The Intracoastal Waterway is literally in our back yard.  You get to it on a path through the lush mangrove swamp beyond the pool and hot tub area, to the well-maintained private dock into the Intracoastal Waterway.  It is idyllic, in some ways even more so than the beach. You can fish, watch the dolphins and manatees that regularly come to play, or just watch the sunrise.  Our  apartment F2 is located on the third floor --- it's the second occupied floor, as there is parking underneath the building on the ground floor, as well as in the roomy lot also on the property.

Our unit is on the Southwest corner of the modern and very well-maintained, elevator-equipped Quiet Waters building.  Due to the unusual, intelligent design of Quiet Waters, our unit shares no common walls with any other unit, and is therefore very quiet and private.

Also, the Southwestern exposure of our apartment gives you excellent light, and beautiful sunsets. The Gulf of Mexico and our privately owned beach access to it, is across the street from your balcony.  The balcony is accessible from either the living room or the master bedroom.  It is a no-smoking unit except for the balcony. Indian Shores is located on the West Coast of Florida not far from Tampa/St.  Petersburg, about eight miles south down the Florida west Coast from Clearwater.  If you fly in to Tampa (or drive down, through Tampa) take I-275 south from Tampa, and go across Tampa Bay to the exit for Route 688;
then head west on Route 688 until it ends at the Gulf of Mexico.  Turn left onto Gulf Boulevard and proceed for about a mile to Quiet Waters, at 19931 Gulf Boulevard, on your left.

In summary, our condo at Quiet Waters is ideal for vacationing.  It has a very large master bedroom suite with a queen-size bed and its own bathroom, and large walk-in closet.  There is a second, smaller bedroom with two twin beds, and a second bath as well.  It is decorated with original art as well as some interesting prints.

The living and dining room area is tiled with a beautiful beige Italian tile.  The living room sofa converts to a queen-size bed if needed.  The kitchen is large, modern, and fully equipped (automatic ice-maker fridge, dishwasher, disposal, microwave, orange juicer, toaster, coffee maker, etc.) with a full complement of utensils and cutlery.

The dining area, with a table and four matching chairs, is adjacent to the living room area, which is equipped with cable service, Hi Speed Internet, a large screen HDTV, and DVD player.  The bedroom has a TV and DVD and cable as well.

Both the living room and the master bedroom open up onto the balcony, which you can see in the photographs on the Internet site. There is central heat and air, of course. A washer and dryer are in the utility closet inside our unit. Maid service is provided at the end of your stay, and can be had during the stay as well upon request.

My favorite item is the large heated whirlpool/hot tub, which you can see in the photographs of the swimming area.  Also, the private dock is very beautiful, especially early in the morning. The beach was widened to about 300 feet as few years back, and is enormous, and miles long in each direction --- and it is two-three minutes from our condo. In addition, and this is important if you like exercise or walking, the town recently installed bike and walking paths, and narrowed the auto lanes, on the entire length of Gulf Boulevard; bike rentals are available, and molly-trolley service is frequent. Many years ago I was a journalist and happened to be assigned to write about this part of Florida, and I I know it well.  This is one of those places that is just as beautiful as the ad makes it sound.