When you stay at Longboat Key Club & Resort, off the coast of Sarasota, you can explore the area’s only zoological gardens at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.

With more than 70 exotic, international and native animals, plus a variety of tropical plants, you’ll find lots to do at the zoo during your Florida resort vacation.

Florida resort guests can enjoy a leisurely stroll through jungle trails. Or, for a more exhilarating Florida resort vacation experience, you could hold a parrot on your arm, come nose to snout with an alligator, see amazing birds ride bicycles, or let a flamingo eat out of your hand.

And kids of all ages from our Florida resort enjoy Sarasota Jungle Garden’s daily educational presentations. These include such themed displays as the “Reptile Encounter,” “Birds of Prey” and “Birds of the Rainforest” Shows, each presented twice a day for the pleasure of visiting Florida resort guests.

For Florida resort guests’ convenience, should you want to purchase souvenirs or learn more, a shell museum, gift shop and cafe are also available on-site at Sarasota Jungle Garden.

The renowned Sarasota Opera has recently completed its 48th season in March of 2007 after playing to critical and audience acclaim - with ticket sales at over 102% of capacity! Although the performers are on a break now, the Sarasota Opera House remains abuzz with activity and excitement.

Sure to dazzle Longboat Key Club and Resort’s Florida resort guests, the Sarasota Opera House is enjoying a spectacular $20 million renovation. The project is designed to restore the original glory of the 1920’s theater, while creating a state-of-the-art opera venue for the 21st century. The theatre will boast restored decorative details, new seating, an expanded orchestra pit (to allow for an expansion of the repertoire), updated backstage systems, and enlarged and enhanced public areas and amenities.

In 1958, the Sarasota Opera began presenting chamber-sized repertoire in the historic 320-seat Asolo Theater, located on the grounds of Sarasota’s Ringling Museum of Art. Recognizing the need for a theater more conducive to opera, the Sarasota Opera purchased the former A.B. Edwards Theater in downtown Sarasota in 1979. Original renovations began in 1982, and the 1,033-seat theater, now on the National Register of Historic Places, opened for local people and Florida resort guests in 1984 as the Sarasota Opera House.

Now undergoing renovations once again, the Sarasota Opera House is scheduled to reopen by March 2008 for the 2008 Opera Festival. To kick off this remarkable season, Verdi’s Rigoletto - the opera that started the Sarasota Opera’s acclaimed Verdi Cycle in 1989 and hasn’t been heard at the Sarasota Opera House for 19 years - will be performed. Often consisting of Florida resort guests and local opera enthusiasts, Sarasota Opera audiences have most frequently requested Rigoletto over the years. Thus, the company has decided to open the renovated theater with this ever-popular work.

In Giuseppe Verdi’s three-act Rigoletto, a hunchbacked jester tries to shield his daughter from the evils of the world. However, Florida resort guests behold tragedy when his daughter falls in love with the Jester’s master, the licentious Duke of Mantua. Eleven performances (March 1 - April 15, 2008) of Rigoletto will be lead by Sarasota Opera Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi, who recently celebrated his 25th year with the Opera.

The Sarasota Opera will also host three “Opera Lovers Weekends” during the 2008 Festival on March 28-30, April 4-6, and March 11-13. These popular weekends allow Florida resort visitors to Sarasota to see all four operas in the 2008 season over three days, from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

For tickets and to behold the incredibly renewed Sarasota Opera House, we invite our Florida resort guests to visit www.sarasotaopera.org - the official website of the Sarasota Opera.

Unparalleled Golf Attracts Guests to Longboat Key Club

Set on the Gulf of Mexico, along the coast of the Sunshine State, Longboat Key Club and Resort is the Southeast’s premier golf destination with a total of 45 pristine Gulf- and Sarasota Bay-side holes. It’s no wonder locals, weekenders, and families and individuals from all over the world are drawn to our Florida resort.

Our tree-lined Harbourside course delights players throughout its three nine-hole layouts along Sarasota Bay, while Gulf breezes refresh on our invigorating 18-hole links-style Islandside course. And because golfers of all ages can experience these remarkable courses, they are always favored among families enjoying a Florida resort vacation.

