Arvilla Resort — Hotel in Treasure Island

Let me start by saying I would definitely stay at Arvilla again. We had the pleasure of staying in Room 115 on the first floor, which has recently been renovated. It was both adorable and impeccably clean. The pool, which was also well-maintained, was conveniently located right outside our door. As for the location, it's just a short walk to the beach. While you can't step directly onto the sand from the hotel due to natural protected dunes, that’s a common feature throughout Treasure Island.

During our stay, we had the opportunity to meet several lovely families and had a blast collecting seashells while walking along the beach.

Here are a few things to keep in mind during your stay:

Ongoing Renovations: The hotel is still in the process of repairs and renovations, so there is no front desk or office on-site. Instead, you'll need to check in at its sister property, Oasis, located a short distance down the road. The office is situated at the back of the Oasis hotel in a separate building, which is a bit of an inconvenience but not a dealbreaker.

Noise and Parties: During our stay, we did experience some noise disturbances. There were a few loud parties outside around 2 a.m. on two separate nights, which involved loud music and drug use. The smell of weed permeated the area, though it didn’t directly affect us. We were able to use a sound machine to block out the noise and slept just fine. However, it’s something to be aware of, especially if you have young children. You might want to come prepared with earplugs or white noise devices if you're sensitive to such disturbances.

Room Maintenance: While the room was charming and freshly painted, the door to Room 115 was a bit worn. You could see the locking mechanism, and the door itself wasn’t in the best condition, though it had been repainted in a cute pink color. We felt safe in the area, so it wasn’t a major issue for us, but it’s something others might want to consider.

Towels and Washcloths: Another small note is that the hotel only provides one towel and one washcloth per person for the entire stay. We knew this going in and brought our own extras, but I recommend others come prepared with more if needed.

Overall, Arvilla is a charming, recently renovated hotel with a cozy, intimate atmosphere—perfect for those who prefer smaller, privately owned properties. We truly enjoyed our stay and will definitely be returning in the future.

Treasure Island and St. Petersburg are still in the process of rebuilding, and tourism is vital for the local economy. So, don't hesitate to visit! Arvilla is a lovely hotel, set on a beautiful beach in a...

Be careful when booking here. We made a reservation via a booking site a few weeks ago for a weekend getaway.

Red flag number one: when we arrived, we couldn’t find the front office. Thankfully, someone else who had just checked in saw us looking confused, and let us know to check in, you actually had to walk a block down to the road to a DIFFERENT motel, since this one is under construction. Ok, fine.

We walk down the block to the second motel, and the office there is impossible to find. Red flag number 2. We run into another couple also hunting for the office. We finally find it, go inside. We let the woman at the desk know our name, and she starts shuffling papers around and goes “oh uhhh, I think you’re the booking we had to cancel”

Um - excuse me? “Yeah, we sent a message via booking.com”. We never received a message. When was it sent? “Yesterday.” Ok, well our app still shows this booking as confirmed……at this point she’s getting annoyed and is insisting we were informed. And shows us how the message to us says “delivered”. Doesn’t change that we never received it, though. You’d think that if you send someone a message about canceling their reservation, and they don’t respond or acknowledge, you might call them, etc. but, no.

Truly unapologetic, unhelpful, and essentially told us to go screw ourselves.

We ended up at a neighboring motel, whose owner told us he ends up getting a lot of people that walk in due to cancelled reservations from this place.

So - book with caution. Good luck.

Oh, and the...

A group of friends have spent spring break at the Arvilla for some 20 years renting around 11 rooms during the 3rd week in March. Additional friends have stayed a few weeks before and after because of the accomodations (which have gone down), pool, friendliness and price. 2020 was different. We arrived March 11 and paid for around 7 weeks of rooms for us and our kids who were coming. Then March 16, the pandemic becomes "real" as the restaurants close except for carry out, the beach closes except for walking, thoughts of closing the FL/GA border were tossed out and the Arvilla closed the pool around March 27. Canadian friends left early because of the Canadian border closures. Our kids decided not to come for various covid related concerns. The Arvilla said they would contact us by May for 2021 reservations. We never heard. We understood that we may lose our deposits because of a less than 30 day notice of cancellation but thought the payment for the balance of the stay could be forwarded to 2021 (did not get any advanced room payment back). We were told that they would assist us in finding another motel. An 84 year old friend received a letter asking her not to come back. Our friends called to reserve rooms for 2021 and no return calls. So don't complain about noisy frigs, bad outlets, blinds that don't cover the windows or that a maid woke up a grandson who was sleeping. We are all back to Treasure Island, all in a different motel and look forward to a great spring...