Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[Cracker Ken]

Hi folks!

 

I was over in Tampa today dropping off DW and her mother for their 14 day S Caribbean cruise on the Veendam. I don't get to go this time. Afterwards, I went out to Westshore Blvd and the surrounding area and looked around for an update.

 

Did someone on this thread ask me about a grocery or liquor store in the area of Westshore Blvd in Tampa? Some asked me that, somewhere. Anyway, there are no close grocery stores. There are some convenient store/gas stations, and there is a new Walgreen's at Kennedy and Westshore Blvd. They have some groceries and I think they still have a liquor store in Walgreen's. Over on Dale Mabry Hwy, about a mile to the E, there are other locations.

 

Boards - As for the Best Western on Westshore, I checked it out, from the outside only. I'll withhold judgment on that hotel. Put it this way, if I was in the area looking for a place to stay (like, arriving in town without reservations), I would stop at one of several other places first. The Hampton Inn on Laurel St just a block W. of Westshore is fine. The Springhill Suites on Cypress just W. of Westshore looks really nice, and relatively new as well. The Best Western is an older hotel, outside entry for the rooms. At one time, the building ceased operation as a hotel and tried renting the rooms as small office suites to small businesses. I guess that idea was a flop. They renovated the place again and now it's back into the hotel business. It doesn't appear to be dumpy or anything like that, and the area isn't bad. If you have a good deal there (and it sure looks that way), you will probably be OK.

 

The Wellsley Inn that was in the area is now converted to an Extended Stay America hotel. Not sure if it was even open yet.

 

There is a Residence Inn located on Lois Ave just S. of Boy Scout Blvd, just across the street from the Hilton Tampa Airport Hotel. It's only a couple of years old.

 

On Boy Scout, just E. of Westshore Blvd, there are 3 nice restaurants in a row: Leroy Selmon's BBQ (the retired NFL star), Flemings Steakhouse, and Roy's. All of those are concepts of the Outback Steakhouse group.

 

Ken

[boards]

Thank you Ken for your help. Since we are going to fly in early, what I am looking for is something that we will not have get a car to get around and that is not to far away from the port and perhaps near some shopping. I am not sure of the plans our TA has for us, I know that she has purchased the transfers to the port for us.

[tigger296]

Holiday in has a Park & Fly package. The reservation Holiday Inn specialist I spoke with said for $5 pp they will shuttle you to the port and and pick you up when you return. This includes leaving you car in their lot and breakfast.

[dmndlil]

We are booked at the Chase Suites in February for one night pre-cruise. Can anyone tell me what is nearby?

[Cracker Ken]

The Chase Suites are located on the Tampa side of Old Tampa Bay in the Rocky Point area. The hotel (which resembles an apartment complex, to an extent) is along the water N. of Courtney Campbell Causeway, and it to the W of the Tampa International Airport. This is the road/bridge that does to Clearwater from Tampa. The Rocky Point area consist of office towers, hotels, restaurants, and a couple of apartment complexes. It's a nice area, and about 10 miles from the cruise terminals on the E. side of the downtown Tampa business core. On the N. side of Rocky Point (where the Chase is), there is a nice restaurant called Bahama Breeze. Nice location, nice view, and good food. There is a restaurant/bar/grill called the Green Iguana just down the street by the Days Inn. They have great burgers there. Also, out on the main road (Courtney Campbell Causeway) just before Rocky Point Drive, is Landry's Seafood, a very good place to eat. Another seafood restaurant out there is the Castaways (I haven't been there before, but it's is supposed to be nice, and maybe a little expensive). There are no stores or fast food places on Rocky Point. I'm quite familiar with the area since the regional office of my employer is in one of those building on Rocky Point.

 

Ken

[mchoelting]

we are sailing in aug 2005, on te miracle, I just booked the holiday inn on rocky point dr. Can anyone tell me if this is a good area. I hope so, i booked it for $89 with a free shuttle from the airport. He said they have a shuttle that they can arrange for you for 10.00 pp to port. I am thinking a cab may be cheaper to do. He did mention a free trolley also, but i think we will have too much luggage.

[MILEMRKR63]

Hey there~

 

Thanks for all the info. Can you suggest a good 4 or 5 star hote/resort near the cruise terminal in a safe area. We are flying to Tamp late August for a cruise but want a nice resort. Also, how far is the Disney property from Tamp should we opt to stay there precruise.

 

Once again, thanks for the information.

 

Don

[scsagh]

What does anyone know about the Wingate near USF? Would this be an OK spot if we want to go to Busch Gardens?

