Alden Suites A Beachfront Resort

The bad part? Don’t bother renting an umbrella or cabana. Evidently, there are guests who have been coming here for years that believe they are entitled to set up 10×10 canopies directly in front of the resort’s umbrellas and canopies. They basically create tent cities, with up to six in a row, two deep. The two separate men we encountered were extremely rude and didn’t have any respect for anyone else’s vacation. Their response was basically, «Too bad.» The only good part was JC, who was in charge of renting the umbrellas and cabanas. He tried to explain to these meatheads the resort policy and was very accommodating when we asked to move so we could see some water. The good part? You can walk to some great restaurants. We walked up the beach each night and visited several outdoor bars and restaurants. Rooms were comfortable, staff was nice. Unfortunately, we like to spend our days on the beach and we would probably stay somewhere else next time that allows all guests to enjoy the property… not just the rude ones.

I had a horrible experience this last summer at the Alden. I had termites in my room (519) and a giant water leak on the sliding glass door in my replacement room (539) after the termite incident. Also concrete appears to be crumbling off of the balconies so this place honestly does not even earn 1 star. I stayed at the Alden ten years ago and it’s sad to see what was such a great hotel, turn into a unkept mess.

Nice enough (no bugs, not a motel 6, friendly staff, on the beach) but for 250plus dollars (NY hotel or urban city downtown costs) we had to request housekeeping to change our sheets and clean the bathroom, the floor was not mopped, swept or cleaned while we stayed there. Maintence is needed in the rooms (cracked caulk around tub, older fixtures, baseboards need to be tended to).
We were in town for a wedding so it was nice enough but not worth the price. I also wouldn’t recommend others stay there in the future.

DO NOT THINK YOU ARE GETTING A DEAL !!! The place needs a total deep clean done to the rooms. All the staff was nice as could be but absolutely DID NOT care about any complaints or problems– we needed heat last night– too bad– UNLESS We wanted to move all our stuff at 10:30 pm !! A dog woke us up 2 nights in a row at 2 different times– the last time was 2:20 am the dog AND GUESTS should have been removed!!! The total number of complaints are too long to list but the pictures I’m submitting tells it all– NEXT POST WILL BE MY PICS

We decided to do an impromptu «staycation» beach weekend. This was our 2^nd stay at Alden Suites. We enjoy it here and would like to make it an annual stay (if not more).
The price is good. (They also offer Florida resident rates) We have stayed in the Pool side King bed suites both times. There’s a little kitchenette with a few kitchen necessities, table/​chairs, and sofa in the front of the room. On the other side of a wall is the bed and bathroom. There is also an outdoor seating area facing inner courtyard. For these rooms, it’s not a private terrace, as it’s in the hallway. (However, that is better than I saw at a nearby hotel where their terraces were facing the parking lot with cars a few feet away.) The hotel is pet friendly with a reasonable $ 25 one time fee, under 40lb weight limit. On top of that, they provide a kennel, Kong bed, and dog bowls. I was very pleasantly surprised by this. I’ve never been offered these items at previous hotels before. (We saw several dogs there though we didn’t hear any dogs barking and everyone seemed to clean up after their dog properly) They also provide a daily newspaper delivered to your doorstep. They have two pools, one large hot tub, ping pong table, tennis courts, mini basketball court, beachside bar (you’re given a ‘buy one, get one free’ coupon), they’ve added a new food truck next to the cabana bar, communal seating areas by the lobby as well as by the beach, and a ‘grab and go’ store. (Judging by the maple syrup and sausage smells on Sunday morning, I’d say the store offers these items and several guests were cooking breakfast in their rooms?) The hotel is located in a great area of the beach. They are next to Guy Harvey, Tradewinds and Postcard Inn. They are next to many beach bars (we love the Toasted Monkey) and restaurants (Boulevard Burger across the street has Sunday brunch with live jazz)
The only negatives I have–
When we arrived in our room, the purely decorative ‘throw’ at the foot of the bed was a bit balled up and there was dirt/​sand on top of the bed. Like someone had jumped up on the bed (?!). which was concerning. The room otherwise looked clean.
The hotel is older and our a/​c unit and toilet were very loud. The a/​c unit turning itself on/​off was very jarring. My usually laid back dog was very scared of it. In addition, we thought all the noise from turning itself on/​off in the middle of the night would wake us up. So we set it to keep the fan on continuously and this seemed to solve the issues. Toilet was way too loud to flush while one of us was still sleeping. The shower seemed in need of a new shower head. It kind of spewed instead of sprayed and the water pressure wasn’t strong (which made washing my long hair difficult). Though the room was otherwise quiet, we only heard people running their shower next door. We never heard anything else.
Overall, we are very pleased and are already looking forward to our next visit.

