Florida Keys, West Palm among Florida's most expensive spring vacation sites. But this spot tops them

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press
·2 min read

Florida is one of the most popular places in the United States for a spring vacation. Beaches. Food and dining experiences. Boating and fishing. These are some of the things visitors look forward to when they come to the Sunshine State.

Then you get the hotel bill, which depending on where you stay can be a bit of a shock.

Four places in Florida have landed on a list of the most expensive spring destinations in the U.S. for 2023.

The list, compiled by cheaphotels.org, compared hotel rates in destinations across the U.S. during May 2023. Only hotels rated 3 stars or more and located close to a beach or city/town center were taken into account for the survey.

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No. 5 overall in Florida: Anna Maria Island

With a rate of $294 per night, Anna Maria Island, on a Gulf barrier island about 20 minutes west of Bradenton, was the priciest spring destination in the state of Florida, making it the fifth most expensive U.S. destination overall, according to the data.

No. 13 overall in Florida: Key West

RATE: $258 per night

No. 16 overall in Florida: West Palm Beach

RATE: $224

No. 17 overall in Florida: Islamorada

RATE: $222

The rates reflect the average price for each destination's most affordable double room available between May 1-31, 2023.

More findings from the date from cheaphotels.com

  • Compared with spring 2022, hotel rates in the majority of destinations dropped this year. In Charleston, for example, last year guests would have to spend $374 for the least expensive room – $16 more than this year. In some destinations, prices have dropped by even steeper margins. Charleston was No. 1 on the list with a rate of $358 per night.

  • Overall, average hotel rates in the 20 priciest spring destinations were down by 11% this year, the survey reveals. This is an indicator that demand is slightly lower compared to spring 2022, when hotel rates skyrocketed in many destinations after the pandemic years 2020 and 2021.

About the methodology used to compile the list

For each destination, the price for the cheapest available double room was established for the following periods: May 3–6, May 12–15, May 18–21 & May 23–26. The average nightly rates were then used to reveal the top 20 most expensive destinations. The survey was conducted in mid-April, based on rates shown on hotel comparison website Booking.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida's most expensive spring vacation cities rank among tops in US