I used my Priority Club points to stay 3 nights at this dump, and I couldn't have been more disappointed. I don't know if I got a bad room or what (#314), but this had to be the WORST Holiday Inn I have stayed in ever. The room looked like it hadn't been updated for 20 years. And it was so small we barely had room to move around in it. It was also right across from the world's loudest ice machine. Don't even try to go out on the balcony if cigarette smoke bothers you as there always seemed to be a neighboring guest on a smoke break. Also, the hotel is not directly on the beach but across the street, so if you like to leave your balcony doors open like we do at night to hear the ocean, be prepared to hear cars all night long. And do they not understand how hard it is to carry beach gear and open the doors? Those tiny glass doors were in dire need of lubrication, but really automatic doors like at a grocery store or any upscale hotel is what they need. The Sunday brunch is overpriced and nothing outstanding, in fact my wife came down with food poisoning during our stay that we think is from the restaurant. Getting in and out of the hotel via car is traffic nightmare with the St. Armond's circle right there. The only positive I can think of is the restaurant on the 7th floor has a nice view. Finally, when we requested a late checkout, the Front Desk denied us stating there was a big group coming in shortly. When I went to check out, I overhear the Front Desk granting another person a late check out! When I asked why, the guy scrambled to come up with the excuse that the person was a "Platinum" priority Club member and they get pretty much whatever they want. [--] Next time we will definitely be avoiding this area and sticking to Siesta Key.

This was a great location - I got an oceanview room with a fantastic view of the gulf and the beach. Of course the only cold front of the year came through the two days that I stayed, but what are you gonna do?

One complaint - the bathtub drain was clogged when I got in. I mentioned it to housekeeping, and it still wasn't fixed when I checked out the next day. All in all though, I felt pretty good about the stay.

The restaurant was nice - breakfast choices on the buffet were pretty limited though. If you're trying to stay healthy, there are several nice restaurants right around the corner at St. Armand's Circle with much better fare.

We stayed here for 3 nights in July in the middle of a 2 week Orlando holiday for a little break from all the activities. The hotel is in a great location across the lightly used road from the wonderful beach & Gulf Coast waters which we went to every day, and just a 10 minute walk from the St. Armand’s Circle shops & restaurants.

We had an excellent Gulf View room with a little balcony, the fittings and fixtures were all of a good order though one thing I disliked was that on Holiday Inn’s website it states fridges are in the rooms when in fact they’re not, you have to phone up for one and they charge you daily which I found annoying.

The free wireless internet was easy to set up and was an excellent connection though you have to repeatedly set it up every 24 hours, the Marriott in Orlando we stayed at kept you set up for the duration of your stay.

The Housekeeping was done well every day and we had no cause to complain there.

We didn’t use the pool area as it was too deep for our young daughter but when you have that wonderful ocean across the road it doesn’t matter too much.

The bar area is nice and we used it in the early evenings when they have ½ price drinks for several Happy Hours! One thing I thought was odd though was that they don’t have a Bar menu for eats or snacks.

The rooftop restaurant looks very nice though we didn’t venture in as our young daughter is only 5 and we thought it to be a little quiet / formal for her.

We dined at Columbia (superb steak & fresh fish), 15 South (Lovely pasta & fresh fish and outstanding service), Cha Cha Coconuts (ok food, very casual with good live music but unfortunately we had an abysmal waiter that night). We also had lunch in Blue Dolphin Café (lovely sandwiches and good service) and Kilwin’s Ice Cream & confectionery store is…..how can I put it……legendary, you won’t need directions just look for the crowd outside and the line up inside, I thought I was back at Disneyworld for a minute :-)

St. Armand’s Circle prices are certainly on the higher end of the scale and this was much more expensive than Orlando but we thought of it as a treat though I’m not sure the credit card could handle an extended stay!

Downtown Sarasota is just a short drive away but when we went for a look there was a crazy thunderstorm, so we made a soggy retreat to the hotel and didn’t see too much of it.

All in all an excellent spot for a short break and highly recommended.

This hotel is in a great location on the Lido Key Beach. It is actually across the street from the beach, but not a problem. We had an upper floor gulf view room with a balcony. The view was fantastic and the sand/shell combination was perfect. The room was clean, but could use some minor updates. The door to the bathroom did not stay fully closed, because the door jam was missing a spacer where the latch goes. The house keeping was ok, but for some reason they could not remove the bar of soap that stuck to the sink counter on our first day. We liked the pool and enjoyed a nice dinner at the restaurant with an excellent sunset view of the gulf. The only reason we did not give them a 5 star rating is because we had to have a refrigerator moved to our room at added cost and we had to go down the block to use a business center at their sister hotel just to check e-mail. This hotel was a good value and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I think we will be back again someday.