My husband and I came down for a wedding mid– September and although the wedding and most guests stayed at the Tradewinds, we heard Alden was cheaper but still nice. I made my reservation online with no problem. About a month before the wedding, my friend who was getting married, told me to request a room on the 5^th or 6^th floor, as they had been renovated in the past year. When I called, I spoke to a woman who told me I had booked in a different building at a lower price point (not the same type of room as the renovated ones apparently), but that all of the rooms were really nice. I left it at that.
Upon checking in, our poolside room on the first floor was depressing to say the least. It was dark, the air conditioner was noisy, and the room definitely showed its age. The caulk around the edges of the bathtub and toilet were brown and peeling, the door casings were beat up, and the dishwasher was rusting on the front. After one night spent tossing and turning, just not feeling right about the place, I asked to upgrade to a renovated room without making a stink. I was not able to view a room before making the switch and the man at the front desk almost tried to dissuade me from making the change, saying there were A LOT of check-​ins that day and it might not be until a lot later when our room would be ready. Long story short, it was only about a two hour wait (we switched rooms around 1:00 pm). Let me tell you, it was a world of difference! Everything was new and pretty good quality. My husband had to point out that after money spent to upgrade the rooms, they chose to leave the old yellowed $.25 switch plates. I’m writing this review because it’s shameful and embarrassing that Alden had these vastly different rooms and their staff are telling guests the rooms are basically the same quality. The location is convenient to the main strip, and the hotel has 2 pools, a hot tub, shuffleboard, ping pong, a beach bar, and beach access. You’re technically not supposed to take the pool towels to the beach, but who brings their own towels? And you also have to pay to use the beach umbrellas. All in all, our stay worked out to be fine, but I can’t help but feel we should have just stayed next door at the Tradewinds for a little more money, but a step-​up star rating-​wise and a lot more amenities.

I went in to prepay the bill a day ahead of time. The lobby was slammed, with people wanting to check in 4 hours early and even someone who booked through a 3^rd party site (the gentleman didn’t realize his reservations was 2 weeks later). I was amazed watching Chris handle each guest. Explaining they had 100 rooms (guest) check out that day and 80 rooms to turn around by check in time. Chris explained to the guest they were more than welcome to use the pool or the beach until their room was ready. Then they would either text or call them as soon as their room was ready. He even helped the gentleman out with the 3^rd party booking site to accommodate him for the 3 nights he needed right then and there.
The next day Chris & Jennie (both front desk) were just as friendly and accommodating. When I stopped by to stock the room for my son and his girlfriend’s anniversary.
When they wanted a place to eat dinner where the locals when to, the staff was very accommodating, with excellent choice to eat. From Chris & Jennie at the front desk to the staff at tiki bar.
Thank You Alden Suites they had a greater lłme.
They will be back.

The Alden was alright. I think being able to wake-​up and walk out on the beach without breaking the bank is the nicest part! We opted for this place over places in Clearwater because of the price. I was expecting a little more space in our room but overall it was a good value for the price and beach access. Housekeeping staff was very friendly.
If you stay here, I would suggest to pick up a pizza at Giuseppe’s Pizzeria. It is right down the road, they deliver and it is amazing! Also, we drove to the Clearwater Marine to see Winter and Hope. Parking was full but we did find a spot within 5 minutes. In hindsight, I wish we would have parked at the second location. It wasn’t crowded at all and we wouldn’t have had to walk in the mud! The second location is the movie area they will boat (or bus) you too. In addition, check into your local zoo membership’s reciprocal program. We bought a zoo membership for our local zoo and were able to get in CMA for free as well as go in the Will Call line so we got to skip the longish line. It was great! Free entry and no line!

