Gulf Stream Beach Resort

This was a very nice resort across the road from a fantastic beach on an island full of great beaches. The staff were all super friendly, but special kudos go to the activities people, who did most of the interacting with guests at the activities. We attended two complimentary continental breakfasts (donuts, coffee, juice, fruit) and a $1/person hot dog lunch they hosted (great deal). One of the continental breakfasts included a talk by Anna Maria Turtle Watch about sea turtles. We really enjoyed that and ended up “adopting” three sea turtles to support them ($20 each). We also went on a morning walk looking for new nests and took pictures of some turtle tracks. My wife and daughter accompanied the activities director on a shell hunt and a trolley tour of the island, both of which they enjoyed. The island has a free trolley which runs the length of it. My wife and daughter also did the sea-glass jewellery activity (additional cost – about $20 per person for us).

The area is hot and humid during July (90+ each day), but relief was always just steps away in the resort’s pool or in the ocean. The pool was a good size for the number of units and never seemed to be too crowded. Pool towels were provided. The pool water quality was very good and it was as warm as a bath. I could not figure out how anyone could even stand the hot tub during such hot weather.

The beach was clean with white sand and lots of shells. The resort provided white plastic lounge chairs, but locked them up too early in the day (usually by 4 or 5). I wished they’d wait a couple of hours longer. The chairs are removed to make sure they are not in the way of nesting sea turtles, but the turtles don’t come out until after dark. Beach umbrellas were available at the front desk and we used these on most occasions. The ocean itself was sandy bottomed and warm as a bath. I snorkelled for two hours at a time and could have stayed in longer, but would get pruny fingers. The bottom is not especially interesting for snorkelling, being mostly sandy, but we found lots of shells and sand dollars (you have to go out a way for these), saw lots of fish up to about 18 inches in length, and my son even spotted a stingray (I also saw one about two feet from shore when standing in the surf). Do the “stingray-shuffle” (shuffle your feet when wading) so you don’t step on one by accident and get barbed (not to worry too much though, they aren’t that numerous). The ocean is pretty calm most of the time, except before a storm blows through.

There is a shipwreck just off the beach for shore diving if you are a SCUBA diver. My son and I are, but he got an ear infection and I got a cold that week so we couldn’t check it out. As a consolation, we rented a jet-ski just down from the resort’s beach access.

The resort also had a deck that extends into the bay on the bay side of the island. There seemed to be plenty of BBQs (of very good quality) and we never had to wait for one. We could see fish off the bay side deck, especially at high tide, but didn’t fish there. We did all our fishing off nearby Bradenton Beach City Pier. I got a one week Florida saltwater license at Wal-Mart ($30) and bought live shrimp for bait at Annie's Bait & Tackle just across the Cortez bridge. We only caught small stuff, which we released, save for a fish each for a Great Blue Heron and a Brown Pelican that wishfully hung around us. We also saw wild dolphins and spotted eagle rays (which came within inches of us) while fishing from the pier. I read later that feeding Pelicans is now illegal -- oops (won't do it again).

Our unit was a spacious two bedroom that was quite clean and comfortable. A towel exchange was done on Tuesday. They offered to vacuum too, but we declined as we had just done that. There were ceiling fans in addition to air conditioning, which I found quite nice. The furnishings were in pretty good shape, but the unit was starting to show its age. The beds and bedding were comfortable, but not especially so. The window coverings were all venetian blinds, which admitted too much light in the bedroom at night for my liking, but were otherwise OK. On arriving, there was plenty of dish soap, dishwasher soap, laundry supplies, coffee filters, paper towel, etc. Toiletries were provided, but we bought our own toilet paper and Kleenex as that provided was not of great quality.

Parking was under the units, which kept the car cool in the hot Florida sun. Luggage carts and elevators were available to ease the movement of luggage to and from units.

There was no high pressure timeshare sales pitch. We were told resales were available if we wanted to ask about them (I did and was shown a unit – no pressure). We would gladly return here and would definitely recommend this resort to friends.

excellent location. Units are furnished very nicely and are very clean. From our unit you could look to Sarasota Bay and the Gulf. Gorgeous white sand beach and on the Bay side there is a fishing pier and lush landscaping. At this resort we got the best of both. Trolley will take you up and down the island. Many great restaurants.

Perfect vacation spot. Staff is very friendly.

Very well maintained units, just across the road from the beach and the gorgeous sunsets!

This is a wonderful resort. Beach is great and having access to intercoastal waterway is really nice. Units are spacious and clean and help and managment are very friendly and accomodating.

The rooms were nice, but the road was extremely noisy. Also, the chairs and umbrellas provided for the beach were rusty, broken, and hard to get.

The resort itself is over-named. This is not a resort as we understand it. The units are quite pretty. There is little to no ocean view as the ocean is across a busy and noisey street. The amenities of the resort are quite limited. Office staff were nice. A car is necessary. The only walking done will be to the gorgeous beach across the street. The location is good to access anything. 1/1/03

This resort has a great location on Anna Marie Island, which has a little bit of the Florida Keys atmosphere. There are numerous great restaurants nearby including a wonderful breakfast place on the beach within walking distance and the Sandbar which offers patio dining out on the beach. The rear of the property has a pier for fishing in the bay.