St Petersburg: The beachside Florida city built on indulgence
Simon Calder eats, drinks and splashes around in St Pete's, a sun-soaked playground on the Gulf of Mexico
From the morning mist rising over the Gulf of Mexico at St Pete Beach to the end of a long evening downtown, St Petersburg is all about indulgence. It is a city of two halves: the main part concentrating on the bay waterfront, but with St Pete Beach, on the Gulf shore, as a playground for the city.
Presiding over the beach is the Hotel Don CeSar, the "Pink Palace", whose slogan is “Come all ye who seek health and rest, for here they are abundant”.
Thomas J Rowe opened the Don CeSar at the height of the Gatsby Era in 1928. It rapidly became the most indulgent place to stay on the Gulf Coast. (Many people are confused about the name, and imagine it was in honour of some Spanish adventurer. In fact, the hotel is named after a character in a 19th-century French comic opera, Don Cesar de Bazan.)
During and after World War II it served as a hospital and convalescent centre for returning service personnel. And it’s now on the National Register of Historic Places.
While sunset confers a warm glow on the Pink Palace, I love the place after dawn when you can tiptoe from your room to the beach to the warm waters of the Gulf.
Across the other side of the peninsula on Beach Drive in downtown St Petersburg, indulgence is abundant from sundown onwards. When dusk arrives, prime perch is the Canopy Lounge at the top of the Birchwood Hotel. Order a Canopy Jewel, which resembles a sapphire, or a St Pete Beach Blonde Ale, the local brew, and see if you agree that St Petersburg is the funky cousin of Tampa across the bay. The vibe is Miami Beach – only with fewer poseurs and lower prices.
After dark the focus shifts to Central Avenue, location for the Green Bench Brewery and where chain restaurants are notable by their absence. The restaurant scene is blossoming, and one of the newer arrivals (since 2015) is The Mill on Central Avenue – created by Ted Dorsey with elements of agricultural archaeology in the decor and formidable fusion on the menu, such as watermelon bruschetta and espresso seared tuna. And even the restrooms are defiantly different.
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