How To Stay For Free In Florida

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As a Minnesotan, I love leaving in the winter for a few days to get out of the cold.  One my quest to find a destination AND a good deal for our family, I was able to put together an amazing getaway at a discount.  In hopes to inspire others to travel more, I will share my secrets!

We collect Starwood Points as part of the SPG program (Starwood Preferred Guest).  These can be accrued by staying at any of Starwood’s 11 brand properties, Marriott’s properties or by using and signing up for the Starwood American Express Credit Card.  I had some points to use and discovered one hotel that was actually ON the beach and had what I considered a low number of points to redeem for a stay.   The Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, Florida is a SPG category 4, which means it uses 10K points per night.  When 5 nights are redeemed the 5th night is free so it is essentially 8K points per night for a stay of 5 nights.  This is for a resort ON the beach AND allows for 5 guests!  That has been our biggest hang-up. Most hotel properties I have found on the beach and in Florida only allow 4 guests.  At this property we were also able to get a rollaway so everyone got to sleep on a bed.    That is hard to come by!  Most of our points were obtained with the credit card sign up bonus.  Currently you get 25K points with a new card.  There are times when the sign up bonus is 40K and that is how we were able to get so many points.

This is a wonderful property with a large white sand beach leading to the ocean.  It is also has a good size pool and a hot tub.  There are hammocks in the sand, beach volleyball, sand toys and a gas fire ring which was perfect to hang out at in the evenings when the air cooled down. There is a playground and a small children’s swimming pool.  It has 2 tennis courts and a gym. The outdoor bar is great too with tasty drinks.  The resort is located next door to Sand Key Park, where bikes and kayaks can be rented .

We also saved money by walking to a fantastic little restaurant for brunch called Maggie Maes Sunrise Café.  In fact, we went there every morning and it kept us full for both breakfast and lunch.  The prices are low and the food is delicious.  There is usually a long line waiting outside to get in.  TIP: If you go, call ahead and get on the waiting list.  Then walk over and your wait will be less for sure.
I don’t usually ever go to a place twice but this hotel was such a good deal using points and a great place for the kids that we returned the next year.  The kids had so much fun just occupying themselves at the resort but we did get a little site-seeing in. We visited the Clearwater Beach Pier area (just over the bridge from the resort) and their daily festival called Sunsets at Pier 60  From 6-10pm every night there are street performers, crafters, and an outdoor movie.  There are also many shops and restaurants.

The first year, we visited the The Clearwater Marine Museum where we saw Winter and Hope from the Dolphin Tale Movie.  The tickets also included a boat ride.

The second year we visited Honeymoon Island State Park where the kids enjoyed fishing, walking the unspoiled beach and looking for shells. It was a fun activity and only costs $8 per vehicle to enter. They also have a ferry there that can take you to Caladesi Island State Park, another beautiful beach to explore.

For getting to and from the Tampa Airport we rented a car.  AAA.com and Costco.com have provided the cheapest rates lately.   I book many months ahead of time and then relook every couple of weeks or so to see if the price has gone down.  If it does I just cancel and rebook.  Surprisingly prices can vary so much!  I have saved a lot of money doing this.  Airfare is discounted by either using Flexperks (accrued from Flexperks Credit Card. – one ticket up to $400 is 20k points) or Airline miles (Delta).

Florida is a beautiful place to visit, especially when trying to get a break from the cold winter.  It is even better when you can save money when doing it.

Please comment below if you have other tips for saving money while on vacation.

Happy Travels!

Jennifer