Every year I like to celebrate my birthday in a different city or country. Of course COVID has made it impossible to travel overseas, so I decided to head two hours away to St. Petersburg, Florida. This was a quick girls weekend away for celebrating being 32 years old. My birthday for the first time in awhile landed on a Saturday which made it a perfect mini-vacation. We left late Friday afternoon and checked into The Hollander later that evening. This hotel has been on my list of stays for St.Pete, and it was amazing! It has tap room and coffee shop downstairs, as well as pool & bar outdoor on the patio. Since it’s an older building, you could hear your neighbors in the hallway at night, but that never bothered us. Free parking and only a ten minute walk to downtown. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone if they are looking to stay close to the main attractions.
After checking in, we headed to dinner reservations at Tropez. We were lucky that it wasn’t crowded at 9pm since we got a whole couch section to ourselves. Definitely a must if you love a speakeasy type of restaurant/bar. The food and service was great. Next we headed to Copper Shaker to end the night! We decided to end the night early so we could have the whole Saturday to day drink. The next morning we ordered an Uber and started brunch at Swingers Patio Bar & Grill. Now before your mind is thinking something else, Swingers has swings you can sit in while having brunch! We got there right at 11am when they opened which was perfect since the swings were first come first serve. Their bottomless mimosas were only $15. Food was absolutely amazing and huge plates! So prepare to share or have leftovers. After a couple of hours of eating and swinging, we headed to No Vacancy. This bar was so adorable! It had a tropical feel to it but it wasn’t just a bar, it had food and games. The outdoor seating was decorated like you were in Key West. The drinks were all tropical as well. Probably one of my favorite bars in St. Pete!
We headed back to the hotel for a quick nap until dinner reservations at The Oyster Bar . If you love oysters then I highly recommend this restaurant! Service and food was amazing! They have more options other than oysters. The restaurant was settled right in the middle of amazing bars as well. After dinner we went next door Saigon Blonde, a unique bar inspired by the 1960s era. The tiki bar gives vibes of a sultry tropical lounge with hanging lanterns, plush printed furniture, and towering paintings. It is based on the Vietnam war, and gives you the feeling that you were living in it! We actually met new friends at this bar, and we just ended the night hanging out with them and enjoying celebrating my birthday. The next day we checked out of the hotel, and decided to have brunch by the pool. The Hollander has a great restaurant and their avocado toast with egg is delicious. Also great drink specials on Sunday for brunch! It was such a great weekend that I didn’t even want it to end. Definitely will be back for a quick staycation!
*** St.Pete was very strict on masks! So all the social distancing and pre-cautions were definitely taken place.
