Why People Love to Stay at Gulf Beach Resort Motel!

(This list has been compiled based on input provided by our guests)

1. Location…Location…Location!! Our property is right on the beach and every unit is just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. The water temperature is relaxing and comfortable.
2. Reasonable and affordable prices!
3. Friendly and courteous staff!
4. Friendly family atmosphere!
5. Most of our units have fully-equipped kitchens.
6. The majority of our units have private screened-in patios. The units on the second floor have an exterior corridor which have unobstructed views of the Gulf of Mexico.
7. Our bbq grill/picnic area is perfect for families and friends to cook out.
8. Quaint, cute, eclectic décor.
9. For many guests Gulf Beach holds many memories of family vacations, weddings, family reunions and other special events that have been celebrated here.
10. Lido Key is quiet and the perfect place to enjoy a relaxing vacation or weekend.

Return to Gulf Beach Resort Motel to enjoy a relaxing vacation and make more memories!
Call us at (941)388-2127 or Toll Free U.S. & Canada at 800-232-2489
Email us at: reservations@gulfbeachsarasota.com or gulfbeachresort@aol.com

March begins the second spring training season for the Baltimore Orioles at the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th Street, Sarasota.

The stadium has a seating capacity of 7,500 and includes additions of a picnic area, new seats, concessions and much more.

“My wife Betsy and I have enjoyed visiting Gulf Beach Resort for almost 15 years now. Our earliest visits in the late 1990’s provided a Great Winter Escape from the frigid winters of northern Ohio, where we then lived. To drive or fly from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico in January or February was like exchanging planets–the contrast was that extreme. For us, being in Florida has always meant warm, moist and fragrant air you feel you can almost swim through, white cumulus clouds floating through limitlessly blue skies, and the complex energies of the waters of the Gulf exerting their forces at the sandy verge just beyond our doorway.

In so many ways, Gulf Beach will always be our beloved home away from home.”

Year 1982: I, a native Virginian, had been to and seen ocean resorts from Athens to Luzon. My son had just joined the faculty of the University of South Florida. My wife and I went to visit him there. Figuring it would be nice to have a beach condo in Florida for future visits, I got a real estate agent to show me the small, secluded ones. At this one, it was “laid back” in time. I saw that it’s most important occupants were a pair of herons which would visit any fellow citizen whenever a door was left open. They were treated as royalty because they ruled the place, where all occupants were “family.” If you were lucky at night time a mysteriously distant peacock would sing you to sleep.

Ah, 1953! It was a great year. Gen. Eisenhower was inaugurated as President, with Nixon as V.P. Postage stamps were 3 cents. No computers and e-mail. Some things, though, remain the same. The sign at G.B’s front hasn’t changed much since the hotel/motel was built in 1953, except for being “lit up.” The place is officially designated as “Historic” because it was one of the very few remaining properties built simply as a small beachfront hotel. Though of the past, G.B. is modern, with all the electronics, etc.

930 Ben Franklin Drive, Sarasota. A short walk down the street and you’re in government protected wildlife parkland reserved for native flora and fauna. Back to 930. There, the beautiful beach with its fine, white sand lights up at sunup. Sundown is glorious, directly across the water. The Lord made this place for you and me. God, may it last forever!

GULF BEACH CONDO HOTEL
MATHEW J. BOWYER CREATIVE WRITING
MEMBER: AUTHORS GUILD & AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY

Being near the water is happiness for me. In 1983, I purchased a unit at Gulf Beach Resort Motel in a property exchange offered by my realtor in Lakeland, FL. Since then, many relatives and friends of mine from New York to CA have enjoyed visiting the resort for our family parties, weddings, and simple beach get-togethers.

While serving on the board of directors for many years, I have observed the large “family” of owners strive to improve the historic motel and work diligently to hold the place together while all around us, resorts were being razed. During 2003, it was a struggle to gain Historic Designation while confronted with developers who wanted to tear it down. Gulf Beach Resort was the first motel built on Lido Key in 1949-50, and is the last one standing today.

The association’s determination to keeping a modest-priced condo-hotel right on the water of elite Lido Key offers the average-income clientele a beach place for vacations — and making fabulous memories of sunsets, surf, and fun.

My family and I love being at GBR, and many of our friends enjoy meeting us there for beach parties — for 29 years and counting. I will continue to upgrade my unit and enjoy looking down the beach from the common balcony. And it never ceases to make me happy when somebody tells me they had a good time while renting my unit.

Ronell (Ronni) Jones

The Gulf Beach Resort Motel is pleased to announce that all rooms now have access to free Wi-Fi hi-speed internet access. Now you can stay connected while you get away from it all – just ask for your complimentary access code when you check in.

Our free wireless internet connection allows you to check your email or surf the web from anywhere on our property from your room to the beach!