Clearwater Resort Close to Beach and Major Attractions

Though the state of Florida is teeming with beautiful beaches, those in Clearwater are some of the very best—Fodor’s put them on its list of the The 7 Best Family Beaches in the East, citing their “gorgeous white sand” and “shallow waters that are clear and warm.” Camelot Resort is just a short walk from the beach, and from Sunsets at Pier 60, a daily festival filled with local crafters, street performers, and live music, held atop a pier that juts out over the sparkling water.

Inside the hotel, each of the rooms has a different theme: in the Beachy rooms, palm-tree-print comforters adorn the bed; in the Elegant rooms, Victorian furnishings abound; and in the Intimate room, your high-school diary pages paper the walls. The rooms are complete with a full kitchen with granite countertops and cookware. Outside, there’s a small, heated pool surrounded by deck chairs. For more privacy, find a perch in the crow’s nest or on the rooftop sun deck.

Clearwater, Florida: Home of Florida’s Best Family Beach

Clearwater lies just north of St. Petersburg, on the sugary sands along the Gulf of Mexico. At the area’s award-winning beaches, swim or ride the waves with rental watersports equipment. A 30-minute drive away yields Caladesi Island State Park, where you can fish or kayak near 3-mile trails that wind through mangroves and bays. Just more than a mile from the resort sits the Clearwater Aquarium, home to one of Clearwater’s biggest celebrities—Winter the dolphin, who starred in A Dolphin’s Tale alongside Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.

Downtown St. Petersburg offers upscale dining and shopping right along the seashore. If you can’t decide between beach and retail, head to the small town of Pass-A-Grille where the two worlds collide; there’s an outdoor art market, boutiques, and an ice-cream shop right on the seashore.

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