As a family of 5, we have the hardest time finding resorts – instead of condos – that have rooms that accommodate without having to splurge for a second room. We were glad to welcome Hyatt Regency Clearwater Resort and Spa to our list of great options.
This resort is located in Clearwater, Florida. It’s across the street from the beach (which all of them in this area are) and this didn’t end up being a big deal. The pool is on the 8th floor, so the kids weren’t running from pool to beach anyway. At the beach the city sets up chairs with umbrellas or these little tents. They range from $35/day to $80/day and you can charge it to your room. There’s not food service to your beach chair, but there are restaurants all along the ocean-front area. We tried both the burger and pizza place on the ground floor of the Hyatt. They were both great!
The resort had an activity calendar when we checked in with stuff going on poolside adhering the day to entertain the kids from a pop up snow cone stand to arts and crafts or games. There’s a toddler pool with a small fence and one big rectangular pool. There are awesome cabanas around the pool each with their own private bathroom, inside TV room and patio with table and loungers. These cost $399 per day. The hours are 10AM -8PM.
There’s a variety of rooms at the resort which are all oversized and include a kitchenette. Our room was all one room (some have a door between kitchen and bedroom) with 2 queen beds and a sleeper sofa. We mentioned at check-in that the 3 kids do not like to share a bed so they offered a blow up mattress in addition. (Roll-aways in our room category we’re a fire hazard) Perfect! All the rooms also have a balcony with table and chairs.
We ordered from Shipt and they dropped off our drinks, snacks and breakfast stuff with the bellhop who helped us with a cart to the room. It made it so easy to have things at our fingertips when the kids want for example a drink or snack every hour. Ha!
We did not rent a car did our stay. An XL Uber was about $50 each way. There’s plenty so close to the hotel so it ended up being over a $600 savings to not rent a car with the high rental car costs, parking and gas. There’s endless restaurants, shops and excursions within 1 mile of the hotel.
One of the favorites the kids did was the Pirate Ship Cruise. It departed about 2 blocks from the resort. It was about 2 hours long, included drinks, and the best part was they entertained the kids the whole time from telling jokes, having water gun fights and playing musical chairs. It was a great activity.
There were tons of other activities all leaving from this same marina as the pirate ship such as a shark themed dolphin cruise, parasailing, deep sea fishing, speed boat fours, jet skis and more. We were here during Spring Break and didn’t have any trouble getting activities booked with so many options available right there.
We had some great meals. Our absolute favorite? The Bait House. We heard about this place from several locals so we had to try it.
The restaurant sits on a dock and is tiny so plan to go early to be able to eat here. They said they can’t build on because they are grandfathered into their location. They serve fresh fish caught that day and are famous for their “drunken shrimp”. The shrimp come in a little pot in the yummy sauce and served with chunks of ciabatta bread.
The staff here were awesome. They have a few birds that hang out that they feed their bait to. It was fun and they let the kids feed one. One is named Skipper because he had a broken leg and now has a limp.
All in all it’s a great family destination and resort. We did go during Spring Break and some of the days were only in the low 70s. The adults thought it was too cold to swim but the kids didn’t care. They had a great kid’s room for movie nights and games.
It’s a great low key beach getaway.
