Passagrille at St Pete Beach, Florida
Before you automatically rule out Florida as your next family vacation destination, may I say that you are passing up a beautiful area on the Gulf of Mexico. When I was there in April, I headed back to the place we frequented during my childhood, Passagrille at St. Pete Beach.
If you are driving along Gulf Boulevard from Tampa, you’ll see a sign for Gulf Way and the captivating sight of the huge pink castle from the early twentieth century will be looming out over the beach. The Don Cesar is a hotel and has been for many years, with as convenient a location as you could want. This hotel has been catering to the rich and not so rich because you’ll find deals here easily. The outdoor pools, the cabanas, the outdoor massage beds, the water sport equipment, the long walks shelling in the morning, the beauty of this grand architectural wonder. Coming back to this area of St Pete Beach will be an easy decision after your initial introduction to this postcard wonder.
There are a lot of other places to stay at St. Pete Beach, along Gulf Way in Passagrille. If you want to stay on Gulf Boulevard, there is the PostCard Inn, Plaza Beach Hotel, Sirata and many others. For a family watching their budget, and wanting to be in Passagrille, one of the best is Keystone Motel. You can rent a suite with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom two televisions, and a step across the road from the beach, with the Hurricane restaurant next door, a sweet little coffee and ice cream and candy store on the other side, boutique shops and the Merry Pier down the same block. The Keystone Motel also has balcony apartments and an outdoor pool. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful.
You have to be there to understand the beauty of this area on Gulf Way so well cared for through these years. The people of Passagrille have worked diligently to keep this place a haven. You end up avoiding the busy street of Gulf Boulevard and find an oasis along Gulf Way. In addition, you can jump in your car and head down to Publix to stock up on groceries just down the street on Gulf Boulevard. There are dolphin watching charters, shelling boat charters, The Merry Pier in Passagrille to fish from or board your charter and purchase fishing supplies. They even rent bikes there.
You can rent a moped in St Pete Beach and explore the area. If you are on a family beach vacation, you can sign up for etiquette lessons at the Don Cesar for your family members, though I believe you have to be a guest to do so, or enroll them in the kids camp program. I am happy to see that the ice cream parlor is still at the Don Cesar on the main floor, so you can saunter in regardless of where you are staying, and enjoy a scoop or sundae or shake, sitting inside or out on a beautiful balmy day. It is a popular spot at the end of the day.
The Hurricane Restaurant has a balcony to sit on while eating your wonderful seafood and having a refreshing drink while watching the sun sink.
Orlando is almost two hours away, Busch Gardens is in Tampa, as is the Lowry Zoo which your children will love, and younger teens might enjoy. The rides however are geared more towards children ten and under, which I didn’t know when I bought a day bracelet for the rides.
I know that people have been reluctant to book on Florida’s coasts since BP had their fiasco, but this place has remained beautifully pristine, and well worth looking into for a beach vacation.
