TREASURE ISLAND, FLORIDA
We usually go abroad during November/December each year, but we decided to stay in the USA and Treasure Island was our destination of choice. Treasure Island is located in the coastal area in what is referred to as the Suncoast. This region includes the western Central Florida cities of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Tarpon Springs, Tampa, Brandon, Ruskin, Sarasota, and Bradenton, among others. Many of the beach communities on the Gulf of Mexico are individually-incorporated cities, such as St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, and Indian Rocks Beach. An exception is Clearwater Beach, which is part of the city of Clearwater. The region contains more than twenty miles of Gulf of Mexico beaches and many sunny days from early December through May. We must tell you though, we and the locals, were surprised by the dense fog that stayed with us for a couple of mornings.
So, let’s begin the journey.
Booking with Expedia: We booked a bundle (includes flight, hotel and car) for two with Expedia and originally chose the Hilton (a chain we like) in Clearwater Beach. The hotel looked nice and was directly on the beach – exactly what we were looking for! We reserved a king suite with a balcony, but could not get a guarantee that it would be oceanfront which is a high priority when we visit the seashore. If we did not get an oceanfront room, then we would upgrade to get the room we wanted. We were surprised that we had to pay for parking and Wi-Fi, but we booked it anyway. Because we trust Hilton, we scanned through just a few of the reviews. After we made the reservation, we started reading more reviews and found out the two pools were under construction. The thought of noise during the day while relaxing at the beach was a big no-no. When we’re at the beach, we seldom use the pool, unless it’s raining and if there’s an indoor pool, we use it. We were coming from New York City, trying to get away from the noise and this was not acceptable. Before calling Expedia, we contacted Hilton to find out if the pools were going to be completed before we arrived. The answer was maybe, but that meant “no” to us.
We held off on the phone call to Expedia and did some research about other hotels and discovered the Sunset Vistas Condos in Treasure Island. This property was oceanfront and had two- and three-bedroom condos. Most suites had an ocean view and some had direct oceanfront views; the latter is what we wanted. Moreover, there was free parking and Wi-Fi, unlike the Hilton. We then called Expedia to lodge a complaint: “Customers must be informed of any construction at a property so that they can decide whether or not they want to stay there.” Expedia called Hilton to verify there was construction of the pools and we were able to change the hotel without penalty. Two bedrooms, ocean front, free Wi-Fi and parking cost less than staying in a one-bedroom at the Hilton! The unit was 870 square feet and we don’t believe that includes the balcony.
Delta Airlines: We left around 5:45 on Saturday morning with small carry-on bags since the hotel suite had a washer and dryer – such a convenience! It’s about a 25 minute ride from our apartment to La Guardia Airport. The flight time from La Guardia to Tampa International is approximately two and one half hours. We tried to get a direct flight, but they were scheduled for a late afternoon departure which meant that we would lose an entire day. In order to get at least a half-day on our arrival, we booked a 7:10 AM flight with a stop-over in Detroit that should have gotten us into Tampa by 12:30 PM. However, the plane was delayed at La Guardia for an hour because of the weather, and the stop in Detroit got us into Tampa around 1:30 PM. We then had to stop at Hertz to pick up our rental car, a Nissan Versa, booked through Expedia, which was quite roomy for a compact. The price was much lower than Priceline, by the way. With just carry-on luggage and E-boarding passes, we sailed through all of the airports easily.
After we picked up the car, we contacted Sunset Vistas and asked if our suite was ready and it was – normal check-in time is 4 PM, but we would be able to check in around 2:30 PM. It was sunny, so we thought of heading directly to the beach. When we reflected on the time we woke up to our arrival at the hotel, it amounted to almost 10 hours! Sounds painful, right? Flying these days can be painful, especially if there are delays due to weather, if there are stopovers and other unexpected dramas. However, even it was a direct flight and you factored in the one-hour delay, the time spent would have been around six hours. Okay, so it took us 10 hours to get to our destination, but we were finally there and it was sunny!
Return Flight: The flight coming back was painful, again, because of the weather in New York. The flight was to leave at 8 PM, but did not leave until close to midnight. To compound the problem, we had to fly into Kennedy instead of the scheduled La Guardia airport. We crawled into our beds around 2 AM. If you want to travel anywhere today, it can get harrowing, long, and makes you not want to go anywhere, anymore. To make ourselves feel better, we summed it up this way: At least we traveled safely to and from and were grateful for that.
Sunset Vistas Condos: This is a very nice property with just six floors. It is designed so that every room has a sea view and some with direct views of the Gulf of Mexico. The closer your room is to the beach, the better the view, even the ones that are close to the street have a decent view. We had a two-bedroom, two-bath, ocean-front condo on the fifth floor. We found out the next day the sixth floor was closed because they were painting those suites, so we were in heaven – no one above us! We will tell you more about this property later, since our objective was to get to the beach first.
