This Historic Barrier Island Hotel Was Just Named The Best Resort In Florida

Key Takeaways

The Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande was named Florida’s top resort in T+L’s 2025 “World’s Best Awards.”

This 111-year-old, family-owned inn charms with Old Florida style, pastel décor, and timeless traditions.

It earned the highest reader score in the state, beating out The Boca Raton and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples.

Out of the Sunshine State’s thousands of hotels, it’s a historic, family-owned inn that topped the Florida resorts list from Travel + Leisure's annual "World’s Best Awards" survey for 2025.

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Located in Southwest Florida on the scenic barrier island of Boca Grande is The Gasparilla Inn, the 111-year-old resort that Travel + Leisure readers named the best in the state.

“While it has not made T+L’s World’s Best Awards since 2021, The Gasparilla Inn made a comeback this year,” writes Travel + Leisure, a Southern Living sister publication. “Family-owned by a select few since 1964, the property has retained a distinct Old Florida charm that dates back to the inn’s opening in 1913.”

Courtesy of Gasparilla Inn

We’re not at all surprised to see this Florida institution claim the No. 1 spot on the coveted list. The Gasparilla Inn is old-fashioned and elegant in a way that isn’t stuffy. Decked out in pastels and steeped in easy glamour, here you’re expected to follow traditions like afternoon tea and dress codes, while being encouraged to enjoy the deep sense of relaxation that pervades the resort.

Travel + Leisure readers ranked resorts on their rooms, location, service, food, and value. For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The responses were averaged to arrive at final scores out of 100.

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The Gasparilla Inn received a reader score of 95.06, followed by The Boca Raton with a score of 95.02, and The Ritz-Carlton, Naples with 94.74.

As one Travel + Leisure reader reportedly shared, “There truly is no place like The Gasparilla Inn. Its unique character and historic charm create an elegant atmosphere that is fast disappearing from most, if not all, other hotels and resorts.”

Every year, Travel + Leisure asks readers to weigh in on their best travel experiences—hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more—from around the globe for the World's Best Awards survey. This year nearly 180,000Travel + Leisure readers completed the 2025 survey, with more than 657,000 votes cast across over 8,700 properties.

Read the original article on Southern Living