Sweet Willie

+1

Also, if going to Ybor City, another Tampa unique food item is Devil Crab. La Tropicana Cafe (1822 E 7th Ave) in Ybor City serves a very good one.

as long as on topic, smoked fish at Ted Peter's in St Pete is another food must IMO: www.tedpetersfish.com

I usually stop at all three places above when in town.

krloach

I have stayed twice as Platinum and its a fine hotel. Unfortunately I was not upgraded however I am sure it was because it was sold out.

It is isolated and you will need a car however its a nice strip of beach that is not
overrun with people like Clearwater Beach.

The lounge is nicer than moist with a nice spead and very very nice staff that take care of it.

The gym is very nice.

Hotel seems to host a lot of conventions and meetings.

CNWO4LIFE

Ted Peters is great and his high prices reflect the demand.

ENIAC

We made three stays over the past three years. Two of them were arriving NY Eve. In those cases we couldn't be upgraded the first night, but they agreed to move us to a suite for the rest of the stay when I asked. One thing filling it up was the entire Michigan marching band, who filed through the lobby and up the stairs to the second floor.

I find the recent comments here all accurate. The crowd was indeed a little "unsophisticated" vs. the Diplomat or W South Beach -- low point when someone filled an entire coffee cup with whiskey and walked out of the club lounge with it. Also a significant number of obese Germans smoking in the pool area.

We found the food a big draw -- excellent in all three restaurants, and unusually affordable for an SPG hotel. The pool cafe is awful though. With two small children we finish up eating in the hotel a lot. Staff were generally very friendly, although I think the stress was getting to the lounge attendants -- can't entirely blame them but they seemed pretty grumpy when we were there. Around New Years the front desk gave us breakfast vouchers for the main resturant instead of in the lounge, due to overcrowding.

I wouldn't call it a dump as one of the other posters did, especially as rennovations are ongoing and quite tasteful. But it's a small, older hotel with low ceilings and unremarkable rooms -- there's a limit on what they can do. Cozy, friendly, unspectacular, good for children, with more blue collar types than a typical SPG resort. We liked it enough to come back twice.

Viking547

Quick question I didn't specifically see called out -- what's the situation for the chair+towel service by the beach here? Are there a set number of chairs and tables, or are there cabanas? Is it free or is there a charge?

Contemplating going for 4 or 5 days. Thanks!

AlxStevens

My recollection is that there are towels by the pool, and they are free. Chairs/umbrellas at the beach were not free, and there we no cabanas that I remember seeing.

JimmyInGreatLakes

Just got done with a stay at Sand Key, March 3 through 8th. Nice hotel really. There were 5 of us and they provided a roll-a-way for $10 a night. Made the room a little tight but that was okay. Beds were very comfortable, slept very well. A larger bathroom would have helped. Didn't need much "service" but all staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. Stayed on points and had a parking lot view but could see the harbor. 7th floor room and found the elevators very responsive, not any long waits at all. Awesome workout room on the top floor with lots of machines and free weights. Kind of cool weather so we didn't use the pool but lots of time in the hot tub. I would have no problem recommending this hotel!

srodr

Be careful with this hotel if cancelling a reservation. I had cancelled a reservation well before the cancellation deadline and only discovered 2 months later (reviewing my CC statements) that they hadn't refunded the 'deposit' that they took. They fixed it after I called, but I shouldn't have to call.

cfpmcleo

Quick review of Sheraton Sand Key.

Nice 5 day stay at the Sheraton Sand Key. The hotel is away from Clearwater Beach and isolated by a causway bridge. It is nestled in a community of condos and opposite the Marriot. Must say I appreciated the isolation but very walkable to the action(about 20 minutes - good pace).

The resort is dated by its architecture. Staff all appear to be longserving and very knowledgeable about their roles. Checkin was relatively quick despite some unusual elements in my reservation. I utilized the Platinum 35% off points gift and SNAs for one of my reservations. FDM was quick to process the checkin when her help was required.
On-site parking was complimentary.


Was placed into a low floor King with very small bathroom (as previous posts have stated). The room was very clean. The bed was too soft for me. No other problems.

