St. Petersburg Homestays

We enjoyed everything about this historic hotel: the room, the lobby chock full of art and references to its speak-easy past, the pastry shop, the bar, the comfy, covered front porch, the pool and fountains, food and drinks served poolside, the friendly staff, and the friendly guests we met. Also, the Hollander is perfectly located in St. Pete, being in the historic downtown district near my company headquarters and close to great destinations such as the Salvador Dali museum, Chihuly blown-glass gallery, and Morean arts center. I love historic downtowns and boutique hotels such as the Hollander. The rooms in historic hotels are often smaller than ones in chain hotels, but they more than compensate with their unique personalities and intimate atmospheres, which leave me with vivid memories of my stays in these sweet lodgings and the cities they call home.

I wanted to love this place, I really did. Everyone said if you are going to St. Petersburg, the two places to stay are either the Avalon or the Hollander. We went with the Avalon. Everyone raved about the Avalon. So I felt happy and comfortable with our booking. I loved the idea of the hotel. I love boutique hotels. I loved places with history. I did love the detail on top of the elevator in the lobby. I loved the platter of water bottles in the lobby. I did enjoy the pool and that the Hollander is right next door. The restaurant, the Tap Room, also lovely. Unfortunately, that did not make up for the things I did not love. The bed, it also felt like the mattress had history. The mattress, just not comfortable. The closet was HUGE, and there was no safe? Or fridge? There was certainly room for it. I did like the decor, but the room was a little too small for it. For instance, there was only one night stand because the one on one side of the bed was so big, there was no way it could fit on the other side of the bed. Which brings me to the biggest issue in the room - the lighting. There was a light on the nightstand and the light with the fan. It was fine when it was light out, and we had the sun shining in, but once the sun went down, well, my cell phone flashlight gives off more light. That room is DARK and getting ready to go out was difficult. It needed at least one, if not two more lamps. The light from the ceiling fan is basically nonexistent. Which brings me to another issue, the AC was nice and cold, but, it smelled kind of mildew-y. Probably just need a filter cleaned, but my allergies went haywire. The last issue, and this might just be that it's a super old building with probably 100 year old pipes, but the water in the shower. My husband would be sleeping, and I got up to shower, and frequently during the shower the shower would just go BURNING hot, before going back to the temperature I set it. Like at least 2-3 times. Loved St. Petersburg though, and hopefully we will be back.