The Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa, the Pink Palace or Pink Lady, the most luxurious accommodation on Florida's West Coast, was severely damaged by back-to-back hurricanes (Helene and Milton) in 2024 and closed for business for several months. After extensive renovation, repairs and remodeling, it reopened in 2025 and -- take it from someone who has visited the property on several occasions, it is better than ever. Located at 3400 Gulf Boulevard on St. Petersburg Beach, the Don opened in 1928 and quickly gained a reputation as the Gulf playground for America's pampered rich at the height of the Jazz Age. It entertained such notables as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, J. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert DeNiro and even Al Capone. Today, the 40,000-square-foot property contains 277 guest rooms and 40 suites, three restaurants, three bars, two swimming pools, an ice cream parlor and a beautiful, sandy beach. I booked the same space I enjoyed on two previous occasions, on the third floor, a junior suite with a balcony with a panoramic Gulf view, a king-size bed, separate living room, two 50-inch flat screen TVs, minibar, separate bathroom with two vanities and walk-in shower, work desk, chair, sofa, refrigerator, coffee-tea maker and separate entryway. The hotel also features concierge Heidi Swanson, who arranged for a ticket to a Tampa Bay Rays/Seattle Mariners baseball game at Tropicana Field, retail shops, a spa, huge lobby bar, valet parking, health club, sauna, exercise gym, jacuzzi, coffee shop, laundry/valet service, 24-hour fitness center, whirlpool, massage service, beauty shop/salon, dry cleaning, business center, room service and bike rentals. Three days at the Don is worth every dollar. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was a founding member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America in 1989.