Ameniti Bay, BW Signature Collection — Hotel in Sarasota

I stayed at Ameniti Bay for 8 nights in June 2025. I had a wonderful time there.

Last year I stayed 5 nights at the neighboring sister hotel, Magnolia Pointe (I also gave 4 stars). The two are similar but I think Ameniti Bay is slightly better.

At Ameniti Bay, I had a King room with a balcony. My room was nice, modern, and spacious. A few of the furnishings were starting to show wear but it otherwise looked great. There was a long cushioned couch in the corner that I put my suitcase on. And two chairs with two small ottomans for additional space. The balcony had two chairs and a view of the pool. There were ample towels which were regularly replenished (though at least once I found a long hair in one of the new towels). The TV worked fine and had many channels.

There were two main issues I encountered. By far the biggest problem was the terrible pillows! While the bed seemed comfortable, the pillows were frumpy/lumpy, too large, and extremely uncomfortable. I had some neck pain after sleeping on the pillows. It wasn't just me - several of my colleagues also complained about how bad the pillows were.

The second issue is that the shower had a fixed half-glass partition. I've seen this style before in some European hotels. The problem is that the water comes on to the side without a glass partition and a good portion of the floor gets soaked in water. I chatted with some other guests in the elevator and it seems like this shower setup is present in the balcony rooms but non-balcony rooms might have a more traditional shower setup.

I didn't have significant noise issues. I heard a barking dog a few times but it wasn't persistent. And one night the guest beneath me had loud music on the balcony but after calling the front desk the music stopped.

For beach goers, please note that the room does have two beach towels available for use at the top of the closet.

Service was good. I originally had two separate reservations (one in a king, the other in a queen) but the front desk was able to combine them so I didn't need to change rooms. Also, when getting my free water as a Gold or higher BW Rewards member, they also let me have a free snack.

The breakfast was good and comparable to that of Magnolia Pointe. Ameniti Bay did have the hot food served by an employee. That limited the portion size you could take at a time but you could go back for more. The eggs had some herbs in them, the meat was pretty good (especially the sliced sausage), and the potatoes were a bit better than I remember from Magnolia Pointe. The fruit was delicious. They had a similar fruit spread (Dole Tropical Fruit Salad) that I remembered from Magnolia Pointe but Ameniti Bay also had strawberries added in as well.

Breakfast started at 6 AM but I was disappointed they weren't willing to make accommodations for my group. For the first 5 days, my group regularly had to leave around 5:30 - 5:40 AM. It was a sizable party of 25+ guests so I'm surprised the hotel wasn't able to make breakfast available earlier. The remaining 3 days I stayed on my own and was able to actually enjoy the breakfast.

There is a shared pool with Magnolia Pointe. I didn't use it this time around but my colleagues enjoyed having a pool party last year.

The location is convenient. I walked to the nearby Bob Evans twice though this time I didn't frequent the Culvers. Ameniti Bay is a 10 minute drive from Nathan Benderson Park and the Mall at University Town Center - I had dinner at the mall area 3 times. The hotel is about 15-20 minutes from downtown Sarasota, 30 minutes from South Lido Key Beach, and 25 minutes from SRQ airport.

During my time here, I visited The Ringling again (the art museum and gardens are free on Mondays!), Art Center Sarasota, I looked around at the Sarasota Orchestra and Van Wezel Performing Art Center though I didn't see any shows, and also went to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens (smaller than I expected).

Overall I had a great experience at Ameniti Bay and would definitely...



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Minutes from downtown Sarasota, award-winning beaches, UTC and Nathan Benderson Park

Amenities

We offer a variety of amenities to make your stay with us as comfortable as possible.

