Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[VaBeachCruiser]

Wow-this board is so long I was going crazy!

I needed one room in Tampa on easter sunday-leaving monday on carnival inspiration. Finally decided to do downtown-3 star on priceline for $79---got Hyatt Regency which from what I can read on here seems like a good deal for a nice place.

Never done priceline before but that's how it worked for me if that helps any of you!

[star65]

Just spent almost 2 hours reading most of this thread and am still a bit confused. We are considering staying a night in Tampa after our cruise, since we won't have a car we are looking for a nice (newer) hotel with nice pool near restaurants/mall/activities we can walk to or catch a quick cab ride to. From this thread I am considering the westshore area due to it's proximity to the mall that has the movie theater and Maggiano's restaurant ( love it) - Can anyone tell me if this is a good choice, what our options for hotels are that are nearby, is it a safe area to walk back from Mall at night and if there are any other areas to consider. Also, what would taxi from pier cost to this area and are they easy to get? How about taxi to the airport in the morning?

 

Thank you so much, first time we are flying and cruising, we usually leave from our home port of NY, it's all a bit overwhelming. :(

 

Thanks so much for the help!

[bellybutton]

Just spent almost 2 hours reading most of this thread and am still a bit confused. We are considering staying a night in Tampa after our cruise, since we won't have a car we are looking for a nice (newer) hotel with nice pool near restaurants/mall/activities we can walk to or catch a quick cab ride to. From this thread I am considering the westshore area due to it's proximity to the mall that has the movie theater and Maggiano's restaurant ( love it) - Can anyone tell me if this is a good choice, what our options for hotels are that are nearby, is it a safe area to walk back from Mall at night and if there are any other areas to consider. Also, what would taxi from pier cost to this area and are they easy to get? How about taxi to the airport in the morning?

 

Thank you so much, first time we are flying and cruising, we usually leave from our home port of NY, it's all a bit overwhelming. :(

 

Thanks so much for the help!

 

We have always stayed at the Double Tree Westshore in Tampa. It is close to both malls. They pick you up at the airport and last time they took you to the port. People on here say the port shuttle is hit or miss now, we will see in a week. I have read a taxi is about $23-$25 from the Double Tree to the port.

[star65]

I looked at the double tree and the rate is a little high. Has anyone tried the embassy suites? I like the fact that it comes with breakfast. Is this close to the malls? Also, do you know of any other hotels inthis area for me to check? Thanks:)

[Cracker Ken]

Please check the last 2 or 3 pages for answers.

 

Ken

[star65]

Thanks for the info Cracker Ken, I just looked at your pixs of Tampa and now I am seriously considering staying at the Marriott Waterside. Is this a good area to stay at when you don't have a car/ Safe to walk to chanel side and the aquarium? Or is the ES downtown a better area?

Thanks

[Cracker Ken]

star65 - Yes. That's a nice area of town. Clean. Relatively safe. What's good, is the street car system. The street car station separates the Marriott Waterside and the Embassy Suites downtown. Those two hotels are only a short block apart, with the street car station sitting between them. You could walk out the door of either hotel and be at the street car in 30 seconds. It's cheap too. Just be sure to check the schedules so you can make certain that you don't get stranded. The street cars run right by Channelside on the same side of the street, and there are one or two stops there. I'd do that instead of walking. It's faster, safe a night, and will keep you dry if it's rainy. The FL Aguarium practically joins the Channelside complex, with a street car stop right out front. It's roughly 1/2 mile from the hotels to Channelside, maybe a little less.

 

Ken

[star65]

Decided to book the Marriott Waterside, looks like a beautiful hotel. I am assuming it will not be a problem to get a taxi from the pier to the hotel. Any idea about how much a cab from the waterside to the airport will be? Thanks for all the advice.

[wasiii]

Finally finished reading all the posts in this thread! I have made a page where I listed each Tampa hotel with the info about it, the ratings and the rates. Then I put this info into a table I made so that I could compare the different places.....

 

.....any chance you could share your table with the rest of us? I've kind of lost consciousness a couple of times reading the 80 somewhat pages in this post. Me and my son will fly down August 20 for our cruise the next day and we would love to find a hotel that has a shuttle to the hotel AND the airport. We're not too picky on a hotel as long as it has a pool for my son.

 

TIA

 

:)

[Theresa522]

Decided to book the Marriott Waterside, looks like a beautiful hotel. I am assuming it will not be a problem to get a taxi from the pier to the hotel. Any idea about how much a cab from the waterside to the airport will be? Thanks for all the advice.

 

I heard it could be around $3000!!!:eek: I think you should just come with us. :p

[Cracker Ken]

There should be no problem at all getting a taxi from the ship to the hotel. I don't know if the street cars allow luggage, since I've never tried it, but if they do, that's another option. The taxi ride between the airport and the hotel/cruise and terminal area is $22.00.

[ms simba]

I tried to post the table but it wouldn't work. This table was made in Word. Would it work better if I did it in Excel and pasted it? Any suggestions as to what I might try.

[ms simba]

Lets try again using Excel. Nope this didn't work either. Any suggestions?

 

Would you like me to email you the table and the detailed information on the Tampa hotels I was interested in?

 

Remember when I was making this table and gathering hotel info, I wanted a room at the end of November 2008 for me and my nephew. I particularly wanted a place with shuttles from the airport, to the pier, and around the local area. I wasn't as interested in a shuttle from the pier to the airport as I will be using Alamo's shuttle from pier to their rental car area. I also wanted a continental breakfast (cb) and double beds. There might not be much information if a hotel was too expensive for me. If any of this information is incorrect or if you have any additions to make such as telephone numbers, send me an email

[riu girl]

ms simba:

 

would you mind emailing me the table? I would really appreciate it.

