Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to work soon and that means Spring Training is almost here. We know you’re itching to head south to Florida or Arizona (or both?), so we’ve done the research for you on where to stay in each state to be closest to your team’s Spring Training stadium.
Availability is already scarce (and pricey), so you’ll want to get moving with your booking. Scroll on to start planning your Spring Training trip.
The Grapefruit League features Spring Training baseball in Florida. Unlike Arizona, where much of the action is centered around the greater Phoenix area, teams are a bit more spread out here, with stadiums stretching along the western coast from Dunedin to Fort Myers and three bundled together on the eastern coast in Port St. Lucie, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach. So if you’re heading south for Spring Training baseball in the Grapefruit League, you’ll be seeing plenty of Florida in the process.
Welcome to Celebration where the Atlanta Braves hunker down for their Spring Training baseball. Looking around trivago, you won’t have a problem finding a hotel within a short drive of Champion Stadium (part of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort). Your closest option looks to be the Meliá Orlando at Celebration just east of Champion Stadium. A couple of other well-rated options nearby are Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club and Bahama Bay Resort.
If you’re scrolling through Google Maps, it should be pretty easy to figure out where the Detroit Tigers play Spring Training baseball in Lakeland — Tigertown at Joker Marchant Stadium. The ballpark is adjacent to Lake Parker Park and right on the lake of the same name. For a Lakeland hotel, you’ll have to look along I-4. Some within a reasonable drive include Travelodge Lakeland, Comfort Inn and Suites Lakeland, La Quinta Inn & Suites Lakeland West, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lakeland North – I-4, Hampton Inn Lakeland, Baymont Inn and Suites Lakeland, and Days Inn Suites Lakeland.
Baltimore Orioles fans will be heading to lovely Sarasota to catch their Spring Training baseball at Ed Smith Stadium. Your best hotel near Ed Smith Stadium is the Homewood Suites By Hilton Sarasota at just over a mile-and-a-half walk to the ballpark. Further away, but close to or right on the coast, are a number of wonderful options. Some notable mentions include Aloft Sarasota, The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, and Hyatt Regency Sarasota.
Ballpark of the Palm Beaches churned on a couple of winners last Spring Training as the West Palm Beach home to both the National League East champions, Washington Nationals, and of course the 2017 World Series champs, Houston Astros. Two hotels with availability (and solid ratings) pop up nearby on 45th Street just outside the stadium. We have Homewood Suites by Hilton West Palm Beach and the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites West Palm Beach Metrocentre.
Heading back north a bit to Jupiter we have Roger Dean Stadium where the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals share a home through late February and March. For a hotel near the stadium, you really can’t beat the Courtyard Plam Beach Jupiter where you can hear the crack of the bat. If you’d rather take advantage of the proximity to the ocean, try Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa, Wyndham Grand Jupiter At Harbourside Place, and Best Western Intracoastal Inn.
The New York Mets’ Spring Training home at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie is right off I-95 and St. Lucie W Blvd. Conveniently, there are a number of well-rated hotels right off the interstate. Book a baseball stay at Hilton Garden Inn at PGA Village Port St Lucie, Residence Inn Port St. Lucie, SpringHill Suites Port St. Lucie, or Holiday Inn Express & Suites Port St Lucie West and you’ll be plenty close to the action.
Boston Red Sox fans will feel right at home in Fort Myers where the Beantown Bombers settle into JetBlue Park right on the aptly-named Fenway South Drive. Your best hotel options near JetBluePark are all associated with the Southwest Florida International Airport because the ballpark is literally right across the street. You’ll find a hub of hotels just outside the airport where I-75 meets Daniels Pkwy. The top three-rated hotels by trivago users are Comfort Inn & Suites Fort Myers, SpringHill Suites Fort Myers Airport, and Hampton Inn Ft Myers Airport I 75.
Gee, who do you think plays Spring Training baseball at Steinbrenner Field? If you didn’t answer “New York Yankees” immediately, then you must be planning the trip for somebody else. In any event, the late Yankees icon was a Tampa snowbird, so it’s fitting that the ballpark is right next to Tampa International Airport. This means your best hotel options near the ballpark will be the stock of airport hotels, such as Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel, Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore, Fairfield Inn & Suites Tampa Westshore/Airport, Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa Airport South @ Avion Park, FL, Homewood Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport – Westshore, and TownePlace Suites Tampa Westshore/Airport.
We’re back in Fort Myers to check in with the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium. Like the Boston Red Sox and JetBlue Park, Hammond Stadium is much closer to the airport than to Fort Myers city center itself. Likewise, much of the lodging suggestions for Red Sox fans will work for Twins fans as well. Three options do come up, though, just northwest of the stadium: Fairfield Inn & Suites Fort Myers Cape Coral, Crowne Plaza Fort Myers At Bell Tower Shops, and Hilton Garden Inn Ft. Myers.
Philadelphia Phillies fans can expect a balmy winter if they’re heading down to Spectrum Field in Clearwater for Spring Training baseball. The stadium is closer to Old Tampa Bay, but the shores of Clearwater Beach are hardly a journey away. But we’re here for baseball not beaches, right? (Okay, both. Let’s say both.) Hampton Inn Clearwater Central, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Clearwater – US 19 North, and Quality Inn Clearwater are three well-rated hotels near Spectrum Field off the freeway.
Even the Tampa Bay Rays head south for the winter and Spring Training, setting up camp at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte. (Okay, it’s just 90 miles or so south.) Things are a bit quieter here, so the hotel selection is sparse compared to, well, Tampa. That said, you won’t be slumming it. You just might need to plan a little more driving time to get from your hotel to Charlotte Sports Park. A couple of options in Port Charlotte stick out — Days Inn Port Charlotte and Microtel Inn Port Charlotte. For more options, look over off I-75 by Kings Hwy.
The Pittsburgh Pirates get a bit of solitude when they head to LECOM Park in Bradenton for Spring Training baseball. That is to say, Bradenton is a bit less-traveled than other more touristy corners of the state. Still, winters in the 70s beat the chance of snow in March. LECOM Park is located a bit inland from the Manatee River, but you can stay right on the water with Ocean Beach Palace or Courtyard Bradenton Sarasota/Riverfront.
Last but not least, we have the Toronto Blue Jays making like a flock of Canadian Geese for Dunedin Stadium in Dunedin. If you’re not familiar with the area, check out our weekend getaways in Florida guide with a stop in Dunedin. In short, you’re on the western coast of the peninsula, sandwiched between Clearwater and Palm Harbor. Both Tampa and St. Petersburg are within reach, too. But for planning your Spring Training trip, most hotels are going to be found further south in Clearwater. Your closest, available option near Dunedin Stadium is the Comfort Suites Clearwater – Dunedin. Otherwise, you might as well make a trip of it and stay on Clearwater Beach where you have a number of stellar options with availability. You did come all the way from Canada, after all.