This was our first stay at the Lido Beach Resort (March 24-28, 2008). The hotel was completely booked and busy due to Spring break for many families. As a frequent traveler, my expectations are fairly high, and the Lido Beach Resort did not disappoint. I commend the staff and give an "Excellent" rating due to this being such a busy week for the hotel, yet the service and facility were excellent for the entire stay.

We had a special (and inconvenient) request for housekeeping that was promptly and professionally responded to. This seemed to be generally characteristic of the service provided by the staff. Service at the pool-side bar and cafe was friendly and responsive. I did not feel we were being “price gouged” at every turn. The food and drinks in the restaurants and bars were very good and reasonably priced. We did not dine at the Lido Beach Grill on the 8th floor (formerly Christopher’s), but heard other guests comment favorably on the food and service.

The property itself is modern and well kept. I highly recommend a beach-front room in the South Tower. The room was very spacious for the four of us, the kitchenette is nicely equipped, and the balcony is spacious with an outstanding view. The facility itself has very attractive public areas, and other than being busy around the pools, you never really felt as though the hotel was full. The room was also very quiet at night. We may have just hit it lucky with good neighbors around us, but some good planning for noise reduction must have been put into the South Tower construction. At night, we never heard anything from the rooms on either side of us, below us, or above us. To the chagrin of some guests, the pool bar does not stay open late, so outside of the room was quiet every night after 10p.m. This is definitely a family friendly resort, however I would not hesitate to stay there as a couple. There are two pools, one of which is reserved for guests 18 years and older.

We used the Resort’s complimentary shuttle to St. Armand’s Circle on a couple of occasions, then walked back (it is an easy walk). The shuttle was always prompt and the drivers were helpful with shopping and dining suggestions. Paige at the concierge desk was great. We were not able to get a table at the Tropical Cafe at Tonny Bahama's, so she recommended and reserved a table for us at Hemmingway’s Retreat (which was excellent), and she took the time to follow-up with me on my cell phone and also left a message in the room. The Resort’s close proximity to St. Armand’s Circle is ideal. We had fun shopping and dining at "The Circle" each night.

We really had to work hard to come up with anything negative about our stay. The only thing we could think of was a coffee spill/stain on the balcony was not cleaned by housekeeping for two days, and towels were not available one morning when the pool opened (but did show up within 30 minutes). I'm somewhat embarrassed to even mention those things because they were such minor “nits” in a week when most hotels would have had a hard time handling the busy period. I think that speaks volumes about The Lido Beach Resort being a well-managed establishment with a well-trained and excellent staff.

Prior to our stay, we debated whether we should have tried the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, but have already decided to book the Lido Beach Resort for our next Florida vacation. The Lido Beach Resort is a beautiful property, in a great location, with a high level of service, and based on our experience, has earned its #1 Trip Advisor rating.

This is a nice family resort, on the beach with good amenities and attentive staff. We were upgraded to a 2 bedroom 2 bath suite (no real explaination but who would complain!) and it was really nice. Your basic Florida decor, lots of pastels and tile, couches a bit old, but great beds and linens. Wonderful view of the gulf from the balcony.
Finally - an adult pool!!! The kiddies had a large pool too and it was so nice to relax without getting zonked on the head by beach balls. The outdoor cafe/bar had good burgs, salads and drinks. The beach offered cabanas & chaise ($15 day) which was ideal one day. The sun was brutal but welcoming after a snowy NH winter.
The location is close to St. Armand's Circle (on-demand shuttle from hotel) which is wonderful for shopping, people watching and good food. One night we snacked at a really cool upstairs Lebanese restaurant (Cafe Galante) and watched a beautiful young woman belly dance as we sipped wine.
If you're looking for a nice hotel on the beach, (but not up to the standards of say a Renaissance Vilnoy/St. Petersburg) this won't disappoint.

We just got back from Lido Beach Resort for a 4 day stay. We had a awesome experience. We are a family of 3. Mom, Dad and 6 year old daughter. The resort was beautiful. The rooms were spacious. We stayed in a room with 2 queens and a small kitchenette. It was perfect. We had a room that had the common balcony, which was nice, each room had 2 chairs by the door. When we put our daughter to bed, we could enjoy listening to the ocean and be right next to our room, and let her fall asleep.

The beds were very comfy! The staff was very accomodating.

We did not eat at the resort, althought the menu looked yummy! The koi pond between the 2 buildings was a fun place for our 6 year old to look for the fish and go over the bridges.

The pool was nice. It was great her being 6, that she could swim, having smaller children would not have been as easy, because there were a few steps that went down into a 3 foot section.

The beach acess was great. There are shells galore! Make sure you walk up to the public beach. There is powder white sand about 1/4 mile up from the hotel. Also, driving down to Siesta Beach is well worth the trip!!!

We booked two de luxe studio suites on high floors for a lot of money,If you add all the taxes and charges to our bills they look pretty daunting.The good--wonderful beach, kid free pool area,nice feel about the resort and the area,free upgrade to one bed suite ie seperate bedroom.The problems-Hard floors,in this day and age you can't do it,theres too many high heels tapping around at all hours and next to us a couple of toddlers who perpetually pushed the dining chairs around,making a wonderful purping noise all the time.The traffic areas,corridors,have carpet so it can't be that sand is a problem,but noise certainly was for us.We would have moved out if we had not been given the suite with seperate bedroom but this did at least have carpet on the bedroom floor,where's the logic in that?The other noise problem was the band who play by the bar about 3 afternoons a week,I was having an afternoon snooze in the bedroom at the back when I was woken by the music yet they are playing for people who are sitting only 10 ft away from them and we were at the back on the 10th floor.My daughter in law,in another room and unknown to me rang down and complained-they turned it down then up again 10 minutes later.
There's some foolish things-the pool bar area is only half the size it should be and is very crowded and often impossible to find a seat-The restaurant was so cold we asked for it to be warmer and the young girl running breakfast said"good idea I'm freezing"-main bar indifferent service and very pricey.Having said all of this we very much enjoyed Sarasota and the good parts of the hotel but for the price we would expect slightly more common sense in the areas I've outlined.