We did a timeshare swap in Nov, 2011. My wife and I had a wonderful experience. The location was great, with the Publix mkt almost across the st.nwe were able to stock up for breast and lunch. Dinner ay nite down @ St. Armand's Circle was tremendous. Our 2bed 2 bath was great kitchen done over and views even from side balcony super. Very clean with great pool and beach. We will return

We went to Longboat Key at the urging of friends from England who got a bayside place through their time share exchange. We were fortunate enough to get a week on the gulf side at Veranda. It was an incredible time! Our huge balcony faced east, so we had a view of tennis courts, the main thoroughfare, and a large pond - but that was no problem. The rooms were spacious and comfortable and we had plenty of room for entertaining our guests from England. During our stay we took advantage of the free bicycles and fishing rods (we caught flounder from the pier 50 yards down the beach - "quick, go get some butter from the Publix across the street!" Hubby was back in 10 minutes - talk about convenient - and delicious!) On the days when the wind and waves were not stirring up the ocean floor, you could see beautiful schools of fish. I did get hit by a sting ray on the foot when I was so excited to show my daughter some sea life that I wasn't paying attention - incredibly painful, so be careful and shuffle your feet. Our friends on the bayside did have manatees in their cove, which was really neat, but we all agreed that the Veranda was the place to be!

We visited friends staying at Veranda Beach Club for 1 week during June. 2/2 condo has a nice split layout, large balcony, plesant furnishings, plenty of kitchen space for entertaining. Second floor, mid section of the building was quiet & comfortable. Beach is nice, but not sugar white sand such as Anna Maria or Siesta Key. Certainly nice though with beach loungers & umbrellas provided. Loved the Hobie cat sailboats for guest use! Great Longboat location, close to shopping, walk to grocery, access to downtown, marinas, etc. The drawback: Pool area is partially covered at beachfront lower level, therefore can be very loud if lots of screaming kids are present with parents who ignore them.

My wife and I decided to take our mothers on a week long vacation with our 1 year old. The two bedrooms and pullout sofa came in handy. The beach is beautiful and the sand is made up of fine grains. The beach club provides umbrellas and lounge chairs which made for comfortable days on the beach. The pool is also half under cover so you can retreat from the sun while swimming during the mid day. Furnishings are a little dated but accceptable. We liked having a kitchen to cook in and also liked having access to gas grill for grilling. The supermarket across the street was a plus as well.