Busch Gardens Accomodation

[Britchick]

thanks nut

[catrancher]

1 room(s) for 4 night(s)
CHECK-IN: Mon Aug 09, 2010
CHECK-OUT: Fri Aug 13, 2010Guests: 2 Adult(s), 1 Kids Hotel
Don Cesar Beach Resort, A Loews Hotel3400 Gulf Boulevard
St. Pete Beach, FL, 33706
Phone: 727-360-1881
Fax: 727-363-5034
Choose Your Room(S)
Show rooms with: Currency :
Beach Escape Package Starting at : $614
Rate Description: Package Includes:
Accommodations by room type and view
$50 Indulgence credit at any of our fabulous restaurants, shoppes, and spa!
You First Benefits Apply
Deluxe 2 Double Beds Reflective views overlooking the intercoastal Boca Ciega Bay waterway and city. Some rooms with quaint, charming balconies. Elegantly appointed 250 sq ft accommodations with goose down bedding and duvets. …FULL ROOM DESCRIPTIONRATE INFO $614 per night
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Luxury 2 Double Beds Magnificent Partial Beach and Gulf of Mexico views. Pure Indulgence, elegantly appointed 250 square feet accomodations offer soothing, beautiful sky blue ceilings, ceiling fans, ultimate bedding and …

Weird! That's not the way it was when I looked earlier. Do you want me to give them a call and verify it? Seems just a wee bit excessive!

Tom (... stunned, he is!)

[Britchick]

thank you for the kind offer but i won't be able to even look at booking for another year lol! it does look very nice though.

so tell me about Clearwater....

[catrancher]

Not really all that much to tell. Clearwater has a lovely beach and is quite a nice town. You can actually drive all the way from Clearwater south to St. Petersburg on Gulf Boulevard right along the beach. Of course, your view of the Gulf is somewhat blocked by all the hotels, condos, and miscellaneous stuff people have erected. But I digress.

Your main route between Tampa (Busch Gardens) and Clearwater is Fla Highway 60. Also called the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Once in Clearwater, it becomes Gulf to Bay Boulevard.

You can find various accommodations and information on this web page:
Places to Stay - Official Travel Site for the St. Petersburg & Clearwater Area America’s Top Rated Beaches

Clearwater Beach itself is actually an island. Very pretty. It's been a long time since I was there and since I grew up in St. Pete, we had a tendency to hang out on St. Pete beach. Although we would occasionally go to Clearwater. Usually to beat Clearwater High School in a swimming match back when I was a competitive swimmer. But I digress yet again.

If your objective is just to stay somewhere nice where there's a beach, you can't go wrong with any of the Pinellas County Gulf beaches. St. Petersburg on up to Clearwater.

Tom (... I'll keep looking!)

[Britchick]

that is my objective indeed

better than Cocoa Beach do you think? i've never been

[catrancher]

Oh Brit! I couldn't stand it! I went ahead and called the Don to verify those exorbitant prices. Here's what I found out.

They haven't published the regular rates for August of next year yet. Those rates you were seeing are package rates. Although I don't know what the package could possibly include that would justify that kind of cost. Gold plated sheets perhaps?

Anyway, the August 2010 rates will probably be available later this month. However, if you want to see what they'll be like, back your reservation up to July of 2010. Prices should be about the same and are much more sane. Like $199 per night.

Hope this helps!

Tom (... whew... I feel so much better now!)

[catrancher]

better than Cocoa Beach do you think? i've never been

Keep in mind that I'm prejudiced since I grew up on Florida's west coast but I MUCH prefer the Gulf beaches to the Atlantic ones. From my perspective, the sand's softer, the water's wamer and the beer's just as cold.

Several years ago, I took my DW down to St. Petersburg to show her where I grew up. We stayed at the Don on that trip and I can't begin to tell you how pleasant it was to get up in the morning, go downstairs and out on the patio to the restaurant there and have an early breakfast and coffee while watching the waves break on the beach, having the sea breeze gently stir my hair while the little birds landed on the table and begged for crumbs.

Heaven!

Anyway, I much prefer the Gulf coast. Cocoa is nice but I think the Pinellas County beaches are much better.

Tom (... once you get sand in your shoes, you'll have to come back!)

[Britchick]

thanks Tom