[cprincess]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know how far the cruise port/terminal is from Springhill Suites? Also if this hotel offers shuttle service for cruisers? I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to take a taxi there or to book a car/sedan service each way? Any ideas would be welcome.

[boards]

It has shuttle service to and from the hotel to the airport. We have the HAL transfers and are planning on using them to get to the pier (from the airport). We will take the shuttle back to the airport and them use the transfers. We have already paid for them, so might just as well use them even if it takes longer to get to the port.

[Ehpride]

Has anyone stayed at the Days Inn on N. Dale Mabry? We made reservations there and got a great rate over New Year's. It looks pretty nice from the outside.

[Cracker Ken]

Hi folks!

 

Ehpride - I've not stayed at the Days Inn before (I live around here), but I'm quite familiar with that area. The area of that Days Inn is around the Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay Bucs). It's not a really bad area. Plenty of places to eat around there too (especially to the S. towards Kennedy Blvd.)

 

cprincess - It's roughly 6 miles from the Springhill Suites to the terminals. I really like the looks of that Springhill Suites, and it's in the middle of a business/office complex area.

 

MILEMRKR63 - You might look into the Marriott Waterside Hotel. It's very close to the port/terminals. I may have written about it in this thread (can't remember). If you click on the Yahoo photo web page in my signature below, I have a bunch of photo albums. One is titled Tampa, FL. There are a lot of pics of the Marriott Waterside and the surrounding area.

 

mchoelting - The Holiday Inn at Rocky Point is a Holiday Inn Express. People who work at our offices stay there often. I've been in the lobby, and I know several people who have stayed there and they like it. Please see my post further up the page where I was answering someone regaring the Chase Suites. This Holiday Inn Express is almost next door, with the Bahama Breeze Restaurant between them. Nice area. It's quiet out there. Also, the $10 shuttle will be cheaper than a taxi. I've seen reports that it cost $20 from the airport to the cruise terminals. Rocky Point is about 2-3 miles further away from the cruise terminal. For $10, I'd grab that shuttle van.

 

scsagh - If you want to stay near Busch Gardens, I'd say that you are better off at the Wingate Inn on E. Fowler Ave. than you would be if you stayed down on Busch. Blvd. That's way out on the NE side of Tampa and a long ways to the port. If you are sailing out on a Saturday, the traffic from that area to the port shouldn't be much of a problem. On weekdays it can be a mess heading S. into downtown Tampa from the N. Urban sprawl is creeping up on the Busch Gardens area, and there's a lot of crime reported on Busch Blvd around hotels. The area of this Wingate is mostly the sprawling USF Campus.

 

Hope this helps.:)

[boards]

Cracker Ken my wife wants to know how far Wal-mart is from Springhill Suites and how you would get there from the hotel?

[Cracker Ken]

Boards - It's about a mile or so away, and it's easy to get there. From Springhill Suites, go East on Cypress all the way to Dale Mabry Highway. Turn North (left), go under I-275 and you will see Wal-Mart on the right (E side of the road).

 

Ken

[scsagh]

Cracker Ken, I'm glad you mentioned the Fowler Ave address for the Wingate. I had been reading about the Wingate Tampa North (Bruce Downs) and thinking location of the one on Fowler. How long of a drive to Busch Gardens would the one on Bruce Downs be? Would it be a better location as far as safety? Since we know we will also be visiting in Land O' Lakes, I guess the north wouldn't bother us as long as the traffic won't be too bad on a Saturday to the port.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

Sandy

[Ehpride]

Thanks Ken! Nice to have a native's viewpoint as I've never been to Tampa.

[Cracker Ken]

Sandy - Since you want to visit Land O' Lakes, the Wingate Inn on Bruce B. Downs might be a better choice (it's the choice I would make). This is out in the area called New Tampa. The area is more upscale than down on Fowler. Since you will be right at I-75, it will be easy to get on the Interstate and go down to Fowler, then take it W. to 30th St and then S. on 30th St to Busch Gardens. Or, you could take Bruce B. Downs S. towards Tampa and it turns into 30th St (more traffic this way though). There are nice places to eat out there in New Tampa, within a mile or so E or W of I-75. It's not far from there up to Land O' Lakes. Busch Gardens is at Busch Blvd and 30th St.

 

Ken

[SheilaInAL]

Hey Ken,

Thanks so much for the info on the Hilton! I'm looking forward to being there soon! :D

Have a great day and thanks again!

[scsagh]

Ken,

 

Thanks so much for all of the info. We ended up booking this Wingate. It's had some great reviews and the manager sounded very nice and helpful. Appreciate all of your input and help on theses boards. I know when my husband read your post about the area around Busch Gardens, he didn't want to stay there. Many people had also suggested downtown, but he's not a downtown kinda guy. Now me, I could have fun. Oh well. Thanks again for helping all of us on these boards out.

