Just returned from a 3 night stay over Super Bowl weekend. We had to be in the Sarasota area for a family obligatation and I chose the Hilton beacause I had accumulated enough Hilton Honors points to stay for free on 2 of the 3 nights. Overall, we enjoyed our stay but I am not sure it would be worth the price if I had paid for all 3 nights. Hilton lists this as a rewards category 7 property but didn't seem anywhere close to that.

There are some good things about the hotel. The room size was above average and the bed was very comfortable. Our room and the rest of the property were very clean. We had a corner room and the added patio made it seem almost like a suite. I could read on the patio while my wife slept in. The staff were all friendly and helpful. The grounds were clean and the hotel is literally just a few yards from the beach.

A few things were disappointing. The breakfast buffet was adequate. The weather was warm so we would opt for outside seating (it was a seat yourself arrangement). Every day when we would look for a table, we would see at least half of them empty, but not cleared or cleaned from those who had breakfast before us. On one of the days, after standing and waiting for about 10 minutes, we flagged down a server and asked if she could clear a table for us. She told us that she would get to it in a minute because they were short staffed. Staffing patterns at a Hilton should not really be the concern of the guests. Once seated, the only thing the nserver had to do was bring coffee and juice. That could take between 5 and 10 minutes and I am one who needs coffee. The rest of the staff told us the this really wasn't the busy season and the hotel was only half full.

I was not very familiar with the area and while the location on the beach was in some ways very good, it could easily take 25 minutes to get off Longboat Key and in to Sarasota if you wanted to leave the island (again this was not the high season). We are from New York and the 3 days we were there did not give us enough time to slow down and get used to people driving 5 to 10 mph below the speed limit for no apparent reason. The 2 lane road up and down the key doesn't allow for passing.

In summary, it was not at all bad but it definitely not a category 7 property. I might try it again, but only if my intent was to spend the great majority of my time on Longboat Key. If not, I might try Siesta Key.