Beach: We did not unpack because our bathing suits/trunks were right in the side pockets of our luggage. We changed and almost ran down to the beach to catch the afternoon sun which was quickly fading. We dropped the towels on the beach and headed straight for the water which was – COLD! Once we were in, however, it felt great and was invigorating! This is a wide, white, sandy beach. The Gulf of Mexico has no waves (very small ones) so it’s perfect for swimming. And, you can walk out far distances and the water is knee deep. In fact, we think the Gulf of Mexico is one of our favorite places to swim. We swam on and off for about two hours and then headed back to our suite just after 5 PM. Did we tell you that there were only two other people sitting on this expansive beach with a few people walking up and down, taking a stroll, picking up seashells? We had it all to ourselves!
Condo: Once we showered and settled down, it was going on 6 PM. We finally had a chance to inspect the condo. We used the second bedroom as a dressing room, and we each had our own bathroom since there were two full baths and we like to spread out. The condo had stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer and dryer, the fridge had automatic filtered water and an ice maker and the dishes, pots and pans were of top quality – all the comforts of home!
The living room had large, comfortable leather sofas, however, we are not big fans of leather furniture, but we didn’t mind. Take a look at the photos of the condo below.
John’s Pass: It was close to 7 PM and we were hungry. We always do a lot of research on a place before we visit and we had read about John’s Pass which is located in Madeira Beach and less than five minutes from our hotel which is on Treasure Island. What we discovered about this area is that towns and beaches are within minutes of each other.
This was an interesting spot with lots of shops, restaurants and water sports of all types. We walked around until we found a seafood restaurant overlooking the marina full of boats, sea gulls and birds of every description. We ordered everything seafood –from appetizer to soup to entrée, minus dessert, of course, which we skipped. We can’t say it was one of the best meals we had; it was just okay, but the ambiance was pleasant.
Second Day: The next morning, we got up early and took a stroll along the beach before breakfast and came across some extraordinary sand sculptures which you can see in our video below, “On the Beach”. The seashells were densely packed on the sand and along the shore and washed up overnight were coconuts, seaweed and other items which caught our attention. Click on the link below to view the video:
Community Chest: On the way back to the hotel from our morning walk, we decided to look for the Community Chest we read about in TripAdvisor. We encourage everyone to check out TripAdvisor when planning a trip – you will find valuable information, like the Community Chest at this hotel. It’s not like the Community Chest in the game of Monopoly, rather, it’s a Community Chest where departing visitors leave beach chairs and everything related to a beach vacation for those who come afterwards, like us. The Chest was placed right by the entry to the wooden walkway to the beach and when we opened it, lo and behold! – there were two beach chairs just waiting there for us! Check them out in our photos in the video above, “On the Beach”. Upon our departure, we cleaned them and put them back in the chest for the next set of visitors. Isn’t that just a lovely and thoughtful gesture to have a Community Chest?
Exploring the Area: When we not enjoying the absolutely magnificent beach directly in front of the hotel, we drove to several places – Madeira Beach, Reddington Beach, Indian Rocks, Clearwater, St. Petersburg , St. Pete Beach, Dunedin and drove across the Sunshine Bridge to Ruskin and Hillsboro. One of our favorite places to visit was Honeymoon Island. We took lots of photos of palm trees and humongous oak trees with Spanish moss draping gracefully over their branches. Click on the link below to view a short video of Florida’s flora:
Honeymoon Island: Since the fog was dense on Monday, we decided to head to Honeymoon Island. There are a couple of beaches you can visit on the island, including one for pets, but the spot we chose was quiet. There were people coming from either direction along the shoreline, exploring the area by foot, but they weren’t intrusive. No one had the courage to swim in the icy water, except us. We found it difficult be on a Florida beach and not swim. Once we were fully immersed, the water felt refreshing. The birds on the beach became our friends because they knew we had food. It was there that we discovered if we threw up pieces of bread, they would swoop up and snatch them. The photographs we took of the seagulls on Honeymoon Island and on the beach in front of our hotel, were compiled to make this the video. We laid down flatly on the beach and just started clicking away on our iPhone to take these amazing photos – click on this link to view:
Should You Visit the Suncoast? Most definitely, yes! This part of Florida is worth exploring. We all know of Miami, Daytona, and other areas on the eastern coast of Florida, but the Suncoast should be on your travel list. We would suggest you stay at the Sunset Vistas Condos in Treasure Island. There is no question that swimming in the Gulf of Mexico is a joy. The scenery all around is wonderful and the flora and fauna are breathtaking – lots of water, palm trees, massive oak trees and a variety of seabirds. So, don’t hesitate to put the Suncoast on your wish list!
Just in case you cannot view the videos, you can take a look at some of the photos:
Second Bedroom
Looks fantastic! Shows all aspects of the trip and gives an excellent representation of the area.
thanks