The little things really do count. On first look Alden Suites: A Beachfront Resort seems a bargain. While any stay in a beachfront hotel these days will cost you a nice chunk of change, Alden Suites is a little less than similar properties in the St. Pete Beach/​Treasure Island area. The room we had is in the newly renovated tower and is nice! It has a nice bedroom as you walk in the door, with large, comfy beds. The room has a door to close if off from the rest of the «suite» which includes a spacious bathroom, vanity area and living room/​kitchen. The kitchen has new appliances including a range with 4 burners and an oven. The suite really is nice!
The property itself shows a slight bit of age, but honestly, I don’t have any problems with it. There is a nice ping pong table, 2 shuffleboard courts, tennis courts, a basketball court, a sandy cornhole court and sand volleyball. Add in 2 pools, large hot tub and a beachside, open-​air bar and you understand why it’s a fun resort!
However, it really is the little things that determine if you will return to and/​or recommend a hotel. We came from close-​by for a 24 hour getaway. While we drove it started storming. When we arrived the desk clerk asked about our drive. My wife said: «Oh it was fine. A little rainy, but not bad really.» The clerk then began lecturing us on how when we are given lemons, we have to make lemonade. At one point I was in the lobby and listened in horror as 3 employees began griping about several of the guests and their requests, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!
We checked out the ping pong equipment during the rain. When I went to return it to the little on-​property store, there was no one at the counter. Behind the counter was an office whose door was wide open. Maybe 10 feet from my son and I sat a back office worker. He never acknowledged us as we waited until I finally said: «Excuse me.» I explained we needed to return the equipment and get our room card. He then only said: «Oh, she’ll be back in a few minutes.» and returned to ignoring us.
The next morning it was storming again. (This is NOT Alden Suites fault. Just want you to have context for this next part.) We needed milk for our children’s cereal. At 9:18 a.m. I walked to the on-​property store attached to the lobby which «opened» at 9:00. It was not open yet though. I walked into the lobby and asked when the store would open. The female clerk VERY casually said: «Yeah, it’s probably gonna be 20 more minutes or so.» She asked if she could help with anything. I explained our milk need. Her response: «Well there’s a ⁷⁄₁₁ down the street.» So, I had to walk to the ⁷⁄₁₁ in the storms. Never once did she say: «I’m sorry.» or offer to go in the store, grab some milk and charge our room. Wow!
Somewhere along the line, customers became a necessary evil to a lot of the U.S. service industry. That is sad and tough to take.
So, bottom line, while the rooms are nice and the property is more than adequate, I cannot recommend Alden Suites in St. Pete Beach. Had anyone here gone the extra distance to make us feel wanted and welcome, I might feel differently. But it just did not happen. The little things really do count and when they are not there, it leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.

Update to end of our stay– much still very nice here. But maid service has been quite spotty! One day we got none at all I had to take out our own trash and front desk sent runner with towels. Seems like maids expect you out of room by 8 am and are slow and grumpy otherwise! This is vacation– we sleep in! Also noticed our room was cleaned in ten minutes– yet cart would be parked in front of other rooms for hours…

we live locally and just needed 24 away from the kids. I admit I was price shopping and found a deal on a hotel site. Location is great, especially if you want to beach bar hop as we did. Grounds are kept pretty nice and the pools and hot tub looked enticing though we did not use them. Beach bar was right in the sand, however the bartender was not overly friendly.
The disappointment came with thee accommodations. While the unit was large, it was dated and dark. Poor nights sleep, the bed should be thrown out. The toilet was the smallest I have ever experienced, don’t see how it could ever accomodations any person of size. Bath cleanliness left something to be desired. Peeling paint on ceiling and tub obviously had been painted. Even the walkways and stairs, walls etc could use a good pressure wash and coat of paint. We felt the website photos and reviews were misleading. Would spend double to stay at a better place next time.

