FL St Petersburg Tradewinds IG

[WPBdiver]

Won this hotel on Priceline for 2/6/2009 - 2/8/2009 for an $85 bid.

This is a very attractive, though somewhat older, property with very friendly and attentive staff. Common areas are immaculate. The property hosts a lot of conventions and weddings. The rooms show there age while the common areas sparkle.

Rooms tend to be a bit on the small side, with double beds the norm (king beds are an upgrade). Three pools on property (all heated). Each room has a microwave, minibar, toaster, and small refrigerator. Beds were comfortable. Some rooms have balconies overlooking the pool, common areas, or the beach. The Tradewinds Island Grand shares some amenities with its sister property, the Tradewinds Sandpiper.

The property is directly on the beach off Gulf Blvd on St. Pete Beach.

Resort fees are $25 per day - non-negotiable even if you don't have a car parked on the property. The property does offer local resort transportation through the concierge desk at a reasonable fee. Umbrellas and cabanas are free for registered guests (actually covered under the resort fee) which is a nice touch as neighboring resorts charge $50 for beach cabana rentals. They also have paddleboats that you can use to navigate a lagoon around the property, which was popular with the kids.

Several restaurants on site from formal (two of them) to pub type to beach bar.

One attractive feature of the property is the vast brick walkway that meanders about the property. You'll walk on these to get to the beach or pool or to the Sandpiper property.

Register for the Paradise Club through the hotel's website and you get vouchers for two free drinks at any of the hotel's restaurants and some notecards from the giftshop done by a resident artist.

Would stay at the property again.

[MIABTIAB]

Very nice hotel. I would agree with most all the items noted in the above review and found it most helpful. The room we ended up with was a 2 bedroom suite, and there were just 2 of us, so the extra room was nice. Common areas were very nice and well kept. I don't know if I would call the room "dated" other than the property itself is older but is kept very well up to date with new colorscheme/bedding/linens/materials, artwork etc. If staying at St. Pete Beach, I don't know if I saw any properties that were "shiny new" as most buildings were older.

The resort fee was $25, and so we were sure to use the ammenities. Paddleboats, Cabanas, Beach Towels, etc. All were great and efficient.

Restaurants on property with also many choices within walking distance. We tried Skidders (great Hamburger and greek salad) and also Snappers (upscale restaurant)

Resort was very well suited for families. Activities center for the kids and on teh weekend had a great area set up for some outdoor Guitar Hero, movie by the pool, and an onsite entertainment "pirate show" with live music and pirate characters. Very cute.

The staff was terrific very friendly and helpful as needed. Housekeeping did a great job.

Would definately go return to this place!

[Andilynn]

I've used Priceline quite a few times over the years and have always been EXTREMELY pleased with the hotels and the rooms I've gotten. This is the only time I've been disappointed. It was Spring Break and this was a last minute trip. We paid $170 + /night including the mandatory $25/day resort fee and other taxes. After seeing our room, I asked for an upgrade when I got to the hotel, but it would have been an extra $54 + tax per night and would not have gotten us a much better room, so it wasn't worth it. It's a pretty big resort and our room was the absolute furthest we could get from the beach and pool. We would have been better off staying across the street for less money and having the pool right out our door. We had one window next to the door which faced the stairwell. We had the WORST shower ever. It fluctuated from really hot to cold at least 10 times over the course of a shower. I had to shower with my young daughter to adjust the water constantly to make sure she didn't get scalded.

The pools are small. They were crowded and cloudy and dirty by the afternoon. There weren't enough chairs around the pool. The first day there we had no place to sit because everyone goes out and saves their spot with a towel and belongings at 8AM even if they are not going to the pool until 2PM! I found this to be stressful!

One day we were trying to order lunch at the pool. There was ONE server taking care of about 100 people. (Helloooo, it's Spring Break... might want to have a few extra people on shift.) I tried to flag her down for 30 mins, then went and stood in line to get it myself for another 30 mins. Then I watched my food sit in the window for another 15 minutes trying to get someone to get it for me. Everything was mushy and gross by the time we got it and the bill was almost $60. We decided to eat off property from then on.

I read that they had sand toys available for the kids at the beach, which I thought sounded great, but again, if you didn't go grab your share at 8 AM there was nothing but a broken shovel handle left in the bin. There were actually plenty of beach cabanas available, but you had to get there first thing in the AM to get one in the front row which would allow you to still see the kids in the surf. The whole thing was just stressful and I don't like the feeling of having to jockey for position every day while on vacation. It's supposed to be relaxing. I won't use priceline in this particular area again for fear I'd get this same hotel. I have a feeling they use priceline to fill up their sub-standard rooms. I might not be as disappointed had I gotten a super great deal, but I still paid $170 + /night including the mandatory $25/day resort fee and other taxes. I've gotten other 4 star hotels for less than half that and felt like I had as good an experience as any other guest.

Our experience was probably also colored by the fact we were there during a peak time over spring break, but I still can't imagine a good experience unless you upgrade to one of the suites closer to the beach.

I have to say our maid was super nice, though. She made the towel animals for the kids and chatted with them when we saw her.

Go to the grocery for lunch and snack items, and drinks. Also, if you like blended drinks bring your own fixins and a blender. There is a very nice Publix just south. Even the worst rooms (ours) had a fridge and microwave. The little deli/general store sold PB&J sandwiches for $3.50 each and a SMALL frozen drink from the pool bar was $7, so there is no cheap eating or drinking on property.

The location was good as far as a nice beach area. The sand there isn't as powdery as it is up in Clearwater or down in Siesta Key, but it's still very nice. The strip it's located on is sort of like Generica beach strip. Not a lot of character in the immediate area, but within a 5 to 30 minute drive there is plenty to do and see as far as a wide variety of beautiful beaches, zoos, gardens, aquariums, fishing. Easy access to grocery stores.

We were there for 4 nights and ate dinner in the area 2 nights as we drove further away to visit friends on the other nights. One night we ate up the road at Sloppy Joes at the Belmar hotel and had a good casual meal. The other night we drove down to Pass a Grille and ate at an Italian place called Genaro's which was recommended to us. It's unassuming in a little building connected to a convenience store, but the food was wonderful. It's really small and we had to wait a while, but it was the best meal I had all week