Kids liked it better than Disney!
Written: Aug 14 '09 (Updated Aug 14 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonably priced for a room this size directly on the beach.
Cons: A little old. No luxury.
The Bottom Line: Nice if you know what to expect. It is great to be right on the beach.
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| xyzwyatt's Full Review: Alden Beach Resort |
We chose Florida as our travel destination this year because the deals were the best that we have seen in quite awhile which allowed for us to have a longer vacation with more things to do.
Our kids were begging to go to the beach so we planned on hanging out in St. Petersburg after vising Disney. We use to live in Tampa so we already knew that we wanted to spend our days on St. Petersburg's beautiful beach with sugar-like sand and enjoy our afternoons hanging out at St. John's Pass.
I searched online for a hotel but knew I couldn't necessarily judge it by the picture they post. There were a couple hotels that seemed more attractive, but Alden was a recommended hotel by Bush Gardens, so I figured it would be a safe choice. There is a lot of water in St. Petersburg. I noticed a lot of hotels list as “waterfront” but it's really the marina or bay which is a nice area too, but we chose Alden Beach Resort because it is physically on the Gulf of Mexico.
Alden Beach Resort has a very nice website which had the answers to every question that I had and tons of pictures of their resort. Reservations can be made through their website and they guarantee the lowest price on their site. Of course I looked, and they indeed did have the best rates on their own website. I booked my reservations through their website weeks in advance. The first night was automatically billed to my credit card that day and I paid the remainder when I checked in.
Room Description
When we pulled into the parking lot we were a little shocked because it didn't look like what we expected. At first glance it looked worn out and not so cozy from the outside. I was getting “I can't believe you booked us here” looks on the way up and I was wondering the same thing. The hotel was built in 1969 and renovated in 1999 so it's not breathtaking. We opened the door and it was a rather basic looking room, but it was huge. Rooms may be different depending on the amount of people but there was more than ample room for our family. The first room had 2 queen beds, a dresser and television. There was a door as a divider to the getting ready area. The sink is separate from the bathroom. There's a large closet with a small safe and area to put all of the suitcases. Then there was a kitchen area with a full size refrigerator, small stove, sink, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, cooking items, and a dishwasher. It also had dishes and a kitchen table to eat at. There was a living room area with a queen size sofa bed, and a second television. There was a sliding glass door to the small balcony. It reminded me a lot of an apartment. This particular room with no view was $166, off season pricing. Depending on your purpose of staying, you may be interested in upgrading to a gulf view. This is not a luxurious room, but it was clean and very roomy. We felt comfortable and enjoyed hanging out in the room.
I really wasn't surprised that the hotel is so basic. It is rated by AAA as a 3-diamond hotel. I think you will find that most hotels on the beach are old and don't have the luxurious décor mostly because sand destroys everything.
The only thing I really did not care for was the front door. All of the rooms have outdoor entry like a motel, meaning a person does not have to go through a lobby to get to our room. A little less security that way, I think. The door seemed lightweight and I could see the sun shining through. The door is unlocked by a battery programmed key card. There was also an internal door to the next room which freaked me out. I was relieved when a family with a bunch of little kids checked into that room. The walls are paper thin and we heard every word that they were saying. Not a big deal as long as your kids aren't in a room next to newlyweds. The hotel was very quite at night and everyone in our family slept well. I was a pleased that the mattress and pillows were also comfortable.
Resort Amenities
We prefer to stay at resorts rather than basic hotels because we like to be constantly entertained. Resorts typically have lots of activities to do on site. The Alden had everything you can imagine:
Beach front
Bar on beach
Two deep pools
Two hot tubs
Toddler playground on sand
Grassy picnic area
Gas grill and picnic table area
Game room
Walking distance to several restaurants
Tennis court
Basketball
Shuffleboard
Volleyball (on sand)
(Fee activities: windsurfing, sailing, jet-skiing, para-sailing)
There were a lot of things on site to do as long as the weather is nice, but the activitity areas were not fancy. The pool was a normal pool, volley ball a net in the sand. Just basic. This is a very relaxing environment for a family with older kids to play games together. We could have easily lounge around the Alden all afternoon without spending any more money. There is a Publix one mile down the road so we picked up get some groceries for convenience. There was a freezer too so the kids enjoyed refreshing ice cream after a day at the beach.
It may sound kind of weird to want to cook on vacation, but the sun and water really had everyone exhausted so we did not feel like getting dressed up to go out. It's nice to grab something out of the fridge and eat in a wet swim suit or eat breakfast on the balcony.
Close to town
The hotel is in a good location to do things on the strip, or about 10 minutes to downtown St. Petersburg which is absolutely beautiful. It's a short drive to Tampa or Clearwater for even more to do. There are a few toll roads so have some quarters handy.
There's plenty of places to walk around and look at and not spend any money, or driving through the town and checking out the marina. There are also tons of nearby things like theme park, zoos and museums, and lots of other things too. This hotel is in a good location and relaxing enough to stay for an extended vacation.
My kids point of view
Our kids loved this hotel because there was plenty of room to spread out. We spent a fortune staying at a Disney resort and gong to all the parks yet all three of the kids (ages 6, 9, 15) said Alden Beach Resort was the best part of the vacation.
The kids entertained themselves for literally hours making sand castles. We headed down to the beach at the crack of dawn to look for shells but we weren't able to find anything at all. Still, they loved the idea of looking for them.
Service
This is a drag your own bags up type of resort. The lady at the counter was friendly enough. I called the desk once for something, but that never arrived. Don't expect to be pampered.
The beach
The hotel is right on the beach so when we woke up it was just a few feet to the sand. We find the gulf beach sand and water to be cleaner than the Atlantic. We know there's fish out there because we saw several dolphins in the shallow swimming area. If we had more time, we definitely would have taken the boat cruise.
Summer should be one of the busier times at the beach, but we were very surprised how few people were at the hotel or on the beach. Sometimes we had the whole beach to ourselves. We were lucky I guess, I could tell that there would be times when it's completely packed.
Overall
We were not particularly impressed with the Alden, but we did have a really nice experience. This is a type of place that you'd want to rent by the week and lounge and enjoy at a leisurely pace and not expect to be entertained by luxurious items or pampered by the staff. They advertise a romantic getaway on their site...I'm thinking not at all romantic. Great for a family with older kids, or a group of college students.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xyzwyatt
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Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 542
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