 

Thank you

 

 

riugirl at hotmail dot com

[ms simba]

Remember when I was making this table and gathering hotel info, I wanted a room at the end of November 2008 for me and my nephew. I particularly wanted a place with shuttles from the airport, to the pier, and around the local area. I wasn't as interested in a shuttle from the pier to the airport as I will be using Alamo's shuttle from pier to their rental car area. I also wanted a continental breakfast (cb) and double beds. There might not be much information if a hotel was too expensive for me. If any of this information is incorrect or if you have any additions to make such as telephone numbers, send me an email

 

I scanned this hard copy and it was fine. The size was 427 KB at 600 resolution. However, when I uploaded it here, it came out as 24 KB and can hardly be seen. SO again any suggestions?

[ms simba]

I tried attaching the whole Word document since scanning the table didn't seem to work very well. However, I got a message that said the file was too big. So then I delted everything but the Table but that was too big also. Emailing the document worked or just emailing the table worked also. So that is the only way I can think of getting the Table and the hotel descriptions to anyone.

[krissy72]

ms simba:

 

Could you also email it to me? I have read every single page of this thread and can't keep it all straight.

 

rkwfh at frontiernet dot net

[ms simba]

To those I sent the Table and hotel details, be sure you call the hotel and double check the details listed.

 

For example: I called Holiday Inn Express the other day and asked about the shuttle to the pier. I was told the shuttle only went on Saturdays and Sundays. I was going to cross this hotel off my list but decided to call back today. This time I mentioned the cruise package. However, I got the same answer today - no Monday morning shuttle. So I asked the clerk if it wasn't true that they shared their shuttle bus with the Hampton Inn. She said yes they do share the bus with them. I then said that the Hampton Inn said their shuttle bus runs all week. The clerk went away to check and came back and said yes, she checked and their shuttle bus does run on Monday mornings.

 

So be sure to check (and double-check if necessary) by calling the hotel directly. I did email them so I could give them a hard copy of the answers but did not receive a reply. So I am going to email and snail mail them my questions. I do want a hard copy in my hand when I go to check in.

[Cracker Ken]

ms simba - Try posting the image on Photobucket.com. It's easy, and free. Then, you can attach the image in large size here by using the URL from your photo/image in Photobucket on your entry in this thread using the "Insert Image" thing (it's a little yellow rectangle with mountains in it. If you do that, it will be large on the thread. That's the way I posted the picture of the street car station below. This is across the street from the Marriott Waterside.

 

 

Ken

[riu girl]

Cracker Ken:

 

Thank you for your opinion on the Wingate by Wyndham Tampa North the other day. If you don't mind, would you mind giving me your opinion on a couple more places. They would be a little less $ then the Wyndham by Wingate.

 

1. www.HamptonWesleyChapel.com

brand new but not sure if the neighbourhood is safe?

 

Hampton Inn and Suites Tampa/Welsey Chapel

Stateroad 56 & I-75 exit 275

2740 Cypress Ridge Blvd. Welsey Chapel, FL 33544

 

2. www.HISuitesTampa.com

(according to mapquest it is located about one mile from the Wingate by Wyndham on Dona Michelle Drive)

 

Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Tampa North

8310 Gallbraith Road Tampa FL 33647

 

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

ms simba: thank you for the email. I got it and it looks great.

[wasiii]

.....I tried to read your scanned spreadsheet but it was too small for my failing eyes. Would you mind emailing me a copy it would be greatly appreciated.

 

insprtn200808@optonline.net

 

:D

[star65]

I heard it could be around $3000!!!:eek: I think you should just come with us. :p

 

I think you should forget about taking the Dawn next month and come with us - hmmm 2 nites on the dawn - $2000 (can't forget casino money!)- 5 nights on the beautifully renovated inspriation to islands you are dying to go to with your favorite family members - PRICELESS :p

[star65]

There should be no problem at all getting a taxi from the ship to the hotel. I don't know if the street cars allow luggage, since I've never tried it, but if they do, that's another option. The taxi ride between the airport and the hotel/cruise and terminal area is $22.00.

 

 

Thanks again for the valuable info, we have always cruised from our home port of NY and you have really helped to make this trip much less daunting! Sure I will have more questions in the months to come!:o

[ms simba]

I'm going to try again using Cracker Ken's advice. ms simba - Try posting the image on Photobucket.com. It's easy, and free. Then, you can attach the image in large size here by using the URL from your photo/image in Photobucket on your entry in this thread using the "Insert Image" thing (it's a little yellow rectangle with mountains in it. If you do that, it will be large on the thread. That's the way I posted the picture of the street car station below. This is across the street from the Marriott Waterside.

Okay what am I doing wrong.I went to Photobucket and put my Table jpg image in. I then clicked on the "Insert Image" expecting that after doing so I would be asked to choose or put in info like it does in "Manage Attachments" Nothing came up asking for the URL and of course no picture showed up here.

 

So I did (1) Placed my Table image in Photobucket.

(2) What is step Number 2

(3) What is step Number 3

and at what point do I click on "Insert Image" to get the table in the thread?

[ms simba]

 

 

 

Don't know what I did but all of a sudden I was asked for the URL and it worked.!