Longboat Key Club/Resort
On Florida's SW coast;home of New 20-court Tennis Gardens
www.longboatkeyclub.com
TOPS'L Resort
Top 10 U.S. Tennis Resort Tennis pkgs: 888-248-4964
www.topsl.com
Here's what others have had to say about Longboat Key Club & Resort.
"Twenty beautiful new well maintained surround a lovely tennis center. Pro shop is exceptional in friendly, welcoming service providing assistance with equipment and scheduling appropriate matches."—M.D., Adv., July 2010
"The longboat key club has it all. The instruction is great. The matching service is the best that I have ever encountered. Regardless of ability level there is always someone to play. The new courts are the best I have ever played on."—M.O., Adv., June 2010
"Outstanding facilities and service, world class period."—D.M., Adv., June 2010
"The resort and tennis facilities are fantastic. We arrived Tuesday evening and were invited to attended Wednesday morning clinics. Matches were arranged starting Thursday morning for the remainder of our stay. All matches were competitive and very enjoyable.
The staff is excellent. They were very helpful and friendly and quick to offer information when asked. The Pro Shop has everything needed to complete your tennis experience. I broke the strings in my racquet while there. They had top quality demo racquets available and were able to restring my racquet within a few hours."—B.V., Int., June 2010
"My husband I just returned from a week at Longboat Key and took advantage of the new Tennis Gardens at the resort. The staff is amazing. The tennis hostess, Sue Brown, set up a match with local ladies and the playing level was just right.
My husband I just returned from a week at Longboat Key and took advantage of the new Tennis Gardens at the resort. The staff is amazing. The tennis hostess, Sue Brown, set up a match with local ladies and the playing level was just right. My husband and I also took two clinics with the head pro, John Langer. His positive approach to teaching was terrific and he gave me three new tips that immediately improved by game. The Tennis Gardens is southern hospitality personified. You can't go wrong here.
My husband and I also took two clinics with the head pro, John Langer. His positive approach to teaching was terrific and he gave me three new tips that immediately improved by game.
My husband I just returned from a week at Longboat Key and took advantage of the new Tennis Gardens at the resort. The staff is amazing. The tennis hostess, Sue Brown, set up a match with local ladies and the playing level was just right. My husband and I also took two clinics with the head pro, John Langer. His positive approach to teaching was terrific and he gave me three new tips that immediately improved by game. The Tennis Gardens is southern hospitality personified. You can't go wrong here.
The Tennis Gardens is southern hospitality personified. You can't go wrong here."—S.L., Adv. Int., May 2010
"This is the best tennis resort we have ever been to, and would highly recommend it."—P.K., Adv. Int., May 2010
"Highly recommend this club. excellent tennis instruction, beautiful facilities"—J.B., Adv. Int., May 2010
"Just got back from visiting Longboat Key Club & Resort for the third time, and first time playing tennis there. Sue is amazing and was able to set me up for doubles matches with some wonderful women during my stay there. Everyone was so welcoming and made the atmosphere so enjoyable! Definitely cannot wait to go back and hit up the courts with the ladies again next year!"—M.C., Adv. Int., April 2010
"I was very pleased with my tennis experience at Longboat Key Club. I took six private lessons, and my instructors were very courteous, fun, and competent. Sammie Avila, Mike, and Jackie were great. They gave me suggestions that improved my strokes and will enhance my game. I have taken lots of lessons over the years, and these were among the best.
The pro shop staff was also
very thoughtful and helpful. Sue Brown was particulary helpful in setting up matches for me. The facility was first rate. I would highly recommend Longboat Key Club Resort."—P.C., Adv., April 2010
"Having gone to the Colony for over to 25 years, my family needed another venue to play tennis. Longboat Key was very good. The staff and courts were wonderful. The full time members at the Club were very inclusive. Made us feel at home. The only issue was having to drive to the courts everyday--granted, I was use to rolling out of bed at the Colony and either going to the beach or the courts. I will deal with it. A very nice vacation spot. Will be happy to come again"—J.M., Adv., April 2010
"Great courts, friendly people, and Sue Brown goes the extra mile in arranging games."—C.E., Adv. Int., April 2010
"Had a superb time at Longboat \ Tennis concierge goes out of her way to arrange games at your level \ players at club are both friendly and competitive \ Tennis Gardens are an outstanding facility and all the hardtru courts are in great shape \ I look forward to returning and highly recommend this resort and facility to others."—D.P., Adv., March 2010
Rate Longboat Key Club & Resort
The 1,000-acre Longboat Key Club & Resort straddles the southern tip of a long, narrow barrier island opposite Sarasota. 
It consists of two developments: Islandside, which borders the beach and Gulf of Mexico, and Harbourside, a primarily residential enclave, which faces Sarasota Bay. Hotel guests bed down in the 218 rooms and suites in a cluster of midrise towers just behind the beach on Islandside. The tennis activity now centers on the $4.5 Tennis Gardens, which opened in Harbourside in March of 2009. This facility has 20 Har-Tru courts, one of which is a stadium court with seating for 500 spectators, as well as a clubhouse with a restaurant and lounge to encuorage players to come early and hang around after they finish. The USTA named it Facility of the Year in 2009.
Pro Shop: 941-387-1634
Although there are still four courts near 
the lodging at Islandside, most avid players now gravitate to the new Tennis Gardens, which has become the focal point of the resort's tennis programs and services.
Tennis Staff. John Woods, the resort's personable tennis director, came to the Longboat Key Club & Resort 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. During a typical week, the Tennis Gardens 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 concierge finds out a guest wants to play doubles, we'll get them involved with that," Woods continues.
Courts & Fees. There are 20 Har-Tru courts at Harbourside Tennis Gardens, another four at Islandside, and one at the Marina. Court fees: None for hotel guests.
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 cabanas.
Golf Courses. The resort has 45 holes of golf.
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 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 a short stroll from the Islandside lodging at one end of the building containing the golf pro shop and the cafe Spike'n Tees. The fitness center consists of an aerobics room with windows on three sides and a mirror on other and views of the Islandside 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 9,000-square-foot building containing 12 treatment rooms. There is also a 2,900-square-foot studio in the Charthouse Plaza at the entrance to the resort with a expansive roster of classes and training, including Pilates Reformer sessions.
And ... There is a beachfront swimming pool at the Resort Center, where they occasionally screen movies outdoors.
During the summer and major holidays, the resort offers 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 G-Wiz Museum, and trips to a zoo as well as on-property recreation, arts, crafts, and water sports.
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). 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.
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. Breakfast and lunch are now both available at the Court 21 Café & Lounge at the Tennis Gardens. There is also poolside dining at Barefoots in the Resort Center and breakfast, lunch, and a weekly evening barbecue at Spike 'n Tees, which overlooks the Islandside golf course.
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Lodging ranges from guest rooms to suites, some as large as two bedrooms.
Seasons. Year-round, however busiest from November into April.
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 Airport (TPA), 72 miles to the north. Rental cars and shuttles are available at both airports.
General Tourist Information. Visit the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau website 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 website or contact them at P.O. Box 1000, Bradenton, FL 34206-1000; phone (941) 729-9177.