local attractions
crystal-clear waters, glittering white-sand beaches and more await you at hyatt regency sarasota.
Stay in the heart of the downtown cultural district at Hyatt Regency Sarasota, and enjoy all of the exciting activities that this waterfront locale offers. Our luxury hotel offers a prime location within easy reach of a variety of Sarasota attractions, including museums, music and marine life. Spend your days practicing your swing on acclaimed golf courses, swimming and sunning at beautiful nearby beaches or shopping at St. Armands Circle. Fill your nights by exploring the colorful art and vibrant nightlife within walking distance of our Hyatt hotel.
Let our Concierge help you plan the trip of a lifetime, including a visit to the FSU Ringling Center, hiking through Myakka River State Park and a show at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Explore all of the most popular Sarasota Florida attractions from the lush tropical setting of Hyatt Regency.
Bringing a group or company meeting to Hyatt Regency Sarasota? Take advantage of our staff's experience in planning exciting activities for your entire crew. From special daytime trips for family members to innovative evening excursions, our team is ready to help you create events that perfectly suit your group's needs and interests.
the arts
Art Center Sarasota
Just steps from Hyatt Regency Sarasota, the Art Center includes four galleries, showcasing a variety of themes and exhibitions. View works of fine art from local, national and international artists.
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall offers special events and a range of performances to suit fans of every genre, including Broadway, musicals, dance, opera, pop, country and comedy. Admission prices vary by performance. Advance ticket purchase is required.
Sarasota Opera
Discover one of Florida’s finest opera companies, the Sarasota Opera. The 2009 to 2010 season includes performances of La Traviata, The Magic Flute and Hansel and Gretel, among others.
Sarasota Ballet
Experience the very best of classical ballet with a performance by Sarasota’s own traveling troupe. The 2009 to 2010 season includes performances of classics and new favorites including Giselle, The Nutcracker and Triple Bill.
museums
Sarasota Classic Car Museum
Head out on the highway to visit America's third-oldest automobile museum, which includes numerous audio visual displays, fascinating artifacts and more than 100 vehicles.
South Florida Museum and Parker Manatee Aquarium
The South Florida Museum is less than a half-mile from our luxury hotel. Trace the state's geologic and cultural history, ranging from prehistoric fossils to the recreated dwellings of Florida’s earliest Spanish settlers. The complex also boasts the Parker Manatee Aquarium and the Bishop Planetarium, where shows are featured daily.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the state's official art museum, filled with more than 500 years of European and American works – including one of the world's grandest collections of 17th-century baroque paintings. The Ca' d'Zan Mansion is the Ringlings' magnificent, 32-room Venetian-Gothic mansion on beautiful Sarasota Bay.
Ringling Museum of the Circus
Experience this big-top Sarasota attraction devoted to circus memorabilia, from parade wagons and calliopes to costumes and colorful posters. The grounds also include a classical courtyard, a rose garden, a museum shop, and the historic Asolo Theater – a 19th-century Italian court playhouse, which the Ringlings moved to Sarasota in the 1950s. On weekdays, the center offers guided tours of the art museum, house and circus museum from 10:00a.m. to 5:30p.m. While you're waiting for the next tour, explore the gardens or have lunch at the Banyan Cafe.
Crowley Museum
16405 Myakka Road, Sarasota 941-322-1000
Crowley Museum and Nature Center (CMNC) is a non-profit nature and pioneer history center located on 190 acres of native land adjacent to the Myakka River in Sarasota County. Visitors can enjoy nature trails through the protected wildlife sanctuary, a boardwalk traversing the Maple Branch Swamp and Tatum Sawgrass Marsh and an observation tower overlooking the Myakka River. The pioneer history area includes a museum with artifiacts from the late 1870's to the early 1900's, a one-room homestead cabin, a working blacksmith shop, a working sugar cane mill, and a restored 1892 "Cracker" house. Trails are well maintaned, and many are handicapped accessible.
Walk on the Wild Side
Escape into natural Florida with Walk on the Wild Side. Experience Florida's ecological wonders with Guides who are familiar with Florida's flora, fauna, natural and cultural history. These Eco-friendly tours use great care to ensure that the haibtats visited are protected and preserved. Enjoy the intimacy of small group outings. Choose from a variety of activities that include kayaking, canoeing, day hiking, backpacking, camping, auto tours, bird watching and wildlife viewing. Tours are well suited for all age groups and skill levels, from the novice to the experience adventurer.
Historic Spanish Point
A 30-acre archaeological, historical, and environmental museum on Little Sarasota Bay. Annual Heritage Holidays festival every November and December.
outdoor adventures
Jungle Gardens
Stroll along a trail that wanders through this wildly overgrown paradise. With an ever-changing landscape of jungle growth around open-pond shorelines and exhibitions such as "Birds of the Rainforest" and "Reptile Encounter," Sarasota Jungle Gardens provides an exciting adventure for everyone – open daily from 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.
Myakka River State Park
Visit one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks. The Myakka River flows through 53 square miles of wetlands, prairies and woodlands. The park is popular for hiking, fishing, camping and wildlife observation. Allow our Concierge to help you plan the ultimate adventure during your visit – with guided hikes along the river, fishing equipment rentals and maps, so you can explore the park at your own speed. Located nine miles east of I-75 in Sarasota, the Myakka State Park is open daily from 8:00a.m. until sunset.
