Umbrella Beach Resort

The Resort & Setting

Umbrella Beach Resort is an independent timeshare property affiliated with RCI, located in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island. It's a vacation ownership resort rather than a hotel, meaning owners hold a week (or points through RCI, depending on their contract) rather than booking a room outright. The island setting is low-key by design — Holmes Beach is a residential community known for quiet streets and easy beach access, a contrast to the more built-up resort towns elsewhere on Florida's coast.

The Area and Things to Do

Anna Maria Island runs about eleven miles end to end, and Holmes Beach sits roughly in the middle of it. Holmes Beach Public Beach is within walking distance for sand and swimming, and Bradenton Beach, with its pier, shops and restaurants, is a short drive south. Further afield, Sarasota (around 25km/15 miles) has museums, theatres and a livelier dining scene, while the Tampa Bay area (around 50km/30 miles, roughly 45-60 minutes by car) covers everything from Busch Gardens to professional sports. Most visitors find a rental car useful here, since the island's appeal is spread across small beaches and neighbourhoods rather than concentrated in one strip.

Selling or Renting a Week Here

If you own a week at Umbrella Beach Resort and want to sell or rent it out, BidMyTimeshare.com works as an owner-to-owner marketplace: you list your week, set your own asking price, and buyers or renters contact you directly through the platform. There's a one-time listing fee to post, and we take 0% commission on the sale — unlike traditional resale channels that often take a cut.

Because Umbrella Beach Resort is an independent property, resale typically goes through the resort's own owners' association or management company rather than a branded corporate resale desk. Before agreeing on a price with a buyer, it's worth asking the resort or its management for the current transfer fee and the latest annual maintenance fee, since these aren't published figures and can change year to year. A buyer should also confirm in writing exactly what transfers with the week — the usage rights, the RCI affiliation status, and whether any points or banked weeks carry over — since not everything attached to an owner's account necessarily passes to a new owner automatically.

Because the resort is RCI-affiliated, this is a genuine advantage for buyers interested in exchanging into other destinations rather than returning to Holmes Beach every year. Renters, by contrast, are usually looking for straightforward beach access and a relaxed, family-friendly week rather than exchange flexibility, so it's worth highlighting the walk to the public beach and the quiet residential setting in a rental listing.

Practical Notes

Holmes Beach suits travellers who want beach time without the crowds of busier Florida resort towns. Tampa International Airport is the main gateway, around 50km/30 miles away. Weather-wise, the stretch from fall through spring (roughly October through April) brings warmer, less humid conditions and is the period most owners and renters prefer, so listings for those months tend to move faster. Anyone planning to exchange their week through RCI should check availability at their target resort well ahead of time, as popular periods fill up.