A Weekend at Hyatt Siesta Key Beach

Hyatt

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Always on the lookout for new places to stay, I headed to Sarasota to visit the Hyatt Siesta Key Beach resort. Surrounded by impressive private homes and tidy bungalows for rent, the resort is the only luxury property standing six stories tall on the edge of a six-mile-long beach famous for its white, flour-soft sands. Think: Room with a balcony so close to the Gulf of Mexico you can smell the fresh sea air and feel the breezes.

Upon entering my four-bedroom accommodations with a kitchen that Emeril Lagasse would kill for (Wolf six-burner gas stove, Sub-Zero refrigerator, Nespresso maker and milk frother), I was caught up in admiring the details, my eyes darting from sea urchin-inspired mother-of-pearl tile floors to Frette linen-dressed beds to contemporary mirrors and lamps that blend seamlessly with shadow-box sand sculptures. Heading out to explore on a complimentary bicycle, I zipped along Midnight Pass Road under a canopy of banyan trees, peeking into backyards thick with tropical foliage. For dinner I drove into downtown Sarasota for cornmeal-crusted catfish and some of the tastiest collard greens at the funky Owen’s Fish Camp restaurant, tucked under a sprawling banyan tree. Sunday morning came too quickly and I was up at 7:30 a.m. Stepping onto the balcony I could see a beach already populated by early risers walking the well-packed sands. Inspired, I joined them for a morning stroll, followed by a visit to the eucalyptus steam room, before settling into a thick poolside cabana bed. Ahh, the perfect no-rush Sunday morning.

Tags: Hyatt Siesta Key Beach | Sarasota | Siesta Key