Could you suggest a hotel in Tampa?

[Honeybear]

To those that live in Tampa ... Julie ... Somebody ... What hotel do you suggest? We'd like close/on the beach (not necessary) but the main thing we need is transportation:

From the airport to the hotel

From the hotel to the ship-port

Then from the ship-port back to the airport

Also, since we won't have a vehicle, a restaurant would be great! How about "Days Inn Tampa Airport Stadium"? Anyone know anything about them?

 

I have a booking (Doubletree) but I just found out they don't transport to and from the ship port.

 

Thanks in advance

[/size][/font]

[PattiMerritt]

I wouldn't recommend the Day's Inn...just not a great area of town. The Doubletree is a decent hotel on the causeway (Tampa Bay -- not the gulf). A cab shouldn't run you too much... my guess is it's less than 10 miles -- but, there's really nothing to do in the area of the hotel if you don't have a vehicle. Right in downtown Tampa is a Hyatt and a Marriott...my guess is that both will offer transportation -- if not, you could always jump one of the downtown trolley's (if you don't have a ton of luggage). If you need any other information, feel free to email!

[Honeybear]

Thank you for your reply, Patti!

It is just so hard if you aren't there to "see" the place. The Day's Inn looked good in their pic, lol. The Doubletree (Rocky Point Drive West) is $178 and we just think that's a lot of money when they won't take us to the ship? We don't want to get mugged so we might just have to keep what we have and hire a taxi. I'm disabled there's no way we could take a trolley with luggage. Maybe, I'm asking for to much. Lol we don't know that area at all so I don't know left from right nor east for west. :D

Would you stay at Doublyree for $178 or look around? Any suggestions? :confused:

[Froufie]

Try the Chase Suites in Tampa - check here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=512343&highlight=chase

 

....or just do a search on the East Coast Departures board for more info.

 

Froufie

[Pugs]

Hilton Garden Inn Ybor, I live in Tampa, this hotel is close to the port, and it is nice and in a safe place.

[Cracker Ken]

The Hampton Inn in Ybor City is also a nice choice. Right next to the street car line too. I'd estimate about $22-$25 taxi fare from the airport to Ybor. The Hilton the other poster mentioned is fine too.

 

The Chase Suites on Rocky Point has everything you mentioned needing, and there is a good place to eat next door to the hotel. If you book there, be sure to talk about your transportation needs and get the package that includes it.

 

Ken

[Vidimom]

You may want to check with Carnival and see what hotels they use then book it on your own. There are several very nice hotels down by the port and you have Channelside close by for meals and entertainment. It's worth a shot. Stay away from any hotel that says Dale Mabry as it's not the best area of Tampa.

[Pugs]

The Hampton Inn in Ybor City is also a nice choice. Right next to the street car line too. I'd estimate about $22-$25 taxi fare from the airport to Ybor. The Hilton the other poster mentioned is fine too.

 

The Chase Suites on Rocky Point has everything you mentioned needing, and there is a good place to eat next door to the hotel. If you book there, be sure to talk about your transportation needs and get the package that includes it.

 

Ken

 

Yes I would also recommend the Hampton inn, lots to do in Ybor.

Not much to do around Rocky Point , you would have to drive in to westshore for shopping or movies, lots of Resturants in the Westshore area. Rocky Point is a bit of a ways from the port.

[cruisingjon]

We stayed at Westin Harbour Island and loved it. It has been remodeled and was very very nice. If your flying in they will pick you up at Airport, they even came and got us after the cruise and took us back to the Airport.

 

Very Friendly, and very nice place. Very competative prices as well. This is where we stay whenever we are in Tampa.

 

We did not care much for Channelside....there really just isn't much there. We much preferred Ybor city which you could catch a trolly from near the Westin to Ybor.

[Pugs]

You may want to check with Carnival and see what hotels they use then book it on your own. There are several very nice hotels down by the port and you have Channelside close by for meals and entertainment. It's worth a shot. Stay away from any hotel that says Dale Mabry as it's not the best area of Tampa.

 

Thats not true, south Dale mabry is nice and North is nice , central area has a few Adult clubs, but still not bad... The Adult clubs are well kept and you don't see much going on on the outside. There are banks and restrants and business in the same areas...In this area you will also find our Foot Ball and Yankees Stadium .... And a Collage... So the area is not a bad area....

