Where did the time go?! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been home for 3 months and are now preparing to head back to Thailand. Our time here has been a complete blur and there are so many things that we wanted to do while home that we now realize we won’t have time to do. We hoped to have time for a road trip on the east coast and also planned to visit my brother in TN but our time is quickly running out. We also just spontaneously booked flights to visit Charlie’s family in Washington DC which we are really excited about, but that also means we are down to one more weekend left in Florida. We thought we would be spending most of our days here on the boat or at the beach, but truthfully we’ve only made it on the boat less than a handful of times to catch some scallops and our first trip to the beach was just last weekend! Our days have been filled with mostly work, trying to catch up after gallivanting around Europe and then Colorado. Now that it is hitting us that we are leaving in just two weeks, we are rushing to fit in some of those things we promised we’d do while home.
Fortunately, last weekend we were presented with an opportunity to kill a few birds with one stone. A good friend and former coworker was getting married on Clearwater Beach which meant not only did we get to witness a beautiful ceremony, but we would be able to finally spend some time on the beach and also catch up with other friends that would be attending the wedding as well.
We chose to stay at the Treasure Island Ocean Club, a quaint hotel right on one of the most beautiful beaches in Florida. The Tampa Bay area has plenty of gorgeous beaches to offer, but Treasure Island has always ranked at the top for me. It has such a relaxed vibe compared to many of the surrounding beaches, yet its only minutes away from the action when you want it. Its also one of the few remaining alcohol-friendly beaches in the area. Conveniently, the beach trolley that runs all the way from Clearwater Beach to Pass-a-Grille stops directly in front of the hotel. At $2 per person per ride or $4.50 for an all day pass, we parked Old Blue at the hotel and allowed the trolley to chauffeur us around town all weekend. This was especially handy for the open bar wedding night 😉
We had a lovely room with a king size bed and a private balcony facing the beach, which was perfect for drinking our coffee in the mornings with nothing but the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. In the evening, we were presented with some of the most spectacular sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. If you have never seen a Florida sunset, you truly don’t know what you are missing.
The room was fairly standard for a beach hotel – nothing fancy, but it was clean and cozy which is exactly what we were looking for. We spent our days going back and forth between the beach and the pool at the hotel. As much as I love the beach, I can only handle so much salty water before I’m ready for a refreshing dip in the pool. Not only was the pool so crystal clear and inviting, but the tropical environment surrounding the pool was just the Florida charm we’ve been missing the past year. They had plenty of lounge chairs to accommodate everyone with plenty of room to spread out and not feel crowded. There were grills available for use, as well as shuffle board and corn hole if you need to exert some energy. We were perfectly content just lounging in our chairs though!
We did eventually remove ourselves from the lounge chairs to head to the wedding where we had an amazing time catching up with friends. We also spent some time at the Clearwater Super Boat National Championships which happened to be going on that weekend, but more about that later!
Treasure Island Ocean Club was the perfect accommodation for our Treasure Island Beach weekend getaway. It’s in a perfect location on the sugary, white sand beach and just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. You have days worth of swimming, shelling, snorkeling, parasailing or even just sunbathing right out the back door. Whether you are a couple, family or even solo traveller looking for affordable accommodations on one of the Tampa Bay area beaches, we recommend checking this place out. A huge thanks to the gracious staff that helped us in answering our many questions and navigating the trolley system!
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For a video tour of our room and a peak at what’s to come on the blog, don’t miss the video!
If you would like to make reservations at the Treasure Island Ocean Club, check out their website or give them a call +1-727-360-5541.