Barefoot Bay Resort & Marina
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Photos: Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Our take
By Matt Spaulding, Founder and writer
Barefoot Bay is the budget survivor of Clearwater Beach, and survival took work: Helene's 2024 surge flooded the ground floor, so the family rebuilt every ground-floor room with a contemporary look and reopened about fifteen months later. Think of it as the anti-resort. Parking is free, there are no resort fees (their own site promises "no hidden extra fees"), many rooms have kitchenettes, there's a guest laundry, a heated pool, and a marina deck out front where guests fish and watch for dolphins in Clearwater Bay. The staff score in reviews is the kind the mega-resorts would frame; Booking pegs it at 9.7, which is what a hands-on family operation gets you. Set your expectations for a motel on the bay side of East Shore Drive: compact rooms and a five-minute walk across Mandalay to the beach. Post-renovation rates have crept up enough that value for money is now its weakest review category, though it still comes out well ahead once you add the nightly fee stack at the big beachfront resorts. It suits budget-minded couples, anglers, and repeat guests who come for the warm staff and the marina sunset. It's a small property that books ahead, so grab an opening when you see one.
Quick facts
- Beach access
- ~5 minute walk across Mandalay Ave
- Parking
- Free for registered guests
- Resort fee
- None (no hidden fees)
- Pets
- Not allowed per listings (call to confirm)
- Check-in
- 3:00 PM
- Marina
- Waterfront marina deck, fishing from the dock
Where you are
📍 401 East Shore Dr, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Open in Maps →North Clearwater Beach marina district on Clearwater Harbor, next to the small-motel row, about 0.6 walkable miles to Pier 60 and Beach Walk.
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Last-minute rates move fast, and the small beachfront places sell out first. Check the live price and judge the deal for yourself.
Check tonight's price →Barefoot Bay Resort & Marina FAQ
Is Barefoot Bay on the beach?
No, it's on the bay side of East Shore Drive, about a five-minute walk to the Gulf sand. That location is also why it can skip the resort fees and parking charges the beachfront places stack on.
Was Barefoot Bay damaged in the 2024 hurricanes?
Helene's surge flooded the ground floor. The family remodeled all the ground-floor rooms with a contemporary look, and the resort was back in business about fifteen months after the storm.
Can I bring my boat?
Ask before you book. The resort has its own marina and marina deck on Clearwater Bay and guests can fish from the dock, but it does not publish slip sizes or nightly slip rates, so call to check whether one is open for your dates.
Does Barefoot Bay Resort charge a resort fee?
No. Their own site advertises free parking and no resort fees for registered guests, and says every room comes with free WiFi, free parking and no hidden extra fees. Against the big beachfront resorts, where a nightly fee stack is standard, that gap adds up quickly on a multi-night stay.
Do the rooms at Barefoot Bay have kitchens?
Many of them have kitchenettes, and there is a guest laundry on site, so longer stays work well here. The ground-floor rooms were rebuilt with a clean contemporary remodel after Helene's surge, and the pool area was redone at the same time. Rooms are compact, in keeping with a bay-side motel.
Is Barefoot Bay Resort worth it?
For budget-minded travelers, yes. Staff service here is the kind of standout the mega-resorts would frame and put in the lobby. The caveat is that post-renovation rates have crept up enough that value for money now feels like its weakest point. You are also a five-minute walk across Mandalay Avenue from the sand rather than on it, and it is a small property that books ahead.
Things to do nearby
All Tampa Bay things to do →
Museum & funGlazer Children's MuseumTampaDowntown Tampa's hands-on children's museum, where a toddler pays the same as the adult holding their hand.See tickets →
Museum & funHenry B. Plant MuseumTampaThe inside of Tampa's silver minarets, and it is one wing of one floor.See tickets →
Tour & cruiseShell Key Preserve Clear Kayak TourTierra VerdeA guided paddle into a preserve with no road, in kayaks you can see through.See tickets →
Theme parkBusch Gardens Tampa Bay AdmissionTampaFive headline coasters and a 12,000-animal zoo on one 300-acre map, 85 miles west of Orlando in Tampa.See tickets →
Featured in our guides
- Orlando to Clearwater Beach: The Drive Is Free, the Parking Is NotThere are no tolls on the standard route — the cost of this day trip is $3.50 an hour at the other end, with no daily cap, and one lot that will only sell you two hours.Read the guide →
- Florida Resort Fees: What They Cost, and Who Charges NothingThe resort fee is the gap between the price you searched and the price you pay. Here is what it runs across Florida, and the hotels charging none.Read the guide →
- Clearwater Beach When It Rains: What to Do, and When to Just WaitJuly brings Clearwater about 20 days with rain, and most of them cost you an hour rather than an afternoon. How to tell a passing storm from a washout.Read the guide →