This a good quality family style resort. It’s not five star in the sense of fancy amenities but because it delivers value and on what’s promised. :)
Comfortable and convenient on the beach (across from shopping Plaza with Walgreen’s, Publix) and in an area with plenty of beach eats and bars. Not as boozey or cray cray as Tradewinds section but you can always walk to that area if you need some action. If you walk south on the beach it’s quieter and you can go to the Don and beyond.

Great location great prices the beach is right behind us and you can’t beat that… the only thing that I have a problem with is the Maid we had was lazy. I feel for as much as we spent to fly here on our first family vacation we were disappointed. we never have money to go anywhere and we spent all our money to come here and it could have been better. the Maid doesn’t clean the counters or sinks when, and I do mean when she comes it isn’t daily.
on our third day here we had a fill in for our original maid and our fill in was so good she did so great we wanted her daily.
our maid doesn’t sweep she doesn’t do trash and she doesn’t do the bed every day. Be aware they only change sheets every 3 days but you would think she would still make the bed …
I have had better cleaning at motel 6… I expected more out of this place.
we asked for bbq tongs and who ever brought them to us brought them dirty… like you would think if someone is especially handing something to you personally they would make sure they are clean… nasty
I’m still leaving a tip for maid but she didn’t deserve it.
I can’t stand lazy people who have no work ethic. .
for the location though and good working ac they get stars but for no clean place they get 0 stars
they do have 2 pools and a hot tub but who needs that when you are on the ocean!

Great vacation at Alden Suites. 2 pools, beach front room, clean, beautifully landscaped, and close to many excellent restaurants. Full kitchen, 2 doors between bedroom and living room, great balcony, all at a reasonable price. I hope to stay here again and again.

I can’t wait to come back! Was in town for a wedding which was taking place at the resort next door, and Alden was more than half the price they were offering with the wedding discount. We were able to just walk across the sand to the wedding, and stumble back after a great evening of drinking and dancing.
The resort is pretty big, a few buildings and bungalows. We stayed in the Nassau building, facing the pool. From the balcony I could see the beach and the intercoastal. Our room was funny to me, a suite with the beds where you first walk in, and the living/​dining area in the back of the unit. I am guessing it is this way so you can take advantage of the darkness, as the bedroom area has a smaller window and the living room has the sliders to the balcony. Either way, it works!
I wish we had more time to take advantage of the bar on the beach and the pools (there are two pools and a jacuzzi), or even partake in some shuffle board! Oh well, there’s always next time!
Also, at check out, the front desk attendant informed me they have showers in the lobby restrooms, so we could stay as long as we liked after check out to enjoy the beach and their amenities and shower/​clean up before we head out. He also offered to hold our luggage if needed, and we did not need to move the car after check out (parking is free too!). Pretty sweet!

I can not even begin to express the gratitude I have for this Hotel. We came here for my 40^th birthday and we picked the perfect hotel. Buddy one of the managers made our trip to the hotel PERFECT! The customer service was extraordinary! Karen from Housekeeping was so nice and helpful! I can’t wait to plan my next trip back to St. Pete Beach. We will be staying her again for sure! Thank you!

This hotel is amazing a great bargain for the price of a guy in a beautiful room that should probably be at least twice the price that it is. I would highly recommend it but I don’t want it to be sold out next time I come into town so don’t come here ok

We stayed here for the first time today. I think this hotel is amazing, and a perfect place for families. The rooms are a really great size and we love the pools and the beachfront.
They have a lot of amenities like a laundry room a small grocery store, pools hot tubs, tennis courts basketball courts shuffleboard a beach bar with hamburgers and hotdogs. Great price. Clean rooms. Staff very kind. Live band next door, and we liked that. We were able to walk to Subway, ice cream shop, and to different restaurants. We will come back.

