Dawg Daze on Holmes Beach, The Ms. Morgan Suite

Leave your beach bag and umbrella at home, as you can get up out of your beach chair and be on the lattice-covered deck in four steps! What can I add that hasn't already been said? Thirty steps to the water's edge. Very nice updates inside, thick bath and beach towels, new kitchen utensils, dishes, etc. Comfy chair pads for the deck furniture. Liz was wonderful to work with and knows the meaning and value of customer service. The cottage is clean and inviting. We have been big Sanibel Island fans, and the feel is similar here with no high-rises, but Anna Maria is more small-town "cottage-y" than Sanibel, sort of reminded us of a Lake Michigan beach town. We wanted to be closer to our son who lives in Tampa, and we have found our new favorite Florida beach town! There are fewer restaurants than Sanibel, but we found ourselves bringing food back (Publix about two blocks away) to enjoy on the deck rather than leaving the amazing setting to go to a restaurant. We found a good sandwich shop, homemade ice cream shop (really good!), and great pizza in the same strip with the Publix, as well as the popular German restaurant. Tequila Beach sports bar (where we watched the Butler games, also very family friendly) out on Manatee has great food and service, including grilled grouper. There are more restaurants toward the north end of Anna Maria--we just didn't want to leave the beach! Dawg Daze was just what we needed after a rough Indiana winter, and we can't wait to go back!

We rented three of the units at this wonderful vacation retreat. The entire family, three grandchildren, grandparents and parents had a ball. The proximity to the beach cannot be beat. Open the door, and you are there. The units were comfortable, clean, and well equiped. It is quiet, lovely and within walking distance to stores and restaurants.You couldn't ask for a better spot to swin, fish or just relax.

Some times you come across places that you know immediately will live up to expectations. This is one of them.

The living room is well furnished with nice touches - paintings, ornaments etc - & the kitchen is well equiped. Bedroom also well furnished, with a functional shower-room. Everything clean and well-maintained. Liz is very helpful, attentive and well organised.

It's a great location....right on the beach at the front and about 300 yards to the bay-front behind, in a quiet residential area on a little avenue off the main Gulf Drive. It's about two hundred yards from a small mall with a couple of simple cafes and a little further on to a large grocery store. Similar distance to the trolley stop for the free trolley that goes up & down the island.

Being able to walk straight from the deck onto the white, soft sand is wonderful. The beach is relatively quiet, being away from the main car parks. You can watch people wandering along the beach, take in the almost constant stream of birds passing by, hunt for shells, look out for the dolphins, watch the sunsets. And the sea is there for a dip anytime.

Ms Morgan is one of four units in the property (two units at the front, two at the back). The other three units were empty during our five-night stay. Not sure it would be quite as perfect with others there. But it wouldn't be far off.