Beach: Hotel Don CeSar

Now a member of the National Trust’s Historic Hotels of America, much of the era’s panache can be felt in every corner of the hotel – from the vaulted ceilings of the marble-clad lobby to the wide breezeways to the guest rooms that feel very nautical in detail. There are grand ballrooms for large parties and sweeping vistas that recall that bygone era of grandeur. The hotel hosts weddings year-round where the Pink Palace feels like a de facto member of the party. While the hotel’s spa and idyllic beach setting are enough to keep guests on property, it would be a shame to miss some of the other fun things to do in the area.

In fact, take a page from New York Times’ best-selling author, Nicholas Sparks, who set his most recent romantic novel, Dreamland, at the Don CeSar, a site he visits yearly and has great affection for. The main characters of the novel, Morgan and Colby, engage all of St. Pete as the backdrop to their own love story – kayaking in clear-bottomed boats amongst the mangroves and spending stretches of time at the acclaimed Salvador Dali museum – which might just inspire a little romance of your own. doncesar.com