Paradise at the end of the street: My epic staycation on Lido Beach
June 10th, 2009 by Susan Nilon in Sarasota-Manatee
Each year my husband and I like to get away, just the two of us, for one long weekend to spend with each other. So our son heads over to Grandma’s and we pack our bags and join the thousands of others who hit the road searching for a little rest and relaxation. But the thought occurred to us that by the time we travel to and fro, we usually need a vacation from our vacation.
Destinations like the Florida Keys and the Bahamas always come up when we run through the places that we would like to go. But this year, we thought that we might be missing out on what thousands of others are already taking advantage of… the beautiful sun and surf here in Sarasota. Like many of us, we’ve cut down on unnecessary expenditures over the recent years. So in that spirit, we thought that one of the ways we could trim not only the budget, but also the travel time from our trip was to think local.
And the more we thought about it, the more we liked the idea. Having a staycation might just be the right way to not get bogged down with all of the preparation that goes into a long-distance vacay.
Hardly any prep was needed. It didn’t matter what time we left because we didn’t have far to go. We didn’t even make reservations. We just threw our bags in the car and headed out to Lido Beach. And it didn’t matter if we forgot to pack something, because we could always run home to get it. It was total spontaneity when we stopped at the first hotel that we came across, the Lido Beach Resort. We walked right in and asked about availability. The rate was good and because we are residents of Florida, a discount applied.
Our stay was wonderful. The rooms were well-appointed and the view of the ocean was exquisite. Five minutes after arriving in our room, the front desk called to see if we were happy with our accommodations. Why wouldn’t we be?
We stayed in a one-bedroom suite with a balcony overlooking the koi pond. We could watch the summer rains that came within minutes throughout the course of the day. We would sit on our balcony listening to the music from below while we watched the storms roll in. The rain didn’t bother us because we were able to amuse ourselves with out ever leaving the resort. Several restaurants, a tiki bar, three hot tubs, and two large swimming pools made us feel like we were in another world. We watched the fabulous Sarasota sunset up on the eighth floor, at the Lido Beach Grille, while wine was being poured and appetizers were being served.
On our final night, we ventured off of the property for a stroll around St. Armands Circle. Dinner at The Crab & Fin had a whole new meaning when you have the mindset of a tourist. Shopping on the circle became much more liberating when we knew how much we would have spent on our trip if we had left the area. And knowing that the money we did spend stayed local… helping our neighbors reap benefits, too.
And for the record, the hotel did its fair share to promote Sarasota. From the copies of Sarasota Magazine and SRQ made available to us in our room, the concierge was always willing to point us in the direction of the fun we were looking for.
Our staycation was one of the most relaxed vacations that we have ever had. There are so many wonderful places to stay in the Sarasota area; why would you ever think of travel again?
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