4th of July Vacation Recap: Art Ovation Autograph Boutique Hotel - Downtown Sarasota, St. Armands Circle, and Siesta Key

Hi loves! I am here today with a camera roll recap of my recent trip to downtown Sarasota in the art district. Hubby and I needed a quick get away and I heard that this new hotel had just opened pretty close to wear we usually stay. I am aware that there was a racially motivated incident at this hotel the day I was staying there. I am not condoning or promoting the hotel, I am just sharing my photos and my experience. I did not experience any type of racism while staying at the Art Ovation Autograph Boutique Hotel. I had a great time while I was there and on Sunday night when I got home my heart just sank when I saw the news that someone was verbally attacked. 

With that being said, there are not a lot of details and Marriott addressed the issue immediately from what I read online. They don't know who did what etc. That is the only thing I have to say about this because although I vacationed there that same week, it doesn't change what happened to the other family just like it doesn't change that nothing happened to my family. So here is my recap not all of my photos are in the hotel so I hope you all keep scrolling! 

downtown Sarasota at night

Hotel Room- all the items shown are provided in every room. You can also check out additional musical instruments from the front desk.

My husband plays bass guitar and he drove me crazy playing this ukulele. It took him about an hour to tune it and then figure out to play it which was pretty cool. By the second day he rented out a banjo  and got started on that.

The restaurant was disappointing to both of us. The food lacked creativity and our orders were incorrect about 50% of the time. They were able to accommodate my gluten allergy. I did end up testing some items because some of my questions were getting lost in translation.

Siesta Key Beach

This was the first time I have ever been to a beach where everyone had tents and there were so many people!!!  The most active beach near me is Clearwater beach and it's usually packed so I don't go there unless it's at night. It was a cool beach, but we literally had to wait to park for about 45 minutes then it was another 20 minute walk just to get to the sand and then we couldn't even find where people were swimming. It was so... different. I was glad we went though.

Crab & Fin - St. Armands Circle

This restaurant was a hidden gem, I have been to St. Armands Circle so many times and I never visited this restaurant. When you enter it looks dated and kind of dim and even my husband was like are you sure about this? I told him I saw the food online and it looks on point. I was right too because their food surpassed my expectations! Their oysters and King Crab were phenomenal. I will probably go here every time I vacation in Sarasota because I love oysters and King Crab. And they have GF denotations on what is safe to eat.

I am not really going to go into reviewing this hotel given the controversy that occurred, but one thing I want to say is that they give the students at Ringling University a space where they can create and show their artwork and sell it. According to the woman who curated the art and wine tour they do not take any of the money the students make. I watched a student paint both of these American flag paintings while I was there.  They also work with a lot of artists who are constantly working on art so what may be hanging up may not even be finished which is kind of cool. So, at the end of the day I came there to see the art because its actually a museum and not just a hotel and that is what I got. All of the art gets changed out every four months.

Wine and Art Guided Tour