| Here's a quick story about the Vacation That Wasn't...
I got married on St. Petersburg Beach 11 years ago. We lived in Chicago at the time and flew down for a wonderful wedding weekend. For our March 29th anniversary, I decided to surprise my husband with a one-night getaway to the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club on St. Petersburg's waterfront.
The best laid plans were put to rest when my 7-year-old came down with pneumonia the day before we were to check-in. Grandma and Grandpa, my scheduled babysitters for the weekend, didn’t want to catch it. Can you blame them? My dad said if we had tickets to Paris, he would’ve considered it, but a local one-night stay wasn’t worth 102-degree fever.
Our anniversary night was spent playing Florence Nightingale, listening to my son cough on my bedroom floor, where he struggled to sleep. Poor guy.
Parenthood is selfless. I kept reminding myself of that, as I dreamed about the wonderful amenities of the Romance package at Renaissance Vinoy:
- Breakfast for two
- Champagne on arrival
- 20 percent off of flowers and gift items at FTD.com. (I am sure my husband was planning on getting me dozens of roses! Ha!)
- Late check-out where available – we were going to sleep in and go work-out after our leisurely breakfast, where we would read the Sunday paper – uninterrupted.
The Vinoy, often referred to as "The showplace of St. Petersburg's waterfront" is the only luxury resort on Florida's West Coast with a combination of a private marina, 18-hole golf course and 12-court tennis complex.
The resort is also listed on as an example of 1920s Mediterranean Revival architecture and has earned it a National Register of Historic Places designation.
I will have to plan to see it for myself another time - hopefully before my 12th anniversary - if we can find the time to sneak away!
Jennifer Michaels, Family Travel Expert |
