PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Downtown's swankiest digs, just north of the Ringling Causeway and across a narrow creek from the Sarasota Quay shopping-and-dining complex, the Ritz occupies the bottom 10 floors of an 18-story Mediterranean-style building (the top floors are private residences). It sits perpendicular to the bay, so most of the spacious guest units have views looking across the water to the keys and the Gulf. The rooms are luxuriously appointed in typical Ritz-Carlton fashion, including marble bathrooms. The hotel's four restaurants are led by Vernona, while the Bay View Bar & Grill offers casual dining both indoors and out. The elegantly appointed lobby opens to a bayside courtyard with a heated pool. There is no beach on-site, but a shuttle will take you to the hotel's private beach club on Lido Key. There's also a full-service spa and fitness center on-site. Facilities: 5 restaurants; 3 bars; outdoor pools; golf course; 3 tennis courts; health club; Jacuzzi; sauna; children's programs; concierge; activities desk; car-rental desk; business center; 24-hr. room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; concierge-level rooms.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Florida 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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