Banana Bay Club, Sarasota

These two properties at Banana Bay Club were awesome! There are free canoes, kayaks, free wi-fi, they allow pets, fishing dock and more. The walk to the beach only took 60 seconds from our room. The staff were very friendly and the room was very clean (two important factors for us frequent travelers!) We WILL be back, what a vacation and unbeatable rates in the area!!!!!!!!

As a 50 yr old Pinellas County native I've been to practically every resort, motel, guest cottage, hotel, old, new or refurbished up and down the west coast. While Clwr Beach is lovely and close there is always a major traffic jam & parking issues. The new city plan isn't going fix the problem either. Sarasota and the panhandle have always been attractive for the better beaches. The panhandle requires driving for most of our weekend and has become so overbuilt it is no longer desirable. Sarasota seems to be the right choice and BANANA BAY CLUB is the right resort. I searched the net and several vacation rental companies and chose BANANA BAY CLUB based on photos, rates, location and accessibility. What started out as a birthday weekend for 4 turned out to be a family vacation. We were so pleased with all personnell, the accomodations & location that other family members called Dave, Jim or Gina and got rooms, last minute. (Full use of both locations is unheard of and gives you two for one on your money!) We used the entire resort at WATERSIDE then then went to BEACHSIDE to use the beach, then back to WATERSIDE to grill, eat, hang out, fish, chat, canoe, play and more. Later at night our kids played games and watched TV and videos while we listened to music and danced on the outside deck. Since the entire resort is fenced the safety factor for our kids and two Yorkies was comforting. The outside areas are well lit and positioned so that you can see almost all of the decked and fenced in areas in a short glance. I'd like to note my Yorkies have cleared the area of lizards and small creeping critters!! We got along well with the other guests, shared amenities and common areas gracefully. The rooms were just like home with everything we needed so packing was light. It will be even lighter next vist now that I know they have EVERYTHING THERE!!! I could and would love to stay a week or more. At the end of our stay we had a car key fiasco. Dave and Gina graciously allowed us to hang together around the pool a bit longer until AAA came to the rescue. Our new resort of choice for our family in the central Florida area is most certainly BANANA BAY CLUB on Siesta Key Beach.

We booked all 7 of the "cottages" at the Waterside resort for a famiy reunion/vacation in September. It was one of the best vacations I have ever been on and was proud to have chosen the accommodations that every one of us enjoyed. Above and beyond the usual standard ammenities, such as kitchens and free parking we were most impressed with the resort as a whole. The location to begin with is in quite a quiet residential area, and right on Heron Lagoon. There is a large fishing/sunbatheing dock and you can take the 1 and 2 man canoes out from here too. We also enjoyed the man made beach area, with out having to drag everyone down to the beach we were able to bring the beach to us! The pool and pool area were child friendly (gated for safety), as well as the relaxing and tranquil setting we were able to grill out using the fabulously large gas grill, and sit under the umbrellas on the dockside day and night. we really enjoyed it. I cant see why anybody else wouldnt do either. It is only a small resort so dont go expecting a 100 room holiday inn, make your own schedule and enjoy the island living style!

Loved the location and uniqueness of the small resort. Our cottage was fully equipped so we needn't have packed everything but the kitchen sink! $115 per night for our 1 Bedroom cottage, as we slept 4 people in there comfortably. 2 in the bedroom and 2 on the roll out sofa in the combined living room/dining room. there was also a full kitchen - ideal for storing our food and drinks, to save us money on meals eating out. We just went for an extended weekend, but we could have easily stayed a week or 2.

My husband, our dog Choc Chip (a brown lab) and I stayed at the resort for 1 week. Gina was a great wealth of info and very willing to help with every request (which were usally about where to go and what to see.) The cottage we stayed in was perfect. Outstanding views of the lagoon, a nice piece of private beach with white sand, beautiful lush surroundings and a fishing dock to top it all. It was like living at home with the cottage being fully furnished with everything from linens, towels, blenders, Tv, etc etc, but with all the bonuses of being on a gorgeous island. This isn't just for a romantic getaway, which it certainly is, but also a fascinating place to stay and explore both locally - within walking distance - and even jump in your car to get to even more unique thinga to do. We'll be back again. Mike, Judy & ChocChip from Canton, Oh

We stayed here becuase we are an avid water loving family. Our detached Cottage was on the water's edge and we used their fishing dock to fish every day - catching fish, and grilling them onsite. We also loved the free kayaks & canoes to take out, any time of day to explore the waters. The accommodations were nice. Great water views. Nice big clean rooms. Large kitchen, and comfy beds. I liked the fact all the towels were provided - less to pack! Also walking distance to food, and i highly recomend the Turtle Beach Pub for a great cheeseburger! We will be back. Great Value for all the free ammenities.

Banana Bay Beachside in Siesta Key is in desperate need of renovations. We stayed in the Beach House, it was dirty, the bathroom was horrible, after one shower the hot water was out (claims to sleep 6-8 people, I guess only one can take a shower). We had to wear shoes the entire time because the floor was so filthy. We spent $1800 for the week and were very disappointed. They take your money up front, and for good reason, we wouldn't have stayed here if we saw it first. The pictures on the internet are very deceiving.