Where to Stay in Hudson: Hotels, Inns and Rentals

The Waterfront Pair

Two properties sit close to the water on Clark Street, and they are not the same thing. Hudson Dockside Inn carries the town’s highest hotel rating at 4.7 from 124 reviews. It is small, it is on the water side of the road, and it draws people who want to be near the Gulf without the resort price tag. Across the way, Inn on the Gulf Hotel posts a 4.5 from 183 reviews. It is a straightforward hotel with a view of the water, and it has been the default answer for years when someone asks where to put visiting relatives.

Neither will confuse you with a boutique property. That is fine. You are in Hudson to fish, to sit on a beach, or to get some sleep before heading somewhere else. Both deliver on that.

The Highway Options

US-19 runs through town like a long, unavoidable fact. WoodSpring Suites Hudson Port Richey sits right on it, rated 3.9 from 179 reviews. This is an extended-stay place, the kind of hotel where the parking lot has more pickup trucks than sedans and the guests are here for weeks, not weekends. It is practical, and it is priced for people who are working, not vacationing.

Further south on the same highway, the old motels hold on. Suncoast Motel (3.0 from 117 reviews) and Star Motel (2.7 from 121 reviews) are what remains of the pre-interstate era, when US-19 was the way to the coast and a motel room was a night's stop, not a destination. They are cheap. They are dated. They are honest about both. If you are the kind of traveler who needs a place to park a boat trailer and sleep, they will do. If you want amenities, keep driving.

The Rentals

The vacation rental market in Hudson is small but specific. Boaters Paradise scores a 4.9 from 39 reviews, and the name is not decorative. This is a rental for people who brought a boat or plan to rent one. It is about the water, the dock, and the access. Gulf Island Beach and Tennis Club, Hudson Fl holds a perfect 5.0 from 31 reviews. It is a condo-style rental community with beach and tennis in the name, and the reviews suggest it delivers on both. These are not hotels. They are homes you borrow for a week.

The RV Crowd

Hudson has two very different RV options. Eden RV Resort on Houston Avenue is the big one, rated 4.4 from 353 reviews. It is a full resort with the kind of permanent community feel that snowbirds love: planned activities, neighbors who know your name by the second week, and a pool that is always busy. The review count alone tells you this is a place people return to.

Word of Life Florida RV Park on Wyrtzen Way is smaller and quieter, rated 4.6 from just 28 reviews. It is affiliated with a religious organization, and it runs at a different pace. If Eden is the social hub, Word of Life is the place for people who came to Hudson to not be bothered.

Who Stays Here

The census numbers tell the story. Hudson has 7,632 housing units, and 1,298 of them are held for seasonal or recreational use. That is the snowbird effect. The median age is 64.4 years. This is not a young town, and it does not try to be. The median home value is $239,200, and the median gross rent is $1,038 a month. The unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, and only 18.1 percent of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

People come to Hudson to retire, to fish, or to live cheaply near the water. The lodging reflects that. There is no luxury high-rise. There is no boutique inn with a curated wine list. There is a beach at Robert J. Strickland Memorial Park, built in the 1960s, and there are places to sleep nearby.

The Practical Truth

Hudson's history is a story of starts and stalls. Isaac Hudson moved his family into the brush in 1878 and ran a post office out of his house. The Fivay Company cut timber until it failed in 1912, and the town stalled. Then the water took over. From the 1930s through the 1950s, shrimping and fishing employed about half the working men. The Port of Hudson neighborhood came in 1950, when W.L. Hendry and his sons dug inlets and used the fill to raise dry ground.

The town once called itself the gopher racing capital of the world, and nobody argued. That is the spirit of the place. It is not trying to be anything else.

So when you book a room here, you are not booking a vacation. You are booking a base camp. Choose Hudson Dockside Inn or Inn on the Gulf Hotel if you want water. Choose WoodSpring Suites if you are working. Choose Eden RV Resort if you are staying the winter. Choose the old motels if you are on a budget and know what that means.

Hudson will not pretend to be more than it is. Neither should you.