Accolades

Sarasota County has won a number of accolades for its places to stay, play, and dine over the years.  Below are a few examples of the recognitions we are proud to have earned.

YEAR

DESIGNATION/ACCOLADE

WHERE

GIVEN BY

2022 The Best Cities for Fishing Sarasota (#2) Apartment Guide
2022 Yelp’s Top 100 Florida Restaurants 2022

Antoine's Restaurant (#22), Que-Rico Colombian Flavors (#40), Max's Table (#54), Tikka Indian Cuisine (#66), La Dolce Vita (#84), Tortellino Bistrot (#97)

Yelp
2022 The 25 Healthiest Communities in Florida Sarasota (#3) U.S. News & World Report
2022 Top Cities in the U.S. That Have Seen the Most Growth from 2021-2022 Sarasota (#1) PODS
2022 Best Small Airports in the U.S. for Avoiding Flight Delays and Cancellations Sarasota-Bradenton International (SRQ) Airport (#10) Travel & Leisure
2022 Best Places to Visit in Florida Sarasota (#1) U.S. News & World Report
2022 Siesta Key Beach named in Traveler's Choice Awards Best of the Best Beaches - World Siesta Beach (#14) Tripadvisor
2022 Siesta Key Beach named in Traveler's Choice Awards Best of the Best Beaches - United States Siesta Beach (#2) Tripadvisor
2022 Sarasota makes New York Times' 52 Places for a Changed World List Architecture Sarasota New York Times
2021 Venice Named Top Escape Destination for Snowbirds by National Self-Storage Company Venice The Herald-Tribune
2021 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2021-22 Sarasota (#1) U.S. News & World Report
2021 Moving Company Says Sarasota Ranks as #1 Relocation Destination Sarasota The Herald-Tribune
2021 Best Beach Bars Across Florida O'Leary's Tiki Bar & Grill, Sharky's on the Pier USA Today
2021 150 Best Places to Live in  the U.S. in 2021-2022 Sarasota (#9) U.S. News & World Report
2021 The Top 15 Islands in the Continental U.S. Longboat Key (#5) Travel & Leisure
2021 America's 25 Best Steakhouses, According to Yelp Summer House Steak & Seafood, Siesta Key (#12) 24/7 Wall St
2021 10 Best U.S. Beach Towns to Live In Sarasota Travel & Leisure

