Ancien Maestro

Flying to TPA and considering this hotel. Currently all reservations are at Clear Water, but I'm thinking of landing in Tampa and getting to a destination such as Sarasota, but not sure if its conveniently near TPA to do the trek right off the bat.

Is the lounge at Sarasota always open? What sort of food can we expect lately?

What is there for kids to do?

Is it advisable to visit this property during Christmas break? Are point upgrades easily attainable?

FD1971

No lounge at the Hyatt (Regency) Sarasota, it used to be the Hyatt Sarasota.

All the properties on the coasts in Florida will be very very full during the X-Mas season, the Grand Tampa might be one exception. I would not count on automatic upgrades etc.

Your strategy for Clearwater was brilliant, booking some months in advance and calling the property to see what they can offer you. I recommend the same for all the other hotels.

Sarasota is an old-school property, recently renovated, but still stuck in the original set-up, so the pool area is relatively small and overcrowded, when the hotel is at capacity.

The suites are very nice, spacious, two floors, beautiful views.

billycwhatup

I think the pool - while possibly overcrowded during holidays - was pretty good. Nice shallow entry for kids and a nice waterfall on the other side. This will not rival the pool of great resorts but it's much better than an average urban hotel.

Sarasota is great with kids. The hotel is across the street from the GWiz science museum (good for a few hours), a few minutes from the Mote Aquarium, St. Armand's Circle (lots of shops, restaurants, ice cream joints, etc...) and the Ringling. Hotel is also a walk (or very short drive) to the better-than-you'd-think restaurant scene of downtown SRQ.

Ancien Maestro

Alas, I ended up cancelling Sarasota. I actually got a reservation at the Cypress in their exec accomodations, December 22 to January 5.. Orlando during this time period through Christmas and New Years was too good to pass up. Plus I got extremely lucky last night as there was no availability and as the evening rolled along January 2 to 5 opened up.. and then December 26 to 31 opened up.

The hotels I kept for our vacations all have lounges.. With a 7 year old and 3 year old, its important to have a lounge. Thanks for the comments, it really helped me to decide as it was a very hard decision to make.

I was also told by the Diamond Line that Sarasota is more of a business type hotel. If they had a lounge, it would have helped. But definitely, I want to try this hotel out in the future.

Jay00848

Does anyone have some recent pictures of the bi-level suites? looking at staying there for Memorial day.

birdman0494

Nice property with good service, The complimentary breakfast for diamonds is one of the better ones. They also have free little paddle boats by the dock that you can take advantage of. my only negative is that ive stayed here about 3 times and theyre quite stingy with upgrades, IIRC they would not let me use a DSU for the bilevel suite.
Regency Jacksonville treats diamonds better.

ucacm

Just finished a three night stay here using points. I got a room on the 9th floor w/balcony facing the water and loved it! I thought the pool was great for laying around and getting some sun. I'm more of a lay around and occasionally dip your toes in the pool type of guy, so the pool area was everything I wanted. Didn't try any food and brought my own beer, so I can't comment on the quality of the food, but the place definitely exceeded my expectations.

The rooms were clean, well appointed, and a decent size for a standard room. The staff was courteous and seemed to go out of their way to be helpful.

I took advantage of the free shuttle to St. Armand's, which was a nice touch. All in all. I thought this was a great hotel, and a value for the points a night requires. I would go back in a second.

AttorneyVin

Take a look at my TripAdvisor Review - numerous photos attached. I stayed in a Bi-Level Suite last Christmas, and I have it booked again for this year. AMAZING room!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...a_Florida.html

m0hamed

Does anyone know if this property allows Diamond breakfast via room service?

m0hamed

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Any recent reviews?

AttorneyVin

No, they do not. But, the buffet is excellent and has a few rotating specialty items on a daily schedule.

m0hamed

Thanks. Saw your TA reviews. Booked the Exec Suite. Considered the Bi Level but one of the family member snores so a solid door is required for soundproofing!

Had to book the Ritz Carlton for the first two days as the HR is sold out. Not paying RACK for a base room.

travelexpert

Seems like the last room renovations were about a decade ago.

Are the rooms in need of refurbishment?

Would like to visit Sarasota early 2018, but one of my biggest room peeves is "dated furniture".

m0hamed

Stay at the Ritz Carlton. The suites are gorgeous and a great club lounge.

We were going to split our stay between the two but didn't want to leave the RC.

travelexpert

Just checked out the rates at the RC.

Three nights next Feb for a limited view (cheapest) room is $700 including tax.

At the Hyatt I can have a suite for half the price (or much less if I use C&P with DSU).

This past Presdient's Day long weekend, had a suite at the Hyatt in Austin for just over $100 per night. Both rooms were spiffy with two bathrooms, view spectacular, value tremendous.

That's what i am looking for....

Can Hyatt Sarasota deliver?