Two days ago, I just returned home from The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort. I chose this hotel because my sister-in-law, who is a resident of Sarasota, suggested it is the best place to stay if I wanted to be close to the Gulf of Mexico.

ROOM SET-UP: This is not a high-rise hotel with standard rooms. Instead, there are groups of buildings that have suites. We vacationed in a one bedroom suite. As you enter the room, you see a small kitchenette area against the left side of the wall. It comes with a stove/oven, dishwasher, sink, microwave, and full-size refrigerator. There were a few small appliances in the room including a coffee maker and toaster. The sign in the kitchen said that I could contact the front desk if I needed further appliances or cooking tools. Also in the kitchen was enough cookware and utensils to prepare a small meal, a towel/washcloth set, and some detergent for the sink and dishwasher. The towel/washcloth set was changed daily. This kitchenette was great, since one can prepare all meals easily in the room.

When you enter the room, there is a dining table right in front of you, with four chairs. Next to the table is a closet-- in the closet is two beds (murphy beds) which fold out from the wall. My son slept very well in the bed. He said it was comfy.

Past the table and bed set-up is the living area. The t.v. is a nice size, and has a lot of cable channels. Preschoolers will be able to tune into Nick and the Cartoon Network. Adults will appreciate The Weather Channel. The t.v. also has the system where you can rent a few different types of movies through pressing some buttons on a box on top of the t.v.

The living area had a sofa, and about three chairs. I am not sure if the sofa had a fold-out bed. I forgot to check. If you go through the living area, you come to a sliding glass door that has a small deck with some chairs and a side table.

If you come through the front door and go to the right, you will see the sink area on your right. It has a sink with a lot of space to put your toiletries. There is a hair dryer on the wall.

Right near the sink area is the bathroom. It has a door, and is separate from the sink area. In the bathroom, there a toilet, bath/shower, and yet another sink.

Across from the bathroom is a nice-sized closet with a safe. You just have to go to the front desk to get a lock for it.

In back on the sink area is the master bedroom, with a door that closes. We had a large, comfortable king bed. There is another decent sized closet, two night stands, and a large dresser. I have never seen a room that has so much space to unpack your belongings. There is also a comfortable chair in the room. Another small t.v is located in the room. There is no need to pack an alarm clock, since there was one in the room.

We were on the first level, and there was a room above us. Occasionally, you can hear people walking around above you. The floor creaked a little. I am a very light sleeper, and get disturbed by noises, but I did not find the noise bothersome.

Realize that my description of the room may not be exactly what other rooms may look like. There are also two bedroom suites available. But, if you have only two children, you will be comfortable in the one bedroom suite.

THE BEACH: The beach was a short walk away from our room. It was the highlight of the trip. The beach is wide, and you can walk up and down it for quite awhile. The hotel owns 800 feet of private beach, but it seems endless since you can walk on the beaches surrounding the area. There are several beach lounging chairs lined up along the beach, along with some tables and umbrellas. You can rent lots of different ocean items, such as a boogie board, aquacycle, and hobie cat. The ocean was quite calm during our stay. The hotel puts up a flag every morning which indicates if swimming is safe, and if dangerous marine life is in the area. Swimming was safe every day, but there was dangerous marine life too. The danger was from stepping on a sting ray. Bring beach shoes to wear in the water, and you will be quite safe. Sting rays swim away from you, so if you don't have the shoes, you just do the "sting ray shuffle". The visibility in the water is just o.k. I say this after coming home from a trip to the Bahamas. Though, I could see several schools of small fish, and other bigger silver fish. Of course, I saw the sting rays, which swam away from me.

Also on the beach is a small concrete pier. There was always someone fishing off the pier. I don't think anyone caught a big fish while I was there.

Bird-watching is fun here. I saw several large pelicans, along with some white birds with long, narrow beaks.

THE POOL: Right next to the beach is a small pool. It is decent enough to spend some time in. There are chairs around the pool. The pool is about 3 feet, 6 inches deep at the lowest.

