Our History - THE VILLAS @ ST. PETE BEACH

The Villas at St. Pete Beach is a renovated property that has stood on the corner of 69th Avenue and Sunset Way for many decades. It has been a textbook example of the Old Florida beach vacation rental tradition, a monument to the days when every family dreamed of a station wagon road trip to our alluring, tropical state to get away from it all. We are excited to update this piece of Florida lore with modern amenities and comforts, without sacrificing its history and charm! St. Pete Beach is full of history. During World War II, our town was a major technical training center for the Army Air Corps. Over 100,000 trainees swamped every hotel in the city. Many of them settled in St Pete Beach with their families, causing a wave of development. In the 1950s, the new invention of air conditioning caused the population of St. Pete Beach to grow to 200,000 residents. Streetcar tracks became roads, and the town began to boom. Music and arts, shopping and eateries popped up in the area. Steady growth continued. Baseball entered the area in a big way in 1998 when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays chose downtown St. Petersburg as their home. Since 2000, St. Pete has become a city for the arts. The Dali Museum opened in 2011, with the largest collection of Salvador Dali originals outside of Spain. Downtown is home to the Dale Chihuly world-renowned glass collection, six art districts, and seven museums. Artistic and culinary culture is at the core of St. Pete’s culture, calling vacationers back every year. The Historic Corey Avenue downtown area of St. Pete Beach celebrates this rich culture with regular festivals and street fairs, all within a five-minute walk of your room at the Villas. In 2018, the family and team behind the success of St. Pete Beach Suites purchased the Serendipity property and began the renovation process, which was completed in November 2019. Renamed to the Villas at St. Pete Beach, this new hotel takes cues from its sister property in all the right ways. St. Pete Beach Suites has become a favorite of travelers, consistently one of the highest-rated hotels in St. Pete Beach, and we anticipate that the Villas will receive similar acclaim, with many of the same amenities available. Their connection is expressed in a matching pair of dolphin statues that stand in each property's pool area. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the history of our town and our property, and we look towards a bright future!