Longboat Key Florida Hotel Deals and Travel Guide

If you are spending the night on Longboat Key, chances are you have your own set of keys to the condo, or at least a reservation. Longboat Key is one of the most exclusive communities in southwest Florida; the south end of the island is in Sarasota County (Lido Key is directly south of Longboat Key) and the north end is part of Manatee County.

Longboat Key Florida Travel Guide

What draws property owners and visitors alike to Longboat Key is the same tropical paradise that attracts everyone to this part of Florida's Gulf Coast: white sugar sand and warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the barrier island's proximity to cultural attractions in nearby Sarasota, and the upscale St. Armands shopping and dining district on Lido Key.

While there are a lot of vacation properties in Longboat Key, non-residents can gain access to this exclusive island getaway by booking a room or a condo unit. Some of the most popular resorts in Longboat Key include The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, which offers tennis lessons and other recreational activities for the entire family. The Longboat Key Hilton provides all of the luxury and amenities that guests have come to expect from the Hilton chain.

It is also worth noting that the Resort at Longboat Key Club, the most lavish resort on the island, was built upon land previously owned by circus magnate John Ringling (the Ringling estate and museum campus is a major tourist attraction in Sarasota). Ringling began building a Ritz-Carlton on the southern end of Longboat Key in the 1930s, but it was never completed and eventually demolished in the 1960s. Today, the Longboat Key Club has 36 tennis courts, 45 holes of golf and several restaurants, in addition to the beautiful stretch of white sand beach that makes the Gulf Coast one of the country's premier vacation destinations.