Ultimate Guide to Gasparilla Inn for Families with Toddlers!

BZ's early morning view!

We traveled Mid December 2023 to Gasparilla Inn from Palm Beach Gardens - which was a roughly 3 hour drive through nothing! It is not a very exciting drive and I would not suggest traveling at night just in case you break down. If you are flying into the area, I believe Ft Myers is the closest airport available.

We stayed in a cottage suite (482 specifically) which was directly across from the main inn which turned out to be quite convenient. The weather was freezing cold so keep in mind this review may be skewed :) In addition, its challenging to get a reservation here especially over holiday weekends so potentially picking a Sunday check in date will allow more flexibility. The one thing I do not love about their system is you have to call to check availability - it is a bit old school which I get but challenging if you are trying to fit in a short stay. Pro Tip: Rent a golf cart to get around - the Inn can help arrange but there are no seatbelts so be aware with little ones!

Room: Below are some of the photo of our rooms but let me walk you through it. The Cottage Suite had a small kitchenette, a very large living space, a climate controlled porch, and a separate bedroom. There are other cottage rooms shared in the same building so please be aware if you have loud children! We personally did not hear anyone but it was a quieter time to visit. From a toddler mom perspective, they had two cribs set up in the bedroom and there was still plenty of room. Pro Tip: The Inn can arrange babysitting at a relatively low cost. The babysitters are all employees of the Inn and were great! Highly recommend. I would consider bringing a toddler seat as the toilets are normal sized and our toddler struggled. I linked it here for you!

Dining: The resort itself has a few options for all meals but the town has options as well. This town caters to an older clientele so a lot of the options close earlier at night. Overall the food at the resort was just ok in my opinion but I am a bit picky!

On Property Dining:

A. The main dining room - breakfast and dinner. Dinner is very fancy and not toddler friendly. Breakfast options included a la carte or the buffet.

B. The pink elephant - lunch and dinner. This is the more casual option for dinner and was actually pretty good.

C. The beach club - lunch only. They have quite a few tables outside near the water but food was not great and not cheap.

D. BZ's- this is the lounge in the main inn and we loved it here because they had comfortable chairs, morning tea and pastries located here (starting at 7), and you could order drinks with small apps including charcuterie boards. In addition, afternoon tea and sweets start at 4pm. Pro tip: get to evening tea time early as people tend to gather early!

Off Property Dining:

A. Temptations: lunch and dinner. Lunch was great here - they had a decent menu plus great specials. Its in the downtown area and was quite busy for lunch!

B. The Pink Pony - ice cream only! This was pretty good but also closes early so be prepared!

Amenities: I have to be frank about this one. If the weather is not good - there's not much to do for little ones. They have a playground right near the main inn which is convenient but theres no dedicated space for them to hang out outside of the playground. The beach club is great because there is a beach space (which for some reason doesn't connect to the beach down below unless I couldn't find it). They have a couple of pools and a beach club living room but overall there were not many toys for young ones to play with or run around. One really cool thing that the hotel does upon check in is to give a stuffed animal to each child so that saved us a lot but I would recommend bringing floor puzzles for the kids to do in the cottage just in case the weather is cold or rainy! These are the best floor puzzles I have found for 3 year olds!

They have some other activities for adults or older kids, such as golf, tennis and croquet but nothing really geared to younger kids outside of the playground and corn hole.

Overall: Would I go back? Probably but I am not in a rush with my children at their current age. Gasparilla Inn is for Families when the weather cooperates but this is Florida and the weather changes by the minute! There was not much for them to do and it was a long ride for them because there was nowhere to stop. I think I would come back in the summer when I could be assured it was not cold and could utilize the beach club more. I will update this post if I change my mind and return sooner!

Gasparilla Golf Views!