Grand Plaza Beachfront Resort

Love ❤️ this hotel, and everything it has to offer. I live only 1.5 hrs south from St Petersburg Beach 🏖️ this is my get-away place to go to, due to the best ocean view on the Gulf. Now we all here in Florida have been hit very hard with hurricane Debby, Helene and especially MILTON last Sept/Oct. 2024. The Bellwether is still recovering and won’t open for a few more months 😔 At first I heard July but today I heard prob Oct 2025. I can’t wait to go back. Love the roof top restaurant and bar. Plus Bongo’s restaurant in the sand. Where else can you sit under an umbrella with your feet in the sand while having lunch 🥰. A billion dollar view 🩷 Let’s hope and pray we won’t get hit with another cat 4 or 5 hurricane 🌀 we had enough here in Florida. I had lots of damage with Hurricane IAN in southwest Florida 🥲 178 mph wind! If you never had anxiety in your life, this will do it 😔 I recommend not to go on vacation in FL in Sept. it’s the peak hurricane season.

This hotel is simply horrible. It's old and grotty and badly in need of a complete refurb. How it is rated 5* is beyond me .The main entrance is like entering via a staff entrance. The doors are dirty, the walls chipped and wallpaper is peeling and our room smelled of urine. There is no dining room either. We checked out within 5 minutes of arrival. The only good thing I can say is that they didn't charge us.

If you are considering getting married at Bellwether, read this story!! After staying in the beautifully renovated hotel several times before, my husband and I decided to get married here on 10/12/24. It also has special meaning for me, as I celebrated my First Communion in the Bird's Nest when it was still a Howard Johnson. From the moment we met Amalfi Lopez, Wedding Coordinator extraordinaire, we knew we had found the perfect place for our big day! Throughout the planning process, Amalfi was a constant source of support, always guiding me with patience and care. Then, just two weeks before the wedding, Hurricane Helene hit Florida. As the storm passed, Amalfi kept me updated on the status of Bellwether, but when she finally gained access to the property, she broke the news that it couldn’t be repaired in time for our wedding. I was devastated, but Amalfi stayed on the phone with me, comforting me (she handled my ugly sobbing like a pro) and assuring me that we’d figure something out. At that point, I honestly thought we wouldn’t be able to get married after all the planning. But two hours later, Amalfi called again with good news. The Bellwether team had decided to help us find a new venue and honor our original contract—even though the new venues were significantly more expensive. We toured the new options, and Amalfi was with us every step of the way. She helped me shift my mindset, hugged me when I felt overwhelmed, and supported me through every decision. In the end, we decided to move the wedding to Hotel Flor in Downtown Tampa, which meant completely re-planning the event in just two weeks. Our guests’ reservations were transferred, we chose new menus without a tasting, and all the wedding decor we had picked out for Bellwether was ruined. But Amalfi and Jenny at Hotel Flor went above and beyond to secure alternatives and make it all work. Then, just a week before the wedding, Hurricane Milton started threatening Florida. By the Wednesday before our wedding, it hit, causing widespread power outages in Downtown Tampa and surrounding areas. But somehow, Hotel Flor was one of the few places with power, so we made the decision to move forward with the wedding. Even though many of our guests were dealing with power outages and uncertainty, we went for it. On Friday, Amalfi showed up for the rehearsal after days without power, determined to make our wedding happen. And on Saturday, she became my day-of coordinator, ensuring everything ran smoothly behind the scenes. I can honestly say that without Amalfi’s help, our wedding would not have been as beautiful or memorable as it was. I’ll be forever grateful to Amalfi and the Bellwether team for making our wedding happen, despite two massive hurricanes. It’s a day we’ll never forget! We plan to come stay with you for our 1st Anniversary and would love to meet some of the people who made this possible. Amalfi, prepare for tears and hugs at our reunion!