THIS IS A REPOST FROM A TRIP TO FLORIDA A FEW YEARS AGO. NOTE THAT SOME BUSINESSES MAY HAVE CLOSED IN THE MEANTIME, SO PLEASE CHECK BEFORE YOU MAKE PLANS DUNEDIN, FLORIDA – It was the spring of 1993. I don’t remember the weather in Toronto. I only remember that I was heading down to a town called Dunedin in Florida to cover the Blue Jays in their spring training games for the Toronto Star, where I was one of a trio of baseball beat writers. I’ve always had a strong liking to warm weather, palm trees and casual, walkable Read more
Dunedin
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA – Workers with neon yellow and Florida orange vests scurry past the dark blue seats before stopping to consult blueprints. Hammers clang off hard metal under the sun of a warm February day, and the beeps from the trucks and construction vehicles is a constant din. If you walked past the Blue Jays spring training stadium in this Instagram-worthy seaside town west of Tampa, you’d be forgiven if you thought the facility was some time away from completion. Outside the stadium, which has been given a $102 million US renovation/expansion and re-christened as TD Ballpark, a visitor early Read more
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA – A sleek and sexy rooftop bar with killer sunsets. Fabulously inventive food. And a cool, Jazz Age history that’s reflected all around the property. This sleepy Florida town, best known by Canadians as the spring training site for the Toronto Blue Jays spring training games, has been something of a sleepy, under-the-radar destination for years. But not any more. With the opening of The Fenway Hotel in town late last year, Dunedin is suddenly on Florida’s front burner. On a recent evening in January it was difficult to even find a place to stand at the rooftop Read more
CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA – One of the best beaches in the United States. And a quiet, modern and super-convenient place to stay with tons of space. I recently had a night at the 629 Bay Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida, thanks to the folks at booking.com, which paid for my stay. It’s not a traditional hotel in many ways, but there are lots of nice amenities and bright, clean rooms. The initial approach is a little strange if you’re used to a traditional hotel. There’s no big lobby and not much in the way of signage at the property, which Read more
CLEARWATER BEACH – A stylish, bright lobby. Sleek, airy rooms. And direct access to one of the top beaches in the United States. The new Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach is a welcome – and stunning – addition to one of my favourite places in the U.S. I get to visit a lot of hotels in my line of work. Most don’t stand out. But this place impressed me from the moment I walked in until the morning I left two days later. The lobby is a real stunner; bright and airy and with a wide-open breezeway that forces your eye Read more
