11/17/2024
If you’re looking for something to do away from the parks then I would highly recommend St Petersburg for a day trip or even an overnight stay. We had a break from our villa maintenance for 2 nights and stayed downtown at The Hollander Hotel which was recommended to me by another villa owner, excellent recommendation! Really easy to get to St Petersburg, took us 1.5 hours. The Hollander Hotel is gorgeous and in a great location, suited us perfectly. Only criticism was the bathrooms are very small in all bedrooms except the suites. The staff couldn’t do enough for us though and the food at breakfast was delicious. Not expensive either. It was lovely eating out on the patio too.
We arrived on Thursday and set off on a bike ride. We have our own bikes over here but bikes can be rented just along the Traill. Cycled out to Treasure Island and St Pete Beach along the Pinellas cycle/walking Traill. Ended up doing almost 21 miles 😳 the second day we took it easier and went on the North Bay Traill calling at St Pete Pier where there are market stalls Friday to Sunday, entertainment, play areas and a couple of bars/restaurants. At the end of the pier is an elevated bar/restaurant with fantastic views.
We then carried on up the coast looking at some absolutely stunning houses. Still evidence of the devastation to some of the houses from Hurricane Milton with damaged furniture piled up at the bottom of their drives and piles of damaged foliage. So sad to see 😥 Back to the hotel for a rest by the pool. The hotel has a lovely pool and pool bar. Happy hour each day between 3-6pm 🍻 and a pool party on Sundays. In the evenings on a Friday and Saturday night the hotel has a shuttle bus that will take you anywhere within 10 blocks and pick you up again after. Runs until 11pm so made use of this on the second night when we’d been to Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille on the pier. There is also a trolley bus that runs until 11.30pm and passes close to the hotel.
St Petersburg has something for everyone and we’ll definitely be back. There’s a beach, museums, shops and lots of bars and restaurants along Central Avenue. It’s easy to get to St Pete Beach too on the SunRunner bus which costs $2.25 a ride.
On Saturdays there’s also a market on not far from the hotel. We didn’t actually visit this as we were leaving and wanted to go to Tampa Premium Outlets on the way back. This is a smaller version of Orlando Premium Outlets. Shopping done we then called at Costco. They didn’t have what we wanted so ended up with just a slice of Pizza for $2.14 and a large ice cream cup, again $2.14. Tony thinks that the ice cream gives Twistee Treat a run for its money 😂 off home to the villa for a rest 😊
