Sheraton Sand Key Resort

Clearwater, Tampa and Clearwater/St Pete

Virgin rating

The hotel

Ready to feel sand between your toes and sea salt in your hair? The Sheraton Sand Key puts you right on the shores of one of America’s best beaches, so you can be in those free-flowing waves in seconds. Take a dip in the pool overlooking the beach, and bubble away in the whirlpool. It's a great family friendly option, as kids will love having their own pool, and you can even grab some on-the-go grub, perfect for chilled-out family days. Complimentary transportation on the Jolly Trolley means you can connect to all that Clearwater Beach has to offer - water sports, playgrounds, shops and restaurants, but if you want to venture further afield it's just a short drive to Tampa, and the hotel offers free parking!

Amenities

  • Wheelchair access
  • Families
  • Bar
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Free Parking
  • Internet Access
  • No Smoking
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Swimming Pool
  • Beachfront location

Where is it

On Florida's Gulf Coast, Sand Key is known as one of the USA's best beaches. Steps from nature trails and surf-ready beaches. A 10-minute drive to Clearwater, and 7 minutes to Pier 60. Distance from Tampa International Airport: 23 miles. 

Hotel information

390 rooms and suites on 9 floors in 1 building with 4 lifts. All with air-conditioning, flat-screen TV, WiFi access*, complimentary bottled water, mini-fridge, tea and coffee making facilities, safe, iron and ironing board, and hairdryer. 

Standard Rooms are 336 sq ft and have 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 people (5th person may be accommodated on a rollaway bed*).

Resort View Balcony Rooms with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 people.

Pool View Rooms feature a balcony, and 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 people.

Partial Gulf View Rooms are on higher floors with views of the grounds and gulf in the distance from the balcony, with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 people. 

Gulf View Rooms feature unobstructed ocean views from the balcony, with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 people (5th person may be accommodation on a rollaway bed*). 

Complimentary self-parking. Complimentary transportation for up to 4 people on the 'Jolly Trolley' coastal shuttle service.

Rusty's Bistro (local cuisine, open for breakfast and dinner). Mainstay Tavern (sports bar, open for lunch, dinner and late night drinks). Slo Joe's Poolside Turtle Bar (open for lunch and dinner). Poolside Café (grab-and-go food, open for lunch). Room service*.

Outdoor swimming pool, and children's pool. Private beach. Whirlpool. Fitness centre. Pool table.

Complimentary WiFi in lobby and public areas. Convenience store. Concierge. Valet/dry cleaning service*.

Wheelchair accessible rooms available on request. Please note that these rooms are subject to availability and may be restricted to specific room categories and bedding arrangements. Rooms and facilities vary between hotels so please check at the time of booking. To discover all the special assistance services we offer please see additional information below.

* Denotes local charge.

Special assistance

Please note: Rollaway beds are charged for locally, at $10 plus tax per room per night, and the charge is payable to the hotel. 

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (1508)
  • Very good (1238)
  • Average (445)
  • Poor (192)
  • Terrible (95)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating We’ve been coming for decades, but NEVER AGAIN.

Mar 27, 2024 Elizabeth F Indianapolis, Indiana

This is heartbreaking to write because I’ve been coming here since I was 14 and I’m 40 now. But this place has gone downhill quickly and we will never stay here again unless they have a major overhaul of their entire operations. 1. We found several live cockroaches in our room. 2. Their social media said the rooms had been fully renovated, but… Read more
This is heartbreaking to write because I’ve been coming here since I was 14 and I’m 40 now. But this place has gone downhill quickly and we will never stay here again unless they have a major overhaul of their entire operations. 1. We found several live cockroaches in our room. 2. Their social media said the rooms had been fully renovated, but that’s not true. We were in a very old room that clearly had not been renovated. It’s fine if they hadn’t gotten to all of them yet, but don’t mislead people by saying it’s all done. 3. The didn’t have enough staff for their spring break week when they were totally sold out. There are two options for eating outside— the Poolside Cafe and Turtle Bar. Every single day we stayed, they didn’t have a cashier for the cafe so you couldn’t order any food there. Instead, you had to order across the pool at the bar, and then go back to the cafe to pick up your order. Because everyone had to order at one place — and the bar only had two bartenders — the lines would be enormous. Yesterday it took me FORTY MINUTES to make it to the front of the line. That was just to order Cokes. 40. Minutes. For a soda. Additionally, they opened late every. Single. Day. A huge line would form before their opening because people knew it took forever to even get a drink, and they’d routinely open 15-30 minutes late. Why don’t you have adequate staffing on your busiest week of the year?!?! 4. The inside options are no better. After breakfast, the main restaurant is closed until dinner and the tavern doesn’t open until noon. So if you’re hungry after breakfast, you don’t have any food options in the hotel until noon. Also, dinner service doesn’t start until 6pm. That’s late for little kids. It would be much nicer if they could open at 5. 5. The hotel bills itself as “the quieter side of Clearwater,” and we loved that the property was only for use by guests. It kept it calm and relaxing. This year, they started letting anyone who paid their $25 parking fee have access to the amenities. So the pool and beach were overrun with high school and college spring breakers, which only added to the capacity issues the hotel had. It’s not fair they guests can’t find a pool chair because the public paid $25 to use the hotel. We ended up changing our flight to leave two days early because the whole experience was miserable. We won’t be back again, sadly. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Perfect Relaxing Stay

