The Don CeSar

The hotel had a nice pool area and beach.

Jeremiah was awesome! Very knowledgeable and friendly! I was able to kayak and try paddle boarding for the first time!!

Live music today at the pool is so great! The day is amazing and the pool & service are excellent. The music just wraps up the whole experience ☀️ 🏊 🎼 🍹

This was our 6th time at the Dom and it never disappoints. From the valet, to check in, housekeeping, all servers from the lobby bar to pool to getting your coffee in the AM it is nice to see service with a sincere smile. This is the place to go if you just need to sit by a pool or on a beach and have someone deliver cocktails and lunch. The only downside is apparently others have found our place and the game of getting a seat by the pool has begun-they say they enforce the 60 minute save rule but didn't see that being enforced. The only negative is that issue which could be fixed with a bit more monitoring.

Cons (nothing significant): Finding the main entrance on arrival is a challenge, especially if you are not familiar with the area. You have to turn a block before what the GPS says. It is on a side street. The shower pressure was low, but what a beautiful shower! The adjoining room door on our side kept slamming all hours of the day and night which we think was a wind tunnel effect between the two rooms. That was annoying, but tolerable. On our last night at about 1:30 in the morning, there was a fire alarm that went off and we had to evacuate. A few minutes later, the hotel maître D came out and announced that it was a false alarm and everything was OK-back to bed. About 10 minutes later, the alarm went off again, and then again! We assumed it was a false alarm at that point. An overhead announcement saying that it was not a true alarm would have been nice. We also got to witness someone being taken out in handcuffs. A surprise as it is much more upscale than that! Apparently someone got a little too drunk and may have been roughing up his wife. Pros: We had a king suite that overlooked the courtyard and the pool and the ocean! Exceptional staff and on check in offered us a complimentary glass of bubbly! We didn’t try the more upscale restaurant but sampled their piña coladas (several!) and best I’ve ever had! The more casual restaurant and pool bar were great. Had a wonderful time despite the weather being rainy, cool and windy 2 of our days. Would love to go back!!

Ron and Sophie at beach service were both wonderful! Gorgeous hotel, great service. Would highly recommend!

Our stay at the Don was absolutely wonderful from start to finish. What truly made the experience memorable was the staff. The team working the bar (Katie, Jackie, Oliver..to name a few) by the pool were fantastic—friendly, attentive, and always made sure we had everything we needed while creating such a fun and welcoming atmosphere. Breakfast was fabulous with John as our server in the restaurant as well as the manager. So incredibly lovely. The valet staff also deserves special recognition; they were professional, quick, and always greeted us with a smile, making every arrival and departure effortless. It’s the kind of service that makes you feel genuinely valued as a guest. We had an amazing time and can’t wait to come back!

This year we had 16 of our friends join us for the weekend at the Don Cesar. For several of them, it was their first time experiencing this beautiful place. What a relaxing and memorable weekend it turned out to be.

One of the highlights was spending time relaxing by the pool, soaking up the sun and enjoying great company. What truly made the weekend exceptional, though, was the incredible service we received.

Katie was amazing taking care of all of us by the pool. She was so attentive to every single person in our group and always made sure everyone had what they needed. I’m not sure how many steps she gets in a day, but she is always moving and always smiling.

Katie, thank you for helping make our weekend at the Don Cesar so special. Your hard work and kindness did not go unnoticed.

It’s beautiful.

St Pete Beach is still recovering from the Hurricane but Don CeSar makes you forget it ever happened. The food and staff was amazing. The sunset over the Gulf was perfect almost every day and the beaches were awesome. If I had to be picky, I'd ask management to have one of the two pools adult only. I don't like cannonball pool water in my drinks, just saying.

Would we go back? absolutely.

Historical hotel with modern updates.recent renovation in 2023. great customer service. . Fantastic backyard overlooking white Sandy beach. Elevator to different floors is little tricky. We enjoyed our stay at Don Ce sat very much. It is expensive hotel but worth so one can return home with good memories.

Absolutely the worst. Had my hair torn out in the salon and food poising the same day.

It’s a beautiful location

This is a top notch property in an outstanding location. The staff was wonderful, from the front desk folks to the valet parking attendants. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Food was wonderful and the pool area clean and inviting! A memorable trip for us…one we’d like to experience again.

The positives: the front desk, wait service and guest service staff were all very friendly. The beach and pool areas were lovely and well maintained. The food was very good. It is wonderful that someone has saved this beautiful historic structure.

The negatives: A king room with balcony and a partial ocean or bay view includes a view of the parking lot. One day we received no housekeeping and the next day they came after 5 pm. We were not in the room for the majority of these days. Since it is an historic hotel, some will find the walls very thin. Our room had an extremely small bathroom. My advice to the management is to run the faucets in each room before a guest checks in because our sink backed up into our shower the night of our arrival and the sink faucet sprayed onto the counter. Both of these issues should have been noted and addressed by housekeeping before the room was released for check in.

We had a great stay even though the weather wasn’t great. We did get to spend a couple of days at the pool. The pool staff was amazing! Thanks for being out serving us in the wind and chilly weather.

The room was really beautiful. I agree with a lot of the other reviews; the bathrooms are small. We are small people, so we had no problem, but I imagine that larger sized guest could have a harder time. We had issues with the coffee maker being broken, but it was quickly replaced, and we were credited back for the coffee that we purchased that morning. I didn't even ask for that; it was just done. That was very nice.
The staff was always upbeat and very helpful. It was a great experience. Expensive, but that is expected for this type of property. I would love to go again. I love the history and story of the hotel.

We love the Don Cesar!! Excellent service all around! Stayed there the end of January 2026 for work and friends trip. Great to see that many of the staff from before the hurricane are still there and they do remember returning patrons!! The pool staff, including Jackie, Katie, Andrea and Mike, always go the extra mile with a smile on their faces! Even when it's a little cool out the pool area is always warmer so take advantage of it!! Love the new shops. Even getting coffee in the morning at Uncle Andy's - the staff coordinate and work well together to give great service to all! And the cleaning staff are exceptional too. We did have an issue with our a/c but called the front desk and it was taken care of quickly. I highly recommend this beautiful and historic pink palace on the beach at St Pete!