[suncoastgirl]

You might wish to try some of the hotels on Westshore. They are all near the airport and shopping. Most of them offer free transportation or for a small fee. There is a Embassy Suites, DoubleTree, Quroum, and others. There are lots of suggestions and info on the Gulf Coast departure thread.

[Honeybear]

Thanks to you all. I have a little idea now. I'm going hotel shopping ttyl. You are a great group of people! Thank you!

[chitown cruisers]

I keep this at my site for a quick copy/paste....

 

 

I love the Chase suites.....they have a cruise package where they pick you up at the airport....drive you to the port.....and pick you up after the cruise and take you to the airport. For us we had a late flight so they took us back to the Chase to kill 5 hours by letting us change and use the pool.

 

They are suites with kitchen and living room w/king bed and sofa sleeper(sleeps 4)...the 2 bed has another bath and king loft overlooking the living room(sleeps 6). We paid $129 for the 2bed/2 bath loft. There is a Bahama Breeze next door so you can just walk over for lunch/dinner.

 

There are other nice places in the harbor area if you need to be surrounded by more activity/restaurants....but for me this was a deal and a nice way to just relax.....it was about 15 minutes from the airport and we boarded our Chase shuttle at 10 am and were on board the Miracle at 11:15........

 

A GREAT WAY to start a cruise.....

Chitown Cruisers and the Marvelous Miracle Misfits would like to thank and highly recommend

Chase Suites Hotel Tampa 3075 N. Rocky Point Drive Tampa, Fl 33607 (813)281-5677

 

 

our chase photos.... http://travel.webshots.com/photo/253...89406063IgCXuB

 

the rate also included parking if you know anyone driving in.

[PattiMerritt]

Having lived and worked in the Tampa Bay area for over 25 years now, I still would not recommend staying in the Dale Mabry area (especially without a car) or the Ybor area..... Ybor is great, but it turns into drunk alley (many many many bars and underage drinking) at night....while I'm not saying Tampa is a "dangerous" place, there's no sense being stupid either! I agree with you on the Doubletree.... expensive for not even offering transportation...but...unless you're coming down soon, you're going to hit the high season and pay dearly for anything decent. I'd definitely check out the Hyatt downtown, the Marriott Waterside, Embassy Suites Downtown or, as suggested, the Westin on Harbor Island.

 

Try this site: http://hotel-guides.us/florida/tampa-fl-cruise-port-hotels.html

[kimmimom]

We stayed at Doubletree in Jan 2006 and had all those rides for free and a room for about $100/night. Maybe they have changed their policy or are there 2 Doubletrees in Tampa?

[Guest nhrich]

Last time I checked, Sailport Resort at Rocky Point also will provide transportation to the pier and to the airport afterwards.

[reno3]

I just booked the Hampton Inn Airpot Rocky Point Island. The cost is $159.00 for one night before we cruise. They will pick you up at the airport and take you to the port in the morning and then pick you up at the port when you return and take you back to the airport. This price is for three of us. I had booked Chase Suites for a cruise I had to cancel this past April and at that time it was $139.00. I phoned them before I booked the Hampton Inn and they told me their prices had increased, the cost now for the same package was $239.00:eek:, $100.00 dollar increase in one year:rolleyes: No Thanks!

[Cracker Ken]

I guess it all depends on what folks are looking for. Some people might want what Ybor has to offer - I don't. I go there during the day for lunch and to the Sheriff's Office building for business from time to time. I never go there at night. The "drunks on the street" aspect of Ybor at night is probably second only to New Orleans. It's also a high crime area at night, including violent crime, especially near 22nd St. For folks who want to party, or be one of the drunks on the street, it's the place. The Hampton Inn is on the better side of the Ybor area, and if you stay indoors at night you'll be fine. There are things to see and nice places to eat in that area, not to mention accessibility to the street car line which can take you by all of the cruise terminals.

