Stayed there the weekend after 4th of July with my family. Everything was outstanding. The main plus is the rooms-- I had a suite on the 7th floor overlooking the gulf. WOW. Suite is two hotel rooms with a connecting door. My room had two beds, two fancy bathrooms (one with a tub/shower/granite countertops and one with a glass shower and fance bowl-shaped sink), two 32-inch flat screen tvs....
Need I say more? Everything was great. Beach is about a 2 minute walk from the hotel, but they have a pool downstairs if you want to stay at the hotel. It was me, my wife, a 3yr old, a 1.5yr old, and a 1yr old. We walked to the beach with the kids in their strollers, but drove up to pier 60 later in the afternoon (about 3/4 mile) because of the heat.
For the price, this is a way better deal than that Hilton, and the only main difference is that the Hilton is right on Pier 60-- it was worth the walk for me!
I'm not even looking around the next time I go to Clearwater Beach-- this is my hotel!