Sarasota has a way of making a weekend getaway feel like a vacation. With its combination of Gulf Coast beaches, cultural attractions, independent restaurants, and vibrant downtown, the city offers plenty to explore beyond the beach.
For a recent escape, we made The Sarasota Modern our home base, pairing a stay at the contemporary boutique hotel with a visit to The Ringling and a lunch at a local favorite, Origin Craft Beer & Pizza Cafe. The result was a weekend that gave us a little bit of everything.
The Hotel
Located in Sarasota’s Rosemary Arts & Design District, The Sarasota Modern takes a decidedly contemporary and new approach to the traditional Florida hotel.
The 89-room boutique property has a modern aesthetic with colorful touches, clean lines, and spaces that give the hotel an urban feel. Rather than feeling like a traditional beach resort, The Sarasota Modern felt representative of the city around it and appealing for travelers looking to spend a vacation exploring the area’s restaurants, galleries, shops, and cultural attractions.
The hotel offered amenities you’d expect, including a resort-style pool area and on-site dining and drinks at Wink Wink Food and Drink. The pool provides a place to unwind between adventures around town, while the lounge-style rooms lean into the property’s personality.
The overall design isn’t trying to blend into the background; its aesthetic is part of the experience, making it a natural fit for travelers who appreciate a hotel with its own sense of style.
While Sarasota has plenty of accommodations that put the emphasis on a traditional coastal resort experience, the hotel offers a downtown-oriented stay where the city becomes part of the getaway.
The location was particularly convenient for a weekend itinerary. Downtown Sarasota is nearby, while the hotel’s position in the arts district puts guests within reach of the creative and culinary offerings of this city.
For travelers coming from Central Florida, the accessibility makes Sarasota an especially easy choice for a short getaway.
The Art
No trip to Sarasota is complete without making time for The Ringling.
The Museum of Art features a diverse collection spanning centuries, but the Renaissance galleries were especially captivating. Walking through the paintings almost feels like stepping into another time, with intricate works that invite you to slow down and consider the stories and messages behind them.
The Circus Museum offers a completely different experience, transporting visitors into the golden age of circus entertainment. One of the highlights is the world’s largest circus model display, filled with an incredible level of detail that brings the scale and spectacle of the traveling circus to life. The museum finishes on a playful note with interactive experiences, including a tightrope-walking activity, a realistic clown car, and classic circus games. It was an easy addition to a Sarasota itinerary and offers something for both art lovers and those looking for a more hands-on experience.
The Food
One of the unexpected highlights of the trip was lunch at Origin Craft Beer & Pizza Cafe.
The restaurant was simple, but who doesn’t like craft beer and a lunch pizza special? And in our experience, the pizza lived up to the hype. Along with the great food was service that was warm and attentive. Our dog was even treated to some chicken breast as a special snack.
A Sarasota weekend can be as active or relaxed as you want it to be. Spend the morning exploring museums and historic sites, devote an afternoon to shopping and dining downtown, or simply slow down and enjoy the hotel.
The Sarasota Modern provides a contemporary home base for all of it, with its modern design, downtown location, pool, and on-site dining.
Central Florida Lifestyles was hosted by The Sarasota Modern for this stay. All editorial opinions are our own.
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