Zota Beach Resort - Longboat Key

We had an ocean view room. Great view. Resort is pleasant and clean, and food is good. Located right on the beach. Beach is great, and the water is warm. Staff are helpful and pleasant. Beach activities are limited to kayak and body board. Also, there are no beach lounge chairs you have to pay for all this, extra, and those (paid for) chairs can only be used up to 6pm. Valet parking is mandatory, which is a pain, and not to mention that you have to tip the valet every time you want to go out. Also, hotel charges a $40 resort fee which covers the valet service, which I don 't want, and what else? All the other resort activities you have to pay for like lounge chairs on the beach, so that fee is a bit bogus.

VERY dissatisfied with how our car was handled in the valet over the July 4th weekend. You have no choice but to use the valet to park your car which is fine, if only our car had been well taken care of. On the day we left my husband noticed a rather large ding on the side. Ok, things happen but they have not accepted responsibility for it. We have left multiple phone calls, but none have been returned. We seek out Opal Collection hotels because it is usually a very good experience but this will be our last time at the Zota. If you value your car and expect to be a valued and respected customer, seek another hotel on Longboat Key.

My wife and I have stayed at other Opal properties so our expectations were high as they have been an amazing experience.Upon our arrival at Zota Beach Resort, the trash cans were completely full in the lobby and by the pool bar. As we went to our room, the hallway was very hot and muggy.Our room was very nice and had a nice view of the ocean without being beachfront and had nice furnishings.We arrived late evening so we didn’t experience the staff till the next day. Breakfast was a little unorganized and the servers seemed over worked. Service was very slow the first day but our server the next two days was spot on. The breakfast buffet was a mad house and omelette station only had one person working the line and had up to 8 people waiting. You could hear complaints while waiting.The pool by service left room for development. A lot of customers complaining and the staff would talk about the customers as they walked away. The staff didn’t seem to have pride of were they worked and seemed unhappy. When dealing with the beach staff and valet attendants it was a different story. They were such a pleasure and really seemed to enjoy their job! Always greeted with a smile and assured we were getting the best we could get.Nearby activities: Right on the beach and had access to one of the greatest beaches in the country. Hotel had plenty of chairs and umbrellas to enjoy the view, along with kayaks and paddle boards to go out on an adventure on the ocean.

Not a luxury resort by any means, I would say it’s a middle of the road resort at best. If you want luxury, bite the bullet and spend the extra dough and go elsewhere. This is my least favorite Opal property unfortunately. The food in their upstairs restaurant was absolutely terrible with a hefty price tag, avoid at all costs. The accommodations themselves are lacking, especially if you are in the older tower. There are two towers, a newer one with the larger/nicer rooms and an older one with smaller/dimmer rooms. Of course you’ll pay much more for the newer section, not worth it. And the older section was clearly just a quick hotel flip. The paint is falling off in areas, the lights flicker, it’s hot and musky. The elevators and hallways smell like mildew. The only redeeming factor is there’s not many options in the area, the pool was ok (service sucked), and valet beach chairs are included in your resort fee.

Stayed in august with family of five in large suite room. Room was good size. Pool and beach were great. Food at beach bar was underwhelming and overpriced. Go elsewhere if you can. There’s a resort fee which includes 2 beds on beach. For family of five we had to pay for the extra beds and there’s a charge for umbrella hire. The latter should be inc with beds and resort fee. Seemed like price gouging to me.