Artimus has a way of sneaking up behind you and poking you with his pointy nose to get your attention. That is not unusual behavior for a Shetland Sheepdog. What is surprising is when he greets you in a hotel lobby.

 

Compass Hotel by Margaritaville on Anna Maria Sound in Bradenton isn’t your typical Florida hotel. It is part of a new brand of hotels associated with popular singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet.

 

Parrot Heads, as Buffet fans are affectionately known, will recognize its pet-friendly policies as well as the thatched-roof bar, hammocks near the pool, and tropical tunes wafting through the lobby. Yes, margaritas with—or without—salt are served all day.

 

A quieter version of Margaritaville

 

But this hotel south of Tampa Bay is a smaller, calmer version of the Margaritaville beach club resorts that have spread across the southern U.S. and to the Caribbean. Compass delivers a quieter slice of Buffet’s version of paradise that is tailor made for this laid-back stretch of Florida’s Gulf Coast, between the glitzier beach towns of Clearwater and Sarasota.

 

I met Artimus, who is the hotel’s official canine greeter, last September as part of a media trip sponsored by the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Our assignment: explore the sights on and around Anna Maria Island, while sampling Florida seafood along the way. (I know, it was challenging . . .)

 

If you are looking for a beach vacation, Anna Maria Island is a gem. A barrier isle with seven miles of white sand, Anna Maria often tops lists of the most beautiful beaches in the U.S.—not just Florida. Both sides of the island, which barely measures a mile at its widest, are blessed with clear, turquoise water and some of the softest sand on the planet.

 

To read more of my stories about Anna Maria Island and Bradenton, please visit Travel Weekly.

 

Anna Maria Island offers “authentic Florida”

 

The island, with about 6,500 residents, allows only low-rise developments and locally owned businesses to preserve the charm of what the tourist office calls “authentic Florida.” Though the Compass hotel is not on the island, it is just a drawbridge away on the mainland.

 

The lobby, dubbed the Living Lounge, and the hotel’s 123 rooms and suites are bright and airy, decorated in a tropical travel theme that is reflected in beach photos and memorabilia throughout the property. Guests can grab a book to read in the hammock or play a board game with the kids. Overly ambitious types may visit the fitness room, which has cardio machines and free weights.

 

Most guest room have views and balconies. My sixth-floor room overlooked Safe Harbor Pier 77 Marina, a bayside marina where guests can dock their boats, or book boat tours and charter fishing excursions. From my balcony I watched sunsets as seabirds flew over boats returning to the marina. One of my companions snapped a photo from her balcony of a momma manatee and her baby paddling in the water below.

 

Water and nature views from hotel rooms

 

Other rooms face the Neal Preserve, a tangle of grass and swampland with walking trails through a Native American burial ground. I spent a rainy afternoon there, climbing the observation tower to take in sights of the drawbridge linking Anna Maria Island.

 

One of the hotel’s key features is the large oval-shaped pool surrounded by swaying coconut palm trees and lots of lounge chairs. The pool is big enough for lap swimming, but most pool goers were either splashing in the shallow water with their kids or reclining in lounge chairs enjoying views of Anna Maria Sound.

 

If you are hungry for a burger in paradise, Compass Bar & Chill is the place. After checking in, we enjoyed a casual lunch that included a cheeseburger, of course, as well as flatbread pizzas and salads. For happy hour, we sampled the café’s cocktails, including margaritas made with signature Margaritaville Tequila. For rum drinkers, the 5 O’clock Somewhere cocktail is spiked with Margaritaville Silver Rum. (The hotel’s complimentary breakfast buffet is available in the café in the morning.)

 

Floridays entertains guests with good food

 

For dinner, we walked past the pool to Floridays Woodfire Grill & Bar, which has a large, palapa-covered deck overlooking the water. A huge shark hangs over the well-stocked bar, a popular place to catch a game on the big-screen TVs.

 

Seated around a picnic table on the deck, we enjoyed a sumptuous seafood banquet. For starters, we shared a bowl of tangy mussels and crab cakes drizzled with remoulade sauce. I should have stopped there but our friendly waiter recommended the seafood catch of the day—grouper and asparagus prepared on a woodfired grill. Everything was fresh and delicious.

 

We lingered over a decadent peanut butter chocolate bar and a piece of must-have key lime pie. The deck turned out to be the perfect place to watch the sun turn the sky a brilliant orange as it sank into Anna Maria Sound.

 

Hotel’s central location a bonus

 

When I flopped onto my comfortable bed that evening, I was happy and content. The next two days were a whirlwind of sightseeing on and around Anna Maria Island.

 

We learned about island history from docents at the island’s historical museum, got our pictures taken at the old city jail, stuck our toes in the turquoise water at several glorious beaches, and explored Pine Avenue in a golf cart.

 

We watched anglers cast off from historic Anna Maria City Pier, searched for dolphins on a wildlife cruise, toured the eclectic Florida Maritime Museum, and strolled the well-worn docks in Cortez, one of Florida’s last remaining commercial fishing villages.

 

Seafood is King at island restaurants

 

As for seafood, we devoured plates of it everywhere we went, from the Swordfish Grill & Tiki Bar for crunchy conch fritters to Mar Vista for a gourmet dinner with wine pairings that included red snapper “wings” prepared like chicken wings. We sampled oysters at almost every eatery, but my companions and I agreed the best were at Anna Maria Oyster Bar on the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach.

With its gorgeous beaches, sunsets, and seafood, Anna Maria Island certainly fits Buffet’s definition of a vacation paradise, and the Compass is a perfect launchpad.

 

I do have one regret: Not spending more time with Artimus. He is a really good dog.

 

For more information about Anna Maria Island, contact the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau .

 

Editor’s note: Compass by Margaritaville in Bradenton opened in 2020. Since then, a second hotel in Medford, Oregon, began welcoming guests. Two more Compass hotels are expected to open in 2023 in Beaufort, North Carolina, and Louisville, Kentucky.

 

 

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