2021

10 Best Beach Towns on the East Coast Siesta Key Condè Nast Traveler
2021 100 Most Popular Small Cities to Relocate Venice (#3) moveBuddha
2021 Couples' Choice Awards® - Flowers, Cakes, Dresses Beneva Weddings, Cakes by Ron, The Perfect Dress of Sarasota WeddingWire
2021 Couples' Choice Awards® - Transportation Siesta Trolley WeddingWire
2021 Couples' Choice Awards® - Catering Winners Mattison's Catering, Sarasota Catering Company WeddingWire
2021 Couples' Choice Awards® - Venue Winners Lido Beach Resort, The Pavilion at Mixon Farm, Zota Beach Resort WeddingWire
2021 The 9 Best Dog-Friendly Beaches in Florida Brohard Paw Park, Venice (#1) Oyster
2021 Top 25 U.S. Growth Cities North Port (#1) U-Haul
2021 The Top-Selling Multi-Generational Community in the U.S. Lakewood Ranch (#1) RCLCO Real Estate Advisors
2021 The Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities of 2020 Lakewood Ranch (#2), Wellen Park (#4) RCLCO Real Estate Advisors
2020 "Top Stop" worldwide for venues with a capacity of 2,000 or fewer Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall (#1) Venues Now
2020 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2020-21 Sarasota (#1) U.S. News & World Report
2020 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2020-21 Sarasota (#16) U.S. News & World Report
2020 The Best U.S. Islands: 2020 Readers' Choice Awards Longboat Key (#8) Conde Nast Traveler
2020 Readers' Choice Award Visit Sarasota County ConventionSouth Magazine
2020 Top 30 Resorts in Florida: 2020 Readers' Choice Awards Zota Beach Resort (#9), The Resort at Longboat Key Club (#23) Conde Nast Traveler
2020 10 Best Kayaking Tours in the U.S. Kayaking SRQ (#5) USA Today
2020 America's Best Beach Towns for Retirement Venice (#6), Sarasota (#7) Southern Living
2020 10 Best Coastal Small Towns Venice (#3) USA Today
2020 The Top 15 Resort Hotels in Florida The Resort at Lonboat Key Club (#12) Travel + Leisure
2020 Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals® Sarasota Memorial Hospital & Doctors Hospital of Sarasota IBM Watson Health
2020 Top 10 Places to Live on the Coast Venice Coastal Living
2020 Top 25 Beaches in the World Siesta Beach (#11) Tripadvisor's Traveler's Choice™ Awards
2020 Top 25 Beaches in the U.S. Siesta Beach (#1) Tripadvisor's Traveler's Choice™ Awards
2020 50 Best Hospitality & Tourism Schools for 2020 University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Study.com
2020 Fastest-Growing Places to Travel Last-Minute Sarasota (#1 in U.S.) GoLastMinute
2019 The 10 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. Sarasota (#2) Conde Nast Traveler
2019 The Best Cities for Vegans in America Sarasota (#1) Rent.com
2019 Top 10 Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights Selby Gardens USA Today
2019 #4 place to live in Florida by Hub Pages. Sarasota Hubpages
2019 Florida's Friendliest Cities:
- No. 6 in Most Overall Votes
- No. 2 in Best Overall Feedback
- No. 2 in Cities That Are Easy to Get Around
Sarasota TripsToDiscover
2019 Top 10 Best Places to Retire in Florida in 2019 Sarasota InvestmentU
2019 Sarasota Named One of the Top Buyer’s Markets in the U.S. Sarasota The Wall Street Journal
2019 7 Great Places to Retire in Florida Sarasota Kiplinger
2019 The 10 Best Beaches in the U.S. (and Where to Stay without Breaking the Bank) Siesta Key TripAdvisor
2019 Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities Mid-Year 2019 Lakewood Ranch (#2) Real Estate Advisors
2019 6 Travelers’ Choice Beaches That Are Great for Kids Siesta Beach TripAdvisor
2019 #4 Itty Bitty City in Hotwire’s Best Cities for a Quickie Index. Sarasota Hotwire
2019 Go here, not there: the best affordable honeymoon spots in the U.S. Sarasota TripAdvisor
2019 7 of America’s Catholic Summer Travel Destinations The Ringling, Sarasota National Catholic Register
2019 The 100 Best Tennis Resorts & Camps The Resort at Longboat Key Club Healthy Living & Travel
2019 Florida’s Fastest Growing Vacation Rental Destinations [2019 Stats] Englewood, Venice, Sarasota FloridaRentals.com
2019 17 Best Florida Beaches for Families To Relax and Unwind Longboat Key 365 Atlanta Traveler
2019 Sarasota rannks No. 6 - 2019’s Best Beach Towns to Live in Sarasota WalletHub