Pool was good with 2 jacuzzis (kids and adults). The "half mile depth" beach was fine. Bean bag toss stations, volleyball courts, soccer field all fit nicely well before the ocean. Towels were handed out by "David" at the towel kiosk along with all sorts of advice . "Scott" at the water's edge rented out cabanas for $25 all day. Workout room was fantastic: good size, new machines.

9th floor lounge was adequate with almost too friendly lounge attendants. Lots of Canadians and Germans. Lots of year by year returning guests too - individually recognized by those same lounge attendants.

Breakfast was continental with baguels, cake, cereal, fruit and one of those espresso machines. Night-time ordeuvres was some finger food and compliementary self serve beer, wine or cocktails. I saw no rash of outrageous behaviour at the liquor and beer station.


cleo

River in Sight

Just completed a two-night stay here -- the purpose of the trip was to visit family in Clearwater, so I really didn't spend much time at the hotel but did want to give a few notes anyway:

• I had booked a Cash & Points stay around four weeks prior to arrival and requested to use my Suite Night Awards. The request did not clear and I ended up in a Club King room with (sort of) a view of the water, but directly a view of the tennis courts. There is no charge for parking, which I was happy about. Check-in was easy and the staff were friendly.
• The room that I received was old Sheraton-y with a very small bathroom. My biggest issue with the room was noise - I really hate noise when I'm trying to sleep, and in our room there was a thunder-like noise every time someone nearby opened and closed their porch sliding door, which was surprisingly often. This was really bothersome the first night but it wasn't as bad the second. The refrigerator also made a loud noise as it cycled on and off and the plug was almost impossible to reach... after some effort moving furniture, I was finally able to unplug it on the second day which saved me some grief. Although they weren't loud, I could also hear the people in the next room clearly. I'm not picky but I don't like noise, and so the noise issue would likely keep me from staying here again.
• I didn't visit the concierge lounge in the evening but did visit for breakfast. As others have noted the staff is very nice but the breakfast is continental only (cereal, oatmeal, bagels, and fruit). The fruit was tasty. The views from the Club and neighboring Fitness Center are really great. The Club was very crowded this morning but we managed to snag a table at the last second.
• Although the hotel is right on the beach, the water is perhaps a 1000-foot walk from the property. No big deal unless you have trouble walking in sand.
• We did get a drink and dessert at the lobby bar.. the bread pudding was really delicious, the staff friendly, and they had one local beer - Old Elephant Foot from Tampa Bay Brewing Company.

Speaking of beer, one restaurant that we especially enjoyed was back on Clearwater Beach - Cork n Brew Bistro - they had a really nice selection of maybe 15 beers, some local and others not, and very knowledgeable bar staff. The food was pretty good but the Cuban Flatbread was the best.

In closing, next time we plan to try another hotel in the area - mostly due to the noise. I've stayed at many hotels in this area while visiting family and the Sheraton has a great location but the noise and general old-ness of it will likely take it off my list for now.

ExpatSomchai

Having not been here for 16 years I am sure things have changed. Could someone give an overview of restaurants and specifically watering holes within walking distance please.

Krankenfaren

I am staying here Easter week for 5 nights on a points stay. There will be five us, so getting the roll away bed for $10. Our kids are 16, 14 and 6, so space will be tight. Questions:

-As a Gold, what are the chances of an upgrade to the larger suite? Strategy? Can I book it with more points (no option for that on SPG)?
-Basically same question for club level...will I be able to use more points for the club level? Continental breakfast each day would be huge savings for the five of us

Thanks!

fireworksboy

Wow, the spg app won't even allow more than 4 people in a search. I'll be curious to know how (if they allow 5 people in a room) they satisfy the local fire code. Maybe obtaining a suite would do the trick.

Starwood Lurker

You would have to call into the Customer Contact Center nearest you to check for availability on your specific travel dates, but there is a suite type that can be booked using Starpoints that would accommodate five persons.

There are no club level rooms available using Starpoints that would accommodate 5 persons.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Starwood Lurker

All of the 2 Queen rooms, either Traditional, Deluxe or Club Floor accommodate 5 persons. Unfortunately, the 2 Queen Deluxe and Club Floor rooms are not available using Starpoints.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]