105 Well Appointed Guest Rooms & Suites

Suite Rooms, Balcony Rooms, and Executive Suites Available

Microwave and Mini Fridge in All Rooms

Complimentary Full Hot Breakfast

Outdoor Resort Style Pool

Courtesy Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, 4 Bay – 2 Tesla

Meeting Space

24-Hour Fitness Room

Guest Laundry

Outdoor Patio with Fire Pits and Gas Grills

Business Center

Marketplace

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Whether this is your first visit, or you have been a guest many times, we want your experience to be excellent. Our staff is always available to assist with any questions or concerns you may have.





DINING

Breakfast Your Way

Included in your visit is our magnificent breakfast served daily from 6am - 10am

Enjoy complimentary  breakfast of cooked to order eggs, breakfast meats, waffles, yogurt parfait bar with toppings and fresh fruit, signature pastries, cereal, and a variety of fresh squeezed juices and freshly brewed coffee



Cook to Order Eggs

Our Breakfast staff awaits you daily to prepare fresh, cook to order eggs just the way you like!





Coffee and Juice

Fresh selection of juices, favored water, and 24/7 Coffee and Tea available in the lobby!

REVIEWS

Ameniti Bay Hotel

4.8

View All 82 Reviews



"Modern building, nice rooms, beautiful amenities..."

Carlos Julio - 9/1/2021

Thank you to all the staff. You deserve five stars! Made to order eggs... not your average free breakfast. Definitely recommend.



"Thank you to all the staff. You deserve five stars! Made to order eggs... not your average free brea..."

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richard leffler - 8/30/2021

The Ameniti Bay was one of the most hospitable hotels I’ve been too. This hotel is located close to every attraction you can think. Our stay was made extra special due to staff member Rhonda check-in. BJ the cook was super excellent handling the large crew in the breakfast time. It was nice to see that the hotel took cleaning guidelines seriously, all of the staff members wore masks, and at any point you could find someone cleaning common areas of the hotel. We recommend this hotel to anybody, and will definitely be back the next time we visit Sarasota.



"The Ameniti Bay was one of the most hospitable hotels I’ve been too. My girlfriend and I...

What I liked:

Overall, the hotel looked fresh and clean; The lobby was spacious and beautifully designed; Housekeeping was done every single day, Sundays included - all towels replaced, beds done, trash picked up; Breakfast was also served every day 6am-9am, it was decent, good even (eggs, sausages, potatoes, pancakes, bread of several kinds, fruit, coffee and tea of a few flavors); The bed (king) was comfortable (while the sofa and the pull-on bed were not).

What I disliked... There were weird things we didn't expect to see in such a nice-looking hotel with good reviews. It felt a bit surreal like the management was trying to annoy guests on purpose:

Instead of a 2-queen room we were given a 1-bedroom king room with a narrow mobile bed. No explanation was provided; we were too tired to ask questions or argue. I didn't like the lighting in the room, it was too dim and white-pale-ish; In the room there was a small kitchen with a range, but no dishwasher, no kitchen towels, no paper towels, no sponge, no veggie peeler (just a dull knife); only one small pan and a frying pan; no recycling bin; The kitchen trash cabinet was with broken doors; it stayed that way for a few days until we complained, then they fixed it; Poor ventilation in the bathroom, every time someone bathed the entire bathroom was foggy with wet walls and mirrors for a while; The guest laundry had two washers and two dryers, but one of each was permanently broken throughout our entire stay, which meant the whole hotel (six floors, each with a lot of rooms) had only one small washer and one dryer! How was that even possible? The washer/dryer operated on quarters, but the front desk could only exchange hard cash for coins. There was no ATM in the hotel, which means we had to go to a plaza across the street to get cash to get our laundry done; Shaky equipment in the gym, which was itself quite tiny (a rowing machine, a treadmill, an ellipse, one bench and a small set of dumbbells - that was it). The treadmill rumbled and squeaked but admittedly had the sweat job done; The breakfast hall had a small extra space outside, but once a person went there, they were locked out via a key-card lock. Which meant people had troubles bringing back dirty dishes, getting more food or leaving kids at the outside tables; We didn't use the pool because it was across the hotel parking, it wasn't convenient to walk there and back...