Shephard’s Beach Resort Clearwater Beach
WOW did we have a GREAT Time at ‘The New’ Shephard’s Beach Resort on Thursday night 8/23!!
GM Paul Andrews, Front Desk Mgr. & BACA Member Valerie Samuels and Head Barman Tommy Schaar pulled out all the stops to show us all a good time and show us all the recent new upgrades that Shephard’s has undergone over the last few years to maintain its status as one of the top resorts in Clearwater! And Shephard’s always has and always will be Number 1 Party Central here on the beach!!
This is not the Shephard’s of yore, but rather a new, upscale resort that practically doubled in size with the addition of the newly constructed Sand Key Tower that rose in record time a couple of years ago. In this tower is where the Front Desk has been relocated (Valerie’s domain!) along with a nice covered drive-up area to unload and then enter into an expanded parking garage. Immediately outside the Front Desk is a shaded area under the new tower’s overhang where they have a new pool bar and an area with tables and cushioned booths to hang out in!
They reconfigured the free-form swimming pool and Jacuzzi and added surrounding tent-like cabanas (which are available to non-overnight guests – the only resort hotel on Clearwater Beach that does so). They now have a nice beach where formerly the waves splashed up against the rocks courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers who built jetties and replenished the sand on the north shore of the Sand Key Inlet. And on this newly constructed beach are beach chairs and cabana umbrellas that again can be offered to non-overnight guests (space available) and where you will find a ‘Beach Boy’ who will take your drink order! There is also a guy who rents jetskis off the beach and who also has these wide floating mats you can lay down on top of the water along with a bunch of your friends!
Shephard’s improved the Tiki Deck & Stage (Tommy’s world!) making it much bigger and with an upgraded sound & lighting system and a larger dance area; and they also added a second bar hut thereby doubling the barstaff. Along the sides of the stage are VIP booth areas offering Bottle Service from which to view big name bands and DJ’s that keep the party swinging (I once saw DJ Jazzy Jeff from Fresh Prince of Belleair fame spinning records!).
OK now let me tell you about all the fun we had that night. We assembled inside Shephard’s Salt Tequila Bar where we were all treated to a frothy margarita. In my opinion, this is the coolest bar in the resort – not just because it’s air conditioned, but because it has an impressive collection of over 100 brands of any tequila you could imagine and also an extensive selection of 2 dozen craft beers to serve as chasers to your tequila shots! There are some hi-back leather cubbies to hide away in and a foosball table – my favorite bar game! After we settled in with our drinks, Paul welcomed us and gave us a run down on all the amenities the resort has to offer. Now Paul has been at Shephard’s ever since sand has been on Clearwater Beach and he has been a staunch advocate promoting our destination and serving on the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce in varying capacities for a very long time – I think he’s the original Mr. Clearwater. He, along with his veteran side-kick Tommy (I believe Tommy was born behind the Tiki Bar!) are the faces of Shephards and these guys love to throw a good party!
From the Salt Bar we moved over to the pool area where we then embarked on a Hotel Room Tour of a couple of the new tower’s rooms. Wow were they nice, complete with all the accoutrements one would expect from a beach resort, with mini fridges, microwaves, big screen TV’s, and a huge shower you could move around in and nice water views across the inlet to Sand Key Park. But what was really striking was the contemporary color palates the rooms were decorated in, cool greens and bright colors and hip artwork from local artists.
