Gulf Water and Warm Sand in Bradenton Beach,FL

Best Things Nearby:
The beach is only steps away. Glorious sunsets. Convenient shopping and restaurants. Art museums, science museums, aquariums, and amusement parks are within 20-90 miles. Bradenton Beach is sandwiched between the gulf and the bay with the island being no more than one mile wide. All sorts of water activites such as swimming, sailing, boating, jet skis and parasailing are available in the area.

Best Things About the Resort:
The pool, gazebo shaded awning overlooking the beach, and the beach are all within 100 yards of each other. It is quite a nice arrangement. The family atmosphere of the unit allows the freedom to grant the permission not generally allowed in the "big city" for children to swim, roam, and associate with others of the same age. Adults also "gather", exchange views, and Bar-B-Que together.

Resort Experience:
This is not a new complex that has top of the line furnishings. It is, however, an older beachside complex that is well maintained, offers comfortable furnishings, daily towel exchange, and friendly staff. This is a two story building containing approximately twenty one or two bedroom units. There is no elevator. Across the street is another two story building with additional 8-10 one bedroom units. The one bedrooms are either gulf front or a short walk across the street. The two bedrooms are all gulf view beach side. All of the two bedrooms overlook the pool and have an unobstructed side view of the beach from the balcony and bedroom windows. TV/VCR in the livng room, second TV in the master bedroom, all the appliances necessary are available in the kitchen, large dining/living space, but only one bath. The picture in the RCI book really shows that the pool, gazebo shaded area and the beach are all within close proximity of each other. Parking and laundry facilities are across the street. Loved the feel of safety walking the beach whether 4am or midnight. Condo offered bikes (highway a little busy) and supposedly fishing gear (never asked about this).

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Good
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Very Good

We visited this restaurant for lunch. It offered both outside tables (swimsuit ok and go dip in the surf while you wait) or inside very casual dining. Many just hung around outside ordering pina coladas and sunbathing on the beach. Old beach restaurant with attentive, friendly staff.

We sat inside and ordered the shrimp scampi with pasta -- fantastic. The teens actually ordered from the kids menu for the typical chicken strips -- ugh.

From the pictures in the magazines to the food reviews on the internet, this restaurant should be charged with false advertising. The outside deck dining area consisted of plastic tables and chairs. The inside did indeed have wooden tables in an old bar room atmosphere.

The salad and fresh bread were really good, but it went downhill from there. Entrees were mediocre to really bad. Outside deck was full, so we sat inside (6:30pm meal). Waitress was not only unfriendly, but even though there were only two tables to serve, she was also unattentive. We ordered four entrees -- three seafood, one steak. One seafood entree was unpalatable and the "prime" steak with its 70% fat still had no flavor. The waitress was aware of our disappointment, but simply presented the bill without inquiring into our satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the food or her service. With the $100+ bill, we walked away not only disappointed but also angry.

The dessert at the local ice cream joint restored our spirits and we continued our beach vacation putting this bad experience behind us.

I really thought this was a "chain" restaurant when I first saw it. It turned out to be a delight.

The food offerings were varied (though mostly seafood). Our party ordered everything from appetizers to desert and there were no disappointments. The food was served promptly yet with no rushing of courses. The salads and warm bread were great. The main courses from baked fish, steamed seafood, and fried seafood were all delicious. (The waiter admitted steak was not their best offering).

The setting was comfortable, the sunset was spectacular, and we all enjoyed the friendly waiter. The food this restaurant served was delicious, ample and had a pleasant presentation. I could visit this restaurant on a regular basis.

This is a educational laboratory/aquarium dedicated to studying marine life. I found it to be interesting with some exhibits displaying a little different sea life than I normally see. However, the setup had less variety and was less beauty and character than the one located in New Orleans, LA. I find New Orleans to be simply exciting, colorful and entertaining. The New Orleans exhibits allow you to sit on a bench and observe. The exhibits at Mote were poorly defined as to what you were actually seeing and lacked sitting areas. The better exhibits were located outside where it was rather warm or in the case of the larger animals (sea cows) where there was shading but no air flow.

Busch Gardens is a unique park combination of zoo, gardens, and amusement rides. Our experience was shortened by a tropical rain storm, so perhaps it wasn't the typical. I found the park difficult to navigate as it is so spread out. There is a train that circles the park, however the stops are few and far between--there are no shortcuts from one area to another, and the park is huge with quite a distance between the different themed areas. Go with power walking shoes, cool clothing, and lots of time. The beautiful landscapes are lost if you are just there for the amusement rides. Orlando parks beat this park hands down for excitement, shows, and overall better managed parks.

This museum is really cool. They did have a special traveling exhibit while we were there, but their permanent exhibits are certainly worth the visit. They have a laser activated muscial harp, visual, mechanical, light, gravity, and sound experiments that can occupy younger children for hours. Our 13-year-olds were fascinated. Everything in this museum is hands on (except the butterfly room)!

A mecca of small specialty shops with designer clothing, antique offerings, home decor, linens, swim wear. The circle encompasses two traffic circles of "just browsing"-type upscale stores with a variety of offerings, restaurants, coffee houses, and ice cream shops much like I've experienced in the Caribbean. This is an all day or multi-day adventure.

The children and I decided to give my husband sailing lessons as a Father's Day gift. We were on vacation, yet we sent him off to work really, really hard for two full days of "fun" sailing lessons. This course requires a certain degree of fitness that will allow for two consecutive eight hour days of instructional hands-on sailing in which the student is expected to fully participate. My husband really enjoyed the experience. He along with two other students sailed the bay (intercoastal canal) for two days. He was totally sunburned and exhausted, but says he learned a lot and would not trade the experience for an otherwise lazy day. I keep finding these "sailboat for sale" ads . . .