Bermuda Bay Gated Beach Club - Townhouse With New Renovation

Bermuda Bay is a large, gated community of brightly-painted townhouses. It is immediately attractive on arrival. It is pleasantly located down a quiet road, away from any serious traffic noise. There are two heated pools, one shady, the other sunny and overlooking a small private beach with a long-distance view across water to the buildings of St Pete Beach. Not surprisingly, we spent all our time in the latter. Residents were universally sociable. Organised activities were very low key - fortnightly card and games evenings, plus some arts and crafts mornings. Most people just lounged, swam and talked, before joining to watch the sunset across the water.

The condo is spacious and generally well-equipped. The beds were extremely comfortable and both showers, although looking old, worked well with almost instant hot water. The galley kitchen was well equipped. The lounge was reasonably comfortable and the cable tv offered many different channels. Wi-fi was swift and powerful. The enclosed rear patio was hardly in use, except for drying swimming gear, as the sun was not high enough in the sky.

The owner, Stephen P, lives in New York but this was not a problem. He is a good communicator, quickly resolving a couple of issues which arose during our stay. He also responded quickly before and after our stay, while we (British) tangled with the complexity of international money transfers. He refunded our $500 security deposit within hours of receiving our bank details.

Although not blighted by traffic noise, Bermuda Bay is handily placed for the main US19 and Interstate 275 highways which are the main arteries to Tampa, St Petersburg and the beaches. We noted a significant increase in rush-hour traffic in the Tampa area since out last trip to the area five years ago.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable and relaxing month at Stephen's condo. As well as frequently walking the the Skytrail which is adjacent to the complex, we played seven golf courses, went horseracing three times at Tampa Bay Downs and visited the Dali Museum (half-price after 5.00pm on Thursday) - there are definitely things to do apart from getting a tan. If we were to decide to visit this part of Florida again, we would be happy to return to Bermuda Bay.