, service and atmosphere and we all fell in love with the little town. We wished the Don was there! My hubby and I had dinner that night a the Maritana Grill and that was good, but not worth the $. We have a lot of great restaurants near where we live and this was not up there. Service, again, was great, but the food was just good. Bummer. Had continental b-fast at the Don the next day (the best croissants!!!) and then went to Embassy Suites/USF/Busch Gardens. While at the Don, we went to the ST Petersburg Pier (fun for an hour or two) and to Fort Desoto...we had no idea how beautiful this beach/park is otherwise we just hit the beach, pool, and I went for my runs.
Went to Busch Gardens for Thursday afternoon, and then for Friday AM and back to the hotel (great space, just an OK room) for their happy hour and then to dinner at Antonios (great food and service) Thurs night, then to Tia's (good food and service) Friday night. Busch Gardens was fun and they have a great kids area, but I did miss St Pete!
Overall it was a great trip. I would def go back to the Don and that area as the beach was amazing and everyday for us was 75 and sunny. I am exhausted as we didn't sleep well, but our 371 photos show what a great time we had regardless on our first family vacation.
Thank you so much for all of your help. It was much appreciated! Every March we go to visit family (and ski!) in Utah, so our next trip (Naples this time perhaps!) will be next fall...I can't wait ti start planning!
Thank you again!!!
Sarah
Nov 16th, 2008, 07:13 PM
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Great report, and glad you had a fun trip.
I think I remember when you were first planning this trip? You wanted to know if limos had car seats? Something like that?
Pass a Grill is such a cool little town.
Your report makes me feel like going to the Don right now!
I think I remember when you were first planning this trip? You wanted to know if limos had car seats? Something like that?
Pass a Grill is such a cool little town.
Your report makes me feel like going to the Don right now!
Nov 17th, 2008, 05:16 PM
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Exactly! Ha ha...I didn't want to rent a car...but we did in the end and got a minivan which was worth the hassle. I would go back to the Don for many reasons but it is also fun to plan (for me) to go to a new place.
I forgot to mention that our local airport, HPN, had just started the flight with JetBlue to TPA and our tix were only $148/ea.
Thank you again for so much help...as El Swainer pointed out, for a long time and covering many details!
Sarah
I forgot to mention that our local airport, HPN, had just started the flight with JetBlue to TPA and our tix were only $148/ea.
Thank you again for so much help...as El Swainer pointed out, for a long time and covering many details!
Sarah
Mar 26th, 2009, 04:37 PM
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If you are in St Pete Beach and want seafood at a notch above family dining, go to Snapper's.
If you are in St Petersburg proper, and if you have a car, drive about 20 minutes north (and a bit west) and go to the E&E Stakeout restaurant. People can give you directions. It is really one of the outstanding eateries anywhere in this area, though there are certainly others.
If you are in St Petersburg proper, and if you have a car, drive about 20 minutes north (and a bit west) and go to the E&E Stakeout restaurant. People can give you directions. It is really one of the outstanding eateries anywhere in this area, though there are certainly others.
