Guest User
January 31, 2023
We booked this hotel somewhat last minute. Friends of ours, who we hadn't seen in years, were traveling to Disney as part of the "Make a Wish" to celebrate their little boy's victory over cancer. They were going to have one free day to see us and wanted to meet at a beach. Finding a reservation at the end of spring break in Clearwater (our first thought) was just impossible, so I began to look further south and found Beach Trail Lodging. It was close to the beach and reasonably priced so we booked it. We had no idea what a lucky pick this would be! We were traveling with my husband and my three kids, plus when we discovered it was dog-friendly (the apartment, not the beach) we added the dog to the bunch. We arrived prior to the check-in time and figured we would just walk around and waste time till we could get in. We were warmly greeted and he suggested a dog-friendly restaurant. He also said they would try to speed up the check in, which they indeed did! The apartment is literally a minute walk from the beach and the beach is perfect. It is fairly narrow but not crowded which is perfect when you are trying to carry a gazillion chairs, towels, toys, coolers...etc for a family of 5 that's gonna meet up with a family of 7! There is a small parking lot at the entrance of the beach (parking is limited) but if need be you can pull up and dump your stuff and drive your car back to the apartment where you are given two spots. Or you can just walk, it's literally a stone's throw away. At the entrance of the beach there is a beach shower and a boardwalk about 10 yards long that puts you on the beach and you can dump your stuff to the left or right without walking far at all. It's also extremely helpful that the apartment provides you with a Beach wagon with the big fat wheels to help you carry your stuff, plus 4 beach chairs. Back at the apartment, we were so suprised by all the amenities waiting for us. There was a huge gift basket for the humans with snacks and helpful info and a second huge gift basket for the dog! The dog's basket included a couch cover if your dog likes to sit on the furniture, a dog brush, dog toys, a water and food bowl, a lint brush, dog treats...etc (they charge $20/day for the dog up to max $50). Right next door to the apartment is a small park with a path for walking the dog, a beach volleyball court, picnic table (which we took advantage of the day our friends arrived to have a big picnic lunch before heading to the beach), and beautiful views of the water of the causeway (bay?i inlet?) and the boat's passing by. Inside the apartment there was also a little gift basket of covid related stuff (wipes, masks, disinfectant...etc). The other amenities were also great, salt, pepper, dish detergent, trash bags, coffe and tea, coffee maker, blender, toaster, microwave... and a lot more! Nothing was missing. In the living room there were several board games for the kids and more in the bedroom closet. The bathroom was equipped w