Hotels in St. Pete and Clearwater Beaches

St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach have national chain hotels and motels of every name and description. For a comprehensive list of accommodations of all budgets and sizes, go to Visit St. Pete/Clearwater’s website at visitstpeteclearwater.com/places-to-stay. As is the case throughout Florida, there are more short- and long-term rental condominiums than hotel rooms here. Many of them are in high-rise buildings right on the beach. In addition to the usual Airbnb and Vrbo properties, the website above has listings of reliable local vacation rental outfits.

The Laughing Lizard B&B, on Indian Rocks Beach, is a three-story Key West-style home, that's the antithesis of quaint B&Bs. It has 56 windows, many with a view of the Gulf or of Gulf Boulevard; and guest rooms with private bathrooms and kitschy names such as Nautical Newt, Crimson Chameleon, and Gallivanting Gecko. The Island Iguana, is an efficiency apartment with partial kitchen and separate entrance. Innkeeper Bill Ockunzzi, a former mayor of Indian Rocks Beach, holds an evening wine tasting in Lizard Hall just as the sun sinks into the water. Other amusements can be found in the collection of clay, glass, wood, and plastic lizards lounging around in some of the most unexpected places. Rates are $145 to $200. Head to 2211 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach (tel. 727/595-7006; www.laughinglizardbandb.com).