Hotel overview
The Don CeSar opened at the height of the Great Gatsby era in 1928. Known as Florida’s iconic “Pink Palace,” The Don CeSar is reminiscent of a Mediterranean-style castle with its majestic pink exterior, historic grandeur and striking architectural design elements set upon the white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico in St. Pete Beach. A AAA Four Diamond property, National Historic Landmark and member of the Historic Hotels of America, The Don CeSar features 277 luxurious guest rooms, including 36 suites, and six restaurants and lounges. Don CeSar also offers two deluxe heated pools, 22,000 sq. ft. of indoor function space, more than 16,000 sq. ft. of creative outdoor space, the 11,000 sq. ft. full service Spa Oceana, fitness center, Camp CeSar Kids Camp, The Shoppes of The Don, and access to beach rentals and water sports.
Location
St Pete BeachProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
General Information - Room taxes are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Resort Fee – Mandatory hotel-imposed fees are charged and collected by the hotel either at check-in or check-out.
Hotel Mandatory hotel imposed resort fee inclusions:
• Bicycle rental
• Premium Wi-Fi in guestrooms
• 24-hour access to fitness center
• Yoga and aerobics classes daily
• Three (3) beach lounge chairs and one (1) umbrella per room, per day. Cabanas and additional loungers can be purchased for additional charge.
• Non-motorized watersport rentals (between 9am to 12pm)
• Half day access to Camp Cesar for kids ages 4-12
• History tours
• Two bottled waters daily
• In-room coffee
• Pool and beach games
• Poolside pampering
• Airline boarding pass printing
• Unlimited local phone calls
• 24-hour shoe shine service
The above list may not be comprehensive. The hotel can provide current fee and inclusions when you check-in.
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
5023 reviews
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May 31, 2020Great Beach Location!
I like the Don Cesar a lot, just don’t quite love it enough for 5 stars. Outstanding facilities, love the pool areas - and the fact that they open directly to the beach. The beach staff is TOP NOTCH! They’ll help you get anything you need...and will bend over backwards to assist a guest. That is true of the staff throughout the hotel - from the parking lot folks/bellman to the restaurant workers, and everyone in between. In fact, the staff is 5 stars in every way! The property itself could use a bit of a facelift - the rooms are very functional, but a bit dated. Public areas could also use some investment. That said, I won’t hesitate to go back...as the hotel facilities are comprehensive, and the service and staff outstanding.
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May 28, 2020Disappointing
First the positive....the pool and beach accommodations are by far the best on St. Pete Beach! The service from Sally and Maddie at the Rowe Bar was consistently excellent along with Jeff at Andy's and Chris on the beach. Thank you! Now the disappointments and understanding current restrictions......closing the only restaurant on the premises at a luxury hotel on Monday afternoon for the entire week while charging full price for the rooms? No concierge available to advise where you can have lunch and dinner in the area....unacceptable. Understand it is an old, historic and charming exterior and pool area, but the room furnishings are in dire need of upgrades. They encourage use of stairs because the building is under served with elevator capacity, but stairwells and outside walkways were dirty and never cleaned during our four day stay. We checked out a day early and stayed at a nearby luxury hotel, at half the price, terrific room and the restaurant was OPEN nightly for a terrific dinner and drinks. Not our first visit, but sadly likely our last.
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May 25, 2020
Weekend Fun!
Tired of staying at home, we planned a small weekend gathering of some friends to celebrate the end of school year! Considering everything going on with covid-19 I just want to say The Don CeSar is doing a good job. Keeping out guests that aren’t overnight to keep crowds down, making 3 areas of “quick food” available during the day and also allowing some outside food and drink (within reason) made the weekend go pretty smooth. It’s a little pricing and they should be giving a break on the resort fee because they aren’t fulfilling their normal resort amenities (not even the two bottles of water a day in the room) so for this reason- I give them a 4 out of 5 but if you are looking to venture out and wanting a smaller crowd give this place a shot!
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May 22, 2020
A quick “get away”
If you’re looking for luxury service for the price , do not look here. This place is for aesthetics or a great Instagram shot only. I came here in late May, after Florida started to lift restrictions due to the quarantine. We booked a week in advance to ensure all would be squared away. Upon arrival, there was no real clarification on where to check in. Too many signs pointing in many directions and very confusing. There was no valet or bellman available and they would not let us use the luggage cart without one. After waiting 20 min to check in, they lost one of the rooms we purchased. We booked 2 rooms for a Wednesday night but decided to move the reservation to the next night, Thursday. We were able to get another room but it was not the original room we purchased in advance. The hotel staff was bleak, no one around to assist. Called the desk many times but no answer so I went down to notify of the phone not working nor were there curtains in my room. The phone was “fixed” but the curtains never came. Called in the morning to ask for a late checkout, the phone still not work, and spoke to Kevin who quickly answered my late check out request with a not likely response. I asked about the curtains and was told they do not have them anymore. I was never notified even though he stated I was, LIE!! Paying a resort fee got us noting but beach towels and chairs. The complementary bikes were locked up and available for us to use. They reopened to make money only and for the guest. Not one care for the guest as we were met with many excuses as to why things were not available. I would highly reconsider staying here as there are many hotels along the beautiful beaches of Pass-a-grill. The beach staff was nice and tried their best to be on it, unfortunately I can say the same for unhappy people behind the desk.
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May 16, 2020
The Best Beach!
My sister and I decided to leave downtown St. Pete and head to the beach for a change of scenery. The Don is an iconic spot known to combine luxury with customer service - a perfect combination for those of us weary from the recently lifted house arrest. Given that it’s an extremely difficult time as we get back to normal, I’m giving this hotel 4 stars. The positives are the BEAUTIFUL beach, delicious Illy brand coffee, lovely staff in the shops and pool, and nice casual outdoor restaurant. Negatives were NO housekeeping for a two-night stay, no printed bill (nor emailed bill as of yet) upon checkout, and the worst part - no warm welcome at check in. Looks like others here praised Greg for his attention and customer service, but Sis and I barely got a hello. He was unpleasant at best and I wanted to complain to the manager - looks like HE is the manager, lol. I wasn’t expecting a 21-gun salute or anything, but given the circumstances he should have at the very least thanked us for choosing the Don. Instead he wondered how we scored a room with a Gulf view!