Our Harbourside course’s challenging 27-hole layout is composed of three nine-hole circuits heralded by Florida resort guests and designed by famed golf course architect Willard Byrd. Hugging the sparkling waters of Sarasota Bay, the course plays through magnificent stands of oak, fiddleleaf palm, sabal palm, fig, palmetto, Washingtonian palm and southern pine.

The resort’s 6,792 yard Islandside course follows the Gulf of Mexico, with water challenges coming into play on all 18 holes. Florida resort guests are always amazed at the fine Tifdwarf grass, which blankets the greens to maintain smooth putting surfaces. They are also captivated by over 5,000 palm trees and pink and white blooming oleander, which line the course’s fairways and canals. These natural features unite to make the Islandside course unrivaled as one of Florida’s most beautiful courses.

Considering the inspiring features and locations of Longboat Key Club and Resort’s two courses, it is unsurprising that Florida resort guests return annually for lengthy golf escapes. A golfer’s paradise since the resort opened 40 years ago as a country club with 18 holes, Longboat Key Club and Resort continues to provide a golf experience so incredible, many Florida resort visitors can’t get enough.

Cà d’Zan, John and Mable Ringling’s Venetian Gothic mansion on Sarasota Bay, offers an excellent historic destination to consider when taking a Florida vacation. The house is 200 feet long with 32 rooms and 15 baths, built to satisfy the famous Ringling family (Ringling Bros. Circus). The mansion is topped by a 60-foot tower, which the Ringlings kept illuminated when they were in residence.

The massive structure was originally designed to combine the architectural features of two of Mrs. Ringling’s favorite Venetian hotels: the Danieli and the Bauer-Grunwald. Those who vacation in Florida marvel at the materials used in the home. Bricks, terracotta blocks and poured concrete were the primary construction materials.

Terracotta was also the principal decorative material used - both for the interiors and exteriors of the house. The glazed terracotta finishes could best withstand Florida’s brilliant sun, which is perfect for Florida vacations but quickly weathers and ages buildings.

Mable Ringling personally visited the kilns that fired the terracotta materials to ensure the colors - soft red, yellow, blue, green and ivory - were precisely what she wanted. As those who enjoy Florida vacations or live in the state are aware, colorful patterns dominate decorating schemes - especially by the beach. Mable’s home was no exception. She had thousands of old, red barrel tiles shipped from Barcelona for the roof.

A terracotta rail supported by posts of the same material encloses an 8,000-square-foot terrace of diversely colored marble overlooking Sarasota Bay. This terrace may still be enjoyed by those stopping by during a Florida vacation today. Thirteen steps of English veined marble lead down to a dock where Ringling’s yacht, Zalophus, was kept. Mable’s gondola rested opposite the terrace on a miniature island washed away by a hurricane in1926 - the same year in which the two moved into the mansion.

Cà d’Zan - meaning “House of John” in Venetian dialect - took two years to build at a cost of approximately $1.5 million. The interior furnishings added another $400,000 to the cost. These furnishings included a $50,000 Aeolian organ, a Steinway grand piano with a heavily ornamented rosewood case, 17th-century Flemish and English tapestries, and other furnishings and works of art. Those who vacation in Florida and behold these lavish items are stunned.

Mable died in June of 1929 at the age of 54, just two-and-a-half years after Cà d’Zan was completed. John died in 1936 at the age of 70. He willed his collection of art, known as the Museum of Art, the mansion and the grounds to the state of Florida. Ten years passed before his estate was settled, when the Museum opened its doors in 1946 for Florida vacationers and locals. In July of 2000, Florida legislation appointed Florida State University as the guardian of the Ringling’s estate. Take a Florida vacation to behold the brilliance of this unique property.

Not only do human guests love Sarasota and our Florida resort, but the area is also greatly appreciated by wildlife. The waters surrounding the spot where you’ll find our Florida resort serve as habitats for manatees, dolphins, and fish. Pelicans, osprey and a variety of shorebirds discover a quiet sanctuary here as well.

In general, Sarasota Bay is a great place to see manatees and dolphins. Visit Mote Marine Laboratory, a working marine laboratory that allows local visitors and visitors from Florida resorts. With a great museum, a touch tank and volunteers bursting with information, it’s always a spot favored by guests to our resort.

You can also charter a boat from the Mote Marine Laboratory with the Sarasota Bay Explorers. This ride takes our guests to areas of the bay where they can view wildlife, including manatees and dolphins. Mote is just south of Longboat Key on City Island, and you can get to it by a bridge from Longboat Key, the island where you’ll find our Florida resort.