Almost Heaven Kayak Adventures
Biotica Eco Tours
Sarasota Bay Explorers
family activities
G. WIZ - The Science Museum
Parents needn’t worry about saying, “Don’t touch!” inside this dynamic, kid-friendly Sarasota attraction. With two floors of interactive exhibits covering the physical, earth and health sciences, this state-of-the-art educational center offers hands-on fun for the whole family.
Mote Aquarium
Bring the kids to the Mote Aquarium, part of the noted Mote Marine Laboratory complex. Enjoy an exciting day of petting stingrays, watching sharks and much more!
Solomon's Castle
In 1974, Howard Solomon began building what has become a 60 foot tall, 12,000 square foot castle. Make this classic Sarasota Florida attraction part of your next family vacation, and enjoy accommodations fit for royalty at our Hyatt Regency hotel.
attractions
DeSoto National Memorial
History buffs will love this park, re-created with the look and feel of the period when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed here in 1539. Visit this national memorial nestled on the Manatee River, west of downtown Sarasota.
Florida Ever-Glides, Inc.
Tour the city on a Segway Human Transporter. Florida Ever-Glides is the first company in the United States to offer historic and scenic guided tours using these modern vehicles.
Gamble Plantation
Visit the oldest structure on the southwestern coast of Florida – a fine example of an antebellum plantation home, located northeast of downtown Bradenton.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
This peaceful retreat on the bay, just south of downtown, is a beautiful botanical garden, worth visiting during your stay at Hyatt Regency.
Historic Spanish Point
Explore 5,000 years of history through prehistoric Indian mounds, pioneer-era buildings and the colorful gardens of Mrs. Potter Palmer at Historic Spanish Point. Enjoy picnic facilities, a large Butterfly Garden, nature trails, unique exhibits and a 30 acre archaeological, historical and environmental site on Little Sarasota Bay in Osprey, Florida.
shopping
St. Armands Circle
With more than 140 upscale shops and specialty stores, St. Armands Circle offers the most diverse collection of fine dining and shopping in Sarasota. St. Armands is a unique island shopping experience, which spans two bridges over Sarasota Bay.
Westfield Sarasota Square Shopping Mall
Shop to your heart's content at Westfield Sarasota Mall, formerly known as Sarasota Square Mall. With 125 stores, an AMC movie theater, a food court and a Playtown for the children, Westfield includes Dillards, Macy's, JC Penney, Sears, American Eagle, The Disney Store, Aeropostale, Jos. A. Bank, Bath & Body Works and Pacific Sunwear.
Westfield Southgate Shopping Mall
This shopping mall – previously known as Southgate Plaza and Westfield Shoppingtown Southgate Mall – also includes such favorites as an AMC Movie Theater, Dillards, Macy's, JC Penney, Sears and more, in addition to numerous restaurants and dozens of smaller stores.
Towles Court Art District
Discover a colorful collection of quaint and quirky bungalows and cottages, set among tropical gardens and sculptures. Shop and dine in this quaint historic arts district in downtown Sarasota.
Sarasota Outlet Center
With more than 30 manufacturers and specialists offering apparel, footwear, housewares and decorative items, Sarasota Outlet Center is a popular spot for bargain shoppers, located at Exit 40 and I-75.
Pineapple Square
Enjoy the area’s best shopping at Pineapple Square, an outdoor mall and residential complex popular with Sarasota residents and tourists alike. Browse stores such as Brooks Brothers, Sur La Table, Whole Foods and more.
Prime Outlets – Ellenton
With an expansive collection of brand-name stores, Prime Outlets - Ellenton is the largest manufacturer's outlet on Florida's west coast. Explore this beautiful Caribbean environment, which serves as the setting for more than 135 designer and name-brand outlets.
spa
Body and Spirit Day Spa
Guests of Hyatt Regency can enjoy world-class pampering at Sarasota's only luxury spa recognized for quality and safety by The International Spa Association. Be prepared for total relaxation within this tranquil setting, where you'll feel renewed, head to soul. For reservations or additional information, contact our Concierge, or visit the spa's website.
The Met Fashion House, Day Spa and Salon
Enjoy total luxury and tranquility at The Met Day Spa & Salon. Experience the English Bermudian architecture, Honduran mahogany woodwork and a tranquil fountain, which set the mood for unforgettable spa treatments here.
Nature, Science, History, Lifestyle
Alliance Francaise de Sarasota
Offering language classes, high school scholarships for French study, movies, and other cultural activities with a French flair.
Crowley Museum and Nature Center
Featuring nature trails, a boardwalk through five natural Florida habitats, an 1889 Florida "Cracker House," blacksmith shop, sugar can mill, and museum.
Sarasota Architectural Foundation
A non-profit membership-based organization dedicated to promoting and maintaining Sarasota's unique modern architecture and design, beginning with the Sarasota School and beyond.
Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning
Graduate-level lectures on contemporary and international issues and a music series, Jan. 2 through March 21.
Visitor Center of Sarasota County
Featuring information about Sarasota and its surrounding areas.