Having nothing to do this weekend I decided to further explore my home state of Florida and randomly chose Vero Beach to visit. With a #1 hotel ranking in T.A., how could I go wrong with the South Beach Place?

Observations:

This is obviously an old Econo Lodge type two story motel which has been lovingly restored for maximum class and comfort. All rooms are individualized and include fridge and kitchenette.

Small touches, like free bike rentals, free internet in the rooms, classical music playing by the heated pool, lots of extra decorative pillows on the bed and Brians enthusiastic hospitality push the SBP over from good to excellent.

Persnally, I feel it's more fun visiting a small, family run botique hotel than some massive, generic, soulless international chain hotel, don't you?

Nightly rates here seem set at $150.

Room was very clean and bed was unusually comfortable and virtually no noise disturbed me last night.

The SBP is right cross the street from a public park and a nice big Atlantic beach with soft, fluffy sand. For food, I can marginally recommend "Rips" right down the road for inexpensive barbeque and $1 draft happy hour specials.

You must check out the McLarty Treasure Museum a 15 minute drive down A1A. This is a small, state run museum featuring salvaged treasure from several Spanish galleons which sunk there in 1715. With a $1 entry fee, you can't go wrong.

We are from Miami and in the hospitality/property management profession. We were looking for a nice place to enjoy a long relaxing 3 day weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city. South Beach Place exceeded our expectations. It was just so enjoyable, welcoming, laid back and relaxing. The facility boutique style, quaint and ideally located. Brian Kelly, your host with the most is so charming and down to earth, always finding time to say hello with a smile and asks how your day was going. The rooms are nice and clean and newly remodled. It has everything you could ask for. Upon arrival,9:00 p.m. which was a bit late due to traffic and weather. The office was closed, but Brian had a little note in the office window welcoming us and showing an arrow to our room, Unit # 105. It felt like coming back to and old friends house with the red carpet laid out. A fresh flower vase and a small fruit basket was awaiting our arrival, a nice touch! It is across the street from South Beach Park- a state facilty which was a 2 minute walk across the street to the beach. There were showers, restrooms, 2 drink vending machines. We were so lucky...It was supposed to be rainy and cool on Saturday, but we were presently surprised when it was sunny and nice all day long. Just a perfect day ! It was great to work on our tan for several hours, build a huge sand castle, walk the beach and then go back to the room for a quick lunch and a nap. There is Monte's Italian restaurant nearby but was closed when we went to eat at 9:45p.m. South Beach Pizza is a block away and has decent slices, but no beer or wine. A convenience store - 7-11 is a mile away on A1A and sells everything you could need for a weekend, but we bought a cooler cube on wheels with lunchmeat, yogurt, chips, cheeses, bread, fruit, cereal, milk, OJ, sodas, beer etc. so we didn't have to venture out for anything, our plan was to relax and beach it the entire weekend with dinner out every night. We did do a little exploring of the area for a few hours on Sunday. There is a wonderful seafood restaurant on the waterfront, it is just a10 minute drive away callled the Lobster Shanty. It was really good. The Lobster Bisque was wonderful and full of lobster meat. The fish dishes were wonderful. There was about 10 different varieties prepared in various ways. Went to Mulligan's Bar and Grill for a couple nightcaps and watch the rain pour down as the cold front move in. The next morning was in the low 50's. A bit cool, breezy, and cloudy.. but a nice contract to the previous day! This was a great day to watch TV, walk on the beach, swim in the heated pool, ordered a pizza from Nino's for delivery, napped and just relaxed! Ahhh! Life is good. You will love this property, a very nice place on the beach with LOTS of charm. They really try to make you feel welcome. Thanks Brian Kelly. Hats off to you and your staff for a job well done! We will definately return soon, when we need to recharge our batteries.

We stayed for a 3 day weekend in room 202, we found this room to be very clean and well kept. It has a kitchen area, living area, separate Bedroom and bath.

The appliances in the Kitchen were all new, came with a stove, oven/microwave (very nice) and Regular size fridge. We had a nice kitchen table, which had a fruit basket waiting for us on it and fresh flowers. The living area had two chairs and a sofa with a nice TV. Both areas neatly decorated.

The Bedroom had a king size bed which was very comfortable, plenty of space to hang clothes. The bath room was also very clean with up to date sink and bath. Nice Koehler faucets and neat decor.

The pool area is very nice with shuffle board, nice grill and plenty of places to relax. The whole area is surrounded by plants, flowers and shrubs.

If im ever in the area again, I will without a doubt will stay at South Beach. Only negative I can think of is that Brian the owner is a Michigan fan, I guess I can let him slide on that. When your from Ohio and love the Buckeyes that is telling you how nice this place is.:) We had a great time.

My dear friend Roselyn celebrated her 50th Birthday in South Beach Place, she took over the entire 18 rooms of the Motel for her party and invited her closest friends who came from all over the world. She erected a tent in the front lawn for lunches and dinner, and another tent by the Shuffleboard court as the Kitchen cooking area a third tent was placed for the DJ. The weekend long celebration was great fun and I am sure we will all be talking about it for years to come.