Mar 27, 2024 RachelB620 Birmingham, United Kingdom

We had the most relaxing time here. We spent 3 nights here as a family of 4. The room was clean, modern and well equipped with a balcony with fantastic views (even though this was not pool/beach view). The staff were so professional and attentive. We ate breakfast in the bistro restaurant as well as two evening meals. All of the food was of… Read more
We had the most relaxing time here. We spent 3 nights here as a family of 4. The room was clean, modern and well equipped with a balcony with fantastic views (even though this was not pool/beach view). The staff were so professional and attentive. We ate breakfast in the bistro restaurant as well as two evening meals. All of the food was of a really high standard, again, as was the service. As soon as staff saw an empty glass/cup, they would ask if we wanted a refill. Such a stark difference to the pitiful service you get in the uk. We had a hire car so ventured out and went to a local mall. We really noticed everywhere seemed to have such a relaxed atmosphere, nowhere seemed to be really busy, overcrowded and we didn’t wait in a queue at any point for anything. Perfect. The beach was beautiful. We saw dolphins bobbing around close to the shaw line everyday. It was amazing. The only small downside was the fact our room had adjoining doors to other rooms and the families staying in these rooms we could hear clearly at times which didn’t feel massively private but luckily our neighbours were not too noisy and seemed to be out exploring as much as us. We would return in a heartbeat. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Great stay! Thin walls though

Mar 21, 2024 Adventure13508850472

Very nice quick getaway. Nicely renovated room with a beautiful ocean/pool view. The breakfast buffet was included for our stay and it was pretty good! Excellent staff and close proximity to everything. Reasonably priced rate to rent a beach umbrella and they transport you back and forth via a golf cart. The walls were thin, though. We had a… Read more
Very nice quick getaway. Nicely renovated room with a beautiful ocean/pool view. The breakfast buffet was included for our stay and it was pretty good! Excellent staff and close proximity to everything. Reasonably priced rate to rent a beach umbrella and they transport you back and forth via a golf cart. The walls were thin, though. We had a "Karen" that called security on us twice for our TV being loud, meanwhile they thought it was ok for us to listen to their crying baby. Smh... Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating 9.8/10 Stay!

