The 1,000-acre Longboat Key Club and Resort straddles the southern tip of a long, narrow barrier island opposite Sarasota. It consists of two developments: Harbourside, which is primarily residential and faces Sarasota Bay, and Islandside, which caters to both residents and vacationing guests, along the southern end of a 14-mile-long beach fronting the Gulf of Mexico. Each development has a golf course and a tennis club.

Despite having one of the larger tennis complexes in the country—38 in all, 18 at Islandside and 20 at Harbourside—it remains something of a sleeper among Florida's resorts. Much of the on-court activity focuses on the local membership; resort guests, however, will find themselves just a short stroll from the Islandside tennis center and once there will be well taken care of, with studious game matching and a calendar of weekly events during the busy November-to-April high season.

Overview

Developed in 1983, the Longboat Key Club has become a major thread in Sarasota's social fabric. A kind of reawakening of the tennis center seemed to occur in 1996 with the opening of a new fitness center across the road from the Islandside tennis complex. Game-matching received a new impetus and so did tennis activities. There are tennis packages now that include unlimited court time (though not during high season). I'm still not convinced that this is the place to choose if you want more than an hour or so of tennis a day, but if you have information to the contrary, please let me know.

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 941-387-1634

Most guests play at the Islandside tennis complex just a short walk from the beachfront inn. The well-maintained complex of 18 Har-Tru courts is unusual for having a waterside location, all the more so because dolphin and manatee occasionally swim by, perhaps to check out the on-court action. A long covered deck outside the pro shop overlooks part of the action, and provides a place to gather before and after matches. There is a fitness center just across the road.

Tennis Staff. John Woods, the resort's personable tennis director, came to the Longboat Key Club in 1976. He played for Texas Tech and then traveled with the Laver-Emerson camps for three years between stints at the Houston Racquet Club and the Country Club of Sarasota, among other venues.
Tennis Programs. "We find people come and play their hour and a half or two and then go off and do other things," says Woods by way of explaining why there isn't more variety on the typical weekly tennis calendar. During a typical week, the Islandside facility stages a daily stroke and strategy clinic for adults, Cardio Tennis, and private lessons, supplementing those programs with studious game matching. It adds clinics for juniors during the summer and holiday seasons. Like Palm Beach, Sarasota has a social season from November to April when seasonal residents return and activity on the courts intensifies. Some of those member activities, like the daily men's and women's doubles round robins, which draw large numbers of local members (there are 400 altogether), may be available to guests. "If our tennis host finds out a guest wants to play doubles, we'll get them involved with that," Woods continues.
Kriek/Eagleton International Junior Academy. Two-time Australian Open Champion and former world Top 10 Johan Kriek now offers a junior academy year round in conjunction with ATP tour certified professional John Eagleton. The afternoon program specifically targets students from ages eight to 18. Kriek and Eagleton intend to focus on "tennis excellence and the educational side of tennis" with plans to expand by bringing in fitness experts and nutritionists. "We'll have all the tools to help train our young players successfully," says Kriek. For more information, visit www.kriekeagleton.com.
Courts & Fees. There are 18 Har-Tru courts at the Islandside Tennis Center nearest the resort lodging and another 20 Har-Tru courts at Harbourside. Court fees: None for hotel guests.

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about Longboat Key Club and Resort.

• "Anyone looking for solid tennis instruction and play, along with the ideal location for a resort experience, you cannot beat Longboat Key Club. The instruction was dead-on regarding the most important elements to a successful game. Additionally, the clubhouse has a great selection of tennis goodies. I don't even want to tell you how much I dropped at that place. The food is great. There is a wonderful breakfast buffet that will put back on all of those calories burned off on court. If you're in the mood for dining off resort, you are a stone's through away from St Armand's Circle where you can get any variety of sustenance. All things considered, one of my favorite things about the resort is the room itself. It was gorgeous, very modern and sleek. The room was incredibly spacious with a full kitchen and dining table. The bathroom is down a long corridor from the rest of the room, which really give privacy. A real standout of a room. Ultimately, it's about the tennis. I'm still running the instruction through my mind, each time I'm on the court in a set. That's good stuff!"—V.W., Int., September 2008

• "A Wonderful experience I would recommend to anyone. A very attentive and friendly staff. John Langer is an exceptional tennis instructor who in a short period of time had my wife and myself playing at a level higher than we thought we were immediately capable of. Dining at Portofino and Sands Pointe were just great."—T.H., Beg., September 2008

• "LOved the whole experience. We went there for a vacation, mostly to focus on our new found love of tennis. The entire staff is VERY friendly and accomodating. We had our first lesson ever with John Langer. What an AWESOME experience. We had so much fun, and learned a great deal in the process. We WILL go back. Would recommend to any couple, family or anyone wanting a getaway on the beautiful west coast of Florida. ENJOY!"—N.H., Adv. Int., September 2008

• ""—D.W., Low Int., July 2008

• "Friendly staff, excellent courts (the best condition of any I have played on, ever!), outstanding Pros with reasonable prices. All situated on a lovely property very near Sarasota."—S.Z., Adv. Int., June 2008

• "We have been going to Longboat Key for over ten years. We loved it so much the first couple of years that we got married there in 2003. The beach and resort grounds are simply beautiful, and we could not imagine accommodations that would be much better. We are told that the golf is excellent, although we are not into golf. Off the grounds, St. Armand's Circle is just a short hop away, and is a legendary neat place for almost anything you would want.
  Tennis has been the centerpiece of our visits. We take private lessons one hour every day, then get a court and hit for another hour or more. John Woods, Tennis Director, and John Langer, Head Pro, have been wonderful, and have elevated our game [and our confidence] far beyond where we ever thought we would go. The Har-Tru courts are a pleasure: easy on your legs, not a frying pan like hard courts, and ready to play on in minutes after a rain.
  Cost? Not cheap, but for what you get it is very competitive. Although if you want to be brought back down to Earth during a sumptuous stay, take a walk through the Marina and see what real money looks like."—J.B., Adv. Int., June 2008

