The largest airport close by is Tampa/TPA (~35-40 away), and is fantastically easy to get in and out of. Most major airlines fly to here.
Smaller airlines fly in and out of Clearwater-St. Pete/PIE (20 minutes away).
The mother of all Florida airports, every airline you've ever heard of goes here, and a bunch you've never heard of. It's about 90 minutes from us, but traffic can create major issues on any (every) given day.
This question is a tough one, because one of the main hotels we intended to use (the DoubleTree in North Redington Beach) is closing for five months for renovations. Gulf Blvd is the main road that runs along the beach, and there are a ton of boutique hotels along the road, although very few chain hotels, so sites like Hotels.com can be useful for finding a spot. Many guests are also using AirBnB or VRBO to find temporary lodging.
The party venue is at 186th St. and Gulf Blvd, while Helen and I live at 174th and Gulf, and most things we like to do are around us or to the south. South is also closer to downtown St. Pete (30 minutes away), where there is a ton of hotels, shops, food, activity, nightlife, and more.
One of our favorite boutique hotels downtown! A good onsite restaurant and tap room, with a hopping pool scene. Note that the Hollander is a favorite of the gay community, but that just makes the party scene there that much more fun!
One of our favorite locations to eat, and not just because it is across the street from us! Fantastic food and strong drinks paired with a fun staff!
One of the fanciest restaurants in town, you need reservations in advance. It is a bourbon distillery created by four of the Special Forces soldiers that were the first into Afghanistan, on horseback no less! Fantastic place.
I can't stress enough how incredible this tiny place is! They made Yelp's 2020 list of Top 100 Places in the US to Eat, and they have the best schnitzel that I've ever had.
Fantastic Mexican food and drinks!
A local favorite, solid food and karaoke most nights. Try the wings, get them "hot"!
One of our top three places to eat, but limited space. No reservations, but tables open up pretty quickly. Everything is made fresh from scratch each day based on locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.
There is a trolley that runs twice an hour along Gulf Blvd, it's $10 for the entire day for up to a family of four people. There is also a bus line called the SunRunner that goes to and from downtown St. Pete out to the beach, where you can connect to the trolley. Uber and Lyft are certainly here, but may be busy on a Saturday night.
Getting a rental car is up to you. If you are flying in on Saturday and out on Sunday, you can likely just get by with Uber as needed. We are also looking into renting a bus to carry people from downtown to the venue.