 

I'll let everyone know how the Wingate was after we return.

 

Sandy

[katienycgrl]

First, thanks for helping everyone out on these boards, I have read everything that everyone has posted and you've been very helpful.

 

I would like to stay at a nice location in Tampa after the cruise (where you can walk around to shops, bars et) but a hotel that also has a shuttle to Bush Gardens since we won't be renting a car for a day. Any ideas? For where we are staying before the cruise is near Ybor City (we're 25) so that should be fun. Any ideas? I read that staying near Bush Gardens isn't safe?

[mchoelting]

Dear Ken, thank you for the response on this hotel, we really appreciate all your advice knowing you are from the area. I hope that it won't cost too much going to port, they mentioned they have a free shutle to their hotel from the airport. Again thank you again, it is nice to have you on these boards.

[Cracker Ken]

katienycgrl - That's not very easy to do. The only places in town (besides the malls) where you can stay close and have places to walk around are in Ybor City and the Channelside District at the port. There's nothing in the Busch Gardens area that fits your needs, as far as I know. If you were to stay in Ybor City (Like at the Hampton Inn or Hilton Garden Inn), you could easily hop on the street car and take it to the Channelside District and the downtown areas. The free shuttle to Busch Gardens is the hard part. I don't have any idea which hotel/motel would do that. While I was in NE Tampa this afternoon, I drove down Busch Blvd. and by Busch Gardens. There's not anything on Busch Blvd that I would want to recommend to anyone. A lot of those places are really cheap, and some have weekly rates too. As we know, we always get what we pay for. A lot of those motels on Busch are really old, like from the 60's or 70's. As we all know, we can become victims of crime most anywhere, however there are some places where the percentage is a lot higher. I just don't feel comfortable recommending that people stay in this area. Many people who cruise want something a lot nicer than what that area has to offer, and I'd hate to steer someone to something they wouldn't like at all (or, worse yet, run into some problems). It's unfortunate that the Busch Gardens area isn't up to par with the theme park itself.

 

Ken

[emeraldlover]

We booked our pre-night stay for 2/12/05 through Priceline. It was the first time we used it. We got, what we think, is a pretty good deal on the Tampa Marriott Westshore. They have free shuttle to the airport. Then, I guess we will have to arrange transportation to the cruise terminal. I have asked on other boards for info. on this hotel, but never received a response. Since I found this site, I have gotten so much information it is all overwhelming.

 

So, I figured I would ask here. If anyone could tell me about this hotel, the area around it, and since we will be arriving before noon on Saturday, what is good in the area to do, I'd appreciate it.

 

Last time I was in Tampa, we had stayed at either a Days Inn or Motel 6 (this was probably 10 years ago), and it was horrible. We stayed at a Day's Inn in Miami for our cruise in 12/03, and that left a lot to be desired. Certainly hoping, and from what I have read above, that the Marriott will be decent.

 

Thanks for your replies.

[TDKK4SEV]

Does anyone know if there is a Supermarket or drug store close to this Hotel. I believe the hotel is at Westshore Blvd.& Cypress. Thanks

[Cracker Ken]

The Tampa Marriott Westshore is a very nice hotel located at the corner of Westshore Blvd. and W. Cypress St. The area is predominantly a business district (Westshore Business District) with lots of office buildings and hotels. There is a large high school nearby too. This is a good area of town and it's clean. The property of this hotel is well kept. Lots of business people stay at this location, and they hold trade conferences there. Our offices used to be right down the street from this hotel. emeraldlover - You will be a much better off staying here than the Days Inn and Motel 6 (those are often very crummy).

 

TDKK4SEV - As for drug stores and super markets in this area - There is a Walgreen's Drug Store not far to the S. of the hotel (about 1/2 mile, maybe less), at Westshore Blvd. and Kennedy Blvd. There are some gas station-convenient stores in the area close by. There is a large Wal-Mart a few miles away, located at the NE corner of Dale Mabry Highway and I-275. Also, just S. of the hotel, on the S. side of I-275, is Westshore Plaza Mall. They have some restaurants there, a food court, and it's a nice mall. To the N. of the hotel, next to the airport at the N. end of Westshore Blvd. is a really nice upscale mall called International Plaza. There are very good restaurants in the back side of the mall. Across the street from the International Plaza there are 3 very good restaurants - LeRoy Selmon's BBQ, Roys, and Flemings Steakhouse (all 3 are concepts of the Outback Steakhouse corp).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ken