By David Monforton

Sometimes, the hardest decisions a couple must make in life are split between two equally compelling yet drastically different choices. Beach or pool?

When my wife Candy and I recently visited the Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa in St. Pete Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast, that decision was made even more complicated by the presence of our three small children, ages seven, five and three. Individually, they each had very strong opinions on the subject of water recreation. Collectively, they just wanted to have fun.

Fortunately for them—and us—we were staying at “The Don.”

Immediately recognizable for its pink façade (our eldest, Patrycja, referred to it exclusively as “the pink hotel”), The Don offers both families and couples an outstanding destination for recreation, relaxation and a level of pampering without equal.

The choices here seem endless. Besides choosing between the two pools or the seven-mile stretch of beach, with its millions of shells and countless water activities, you must also decide if you want a massage or thalassotherapy treatment. Do you want dinner in an intimate fine dining setting or would you prefer a more laid-back cafe? Should you spend the afternoon shopping or take in a round of golf?

For families, the choices are not restricted to “What would the kids enjoy?” That’s because The Don offers its Kids, Ltd. program for children ages five to 12. Young guests are kept active with scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, and nighttime pizza parties while parents take advantage of their child-free time with a generous variety of activities.

Aiming to fulfill your desire to be pampered, The Don features incredible spa opportunities. Relax, restore and rejuvenate your body with one of its many massage packages or dozens of thalassotherapy treatments, which utilize the wonders of the sea to indulge your need to refresh.

Dining at The Don is a treat. The Maritana Grille provides an intimate fine dining experience amid 1500 gallons of saltwater aquariums. The casual Sea Porch Café overlooks the Gulf and serves up light Caribbean- and Mediterranean-influenced meals throughout the day. And the King Charles Ballroom hosts a Sunday brunch that marries incredible views of the Gulf with an award-winning gourmet lineup of delectable offerings.

Round out your time sans kids by satisfying your urge to buy at The Shoppes at The Don or enjoy a round of golf at the nearby Isla Del Sol, which challenges golfers with gulf breezes.

With the kids back in tow (or not, if you’d like a childhood indulgence without the child), step into Uncle Andy’s Ice Cream Parlor and sample its large selection of hand-dipped ice cream and impressive assortment of candy.

While staying at The Don, take advantage of one of their tours to learn about the resort’s checkered history. Built in 1928, The Don was a hit with the rich and famous, welcoming high society and celebrities with sophistication and elegance unparalleled on the Gulf Coast.

But The Don’s early success would be short lived. In 1942, the U. S. Army purchased the property, and converted it into a regional office for the Veterans Administration, which moved out in 1967. By 1972, The Don had been reduced to an enormous example of the shells that lined its beach, no longer of use to its previous tenants and doomed to eventual destruction unless it caught the eye of a passerby who would prize it for its beauty and potential greatness.

Before it could be demolished, though, a preservation group located a buyer for The Don in 1973, and it returned to its previous glory soon after.

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