• "My husband and I went to Longboat Key Club for a short vacation. Included in our package was Tennis clinics every day. We had played tennis in the past, but hadnt played in quite some time. We had a great instructor and the facilities were awesome. It inspired us to start playing tennis again."—P.O., Adv. Int., April 2008

• "Excellent tennis resort. From the time you step foot out of your car until you step back in to leave, you feel like you are in paridise. The accommodations are excellent, more than enough room for a group of four or even a romantic weekend. The food is five start all the way from the deli to their wonderful restaurant called Windows, so much variety. Tennis clinics and lessons were fabulous, definitely made a difference in my game.
  Shopping "WOW" they have everything and if you can't find it then you can take a little break and go to St. Armands Circle. If I could change anything I would some steel drums or some buffet during the afternoon by the pool after tennis. Other than that, this is definitely the Number One Tennis Resort to go to! Easy access to airport, fantastic clinics, unbelieveable spa, deli, restaurants, white sand, what else could you ask for."—S.N., Adv. Int., January 2008

• ""—C.F., Low Int., November 2007

Other Recreation

Beach. The resort lies near the southern end of the 14-mile-long white-sand beach that lines the Gulf of Mexico coast of the island of Longboat Key. The dunes remain intact at this end, so to reach the beach you use any of several walkways. Once there you'll find lounge chairs and a volleyball net.

Golf Courses. The resort has 45 holes of golf and a golf school.

Islandside Course: Water hazards come into play on all 18 holes of this 6,792-yard, Par 72 course laid out along the Gulf of Mexico. Pink and white oleander and more than 5,000 palm trees and line the fairways, which trail through a bird sanctuary.
Harbourside Course: Willard Byrd of Atlanta designed the three nine-hole courses—Red Hawk at 3,426 yards, White at 3,426 yards, and the Blue Heron at 3,376 yards—that make up Harbourside; however, in 2005 and 2006, designer Ron Garl followed up by remaking the Red and the Blue, adding more contour and elevation and improving the putting surfaces. Situated on the Sarasota Bay side of the island, these 27 holes trail through stands of live oak, sabal palms, palmetto, and southern pine. Playing here is a different experience from Islandside, at once more open and more trap riddled.

Spa & Fitness Center. The 4,000-square-foot Fitness Centre stands just across from the Islandside tennis complex at one end of the building containing the golf pro shop and the cafe Spike & Tees. The fitness center consists of an aerobics room with windows on three sides and a mirror on other and views of the golf course. There are two adjoining rooms, one with about a dozen pieces of cardio equipment, the other with freeweights. Personal trainers are available, so are a variety of daily classes. It adjoins the Island House Spa, a newly constructed (2005) 9,000-square-foot building containing 12 treatment rooms. Late in 2006 they'll open a 2,900-square-foot studio in the Charthouse restaurant building at the entrance to the resort with a greatly expanded roster of classes and training, including Pilates Reformer sessions.

And ... There is a beachfront swimming pool at the Resort Center. This is the official venue for the Sarasota Film Festival so they occasionally screen movies outdoors at the golf driving range (a drive-in for golf carts) and in summer at the swimming pool at the Resort Center, dubbing the latter "Movies 'n Tubies."

Children's Programs

During the summer and over major holidays the rest of the year, the resort runs a Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Kids Klub. It offers a variety of educational activities including nature walks, field trips to an aquarium or the Gulf Coast World of Science, and trips to a zoo as well as on-property recreation, arts, crafts, and water sports.

Lodging

The resort lodging consists of a cluster of seven rather stark white concrete monoliths rising from four to 10 stories and constructed in a halo around the Resort Center just behind the dunes lining the Gulf of Mexico beach. Their unprepossessing appearance is deceptive: The rooms themselves turn out to be very spacious—none smaller than a suite—with broad deep balconies or terraces and handsome Florida-tropical interiors (slated for complete makeovers in 2007). The best have views of the beach; the rest overlook the lagoon or golf course. All have full kitchens, washer-dryers, and wired and wireless Internet access.

Restaurants

The two main dining options are Sands Pointe, which merges Florida, Mediterranean, and European culinary traditions (e.g., pan-seared black grouper, veal chop with mushroom sauce, Kansas City strip loin) from its perch in the Resort Center overlooking the beach, and the Grille at Harbourside, a steakhouse with an outdoor kitchen. There is also poolside dining at Barefoots in the Resort Center and Spike 'n Tees, for breakfast, lunch, and a weekly evening barbecue in the golf clubhouse across from the Islandside tennis center.

See Also

If you like the sound of the Resort at Longboat Key, also check out:

• Amelia Island Plantation, Florida
• Sandestin Beach & Golf Resort, Florida
• South Seas Island Resort, Florida

Travel Essentials

Longboat Key Club and Resort
301 Gulf of Mexico Dr.
Longboat Key, FL 34228
941-383-8821
Toll-free: 888-237-5545
Fax: 941-383-0359
Web Link: Longboat Key Club and Resort

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Travel Instructions. The nearest airport is Sarasota Bradenton International (SRQ), which is 9 miles away and accessible on several national and commuter airlines as well as Canadian Airlines. The alternative is to fly into Tampa International, 72 miles to the north. Rental cars and shuttles are available at both airports.

General Tourist Information. Visit the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at 655 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236; (941) 957-1877 or (800) 522-9799, or the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau web site or contact them at P.O. Box 1000, Bradenton, FL 34206-1000; phone (941) 729-9177.

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