THE BAR/MONKEY ROOM: Behind the pool is an outdoor restaurant, and a bar. It is called the Monkey Room, because that is the theme. There is a cool mural painted on the wall of monkeys. Several people always seemed to be at the bar. I ate lunch here once, and it was good. My favorite was the calamari, french fries, and vanilla ice-cream. Also, try the dessert which is a type of banana cake. The restaurant is open for breakfast from 7 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., and on Sunday just for Continental breakfast from 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Otherwise, the restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m.- 11:30 p.m. The bar has entertainment every night, and is open from 11:30 a.m. - closing.

THE COLONY DINING ROOM: I only went here for brunch. The dining room is very beautiful, and has a large glass enclosure of interesting finches right in the middle of the room. Reservations are suggested for dinner and brunch. Dinner starts at 6 p.m., and brunch on Sunday is from 10 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

TASTEBUDS GOURMET MARKET AND WINE SHOP: A small market where you can get your lunch, pastries, drinks, and snacks. It makes it convenient, because if you want to go to a resort, and never leave the resort during your stay, you can do this!!!

SHOPPING: There is a boutique with clothes for everyone, and a sports shop which has sports equipment for everyone. Also, there is a fresh flower shop. I hate to shop, and spent only about 2 minutes in one of the stores.

TENNIS: This hotel has been written up by Tennis Magazine as the #1 tennis resort in the nation. There are 10 soft courts and 11 hard surface courts, which guests can use for free. There are instruction courses, and match-pairing. I do not play tennis, and can not tell you much about the offerings.

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM: You can sign your kids up for free in the resort's kindercamp. It is from 9-noon and 1-4 every day, and sometimes from 6-9 in the evening. I brought my five-year old on vacation, but we did not sign up for this program. While in the pool, I observed the kids in this program who were also in the pool. They all seemed to be having a great time-- no one looked sad or lonely. One parent of a child in this program asked his child if he was having fun, and the child nodded enthusiastically.

BABYSITTING: This is available through the resort with a 24 hour notice. I did not use this service, though.

OTHER GUEST SERVICES: The hotel employs a concierge. I did not use his services, since I had family in the area who directed me to different activities. With notice, you can also rent a car at the hotel's front desk. Laundry service and dry cleaning is available, too. In each set of building, you can do your own laundry using coin-operated washers and dryers. This was great, since I was able to pack less clothes.

STAFF ATTITUDE/SERVICE: Absolutely wonderful! The maids did a great job every day cleaning the room. And, when I asked for items such as extra towels, they ALWAYS provided them. The waiters at the restaurants were very friendly. I would describe the overall service as being friendly, but very unobtrusive.

MY OVERALL OPINION OF THIS RESORT: Definitely a do-not-miss. I was very relaxed at the end of the vacation, and plan to return to The Colony every year.

LOCATION: Very close to downtown Sarasota, and the circle which has a lot of shopping, restaurants, and ice cream stores. Sarasota is great, because it is not too big, but if it rains, there is still a lot to do. There are a lot of wealthy people who live in this area-- the people are pleasant, and keep to themselves. If you have a child, consider staying at this hotel, even just for the location. If it rains you can drive to the children's museum, travel to one of the nearby malls, or go to get ice cream and fudge.

DISNEY: We took a ride to Disney, which was less than two hours away. If you are not sure if you or your child would like Disney, you should consider staying at a beach resort outside of Disney, and taking a day trip to Disney. I was happy I did this--- I absolutely hated Disney, the crowds and the heat. But, by staying at the Colony, I was able to enjoy my vacation, and take one day to visit Disney for the sake of my child. I am glad I did not book an entire week in Orlando!

THE AIRPORT: There is an airport in Sarasota about a 15 minute drive from The Colony. It was cheaper for us to fly into Tampa, which was about 1 hour 15 minutes from The Colony.







Recommended: Yes