2019 Venice ranks No. 2, Englewood ranks No. 10 - "Best Cities to Live in Florida – 2019" Venice, Englewood U.S. Chamber of Commerce
2019 100 Best Al Fresco Restaurants in America for 2019 Ophelia's By The Bay (Siesta Key), Dry Dock Waterfront Grill (Longboat Key) OpenTable
2019 The 25 Most Desirable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2019 Sarasota U.S. News & World Report
2019 The Short List: 50 Best Master-Planned Communities in the United States Grand Palm Community, in Venice WhereToRetire.com
2019 Sarasota Ranked No. 3 Most Popular Retirement Destination for Seniors Sarasota Lending Tree
2019 The Best Small Cities to Start a Small Business in 2019 - #2 Sarasota Verizon
2019 Westcoast Black Theatre Troup earns $15,000 Art Works award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Sarasota National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
2019 2019 Best Florida Beach Bar - Sharky's On the Pier Venice FloridaBeachBar.com
2019 SMH (Sarasota Memorial Hospital) Named to Newsweek's List of World's Best Hospitals Sarasota Newsweek
2019 Best Places To Live - #18 Sarasota World Report US & News
2019 13 Best Beaches on Florida's Gulf Coast Sarasota TripsToDiscover
2019 Cities with the biggest net gains or losses of movers Sarasota HireAHelper
2019 8 Art Exhibits To Check Out In March Ringling Museum, Sarasota DCList
2019 12 Best Florida Weekend Getaways with the Kids Sarasota Trips to Discover
2019 Top 10 Spring Break Destinations Of 2019 Sarasota Forbes
2019 Siesta Ranked the 15th Most Affordable Beach in the U.S. Siesta Key Sarasota Magazine
2019 North Port earns 19th safest city spot; Venice earns 12th spot North Port, Venice National Council for Home Safety and Security
2019 Safest Cities in Florida Venice (#12), North Port (#19) Alarms.org
2019 10 Best Farmers Markets in Florida Sarasota Farmers Market (#10) Behind the Blue (valpak.com)
2019 Top Florida Beach Honeymoon Locations Siesta Key Travel Channel
2019 10 Best of the Best Places to Retire Sarasota Top Retirements.com
2019 25 Unique Things to Do in Southern USA John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota VacationIdea Dream Vacation Magazine
2019 10 Places to Visit In The USA That Are Underrated Sarasota Enjoy Travelling
2019 8 Southern cities that double as filming spots Sarasota County AJC
2019 25 Most Romantic Restaurants in the U.S. Summer House, Siesta Key Trip Advisor / Buzzfeed / Food & Wine
2019 10 Best Affordable Honeymoon Spots in the US Sarasota Liveability.com
2019 The Best Places to Travel in March Sarasota Travel + Leisure
2018 9 of the Best Beaches in Florida Siesta Key Beach The Points Guy
2018 Sarasota is #5 Conde Nast Traveler Best Small Cities in the US Sarasota Conde Nast Traveler
2018 5 Art-Filled U.S. Cities Where You Can Unlock Your Creativity Sarasota Artsy.net
2018 20 Best Christmas Towns in Florida Sarasota Coastal Living
2018 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World That are Worthy of a Winter Vacation Siesta Beach MSN.com
2018 8 Dreamy Beach Towns for Entreprenuers Sarasota Livability.com
2018 Worlds Best Hotels Longboat Key Club and Resort Travel + Leisure
2018 Best Small Cities in America sarasota WalletHub
2018 Best Beach Cities to Live in Sarasota #3; Venice #15 WalletHub
2018 Ed Smith Stadium ranked #1 for spring training in Florida Sarasota USA Today
2018 Sarasota rank in Top 100 places to live sarasota Livability
2018 #1 Botanical Garden to visit this Spring Selby Gardens USA Today
2018 Best small towns to retire in City of Sarasota MSN.com
2018 South's Prettiest Cities Sarasota Southern Living
2018 South's Best Cities Sarasota Southern Living
2018 Sarasota ranked #34 in best places to live Sarasota US News
2018 Penske Truck Rental: 2017 Top Moving Destinations Tampa/Sarasota Penske Truck Rental
2018 84th in Top 100 places to live 2018 Sarasota Liveability.com
2018 10 US cities growing and offering business opportunities Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port (only in FL) Business Insider Magazine
2018 No. 13 Public High School in US Pine View High School U.S. News & World Report
2018 No. 1 Public High School in Florida Pine View High School 24/7 Wall St.
2017 National Tree City Venice
