Hotel Hilton Garden Inn St. Pete Beach (St. Pete Beach, USA)

You won't get your fingers burnt at The Toasted Monkey, the hotel's restaurant. Prices are reasonable and the choices are more than adequate - including the breakfast menu.

The beach at St. Pete is great fun and justifiably popular. It's a great alternative to lounging around the hotel pool which is also exceptionally clean and welcoming.

Staff are friendly and always welcoming and attentive; even when they are under pressure. OK, there are elements that are a bit dated, but fresh flowers in the room are just one instance of the relaxed old world charm that is to be found here. The location is second to none with the beach, pool, expeditions and lots of energetic activities … if that's your thing!

Old world charm is a bit tarnished here and they play on this sentimental concept as an excuse for not implementing much needed renovations and updates. Start with the rickety old furniture, some of which isn't even clean. It needs some new blood and an aggressive renovation program to maximize on the undoubted potential of this hotel.

Beach towels are very small and (sometimes embarrassingly!) only available from the front desk. Pool is nice but the hot tub never seems to be working. It's a welcome touch having a mini-fridge in the room, but it doesn't work.

Noise originating from the bar is intense and a deterrent to any thoughts of sleep. Generally, the place is clean but you can still find, quite easily, evidence of bathroom mold, stained carpets and generally, slapdash cleaning procedures.