Clearwater Beach, FL - where to stay?

I live in Clearwater - is this for your honeymoon or just vacay?

@BeachBride Honeymoon, we're flying from Kentucky

Honeymoon beach is amazing!

Clearwater Beach has tons to do. I'd recommend staying at a hotel near Pier 60 area; you'll be walking distance to lots of neat touristy beach shops and great restaurants. There's an aquarium near there that houses Winter the dolphin (you may have seen the movie based on her).

Sandpearl is beautiful!

Take the ferry from Dunedin to Caladesi Island. It's one of my favorite beaches!!

Pier House 60 is really nice!! FH and I have stayed there a couple times. Here is a pic from our room last time we stayed there! Oh and the restaurant crabby bills is a must!

My brother lives in Clearwater Beach! I dont have any suggestions for a hotel, but theres a ton to do and Tampa and St. Petersburg are close for day trips!

Depends on your budget.

But go eat at Frenchies for sure!

Sandpearl or Opal Sands resort on Clearwater Beach. And definitely eat at Frenchy's!

"Sandpearl" is beautiful and "Opal Sands" just opened recently, but it is supposed to be amazing. The Hilton in Clearwater Beach is right in the middle of everything, and you can see Pier 60 from your window. Also the Hyatt is beautiful as well. It really all depends on your budget, Most of these hotels will cost you at least a couple hundred bucks a day, as there is no off season for Florida weather. Definitely eat at "Frenchy's" and get the She-Crab soup at the Rockaway location. Heads up: it will be packed regardless of the season or time that you go. There is also not much parking in downtown Clearwater Beach, so the closer you are to the beach area, the better off you are.

Thanks everyone! This really helps :-)

FH and I just decided on Clearwater, too - almost randomly, but the more research I do the more perfect it sounds. Grateful for this advice, even if I stumbled on this thread a few days late!

@Ellis we ended up picking House Pier 60 to stay. Lots of construction in the front with the new Marriott Grand being built so we got a balcony view that faces the marina and intercostal waterway instead. So excited to go! Definitely taking a day to go to Caledesi Island