Romantic Getaway at Sheraton Sand Key: A Fabulous Hotel in Clearwater Beach

What are you looking for in a Clearwater Beach Hotel A private beach that is beautiful? Easy access to the best things to do around Clearwater? What about resort amenities and award-winning restaurants on site?

We selected Sheraton Sand Key as our anniversary resort in Clearwater/St. Pete. We put together a romantic three-day/two night itinerary that was based at the stunning Sheraton Sand Key Resort.

Our Clearwater Beach Hotel

Clearwater Beach is located on a barrier island that stretches 25 miles along Florida’s west coastline. Tampa is located at the rear of Florida’s biggest estuary, 400 sqm Tampa Bay. St. Petersburg, on the other hand, was built close to the mouth. We knew we were in a watery world as soon as we crossed the massive bridges over Tampa Bay and St Joseph’s Sound.

Clearwater Beach is consistently ranked Florida’s top beach city due to its beautiful beaches, the high-rise Clearwater Beach Hotels, and the abundance of activities. We found paradise by crossing the bridge from Clearwater to Sand Key. Also known as the quieter side of the beach, Sand Key is a wide, empty beach. Sand Key’s wide, empty beaches looked like a perfect place to start a romantic escape.

Our hostess informed us that the Suncoast Beach Trolley runs up and down the coastline from Tarpon Springs all the way to St. Pete Beach. Both stop at Sheraton Sand Key and were free to use with our room keys. We were ready for our favourite type of romantic getaway, a weekend without a car!

Enjoy Happy Hour and Sunset on Clearwater Beach

Clearwater Beach hosts Sunset Celebrations at Pier 60, which rival Mallory Square’s in the Keys. Pier 60 is a place of celebration for two hours before and after sunset. Music, movies, street performer, and crafters all converge to create a festive environment. The Jolly Trolley was free but we had our bikes so we rode to Clearwater Pass and checked out the party side.

We were still a bit early so we went to Jimmy’s on the Edge for happy hour. We enjoyed pina coladas and discounted appetizers while letting the stress of our week fade away. We watched Clearwater Pass from the Edge Hotel’s rooftop. Sunset Dolphin tours found a few pods by the jetty. A scuba boat was anchored with its dive flag out at the end. After finishing our drinks, we headed to Pier 60 to find more things to do.

The Acro Maniacs was the first act to catch our attention. The Brooklyn team is a group of concrete acrobats who perform without pads. The team has been performing this act for over 20 years, and they can still leap six children in one bound. This tells me how dangerous my office job is. We cruised around the craft stands at Pier 60 until the rainstorm arrived. Pier 60 is a great place to have fun, even if the summer rains cut our evening short.

Explore Dunedin

We wanted to spend our first day at Clearwater Beach exploring the north of the city. Jenn was here previously when she dived with sharks in the Florida Aquarium. This was my first time. The Jolley trolley or a bike would have been a great way to support this tour.

Dunedin was our destination, a small Scottish town located six miles from us on the Pinellas Trail. Highlight of the ride was the Causeway Bike trail crossing the Sound. The views of aqua blue water stretched as far as the eye could see.

Jenn’s memory of President’s Day weekend in Dunedin was not as quiet as she remembered it to be. We went to the Celtic Shop of Dunedin, just to see what was going on. The owner told us that Dunedin hosts festivals in the winter, but the city is quieter during the summer.

I bought a pin from Ireland with the Coleman family crest. I’m more likely to be on the English side, since my family can trace its roots back to early Virginia settlers. But that’s another story.

We enjoyed Dunedin even without bagpipers on the town square. Main Street is lined with mom and pop shops. The village is charming. Jenn insisted we go to the Dunedin Brewery and get wings.

Dunedin Brewery serves up a delicious plate of wings. The wings are deep-fried and served without breading (no marinating). You can choose from up to two dipping sauces. Delicious. We checked the weather and discussed our plans for the afternoon. The weather was threatening, so we decided to take the Pinellas trail the rest of our way to Tarpon Springs. We decided to return to the Sheraton Sand Key in order to observe the weather.

Tarpon Springs is a great place to soak.

