The Don Cesar

Beautiful hotel. Friendly & accommodating staff. Followed up on requests, quickly. Check-in was a breeze. Valet had our items out of the car & ready to go to our room in no time at all. Food was excellent. "Christopher" was our host at the "Society Table", restaurant. "Becky" the bartender at the Society Table was delightful to talk with & made a great Sangria! "Marco" was our waiter at the Mariner? Restaurant. He was knowledgeable about the menu & guided us through the selections. 7th floor maids were kind & friendly. Found a beautiful dress at one of the shops. A beautiful, memorable time for us Read less

Unfortunately, we can only rate the hotel around a 3.5 this time. I’ll break down the reasons during the review below. Location… 5 without a doubt. The Don is located at the end of the busy Gulf Blvd which allows guest an easy way in and out of the hotel. Traffic is not nearly as congested as other hotels in the middle of Gulf Blvd. If you prefer a quieter setting, you’ll find that at The Don. There are residences on both sides of the Don. It’s nice to go for a walk in the area and not have to deal with the typical congestion. Hotel…3.5, not sure what’s happening here but the standard upkeep is lacking. The outside of the hotel is beautiful. The common areas inside the hotel are showing wear and tear. For $600+ a night that’s not what guest want to see. I’d say all the areas could use a good cleaning. I’m not sure what’s happened with the quality of housekeeping but it’s obvious it’s went down. From dirty floors, unkept elevators, to the rooms. The pool area and seating area by the doors to Uncle Andy’s are in need of repairs and cleaning. The pavers by the pool are also showing their wear and tear. Unfortunately, not the hotels fault but guest left cups, food containers, and plastic wrappers when they’d leave the pool behind. It would be nice not to return the next morning and see the same left over garbage still there. I think giving some areas a fresh coat of paint and a good power wash would be beneficial. Pool towels… trying to understand why the hotel received a huge shipment of brand new towels yet still gave out worn, thinned, green and white strip towels… time to retire them. Rooms… 3, this was the first time we experienced a dirty room in all of our visits. Day one, we check in and make our way to the room on the third floor. When we walk in we notice the living room is dark and there is only one single window in the bedroom. I’d suggest more lighting in the living room. The carpet was stained and dirty, it was very apparent a vacuum barely, if at all made it to our room. Our first set of bedsheets was rough and stained, not what we expect. The front desk attendant told us housekeeping should have changed them when they noticed the stains. I agree with that but they didn’t. When I was fixing our beds, we found some items from the previous guest, which I’m trying to understand how housekeeping missed…? I wish when I was booking the room I would have been told there was a tub not walk in shower. Not very convenient, however manageable if it’s in good condition. Again, for the cost, how do you justify having a tub with chipped paint, painted over, and over on it? Or a hole in the wall with the worse cover up job done? It just showed carelessness. The water pressure was horrible. The floor in the bathroom was dirty too. I think we left the room cleaner than when we checked in. We also could tell the housekeeper changed during our stay. The first one, didn’t do a good job of cleaning at all. It’s upsetting when you go to an upscale hotel and have to ask someone to do the basics. Once we complained about the state of our room, I noticed towels were picked up in the evening and there was a slight improvement. Also our bedsheets were changed a couple times after the initial one. However, still not up to par with other upscale hotels we’ve stayed in. Yes, for those wondering we did tip, $10 a day. Pools…3.5, again missing some basic cleaning in the public areas. However, the water was always clear and warm. We’ve went to hotels in St. Pete Beach and the water was cloudy. So kudos to the staff for maintaining a safe water environment. Pool service is great, all the staff is friendly and keeps the drinks flowing. Johnny was phenomenal! Truly a gem to the Don! The food menu at the pool is also great. Much better than Society Table. Food… I’d recommend getting some basics at Publix, however Uncle Andy’s has a great, quick variety for breakfast. Beacon also has great food but it’s poolside. Society Table has a good breakfast selection, however stopped there for us. We used to always have dinner at the Don during our stays but now venture out. There’s not much of a selection at Society Table. We didn’t eat at Maritana this time so we can’t comment on it. Kids club…4, not a 5 because we’d like to see a variety of activities for the children. Ms. Kiki is another gem to the Don. She’s spectacular, couldn’t have a better person for it. She’s friendly, inviting, and engaging with both the kids and adults. Would love to see her get help, I’m sure it’s a lot for one person. However, I’m not sure you can find someone to match her energy. Our children rave about her and look forward to seeing her each time. We spoke to an employee who also stated the hotel is due for an update. I understand no business wants to lose money but I think it would benefit the Don to do a deep cleaning and basic wear and tear upkeep, some fresh paint and a power wash could go a long way. Some areas felt like you just threw a bunch of stuff in the closet before company comes and forget it’s there. Overall, we’re disappointed at the cost vs quality we received this time at the Don. For the reasons mentioned above, we don’t think the cost per night plus fees justify our stay. I see the manager responding to reviews stating the concerns are taken into account and shared with the appropriate departments, however it seems like the same complaints continue to repeat themselves. Therefore, are they really taken into consideration or is the Don operating off its name and history? Read less

I’m only giving it 4 stars because it is a pricey hotel. However, everything is pricey- so there’s really no getting away from that- it seems. Natalie at the front desk was a SAINT! I’m so glad we booked it. We originally went with the Sirata hotel and QUICKLY had to contact southwest for a refund. It was NASTY and NOT worth any amount of stay. We found Don CeSar and it was the best stay! Complementary wine at check in and one of my favorite parts was NO KEY CARD to constantly have to keep up with. They give you a comfortable fabric wrist band and adults get the ones with the plastic piece that serves as the keycard. Water friendly. No need to take off. It is a CASHLESS hotel. Everything is charged to your room or card. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Beach was beautiful, clean and not crowded. The water was clear! The breakfast at the Society table (on site) was DELISH! Expensive- but delicious! Comes with COMPLEMENTARY 3 lounge chairs & umbrella on the beach so no need to bring your own. Family friendly but also great for an adults trip. Hotel is MASSIVE and beautiful on inside and out. FD said they were booked but it never felt like it. There were ALWAYS chairs at the pool and beach available. No matter day/time which is nice. You never had to wait for elevators because of max capacity either! Valet or self parking (pay per day either way) Plenty of bar settings for drinks Waiters/waitress bring drinks/food to beach or pool. WATCH $$ gratuity and fees can get you! Just be mindful. They had some super cute shops on the main floor. The room was comfortable and the bathroom was super clean and updated. Traveling with 2 adults & 2 kids under 6- we were pretty comfortable in a double room. A lot of reviews talk about tiny bathrooms. They are small but worked just fine for the 4 of us. We just took turns. Pricey? Absolutely… but is it worth it? Absolutely! HIGHLY recommend! Read less