Mar 20, 2024 Themacsgoonvacay

I was very worried about staying at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort with the status of renovations and the age of the hotel but it was all for naught! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! We definitely will be back if we return to the Clearwater area. I had previously learned that renovations had been paused for March. The only sign of renovations that… Read more
I was very worried about staying at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort with the status of renovations and the age of the hotel but it was all for naught! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! We definitely will be back if we return to the Clearwater area. I had previously learned that renovations had been paused for March. The only sign of renovations that I noticed was that 3/4 of the building has been painted, leaving some parts awaiting paint. No noise issues from construction as previously reported. Our room was renovated (I’m not sure if they all are already) but it was very nice. Previous reviews called the bathroom small but I think they did a great job using the space and bones of an old building. No one expects them to knock down walls and do a full bathroom reno anyway. There was a mirror and other storage behind the door. My husband is 6 feet tall, he had no issues in the bathroom. We all stood by the sink brushing our teeth. It was fine. The room was tastefully decorated- Very beach chic. Gone are the colourful rooms which are replaced with cool blue tones. The pictures on the Bonvoy app are not currently updated. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a picture of the rooms before we loaded our stuff inside the room. The housekeeping staff was wonderful. They came every day and everything was clean. I was worried that there would be sand on the floor since the flooring would camouflage it but I never felt like I was stepping on sand. The beds were very comfortable. The walls are a bit “thin”. In the quiet of the early hours morning, I could hear someone’s alarm one time. I could hear doors shut which sounded like slamming if they had their slider doors open but again, the hotel’s bones are from another generation. Hallway light managed to get in under the door and lit up our room a bit at night but that was quickly fixed with a towel where the door met the floor. The closet door light is activated through a motion detector. It was quite sensitive. It would go on when we sat on the side of the bed by the closet. That was also a quick fix. I did enjoy having a light in the closet where we stored our suitcases. We thoroughly enjoyed all the sand sports like volleyball, soccer and badminton. We played volleyball a lot and they always had balls for us to play with. There are 4 sand courts. There is no resort fee at this hotel. There very well could be though. I’ve paid resort fees for much less. There are constant golf cart rides to the beach. When I read previous reviews, they made it seem like the beach was miles away. You can see it from the pool and it’s maybe a 3-4 mins walk. I could see that people with mobility issues or with young children might want to use the golf cart rides but it is not necessary for everyone. Having said that, walking back, the golf cart guys would ask if we wanted a ride. Rides were plentiful. Beach rentals by the third party company were $45 a day in March 2024. Staff was lovely. The front desk staff - next level in kindness and politeness. I witnessed a front desk employee deal with a difficult guest who was even annoying to me but the employee handled the guest with grace and kindness. We ate breakfast at Rusty’s every day. The buffet was above average in terms of options - always a lot. The staff replenishing the buffet were on it! I heard a lady complain that it never changed but in 3 breakfasts that I ate there, there were always different mains. Our server was lovely. She provided excellent service and greeted us with a smile every day. Same with the hostess staff. The gym is still closed for renovation. A brochure in our room said it was open so I ventured up there and it is definitely not open at this point but it is going to be a beautiful space when it’s done. We are Bonvoy platinum members. I was thanked for our loyalty at least 4 times (thank you). We opted for the breakfast credit for 2 each day. Totally beats the 1000 points. No elite lounge, though I understand that at one time there maybe was one. I’m unsure if it will open again. I didn’t feel like we needed it though. The room or the pool were nice to relax by. There was some wear and tear around the elevator area with wall paper etc. There is potential to make this area quite beautiful and I know if they use the standards of the rooms, it will be. There was some noise from the people in the pool or hot tub on a couple of the nights. Our room looked over the pool (Gulf View). Or I saw people yelling down from their balconies to people at the pool which struck me as odd. This is a people and politeness problem and not a hotel problem. Though I never heard any noise after the pool closed which told me that the staff was monitoring the noise level and pool use after hours. The location of this hotel cannot be beat for us. It’s 5 mins from busy Clearwater beach. I loved our little rest away from the busy. The beach cannot be beat as well. It was basically private! We did not take the trolley though we wanted to (just didn’t get around to it). It’s free to use with your room key. It came to the hotel for pick up on the :26 and :56 on the hour. I was so nervous about this hotel having read the previous reviews and knowing the hotel had been in reno stage. I even considered cancelling 2 days before and staying at another property. I’m so pleased we stuck with it. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. This is a great option for a family. I will miss our time at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort. Sorry for the long review. I base decisions on other reviews so I wanted to give the straight goods. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Sheraton Sand Key…Not So Great

Mar 19, 2024 Guide19312592243 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Sheraton Sand Key is an absolutely just okay hotel. They say the hotel is going through an update and that is true. Rooms are pretty clean although the bathrooms are small and poorly configured . The rest of the property looks really tired. Front desk and entrance area is pretty awful, as are the two hotel restaurant bars. The staff is nice… Read more
The Sheraton Sand Key is an absolutely just okay hotel. They say the hotel is going through an update and that is true. Rooms are pretty clean although the bathrooms are small and poorly configured . The rest of the property looks really tired. Front desk and entrance area is pretty awful, as are the two hotel restaurant bars. The staff is nice but completely overwhelmed most of the time. Main concerns: Very thin walls… you can hear everything. A lot of room upgrades are retro fitted or simply don’t work. Some lights just won’t turn off. The biggest concern is the lack of security in what is supposed to be a private pool beach area. The gate to the pool/beach from the parking lot is never locked and there is a constant flow of people who aren’t staying at the hotel coming in and taking over the pool area. I even heard one non guest complain to the pool guy that the bathrooms weren’t clean enough . Pretty bold.. The Marriott directly across the street is much nicer as is the JW Marriott over the causeway. Both much better options for a stay. Read less