AAA Three Diamond Hotel near Beaches and Downtown Naples

The Naples Pier, which extends 1,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico, is a popular spot for anglers hoping to catch snapper, grouper, or pompano, a plump silver fish that makes for good eating. But the sturdy wooden dock is a must-see at sunset, when the final rays of daylight transform the Gulf of Mexico into a canvas of orange, red, and purple waves, a spectacle The New York Times called an “applause-generating daily masterpiece” in 2006.

Just a 10-minute drive from the pier is Ramada Inn of Naples, a AAA Three Diamond hotel in southwestern Florida. Staff members at the hotel give it the tagline Centered in Paradise, as the property is close to the coast and downtown Naples—both are about a mile away.

Each morning, the Ramada Inn of Naples sets out a free breakfast buffet in the lobby that includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and a make-your-own-waffles station. In the evening, check out Pate’s Steak House, an onsite restaurant that serves new york strip steaks, kansas city sirloins, stuffed scrod, and other steak-house classics. On Saturday nights, the restaurant hosts live entertainment.

Guest rooms are simply appointed and comfortable; you'll find granite vanities and ergonomic desk chairs that keep your spine from reverting to its natural curlicue shape. If you’re too tired to trek to the beach, you can swim in the hotel’s outdoor heated pool—it’s housed in a tropical courtyard.

Naples, Florida: Upscale Retreat on Pristine West Coast

Located along the southwest edge of Florida on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Naples is a small city set among wandering waterways and scenic estuaries. Everything in Naples seems impeccably clean, from the bleached sand of its 10-mile-long pristine beaches to the bathwater-warm water that’s as clear as glass.

Inland, you can find Old Naples, a section of downtown where luxury cars are parked outside art galleries, upscale restaurants, and bars with outdoor patios. Walk along the brick sidewalks of Third Street South and you’ll find open plazas with antique bronze fountains as well as turn-of-the century cottages and striking Mediterranean Revival homes.

More than 80 championship golf courses are located throughout Naples, and the city bills itself as the Golf Capital of the World. It's a lofty claim, to be sure, but Naples has warm, tropical weather year-round and the second-most golf holes per capita in the country, according to World Golf.