Good location but very noisy resort!
LOCATION
Alden is situated right on the beach and is an easy walk to 3 bars/​restaurants right in the sand. The Toasted Monkey is the closest and boasts an excellent sports bar with an atypical and vast menu. We watched our Seahawks beat the 49ers on Thanksgiving night! Just a few minutes’ walk from there is Jimmy B’s, attached to The Beachcomber. Their prices are spendy, but their live music is a treat. Next you’ll find the beachy PCI bar, attached to Postcard Inn on the Beach — a low-​key spot for an adult beverage on the beach. Alden’s prime location to these three spots means you can leave your car in the lot and just stroll through the sand to imbibe at any of these locations.
ROOM #236 — Premium Gulf Front — King — LOUD
We chose a Premium Gulf Front (King) Suite Room 236 for a view of the water and the sunsets. All suites in this room category have a connecting door to an adjacent room, which is where the noise factored in. Never ever, in all of our travels, have we experienced such a lack of privacy due to a connecting door. We could hear everything our neighbor said and did, including the typically-​quiet task of brushing his teeth. One evening we heard him crumple up a plastic bag, and shortly after that he dropped a bottle (or perhaps several bottles?) of beer, shattering glass. Not only was it startling and extremely loud, but some of the broken glass flew underneath the connecting door into our hallway by our sink/​vanity. We picked it up, and immediately smelled beer. We heard him call the front desk to have someone from housekeeping come over to clean it up (of course they vacuumed it, which was louder than anything else up to this point) and spray something to take away the strong smell of beer. That entire situation was extremely loud and sounded like it happened in our room! I do find it really odd that the door was not sealed enough at the bottom to prevent items from getting into our room, but it’s for this reason that we believe we could hear absolutely everything he did in his room (and I’m sure he could hear us as well). I should never be able to hear my neighbor brushing his teeth or clearing his throat.
MORE LOUD SOUNDS
The resort itself attracts families probably because of the fair prices to stay right on the beach. Much of our stay was filled listening to children be children. It’s all to be expected on a holiday weekend filled with a lot of families, however, this resulted in absolutely no peace on our balcony. Just this morning I was trying to read a couple of chapters of a book, but a family was shouting among each other — one from their room out to the others who were in the sand. After about 10 – 15 minutes of this, I gave up and went inside to read.
THE GROUNDS
Alden Suites has a little beach bar that doesn’t stay open too late, but it’s a nice spot to grab a refreshing beverage during the day. Adjacent to the bar is Snappers Oasis, their food trailer that offers up reasonably priced (and good!) food. They even gave us some samples of one of their soups and their crab-​shrimp salad. YUM! Oh, and their fish tacos were really good too!
Alden provides complimentary WiFi and the speed is speedy! My husband brought his laptop (he’s a travel agent and always wired and working when clients need him), and had no issues connecting and staying connected when necessary.
Every morning, we saw Alden employees tidying, cleaning up the grounds, and dragging the sand. They do a really nice of job and keeping the grounds looking good, and well-​tended.
CHECK-​OUT SNAFU
On the morning of check-​out, we called the front desk at 10am to request a Noon check-​out. Check-​out is normally at 11am. The gal confirmed that Noon would be a-​ok. My husband was not feeling well, so he really needed this extra hour to get his stuff packed up without stressing about potentially getting sick as we were trying to leave. At 11:05am, housekeeping knocked on our door to see if we were leaving. At 11:11am, a housekeeping supervisor knocked on our door again to see if we were leaving, and THEN, the front desk called our room at 11:16am to ask if we were leaving. What on earth?! Each time, we politely informed them that we had approval to check out at Noon. The gal who called from the front desk was the SAME person I called at 10am who confirmed we could have a Noon check-​out. Clearly, she forgot to note it, and forgot to communicate it. Needless to say, that last hour was not relaxing at all for my husband who was trying to rally and feel good enough for our 4-​hour drive home.
CONCLUSION
Would I stay here again? I’m not sure. If we were to stay again, we’d likely book a Premium Gulf Front with 2 queen beds since we were told those do not have connecting doors. If none of the above is important to you, and you are just looking for a good location at a fair price, then Alden may be the right option for you!

Had an amazing stay here! Great hotel with nice staff. Room was clean and spacious. Was right on the beach. We celebrated a bachelorette party and it was perfect! Really enjoyed our stay. The only negative was that we were told to lower the music, which was a valid point since it was 2am. Overall great hotel for the price, right on a beautiful beach!