 

I still don't see Dale Mabry Highway as a particularly unsafe area, and it's not worse than most anywhere else, and better than some areas of town. I'm basing my observations on my 20 years in law enforcement in Tampa/Hillsborough County, and my 54 years of residency here (I'm a central FL native - yes, there are still natives here), with 48 in Hillsborough. I still work out of Tampa. As mentioned, there is an area where there are a couple of adult entertainment type night clubs near I-275. There aren't any hotels next to those places anyway. The Holiday Inn Express up by the stadium is rather new, a decent restaurant next door too. You can certainly do much better than the Dale Mabry area though.

 

Those hotels in the Westshore Business District are nice, incluing the Hilton and Residence Inn on Lois Avenue. The Westshore Hotel on Westshore was a Best Western until recently and is reportedly OK with a restaurant on premises.

 

There is a Sheraton, Double Tree, Marriott, and Sprinhill Suites on Cypress near Westshore - all nice.

 

The hotels and atmosphere out on Rocky Point are all fine. It's quiet out there and safe. For a one night stay, you can't beat it, especially with the transport packages you can get from most of the hotels. That areas is headed in the direction of "upscale" with two condo towers going up soon, and a Ritz Carlton hotel in the planning stages. The office I work out of is at Rocky Point - there are several big high rise office buildings out there.

 

Yes - There are two Double Tree's in Tampa - one on Rocky Point, and one on Cypress just E of Westshore (I've been there recently for business, nice place).

 

Places you NEVER want to even think about staying in Tampa - Anything with an address on Busch Blvd, 50th St, or Melbourne. Bad, bad, bad. There are at least two hotels around 50th St & I-4, and Melbourne and I-4 that bill themselves as being at or near the port - DON'T stay around there.

 

I also agree with what Patti said about those downtown hotels, but many (if not the majority) of folks inquiring on the boards cannot afford it. For those who can afford it, either the Embassy Suites or Marriott Waterside would be the cream of the crop, closest to the cruise terminals, and a great area. The Southern hub for the street car line is between the hotels. The Wyndham is just across the channel from those two, and nice as well. It would be great if someone would build a moderate hotel in the Channelside District, but all I see going on there is high rise condo building. Property is probably too expensive for a moderate hotel (Hampton, Holiday Inn Express, LaQuinta).

 

There is a very long (like 65+ pages and growing) thread here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=108072

 

About anything you could possibly ask about sailing from Tampa is in that thread. It takes a long time to read it since it got so long. If you were to read about the last 10-15 pages you would get a lot of info. If you can read fast and stay awake - you might find the entire thread interesting. Some of the info duplicates itself since people won't read the info and post the same questions again and again.

[ABear511]

I saw someone mention you can not see the hotel areas. Try google earth, it has high resoultion aerial photos of the Tampa area. Plus it lists everything from hotels, places to eat, malls, parks & such. Oh yeah ppl also post their tourist photos & comments also. It's the only way we look for a hotel now. We decided on the Rocky Point area because we saw it was in a nice area by itself on the bay near a public beach. The hotels out there do offer shuttles to the airport but to the port is hit or miss.

 

BTW the Sailport does not offer a shuttle to the Port of Tampa, anymore. I called them last Sunday & asked. They do offer free parking & the airport shuttle still.

[cruisin1982]

We are staying at the holiday inn express they also manage the Hampton inn in Rockey point good rate and they will also pick you up from the airport/take to port and bring back to airport. Only bad thing no place to eat on site but one next door. They also send they would take us to a local mall with no cost. We have stayed here before a few years ago hope it is still nice.

 

Mike

[IPingUPing]

We've stayed at both Sheratons and they both offered us shuttle service to and from the port. The one near the airport is a "suites" so it is a bit larger and has a great steak house next door. It's not far from the mall, and the shuttle will take you there as well.

 

Downtown is on the river, so you'll get that experience, and it's fairly close to the port area which has some shopping.

 

Good Luck!

[peanutgirl]

Dear IPINGUPING, was the Sheraton the Riverwalk one? How was it? We are going there this June before the INSPIRATION.

[miamilyssa]

Stayed there before we left on our honeymoon cruise. Nice hotel! Taxi to port was $12-15. There is a mall and a drugstore across the street (walking distance), and the mall has a lot of nicer restaurants (Maggianos and PGF Chang).