The Resort at Longboat Key Club
THE RESORT AT LONGBOAT KEY CLUB
220 Sands Point Road, Longboat Key
The Resort at Longboat Key Club doesn’t announce itself with fanfare. It reveals itself only after a winding drive through live oaks and palms. By the time guests reach the porte cochère, they already feel a sense of adventure.
History deepens the setting. The resort sits on the sprawling Gulf-front site of John Ringling’s planned Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a grand project left unfinished when Florida’s Great Land Boom collapsed in 1926. Arvida Corporation bought the land in 1959, demolished the ruins of Ringling’s ghost hotel in the early ’60s, and, after years of planning, opened the Inn on the Beach in 1982, with a tennis exhibition featuring tennis legend Rod Laver. By 1984, the resort held four-star and AAA four-diamond ratings, and its Tennis Gardens hosted the Sarasota Open. Now, under the umbrella of the Opal Collection, the resort stretches across 410 acres of manicured grounds and shoreline that includes a hotel, condominiums, tennis courts and a golf course. By the early 1990s, the property was unified under the name The Resort at Longboat Key Club.
The exterior still recalls 1980s Florida—stucco in sandy tones, clean but softened by sun and salt. Inside, however, a lobby brightened by a living plant wall, wide panes of glass and warm wood accents signals a top-to-bottom renovation. Guests mill about with the sun-tired ease of people who have already surrendered to vacation. Friendly valets tell jokes as you check in, and immediately, you know that behind this luxurious, tropical entry and history are laidback vibes.
Behind the resort’s luxurious, tropical entry are laidback vibes.
It’s time to unpack and unwind. The resort’s suites feel more like apartments than hotel rooms. A two-room suite on the fifth floor, designed in fresh seaside style, is outfitted with a compact kitchen, a dining table for two, a Keurig coffee bar, and a washer and dryer. Separate televisions sit in both the living room and bedroom. Outdoors, a wide balcony, accessible from both rooms, stretches toward the immensity of the Gulf. At the same time, open-air hallways carry salt breezes along the walkways.
Once you’re settled, it’s time to head to the beach or pool deck. A towel or lounge chair on the beach works, but for true indulgence, claim a private cabana, which can range from $250 to $600 (for a six-person pergola) a day, depending on the time of year and day of the week. Order food or drink, which will blissfully be dropped off shoreside. If the pool is more your taste, you’ll find teal-striped loungers arranged in neat rows lining the pool deck, palm canopies softening the sun and a jacuzzi and bar serving guests. A kid’s menu comes in handy for families.
Longboat Key Club guests can play on the Tennis Gardens’ 20 Har-Tru courts.
When you tire of the beach—and believe it or not, people do—head to the pickleball and tennis courts, or reserve a round of golf. At the end of a day in the sun, don’t forget to book a spa visit, offering a full spectrum of treatments, ranging from massages, body scrubs, facials and wraps, ranging from roughly $175 to $375, depending on duration and service.
Dinner awaits at the resort’s signature restaurant, Latitudes, where ceiling-high windows frame the water. Outside, couches circle propane fire pits. If you’re feeling playful, order a cocktail with an inscrutable but alluring name like “Guilty Passion,” with passionfruit liqueur, or “Violet Haze,” with lavender Kombucha. Sip and peruse a menu featuring a range of options, from Wagyu sirloin to yellowfin tuna burgers. Try the Ahi Yaki-Zakana—grilled Bigeye tuna with ginger-carrot purée, jade rice, tamari and citrus reduction and roasted edamame ($52)—or splurge on a glass of Bordeaux, Château de Pez from Saint-Estèphe ($30) with your filet and broccolini ($62). For dessert, indulge in a delicious French pastry like the mille-feuille Napoleon ($11) or a dense Sacher torte with raspberries ($10).
The resort’s golf course is a lush stretch of fairways threading along the water.
The resort also offers healthy breakfasts after a night of good food and wine, so don’t pass up the Sunrise Power Bowl: toasted quinoa, golden raisins, almonds, whipped LBKC honey ricotta, and chia seeds ($10)—and yes, the honey is harvested on the grounds. Feel like staying in pajamas? Room service it is.
You could head back to the beach, the courts or the golf course, but sometimes the balconies are enough, the Gulf shifting shades by the hour, offering unscripted luxury.
Things to Do
Tour Lido Shores
Just over New Pass from Longboat sits Lido Shores, a neighborhood that helped define the Sarasota School of Architecture. It’s home to iconic homes like Paul Rudolph’s 1953 Umbrella House, as well as other modernist gems. A slow drive or walk through the streets is an open-air architecture tour.
Eat by the Water
New Pass Grill & Bait Shop is a dockside stop with a no-frills vibe and views of the channel. Order a greasy burger off the griddle, settle at a picnic table, and watch boats pass by. Just a few steps away is Old Salty Dog, another casual waterfront favorite.
Go Courting
Longboat Key Club guests can play on the Tennis Gardens’ 20 Har-Tru courts, play pickleball or head to the island golf course, a lush stretch of fairways threading along the water.
