the don cesar
The Pink Palace. The ultimate girls’ trip destination. A place I would love to stay with my husband. All these things are The Don CeSar in St. Pete Beach, Florida. After visiting The Don CeSar on a fabulous mother-daughter trip with my mom and sister, I am sold on this charming vacation spot and hope to return! We had the best time celebrating some big life things and visiting a few newly acquired family members lucky enough to live in St. Petersburg, FL. If you have the chance to visit the St. Petersburg area, an easy 30 minute drive from the Tampa airport, I highly recommend checking out The Don (as the locals call it) for a stay or at least a drink at the Lobby Bar.
The entrance to The Don is grand. From the first view of the pink exterior to the elevated driveway to the front door, it all brings an excitement to enter the hotel. The entrance is also where the impeccable service of the hotel starts. The valet team is fast, helpful and brings a warm welcome to the property. Upon entering The Don, the reception desk is the first stop to check in. It is nestled in the fun decor of the lobby with a direct view of the fabulous Lobby Bar (more to come on that later in the post). We stayed in the Luxury Two Queen rooms, but there are ample accommodation options, including rooms with impeccable beach views, balconies, and suites. At check-in we also learned about the unique and spacious Beach House Suite options just down the road from the main property (check it out HERE). Our hotel rooms were cute; clean and updated with an airy beach vibe that graciously showcased the historic charm of the hotel. However, with all The Don’s amenities and fun local attractions, there is little time to be spent in the hotel room.
After a quick change into our swimsuits, we hurried to check out the pools and beach. On our way, we were immediately greeted by the cutest courtyard at the heart of The Don – one of my favorite spots. It is the perfect place to admire the hotel, from the pink and white canopies to the twinkle lights on the trees at night. It is the area that leads to the hotel’s pools and beach area.
After the courtyard, the first stop on the way to the beach is the pool area. It is fantastic. With two pools, more than enough chairs to accommodate guests, towel service, and perfect beach pool vibes, it is easy to spend the day out here. And don’t worry, guests at The Don don’t go hungry or thirsty because the food and drink service are just as good as everything else. We tried a lot of the food and drink options, including the delicious frozen cocktails, flatbread, and cheeseburger with fries (let’s just say it was definitely a cheeseburger in paradise). My only complaint in this department is that the hotel does not have Diet Coke, so if you can’t sip the Pepsi, BYODC. From the pool area, it is just a few short steps to the beach – another glorious outdoor amenity at The Don.
The beach area at The Don is stunning. From the clear green-blue water to the picturesque pink and white striped towels, it is the perfect place to spend a beach day. In addition to the scenery, The Don makes enjoying the beach easy with chair and umbrella service (that came with our room), food and drink service from friendly staff, beach toys for the littles, and jet ski, kayak and paddle board rentals for the more adventurous. The beach is also great for long seaside strolls to check out the rest of bustling St. Pete Beach or the laid back vibes of Pass-A-Grille beach. After the day is done and it’s time to leave the beach, there are plenty of other amenities of The Don to enjoy.
One of the indoor areas we enjoyed the most at The Don was the Lobby Bar. It is welcoming, yet maintains an elevated, breezy vibe. The cocktails are expertly crafted and the wine pours are generous. Whenever we visited the bar, the crowd was lively. The Lobby Bar is also a great space to spend some time between plans. The night we had reservations at Maritana, the restaurant in The Don, we enjoyed the Lobby Bar while we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. And even better was that after our dinner, we went back to the Lobby Bar to the enjoy live music from a local artist that eventually led to an all-out dance party in the bar. It was a blast! Beyond the Lobby Bar there are other indoor activities at The Don, like getting ice cream at Uncle Andy’s market (that is also a little grocery store with snacks, toiletries etc.), working up a sweat at the luxurious workout center, indulging in a spa service, perusing the boutique-style shops and dining at the in-hotel restaurants.
With our quick trip of only two nights and wanting to experience as much of The Don as possible, we did not get to explore much of the town. However, the few places we did visit are recommendation worthy. On our drive in from Tampa, we stopped for lunch at The Salt Shack. It was the perfect welcome to the beach with its views of the bay, breezy seating area, and let’s get the party started vibes. The tasty, laid back breakfast we had at the local-favorite Paradise Grille was another great meal. We loved the casual picnic tables and sound of the waves with our tasty breakfast to start the day. And we ended our trip with a fun dinner at another local favorite, The Island Grille & Raw Bar. Next time we visit (because there will definitely be a next time), we will spend more time exploring all that St. Petersburg has to offer.