The rain rolled into our hotel in Clearwater with a vengeance. As we drove towards Tarpon Springs, our windshield wipers couldn’t keep up. Tarpon Springs is centered around its historic sponge docks. These docks give the town its unique feel and a decidedly Greek look.

Greek divers started harvesting the prolific gardens of sponges in the early 1900s. Tarpon Springs became known as the Sponge Capital of the World after producing more than one million dollars of sponges per year.

Tarpon Springs has retained its Greek heritage, even though large-scale commercial spongeing was never again practiced. While strolling the historic docks we shopped for sponges and sampled Greek delights. Hellas Restaurant & Bakery was our favorite pastry shop, with mouth-watering gyros. The best gyro this side of Athens was served at Hellas Restaurant and Bakery.

Sunset at Sand Key Park

Sand Key Park is a beautiful county park located between Sheraton Sand Key, Clearwater Pass and offers public access to the beach. It’s so close to the Sheraton, we could walk down the beach.

We went to the beach at sunset in hopes of catching a glimpse dolphins playing along the jetty, just like they did the night before. This is a common occurrence, and with some luck and patience you might be able to catch a glimpse of dolphins. We might snorkel the jetty on a future trip, preferably during slack water, so that the visibility is optimal. We held hands and remembered our vows because it was our anniversary. Ed says, “From now on, Jenn will be my best friend, partner in crime and life, and my true love.”

Romantic Dinner at Rusty’s Bistro

Rusty’s Bistro, located inside the Sheraton Sand Key Hotel in Clearwater Beach, is one of Clearwater Beach’s best restaurants. We wanted to see for ourselves why this local legend won seven Golden Spoon Awards for the best dining experience in Florida. It was as romantic as it had been described to be.

Jenn chose the prime rib platter, which included tender prime rib with a rotating selection of sides. The sage and balsamic Brussel Sprouts were delicious. I chose bay scallops, which were juicy and full of flavor.

We were blown away by Rusty’s, so we met with their award-winning chef John to learn his secrets. The chef said that the family-like atmosphere was created by Russ Kimball and his management team. It was also the passion of staff, the high-quality ingredients and empowered employees.

John’s Pass Village by bike

We wanted to snuggle in the beds of Sheraton Sand Key all day. We learned that Florida’s summer biking season is best started early. We left our luggage at the bell desk and began biking south along Gulf Blvd.

Bellaire Beach is one of the small beach towns that lie just beyond Sand Key and Clearwater Beach hotels. John’s Pass Village provided water sports, retail shopping and waterfront dining. The ride was 20 miles along Gulf Blvd. It was the perfect morning ride. After lunch, we caught the trolley to return to the Sheraton. Each trolley was equipped with a front bike rack that made it easy to transport bikes.

Clearwater Beach

We asked the bell desk to store our luggage, as we had checked out earlier that day and did not want it to melt in our car. The front desk at the Sheraton offered to let us shower in the gym when we returned hot and sweaty. Nothing feels better than a cold shower after a Florida bike ride in the summer.

On the way back to town, we had one more thing in Clearwater that we wanted to do. We had ice cream first at Haze Ice Cream, and then ate an early dinner at The Bait House at Clearwater Beach Marina. The drunken shrimp was just as delicious as the view.

A VR Dali popup was also just across the road. The Dali Museum had a traveling exhibition that let you navigate through a Dali picture using virtual reality. This experience made us appreciate Dali’s work and we decided to visit the Dali Museum the next time we visited St. Pete. Our adventure was over and we headed back to Orlando.

What Makes the Sheraton Sand Key Hotel a Perfect Clearwater Beach Hotel

Why did we decide to stay at the Sheraton Sand Key hotel? It was the best of both. We had a real beach resort experience with the on-site amenities, such as a large swimming pool, private beach, and fantastic restaurants. The fun and celebrations of Clearwater are just a short distance away.

The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The view of the ocean from our balcony was always a welcome sight. The beds were also great. The beds were perfect. They had amazing pillows. (We’re both pillow snobs). The Sheraton Sand Key was the perfect place to sleep after all the biking.

It was a very special weekend for both of us. The Sheraton made our six-year wedding anniversary special. Sand Key, with its beautiful grounds and friendly staff is one of Clearwater’s most romantic attractions.