Find me a wicked awesome place to stay at St. Petes Beach, FL

I e-mailed the Alden and they have 2 rooms left! Sounds like New Years must be a busy time of year there. So I guess I'm going to take this, as any other places I've tried are either full or don't reply. I don't plan to rent a car, but anyone think I should? Are taxis plentiful if I want to get up-and-down Petes Beach late at night? One of the things I want to do is go see the http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org. Thanks for the advise.

Had a decent time. The Alden Hotel was fairly nice, had decent big room with a wee kitchen, nice big bed. Fairly family oriented. The beach was nice, big and wide and clean. The wedding at the Don Cesar (fancy place) went well. The weather was feckin' great and the family were in great form. Only complaint was the sidewalks on the main drag are flippin' tiny, when your walking up and down the main drag, tis definitely a place where a car is needed. Good job I had Bats Taxi's number programmed into my mobile phone. We actually found it hard to find somewhere nice (and reasonable) to eat/drink. I usually do a bunch of research before I go travelling to find places to go out to. But, silly me didn't on this trip, so not finding good place is probably my fault! All in all was a good weekend and the Dali Museum was worth seeing. ?! didn't bring my laptop as I was trying to minimise the weight so wasn't able to reply to your post till now. Much thanks for your and everyone else's advise. Let me know if your ever going to Boston and I'll see what pointers I can give you. Damn, I miss walking on the beach at the end of the day!

zaphod: I hope you're safe and sound in town. The weather's great everyone.

No fear of me drinking & driving! I just figured that my time at St. Pete's that I'd spend so little time driving a car that taxis would be cheaper. Be there next Friday, looking forward to seeing a wee bit of Florida.

Yeah, stay away from driving even a bit tipsy. They put more than the normal extra police on the road every holiday. You won't have any problem walking Gulf Blvd. Most of it won't be on the sidewalk, but the store and home lots give you plenty of leeway to walk off the road.

You can definitely walk up and down Gulf Blvd -- its name makes it sound bigger than it is, but it's really not traffic-heavy. The area feels very peaceful and safe (during my short time there, I walked most nights by myself [small framed female] just for pleasure, along Gulf Blvd down to its southern end in Pass-a-Grille). I was there in December and it was not cold or unpleasant even in the middle of the night.

Am I mad to think I can walk up and down Gulf Boulevard? Looking at the area with Google Earth I'm not sure if there is even a footpath/sidewalk? Maybe I should get an hotel closer or just splurge and stay at the Don CeSar, where the wedding is, or rent a car. Problem with a car, is I know that at least one night I'll have drunk too much to drive ... >Be aware the buses are a bit small town. I kinda figured the buses are small town, I am going to car country! Hmmm, now you got me thinking that over New Years the buses mightn't be too frequent. Get so used in Boston to being to walk, subway, or bus to things and not needing a car. >I'll try to answer any other questions you might have. ?! thanks for the offer I may take you up on it.

zaphod: Be aware the buses are a bit small town. Not always handy, especially on weekends. If you like Dali at all...make an effort to get there. It's a small museum, but you can see a few of his large works. If you like, email me. I'll try to answer any other questions you might have. I can at least give someone a call to get an answer for you.

I get to St. Petes on Friday afternoon, around 3pm, the wedding I'll be attending is on Sat. So I'm hoping I'll be fit to go on Sun (after celebrating the wedding). $32! Mething I'll bus it in at least one direction, unless I can get someone else to split the cab-fare with me! I made sure to put Bats Taxi into my mobile. Nice username ?!, thanks for the help.