WHERE WE STAYED IN SIESTA KEY

Siesta Key is an island just off the west coast from Sarasota. We had read that it had the best beach in the USA and a friend had also recommended it to us. It turned out to be a great place and the recommendations were spot on. However, because of this, we found getting accommodation for the days we were there was tough.

Part of the problems is that many of the holiday homes on Siesta Key are only let on a weekly (or even monthly) basis and so if you want an odd number of days (5 in our case) you are limited somewhat.

We really wanted a condo instead of a hotel and had read a lot about the Banana Bay Resort on the south end of the key. We called them and they were full but the nice lady who I spoke to suggested we book in at Siesta Key Bungalows just up the road as it was new - luckily they had space so we were able to book it.

Siesta Key has a lagoon running down its centre and Siesta Key Bungalows is located on the lagoon facing west. It is about 2-3 miles south of the main beach on the right hand side of Midnight Pass Road.

All the ‘bungalows’ are 1 bedroom with a sofabed in the living area and they all have a kitchen. They seem to vary in size but we were lucky to get the largest one (called ‘Catamaran’) which also has a view of the lagoon from the living room. We felt that the ones closer to the lagoon were the better as you had the view and there was no noise from the road (some of the ones a little closer to the road may have been slightly noisy).

They are painted a slightly odd pink and but inside the owners have made a lot of effort to create a contemporary and relaxed feel. We thought they had done it all out very nicely indeed.

The place is very new and it had a slightly amateur feel to it at times (for example, the cutlery and crockery didn’t match) but we found this to be very refreshing compared to the usual corporate efficiency of a chain hotel.

The landscaping on the ‘resort’ is very nice and a small ‘beach’ area has been created which the kids liked to play in. A white pontoon goes out into the lagoon where we were able to sit and have a drink. There is a barbeque which we used a couple of time and the swimming pool was just great – quite small, but then again, so is the resort.

One thing which was great for us was that they had a canoe and kayaks which we could use to paddle out onto the lagoon – just fantastic and the kids loved it. There was loads of wildlife and we were able to watch herons and also pelicans diving for fish.

We though Siesta Key Bungalows was ideal for a family like us as well as couple and would recommend it without hesitation.