We spent 7 nights here with a 16 year old in tow for a bit of relaxation after Disney! Great position as a very short drive (5 mins or so) into St Armands Circle and a pretty quick drive into Sarasota proper - I would suggest that a car is a must for getting around. The hotel is OK but is nothing exceptional, it's a bit jaded - the pool area is tatty, new furniture, parasols and a new bar itself wouldn't go amiss although the pool is fine! The hotel restaurant was exceptionally quiet so we decided to give it a miss but breakfast and lunches were very good (top tip - share a maincourse at lunchtime as the portions are huge!) We had a huge 'room', better described as an 'apartment' - huge balcony overlooking the sea with furniture, nice and quiet, very comfortable bed, good furnishings, well appointed bathroom and a fully fitted kitchen. My only gripe was the air-con which was incredibly old and so noisy it was unbelievable - literally woke us up every time it clicked on / off - our son who was sleeping on a sofa bed in the sitting room had real problems with his sleep quality! The best part for us was the beach, and in particular the 'beach boys' who gave us great service finding loungers / putting up parasols etc! The sea and beach were gorgeous! After chatting with guests (mostly Americans) it was clear that a lot of guests were 'old timers' who visited year after year, perhaps you don't notice the cracks after a while? The golf was excellent, two quite different courses, and extremely enjoyable! (Second top tip, take your clubs!) We ate out in St Armands Circle every evening and had superb food at a different place every evening - enjoy!

My husband and I were searching for a weekend FL beach location since we live in the Midwest. This hotel fit the bill. We loved our room, pool and beach. The rooms were very clean and stylish. The beach has wait staff which will bring you food and drinks which allowed us to really relax. We also spent a lot of time paying golf and tennis. The Longboat Key Tennis Gardens was so accommodating. The tennis concierge matched me up as a single while my husband played golf, with a group of ladies for doubles. They have a beautiful facility with hard and clay courts. My only caution is the hotel does not endorse restaurants were they do not have a partnership, so the concierge staff will push certain restaurants and not others. Just use Tripadvisor to find a place to eat. All in all a great getaway.

Stayed here in August for 4 nights, the hotel is in a nice location, and the beach is gorgeous but for the money and it being a five star we won't go again.
Good: view from the room was beautiful looking out over the Gulf.
Upgraded us to a suite after our night of hell with the aircon unit.
Felt very safe with our daughter who is six.

The bad bits
Needs modernising from the outside, 4 grey blocks of concrete looking from the beach.
Huge air conditioning unit sits inside the room in a vented cupboard, didn't notice it when we popped in and out during the first day, but at night!!!! Imagine yourself just drifting off in your bed to sleep and someone starts a jet engine up as the air on fan kicks in to cool the room down every 20 minutes or so, my wife jumped through the roof every time it kicked in, switched it to re circulate which was a little less intrusive, then to top off the nights events at 7:30 am someone decided that they were going to do some major roof work which sounded like they were drilling thru the ceiling of our room, a swift complaint to reception who said they would investigate and phone back ended in a phone call back to say they were in aware of any work going on, but if we liked she would move us to a club suite and would send a bell hop up straight away with the new cards.
Air con in the room is by the door and as the suite's are significantly bigger you don't notice it, either that or the aircon unit in our previous rm was goosed, happy bunnies but not for us again
I'm sure it's a great hotel and have lots of people who love the place but unfortunately this one we won't be back.

This was our 5th stay and the resort never disappoints. Consistently great service from all staff, impeccably clean accommodations, and delicious food make Longboat Key Club one of our most favorite places to stay. You can't beat the location, directly on the beach. Our favorite are the "club suites" with lots of extra space - huge patios, full sized kitchen table, washer/dryer, and a gigantic bathroom. Although we enjoy the gulf view (beachfront) accommodations, we prefer the bay view rooms. The bay is full of manatees and jumping fish, it's fun to watch! Oh, and plenty of covered parking at this resort, at no extra charge.