Palm Court Motel

Palm Court Motel sits at 2090 Bayshore Boulevard in Dunedin, and the property markets itself, with some justification, as the closest motel to both Honeymoon Island State Park and Caladesi Island State Park. Both parks sit just north and west of the motel along the Dunedin Causeway, and Caladesi in particular is reachable only by the passenger ferry that departs from Honeymoon Island, so a motel positioned this close to the causeway is a genuine convenience for beach focused visitors who do not want a long drive at the start and end of each beach day.

The property is a straightforward, independently run motel rather than a resort or a suite hotel, with 16 units split across four room types. Standard motel rooms come with one queen bed and an attached bath. Most of the remaining units are studio apartments with a separate living area and an attached kitchenette, available with either one queen bed or two full beds, and there is one larger studio with a king bed and a full kitchen. A dedicated ADA accessible room with two queen beds is also available. As of recent rates posted on the property’s own website, nightly prices run from about 119 to 139 dollars depending on room type and season, with weekend and holiday pricing running higher.

Amenities are geared toward a beach vacation rather than a business trip: an outdoor pool, free Wi-Fi, cable television, and kitchenettes in most rooms for guests who want to prepare some of their own meals. The motel also lends out beach gear, including towels, chairs, coolers, and umbrellas, along with bicycles and a barbecue area for guests who want to grill during their stay. The property is strictly non-smoking and does not accept pets, and quotes an 11 a.m. checkout with a fee structure for late departures.

Beyond its proximity to the state parks, Palm Court Motel’s Bayshore Boulevard location puts it a block from St. Andrew’s Golf Links and about two blocks from the Dunedin Country Club, St. Joseph’s Sound, and the historic downtown core along Main Street, where the city’s independent restaurants, shops, and the long running Dunedin Brewery are concentrated. Downtown is walkable from the motel for guests who do not mind a short walk each way. Copyright notices on the property’s website indicate it has operated under its current name since at least 2007, and some business directories still carry the same Bayshore Boulevard address and phone number under an older name, Castle By The Sea, a reminder that the property has been through at least one rebrand while staying under independent, non-chain ownership the whole time.

For travelers who want walking or biking distance to two of the more highly regarded state park beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast, without paying resort or boutique hotel rates, Palm Court Motel is one of the few independently owned options actually inside Dunedin’s city limits that fits that brief.