Don CeSar-St Pete Beach

[Wonderlandmom]

I need advice on the rooms at the main resort. What is a standard like? Also, has anyone stayed at the Don CeSar Beach House next door? Trying to decide which way to go there! Thanks.

 

[DisneyPoly]

I haven't been there, but good friend has, I will ask her opinion and report back.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Thanks ! It will be my DH and our 2 kids. Not sure what is best. I booked a room but can change it accordingly.

 

[Rose Red]

We have stayed at both the main hotel and the beach house suites. The beach there is great! Very wide, white sand, and clean, never very crowded. Not much surf, unless a storm comes in.
The beach house suites are very nice and well equipped, with great beach views. The only negative is that they only have 1 bedrooms and studios. The 1 bedrooms do have a queen and single fold out sofa, but the living area is small, so it can get cramped when the beds are set up. There are 2 baths though. Everything is included, kitchen utensils and washer and dryer. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They used to have grocery delivery also.
The main hotel is beautiful and casually elegant. The rooms have been refurbished and though small have lots of charm and amenities. The pools are large, the beach bar has great food. I think they are still refurbishing the pool area, they have a note on their website.
We have been going there for years, and although expensive (the hotel, the suites are very reasonable) its a great hotel and the best in the area! The service, food and beach are great!

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Thanks so much for replying Rose Red! You are just who I need for info! I had booked the main hotel and DH wanted to keep that ! Pool refurbishing should be complete this month, well ahead of our June visit! Will we be out of place with our children? I am interested in the children's programs too. Any info?? What is a standard room(2 double beds) like? I read they just refurbished them with about $60,000 per room update! Any other tips or info? Thanks SO much !I can hardly wait-sounds like Grand Floridian plus on the beach !!!

 

[Rose Red]

We have 2 children, boy and girl (8 &10) We got two connecting partial gulf view rooms, one king/1 with 2 queens, so that we could have 2 baths. The rooms are small, but well laid out with the desk and entertainment center and closet all built in to one wall. The furnishings are better than the Grand Floridian, but the rooms are smaller. The hotel is very old, so I've been told that the rooms vary in size. Not sure how many children you have and how long you will be there, but you may want to get 2 rooms, or consider the beach house suites. Quite frankly one room for a week would get cramped, but it depends how much you stay in your room. We are usually at the beach all day long.
Every year I try to get the kids to go to the children's activities, but they always want to stay with us, and we also have family reunions with lots of cousins to play with. I'm afraid I can't be much help on that.
You will feel very comfortable with children. In fact, the pools are filled with them! Don't miss the ice cream shop/candy shop in the hotel. We always reserve beach cabanas (I think they were $15/day) for some shade. The pool bar serves breakfast also, so we usually ate outside every morning. They also have free coffee/tea in the lobby in the morning. They will bring food and nonalcohol drinks to the beach, but St. Pete has a local ordinance forbidding alcohol at the beach. But you can bring it down yourself. Their drinks are super!
There are plenty of beach towels at the pool and they offer ice water as well. They used to have noodles and kickboards, but I don't remember seeing them last year.
This summer we are doing another family reunion and we have reserved a two bedroom suite (it was cheaper than the two connecting gulf front rooms). They offer some good packages though.
We have never really eaten dinner there, because we always go out to other places that are more casual. There is a place in St. Pete' Beach called Ted Peters that has excellent smoked fish as well as great burgers. There are plenty of places to eat. Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Rose Red]

We have 2 children, boy and girl (8 &10) We got two connecting partial gulf view rooms, one king/1 with 2 queens, so that we could have 2 baths. The rooms are small, but well laid out with the desk and entertainment center and closet all built in to one wall. The furnishings are better than the Grand Floridian, but the rooms are smaller. The hotel is very old, so I've been told that the rooms vary in size. Not sure how many children you have and how long you will be there, but you may want to get 2 rooms, or consider the beach house suites. Quite frankly one room for a week would get cramped, but it depends how much you stay in your room. We are usually at the beach all day long.
Every year I try to get the kids to go to the children's activities, but they always want to stay with us, and we also have family reunions with lots of cousins to play with. I'm afraid I can't be much help on that.
You will feel very comfortable with children. In fact, the pools are filled with them! Don't miss the ice cream shop/candy shop in the hotel. We always reserve beach cabanas (I think they were $15/day) for some shade. The pool bar serves breakfast also, so we usually ate outside every morning. They also have free coffee/tea in the lobby in the morning. They will bring food and nonalcohol drinks to the beach, but St. Pete has a local ordinance forbidding alcohol at the beach. But you can bring it down yourself. Their drinks are super!
There are plenty of beach towels at the pool and they offer ice water as well. They used to have noodles and kickboards, but I don't remember seeing them last year.
This summer we are doing another family reunion and we have reserved a two bedroom suite (it was cheaper than the two connecting gulf front rooms). They offer some good packages though.
We have never really eaten dinner there, because we always go out to other places that are more casual. There is a place in St. Pete' Beach called Ted Peters that has excellent smoked fish as well as great burgers. There are plenty of places to eat. Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

WOW! You are wonderful to share all this info I am craving !
My DS will be 11 and DD 7 by the time we make the trip. We will be there 5 days. We spend most of our time in the pool or beach when staying at the beach. I may call and inquire about the other options. They did say there were some small rooms we could not have because they were too small for 4, so I am not even sure what I have booked !
How do you dress for this place? Do I need to pull out my "cruisewear"? Or is "anything" ok? I would think I would tend to dress nicer at this place!?
I really appreciate the help. I am about to burst to go now !

 

[Rose Red]

You don't really need to dress up, just the usual beach/resort wear. Coverups and shoes are required in the lobby. They have an elevator down on the ground level by the pool, so you don't really have to go through the main lobby in your dripping swimming suit. I saw people in everything.
I can't wait to see the pool refurbishment. They used to have one of the pools designated as an "adult" pool, but I didn't see any signs last year. It usually gets packed at the pool by afternoon. We always enjoyed the beach because it is not nearly so crowded and also we think that if you are going to the beach, you should enjoy it!
I'm excited just talking about it, especially since it is so cold today!
We are on are way to WDW for spring break in 2 weeks. We are going to the "Don" in August. I usually add on a few days to Disney, since it is so close and we fly to Florida. This year we decided to go WDW when it is cooler and stick to the beach in August. But with all the discount codes, I'm eyeing another side trip to the world in August also. Haven't booked my flights yet so there is still some wiggle room. Are you combining this with a trip to WDW?

 

[Wonderlandmom]

You read my mind again and answered my questions! I wondered how to get out without being seen in the lobby ! It took my awhile to figure that one out at WL in Dec.!!

We only live 4 hours from WDW so this will be a seperate trip(about 5 hours from home to St. Pete beach). Was at the world 3 times last year, TRYING to make ourselves do something different for awhile . Won't last long though(Dec??) . In fact I will be going with DS 5th grade class to Epcot next month for the day ! It IS hard to pass up with all these specials, that is why we went so often last year!
It will be in the 20's here tomorrow morning . I guess that is why I am SO excited and anxious about this trip! Thank you again ! You really have made me feel more at ease about the whole "Don" experience !