I just returned from a week in Florida and it was a great week away! We usually go to Fort Lauderdale if we are traveling to Florida, but this time we switched it up and went to Clearwater Beach and it was beautiful. Keep reading to get my Clearwater Beach travel recap, and to find out where we stayed and what we did while we were away.
Adam is a big fan of college football and particularly Auburn, so we went to Gainesville to see Auburn play Florida first thing in the trip. This was the true intention of our trip, but for every Auburn game we go to I usually try to squeeze a beach trip out of it as well. Unfortunately, Auburn lost against Florida, and it was unbearably hot at the game. I honestly don’t know how Florida fans suffer through that heat each week, but I give them credit for it. Despite the loss, I still felt in the team spirit with my dress that is perfect for any Auburn fan. The colors couldn’t be more perfect, and I also got these orange earrings to go with the dress.
Hotel
Now to the more exciting part: Clearwater Beach! For our trip, we stayed at the Edge Hotel Clearwater Beach. This hotel is right on the ocean on Clearwater Beach’s main street, South Gulfview Blvd. While the hotel is oceanfront, it is actually positioned on rocks instead of the beach, so we did have less than a 5 minute walk down to the beach. A large number of hotels in Clearwater Beach are either on the rocks or across the street from the beach, so this isn’t just specific to the Edge Hotel. I was initially worried that the walk to the beach would be bothersome, but it wasn’t bad at all. If you don’t feel like walking down to the beach, the good news is that the hotel has an outdoor pool area on the 6th floor. This area features a ton of lounge chairs, a large pool, a bar, and a small infinity pool that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. There is plenty of space in this area and complimentary towels at the front desk.
There are a variety of room options to choose from within the hotel, but we stayed in a King oceanfront room. The room was very spacious, clean and modern, and it also featured a personal balcony. The balcony overlooked the ocean and the hotel’s dock, as well as Sand Key Beach. Below is the view from our balcony:
The Edge Hotel also has a rooftop bar and restaurant on the 10th floor called Jimmy’s on the Edge. The bar is outdoors and has a food menu along with a drink menu. They have a great selection of island drinks – we got the Pina Colada and Mai Tai and both were very good. The bar overlooks the pool area as well as the ocean so you can get great views up there.
The last hotel perk is a complimentary breakfast every morning for guests. Complimentary breakfasts aren’t common at beach hotels so if you like to start your day off with breakfast then this is perfect for you. Unfortunately I can’t comment on the quality of the breakfast because I never woke up early enough to go (what can I say – I love to sleep in) but it is a nice option nonetheless.
The Beach
Clearwater Beach is a beautiful beach. The sand is almost white and incredibly soft, and it also never was too hot to walk on. The town does a great job at keeping the beach clean as they were raking the debris from the sand every morning and also provide plenty of garbage cans. The water is a beautiful green and blue color and is mostly clear which is always nice for swimming. As I have mentioned before there are rocks along the beach which gives it a pretty, natural look, and there are also plenty of palm trees, sand dunes, and beachgrass that separate the beach from the street. Since Clearwater Beach is west-facing, you can always count on a beautiful sunset which plenty of colors.
Things to Do
The great thing about Clearwater Beach is it is the perfect balance between touristy and a regular town. There are plenty of shops up and down South Gulfview Blvd, and attractions such as Pier 60. Pier 60 is a long pier that goes out into the gulf that features different merchandise stands along with a gift shop. There are great views of the beach and water on the pier, and if you pay $1 you can walk down to the very end of the pier. The end of the pier is a good spot to go to watch the sunset but also to see marine life. There are many fishermen at the end of the pier so you can catch a glimpse of the fish swarming around their fishing lines. One of the fishermen we were standing near said that they had seen about 5 sharks the day before swimming at the end of the pier, and we were able to spot 2 dolphins. So if you want to relax and have a chance to see any wild life, going down to the end of the pier is definitely worth it!
South Gulfview Blvd is lined with tons of restaurants and bars. There are so many different options, and many of the places feature open-air seating. We ate at Salty’s Island Bar & Grille, Jimmy’s on the Edge, Post Corner Pizza, and Taco Bus. All of the meals were good and next time we plan to go to Frenchy’s South Beach Cafe, which is a top spot in the area. Adam and I aren’t seafood eaters so I can’t give too many recommendations on restaurants, but there are plenty of options to choose from. There are a few ice cream shops along the boulevard, but I suggest going to Ice & Cream Creamery for homemade ice cream with good flavor options.
Overall our trip to Clearwater was amazing. The beach is beautiful and I would recommend our hotel to anyone I knew who was also visiting. I hope someone finds my Clearwater Beach travel recap helpful, and I will gladly answer any questions you may have. If you are interested in any of my looks from the trip, the links to the products are below. Our next trip is to Toronto in two weeks and I can’t wait to share a recap of that trip as well! Until next time!
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