Don CeSar Beach Resort & Spa

Description:

• This Moorish-style "Pink Palace" on the National Register of Historic Places has a rich history and appeals to groups, families, and couples. Sitting majestically on 7 1/2 acres of beachfront, this landmark sports a lobby of classic high windows and archways, crystal chandeliers, marble floors, and original artwork. Some of the 275 rooms under the minarets of the original building may seem small, but they do have high windows and offer views of the Gulf or Boca Ciega Bay. Some have balconies. If you want more space but less charm, go for one of the resort's 70 spacious luxury condominiums in the Don CeSar Beach House, a midrise building 3/4 mile to the north (there's 24-hr. complimentary transportation btw. the two). An excellent kids' program features supervised activities, including etiquette classes that instruct kids and adults on which fork to use (comes in handy in the hotel's swanky, stuffy restaurant). A new spa debuted in 2007.

  Facilities: 4 restaurants; 4 bars; 2 heated outdoor pools; exercise room; spa; Jacuzzi; watersports equipment/rentals; children's programs; game room; concierge; business center; shopping arcade; salon; 24-hr. room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; coin-op washers/dryers

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010