Next was the highlight of the evening, Paul provided us with free range in the new Ocean Flame Interactive Restaurant for the biggest buffet in the county! Again, this is not your old Shephard’s buffet, but an entirely revamped food line and contemporary dining space with yet another bar! Here you can eat anything you can think of: salads, sushi, Asian, Southern, carving stations for ribs, prime rib and practically everything that swims in the sea or hides under a rock like the crawdaddies! Unlike the olden days, items are delivered to the line in smaller quantities to ensure everything is fresh and not sitting out getting cold and there are many attendants overseeing the operation, manning the carving stations and replenishing the dishes as they empty. I saw many a member’s plate piled high ala John Belushi from Animal House! But the pièce de résistance, was the monstrous plate of crab legs that was delivered as a centerpiece on each table ….. forget those other Crabby Frenchy places…. this is THE Place for crab legs!! There is a $10 surcharge over the buffet for the legs but believe me it is well worth it as they were huge, full of meat and easily extracted! Boy the guys & gals working the dining room were really stealth, sliding in to take away the aftermath and keeping glasses full, lots of people working and willing to help out. And those ladies with their smiling faces at the Dessert Bar! No wonder they were smiling with all those sweets surrounding them! Mini little Crème Brulees they singed with BBQ lighters; Key lime pie, custards, berries, whatever you want, try them all…. and I think I did and gained 10lbs in the process!
After dinner we partook of a brief respite to re-explore the tiki deck and dance to the hi-powered band on the stage or engage in quiet conversation with each other along the waterside railing overlooking the inlet before moving into The Wave Nightclub that was starting to heat up after 9PM. Inside The Wave we were gathered around the horseshoe-shaped bar and also a VIP rectangular couch alcove were our server Simone was so cute and helpful bringing us our drinks. This Thursday it was 80’s Night and the DJ pumped out tunes from that era along with his hypnotic light show. This club is not for the faint-hearted as the head banging music would cause one to reach for the ear plugs! A few of our members were ‘shakin-a-leg’ on the dance floor, most notably Ron & Candice doing their twirls & dips! Shephard’s has a really cool website where, for big-time special events in The Wave you can use their interactive feature to book VIP Booths in the nightclub on-line, but of course their event staff and VIP hostess can assist you in a humanly way. We all had fun and took turns on the dance floor either boogeying or posing for photos (thank you Beth Kelly Photography!) but alas it got late as the clock approached 11PM and one-by-one we filtered out… what Great Fun!
So many folks to thank:
A HUGE Thanks to GM Paul Andrews for being my friend and suggesting and making the arrangements for the event and taking such great & generous care of us.
Thank you to our BACA buddy & FD Mgr. Valerie Samuels for taking us on the room tour, putting together those fantastic Goodie Bags (I used the cozi for my beer and did a shot out of the Shephard’s Shot Glass) and for hanging out with us until the bitter end…. Hope she didn’t have to work the next morning!
Thank you Tommy Schaar, who serves as the resort’s rep, often visiting us beach concierges with info on special events and drink tickets, Tommy has worked at Shephard’s for over 18 years, an eternity in the hospitality business!
Thank you to Chris, the F&B Supervisor who oversaw us throughout the experience and made sure all was well that evening.
Thank you to Grant, who wasn’t present, but is in charge of the Ocean Flame Restaurant, his staff worked their arms off catering to us.
And thank you to all the bartenders, servers & chefs, so many to list, all the little soldiers who work so tirelessly behind the scenes, the heart & soul of the resort.
We also welcomed our newest BACA Member, Ms. Valentina Royzman, concierge at the Renaissance Vinoy, who had a great time with her date and writes: “What a wonderful place! Shepherd’s is really impressive resort I was pleasantly surprised by how many bars, were on a property. As a guest I would not want to leave a property. Entertainment aspect is unbelievably strong! Fantastic Experience! Special Thank you to our wonderful and entertaining hosts!!” Thank you Valentina, it was a pleasure meeting you and we look forward to seeing you many more times!
So to sum it all up in one very long sentence: Shephard’s Beach Resort is a fantastic All-In-One Resort with great food, great entertainment, beautifully new & refurbished rooms, a private beach on the inlet with beverage service, a bar at every turn, a fun, diverse party crowd and an attentive staff lead by great management – in short, a multi-faceted party palace, the premier entertainment Resort in Pinellas County where, as their slogan proclaims, you can come EAT, PLAY, STAY!