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When Sharon and I moved to Florida from NY/NJ in the early 2000s, we settled down on the Gulf Coast, near Tampa. Sharon’s work required her to visit the St. Petersburg area frequently, and during one of her trips, she noticed a pink hotel that stood out from the rest. After researching it, we discovered that it was the famous Don CeSar, which has been in operation since 1928. Since we have always been interested in historic hotels, we added it to our bucket list of places to visit. Finally, after many years, we managed to make it happen not long ago, and stayed at the Don CeSar for a long weekend.

We’ve since moved to Orlando but driving to St. Pete takes less than 2 hours if we drive at a specific time frame to avoid the Orlando and Tampa traffic. In September, we were looking to get away, and we’d usually head to Key West, but Sharon had just been there there during a stop on a Virgin Voyages trip. As we looked at places for a quick getaway, one of us mentioned going to St. Pete Beach to stay at the Don CeSar Hotel. Almost immediately it became my task to make this trip happen.

The Don CeSar
3400 Gulf Boulevard
St. Pete Beach, Florida 33706

History

The Don CeSar is a historic hotel located in St. Pete Beach, Florida. It was built in 1928 by Thomas Rowe and named after Don César de Bazan, a character in William Vincent Wallace’s opera Maritana. The hotel was designed to resemble a Mediterranean-style castle and quickly became a popular destination for wealthy guests. During World War II, the Don CeSar was used as a military hospital. After the war, it was sold and converted into a retirement home before falling into disrepair and eventually being abandoned. In the 1970s, the hotel was restored to its former glory and reopened as a luxury resort.

For years, the hotel was operated by Loews Hotels, but in 2017, it was sold to Host Hotels & Resorts, a hotel REIT that also owns well-known properties like the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan and the Alila Ventana Big Sur.

Booking Our Stay

A stay at the Don CeSar isn’t cheap. It’s not a part of any hotel chain, so there’s no chance to use points to pay for your stay. Fortunately, the hotel is bookable through several credit card luxury hotel portals, and I booked through the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection with my Chase Sapphire Reserve.

We received daily breakfast and a $100 property credit by booking through Chase. We didn’t get a room upgrade, which was disappointing, but also wasn’t guaranteed, so we knew that was a possibility.

I’m not writing this as a flex, but we paid $560 a night for a room at the Don CeSar. This is the most we’ve ever paid per night for a hotel room, even if you subtract the breakfast and $100 credit. After dropping off our bags and self-parking, which cost an additional $26 per day, we entered the small but elegant check-in area.

Lobby

From there, we were directed to the elevators to our room. We did get a view of the lobby bar, which was quiet during the day. In the evenings, a band played for the guests; it was a little loud for our taste.

The Don CeSar is shaped like the letter E, with the wings of the hotel facing the Gulf of Mexico. Many of the rooms have a view of the courtyard or pools, while a few less expensive rooms have a view of the parking lots.

Taking the elevator to our floor, we were in one of the side wings of the hotel, looking across the courtyard. Muted pink tones were throughout the hotel. While seemingly elegant, it wasn’t much more than an average hotel in the hallways.

Room

The room was somewhat small for what we were paying per night. However, we appreciated the flamingo mural on the wall. While not large, the room was tastefully decorated and had a large-screen TV and plenty of storage. The bed was one of the most comfortable hotel beds we’ve experienced during our travels. 

Bathroom

Like the bedroom, the bathroom was small, consider the price we paid for the room. There was a narrow shower stall and a small sink with no storage space. The toilet was tucked under the shelving to give additional space. I do have to say that the shower, which was not a rain shower as would be expected in a luxury hotel, still did provide a relaxing experience.

Dinner at Maritana

For our first night at the Don CeSar, we arranged with the hotel concierge to dine at Maritana, the fine dining restaurant at the hotel. While we had to take an early evening dining slot due to not making an advance booking, it was nice to experience the restaurant while it was somewhat empty.

All of our dishes, from the starter to the mains, had incredible presentations and tasted amazing. We don’t splurge for fancy meals very often but this one was well worth the price. It helped that we used the $100 credit from booking with Chase to help pay for the dinner. 

Beach and Pool

One of the things about staying at the Don CeSar is the pools and beach access.

There are two pools in the hotel, one for each wing, and a bar and dining area that connects the two spaces. We spent an entire afternoon relaxing by the pools. The hotel staff was exceptional, some of the best we’ve ever encountered. When we went to get towels, the pool attendant provided us with towels and additional ones for the lounge chairs. He even helped us find chairs suitable to our preference and moved the umbrella to provide maximum shade. The bar staff was also remarkable, remembering our names and tab throughout the entire day.

The hotel looks the best when looking back from the beach.

The sunsets at Don CeSar over the Gulf are as stunning as those in Key West. It’s also a great opportunity to enjoy the pool, as the temperature is cooler than during the day.

Breakfast at Society Table

Society Table is the all-day dining establishment at the Don CeSar. For us, it’s where we had breakfast for our two mornings at the hotel.

For both mornings, Sharon ordered the avocado toast.

On the first day, I went with a made-to-order omelet with hash browns.

On the next day, I went with the breakfast buffet. I wasn’t optimistic about the quality as the restaurant wasn’t busy so most of the food had been sitting for a while.

Considering the price of the buffet, there was a large variety of items. However, nothing was particularly fresh and I preferred my cooked meal from the day before.

Final Thoughts

What did we think about our stay for the weekend at the Don CeSar? Although we enjoyed our experience and it was a great place to relax on the beach, we found the price to be quite expensive, with not much to show for it. The hotel was elegant but not as fancy as we had expected. Our room was small and the bathroom was cramped. While the hotel was nice, we didn’t feel that it was worth the price we paid.

Although we enjoyed our time at St. Pete Beach, we would consider staying at a different hotel next time. But if you have unlimited disposable income, it’s a wonderful place to stay.

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