For Florida resort guests staying further north, try the DeSoto National Memorial near the Manatee River. Near the bay, you can sometimes see dolphins and manatees.

As much as we hope our visitors enjoy their trip, it’s possible not to see any manatees. Manatees usually come to Florida’s rivers when the ocean gets too cold for them – following a cold snap, for example. The weather at our Florida resort is pretty warm during certain points of the year, so you may see manatees at places along the shore or off the barrier islands during these times.

Longboat Key Club & Resort is located on Longboat Key, a small island off the coast of Sarasota, Florida.  A city rich in history, Sarasota offers our Florida Resort guests an intriguing look at our country’s past.

The presence of people, possibly Paleo-Indian, along the west coast of Florida dates back to around 8,000 B.C.  There is evidence that native Americans lived along the waterfront of Sarasota and southwest Florida – right near our Resort in Florida– more than 3,000 years ago.

In the 1500’s, the first Spanish explorers, including Ponce de Leon, landed on the Gulf Coast, where you’ll find our Florida Resort.  They came in search of gold and silver.

The territory of Florida was not acquired by the United States until 1821.  In 1824, the Armed Occupation Act allowed people private ownership of land along Sarasota Bay.  Only incoming settlers were allowed a piece of the Florida pie.

The native Seminoles, who inhabited the land where our florida beach resort rests now, were not allowed to become citizens or own land.  They were pushed even further south.  Then in 1855, the settlers defeated the Seminoles – the original inhabitants of the land.

Despite the settlers’ success, it wasn’t until the 1880’s that development in the region began.  Over a century later, our Florida Resort came into existence.

Longboat Key Club and Resort, ideal for a Florida beach vacation, features miles of biking paths perfect for exploring the island’s beautiful tropical flora, fauna and wildlife.

Longboat Key residents especially take pride in the bike path that runs the length of Gulf of Mexico Drive, where you’ll find our premier Florida beach vacation resort. Gulf of Mexico Drive spans the entire length of the island, thereby making it a great stretch for Florida beach vacation guests interested in kicking back on a bike and experiencing the sites and sounds of Longboat Key.

In fact, Gulf of Mexico Drive, also referred to as State Road 789 or G.M.D., is the only main thoroughfare and runs north-south through the island. The town is accessed by Florida beach vacation guests via bascule (draw) bridges, from the south by New Pass Bridge connecting Longboat Key and Lido Key. Longboat Pass Bridge on the north connects Longboat Key to Anna Maria Island. Thus, Florida beach vacation guests can travel by bike from island to island!

Florida beach vacation guests will also discover plenty of signs and designations for cyclist safety, but always be sure to wear a helmet!

For a unique fishing experience in the blue-green Gulf of Mexico, many families and individuals enjoying a Florida vacation here at Longboat Key Club and Resort schedule thrilling private fishing charters.
Offered through local companies like Rodbender Fishing Charters, Catch a Memory Fishing Charters, and Charter Fishing with Captain Hank Williams, these charters are great for catching grouper, snapper, king mackerel, tuna, cobia, barracuda, shark or other exciting game fish, depending on the season. Florida vacation visitors may also see other sea life such as bottlenose dolphin or sea turtles.

Sport fishing is particularly outstanding from April through July, when many species migrate by Sarasota each year in the Gulf of Mexico. King mackerel, tuna and barracuda over 20 pounds are common catches after a spectacular fight, during which the fish mix fast runs with jumps. It’s also common for Florida vacation guests aboard a charter to catch much larger ocean pelagics, such as cobia, blacktip shark or an occasional tarpon in these months – always offering a long, exciting battle.

Feisty reef dwellers like grouper and snapper, targeted year-round, provide superb table fare. All equipment, bait and the expertise of a seasoned Charter Captain are included in the price of these multi-hour trips, ideal for families, groups and friends enjoying a Florida vacation at Longboat Key. These tours are not only inclusive and informative, they’re exhilarating and intriguing as well.

This is a singular experience you’ll never want to forget. Thus, many area charters offer photographic services – video and still – perfect for keeping Florida vacation memories to last a lifetime, even if your catch only makes it to dinnertime.