Baby Blues – The View from Lajeune

We really enjoyed our recent vacation on the Florida Gulf Coast, specifically Clearwater Beach. James and I stayed for 7 nights and 6 days at the Sandpearl Resort, an elegant beach hotel with 253 guest rooms and suites, two restaurants, a café, an outdoor pool, a full-service spa, a fitness center, an outdoor fire pit, and plenty of amenities. Of family activities.

Incidentally, in Florida, all hotel patrons are automatically charged a room fee of $35 per day. According to the brochure, our daily fees at Sandpearl Resort cover the following:

2 bottles of water in room, Wireless Internet, Coffee in room, Pool towel services at resort pool and beach, Beach chairs for use on private resort beach, Fitness center, Bicycle rentals at resort, Daily newspaper, Shoe shine, Daily turndown service Center Business for your computer and printing needs, unlimited local calls and access to toll-free numbers.

This same brochure makes it very clear that the daily room fee does not replace tips or gratuities (smile).

But I digress… On our first day at the resort we ate at the Tate Island Grill – one of the only two restaurants at the resort – because we were so tired from traveling all day and hungry as hell (smile). I devoured a grilled chicken salad with a large gulp of ice water while staring out at the ocean in my street clothes.

On our second day we went to the activities desk where we were given two free beach lounge chairs and towels but were charged $30 for a beach umbrella. We soon discovered that the sun rose early and stayed out late, so a beach umbrella came in handy. Plus, if we feel too hot, we can always relax in the light blue ocean waters in front of us.

Besides the beach, we also found that we loved spending time at the hotel resort pool because the restaurant and bar were so close, the beach chairs sat near the edge of the pool, and the cool pool water was so good on my skin (smile).

When it comes to dining out, Caretta on the Gulf has the distinction of being “Clearwater’s Triple AAA Four Diamond Restaurant.” Lucky for us it was one of two restaurants at our resort. The sushi and sashimi we ordered on our first night were so fresh and delicious, we came back again later in the week for more.

Did I mention the sunset at Clearwater Beach?!? They were truly an event. People came from near and far to Pier 60 where you are charged $1 for a certain section of the pier to view the most stunning sunsets you may have ever seen.

The restaurants outside the resort were tasty and tasty too. There was so much to choose from, we had breakfast most mornings just outside the resort at the Clear Sky Beachside Café. Our breakfasts were large and consisted of two eggs with cheese, turkey sausage or Applewood bacon, grits, and an English muffin. Thank God for Orangetheory Fitness back home (smile).

Most days of the week, we would usually skip lunch (because we were still full from breakfast) and after a day at the pool or beach, we would shower, get dressed, and head straight to dinner. Whether you were at the resort at Caretta on the Gulf or off the resort at Blinkers Beachside or Crabby’s Hideaway, Clearwater Beach cuisine was worth writing about (smile).

After dinner, we either walked along the lively streets of Clearwater Beach or strolled down the beach at sunset with shoes in hand and sugary white sand between our toes.