2017 Top Hotels in Florida Resort at Longboat Key Club Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards
2017 Best Places to Retire Sarasota USNews & World Report
2017 Best Cities for Young Entrepreneurs #1 Sarasota-Manatee region MoneyRates.com
2017 Sarasota County Sports Commission named sports tourism organization of the year Sarasota County National Association of Sports Commissions for cities 400,000 population or less
2017 10th fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States Sarasota-Manatee counties U.S. Census Bureau
2017 100 Best Places to Live in USA; Sarasota Top in Florida Sarasota U.S. News & World Report
2017 TripAdvisors Travelers Choice Awards Best Beach in US Siesta Beach Trip Advisor
2017 25 most desirable places to live in the US in 2017 Sarasota MSN Money
2017 Annual ConventionSouth Readers Choice Award Sarasota ConventionSouth Magazine
2016 Sweet Sparkman Architects have won an Award In the Public Service Architecture Siesta Key Beach Improvement Project Americas Property Awards
2016 10 Best Places to Travel in November to Stay Warm and Save Money Venice Trip Advisor
2016 Top 10 Happiest Seaside Town in America Sarasota Coastal Living
2016 Sarasota One of the Best Small Cities in the U.S Sarasota Conde Nast Traveler
2016 Top Small Cities in America Readers Choice Awards Sarasota Conde Nast Traveler
2016 Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community Venice League of American Bicyclists
2016 Best Place to start a small business Sarasota CNBC
2016 The "it" city in the Sunshine State Sarasota Houstonia Magazine
2016 Best Place to get a job Sarasota Wallet Hub.com
2016 Best Food Cities in the U.S. Sarasota Conde Nast Traveler
2016 Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community Venice League of American Bicyclists
2016 #3 Best Place to Retire Sarasota The Motley Fool
2016 America's Favorite Towns #12 Sarasota Travel & Leisure Readers Choice Award
2016 U.S. News 14th best place to live, top in Florioda Sarasota US News & World Report
2016 Sarasota Herald Tribune's Readers' Choice Awards Sports Commission Sarasota Herald Tribune
2016 Top Small City in US Sarasota Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2016
2015 Best Spiced Rum Siesta Key Spiced Rum Caribeean Journal's Rum Awards 2015
2015 Best Small Cities Quality of Life Saraosta #6 WalletHub.com
2015 Best Placest to Retire Sarasota #2 Livability.com
2015 Top 10 Snobbiest Cities Longboat Key #8 RoadSnacks.com
2015 B+ grade for small business owners Sarasota Thumbtack
2015 Top 10 Beaches in Florida Siesta Beach Travelchannel.com
2015 #31 Best Places to Live Sarasota Livability.com
2015 #4 Public Liberal Arts College in Nation New College of Florida US News & World Report
2015 10 Great Places to Retire--No. 1 Place Sarasota Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
2015 Best Fall Vacation Deals Venice Trip Advisor
2015 Top 50 Places to Wed in America Rinlging Museum Martha Steward Weddings
2015 Best Small Cities in America Sarasota Conde Naste's The Daily Traveler Enewsletter
2015 Sarasota Top City in Florida to Live City of Sarasota Niche.com
2015 Nerdiest City Sarasota Movato
2015 Siesta Beach TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Award for Best Beaches 2015 Siesta Beach Trip Advisor
2015 Venice, Florida Coastal Living's Top 10 Seaside Town in America Venice Coastal Living
2015 Top 50 City to Stay for 2015--Sarasota is #32 Sarasota County trivago.com
2015 Florida Top 10 Places to Open a Small Business-Sarasota featured Sarasota County Talent Tribune
2014 Sports-Friendliest Vacation Destination Sarasota SportsEvents Magazine
2014 2014 Travelers Choice Best Beaches Awards List Lido Beach Trip Advisor
2014 2014 Travelers Choice Best Beaches Awards List Siesta Key Public Beach Trip Advisor
2014 Best Spring Break Training Facility Ed Smith Stadium USA Today 10 Best
2013 Runner Friendly Community Sarasota County Running Runners Club of America
2013 Top 10 Cities to Live City of Sarasota Movoto
2013 Top 10 Small Cities for Art Lovers Arts & Culture TravelNerd
2013 Top 10 Family Beaches Siesta Key Beach National Geographic Traveler
2012 Silver Bicycle Friendly Community City of Venice League of American Bicyclists
2011 #1 Beach in America Siesta Key Dr. Beach