Mini Review of Best Western Bay Harbor Tampa

I promised a few fellow CC'ers that I would post a mini review of my recent stay at the Best Western Bay Harbor overlooking Tampa Bay. The hotel is located on Rocky Point near the Tampa airport. It is about a 15 min ride to the port.

This was not a pre-cruise stay, just a weekend stay for friend and I , but the hotel does offer a cruise pkg that includes airport shuttle, parking-if needed and a shuttle to and from the port.

My friend and I checked in on a recent busy Friday afternoon. The lobby is beautiful as is most of the hotel UNTIL you check into your room. With that said, it was not dirty, just old and in dire need of a remodel to match the remainder of the hotel. Out of all fairness, I do believe that the hotel is under a renovation so we may have just received an older-style room.

If you can picture a Days Inn off of any interstate exit in the USA, then you can picture what the room is like. Older, press-board style furniture, worn but clean carpeting and a just average bathroom. We had a King waterfront room and it came with a mini fridge, free Wi-Fi and work desk plus an easy chair with side table. All rooms are non-smoking but you can smoke on the balconies.

Here is where you get the bada-bing !!!!! The Balcony !!!!!! What a kick-butt view of the Bay. Holy Cow, it was beautiful. We were on the 6th floor which is the top floor. Great height for fantastic views of the beach area, dock, bay, pool and two beach bars that are within walking distance: Hulk Hogan's, which is adjacent to the hotel and WhiskyJoe's, which is just a short walk along a pathway to the side of the hotel. You can also get a City-View balcony room, which basically translates to looking at the parking lot. Blahh !!! Spend the extra $18 and get a Bayview. It's so very, very worth it.

The balconies have 2 sitting chairs and a patio table.

We had dinner the first evening at Hogan's and for a beach bar, the food was pretty darn good. My friend had a bacon cheeseburger and I had a mini-pizza. It was above average as far as taste. The second day we ventured to the Derby Lane Dog racing track for the afternoon races and then brought back Greek take-out from a great little place called Athenian Gardens on 4th St. in St.Petersburg. We enjoyed our dinner and wine on the balcony then walked over to Whisky Joe's to see what was going on there.

At Whisky Joe's, we had one drink and left. It was just not our kind of place. Perhaps it was because the club was having a beachside concert tribute band to Motley Crue. I am a child of the 70's and know this band's music and can say that the tribute band sucked to high-heaven. Thank goodness we decided not to buy tickets for that evening's concert. We went back to our room and suffered through listening to them from our balcony for the rest of the evening.

So to sum it up, would I book there again? Yes, solely due to the fact that all rooms have a nice sized balcony and the waterfront rooms offer one heck of a view without the price or travel to the beachside hotels.

*** Just a heads-up. If you are sensitive to loud music late into the night, I would suggest requesting a room down from the pool and beach bar area. Our room was located over the swimming pool and near the beach bar. We heard the band until 3am..... every last song...... every last note.... everything. It was not a huge biggie to us but it was loud. It may be an issue to a family with children or to those that covet quiet hours so just wanted to mention this. You can also hear the bands and music from Whisky Joe's, so it's kind of a double whammy.

All in all, we got our money's worth at $134 per night for a King room water view with balcony. That rate was AAA and we enjoyed the view much more than the Holiday Inn Rocky Point where we have stayed pre-cruise on two prior occasions. The Holiday Inn had nicer rooms but no balcony so it's really a trade-off on what you are looking for.

The hotel does not offer a free breakfast but does have room service. The room did however have a coffee maker and mini-fridge. There is also a small gift shop for last minute items. All sodas are sold in singles so no 12pks of pop or water for pre-cruise. They offered a few snack items and last minute personal items plus typical gift shop cheapie stuff.

Also worth mentioning, there is a business center that we used while there. It was pretty up-to-date and rather nice as it overlooked the Bay.

Here is the hotel link if anyone is interested:

http://bestwesternflorida.com/hotels/best-western-bay-harbor-hotel

Cari

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We enjoyed our dinner and wine on the balcony then walked over to Whisky Joe's to see what was going on there.

 

At Whisky Joe's, we had one drink and left. It was just not our kind of place. Perhaps it was because the club was having a beachside concert tribute band to Motley Crue. I am a child of the 70's and know this band's music and can say that the tribute band sucked to high-heaven.

 

 

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Oh lord I can only imagine! Whiskey Joes is normally a lot of fun!

Thanks for the great review! I love the area and miss the Gulf Coast beaches!

I love Athenian Gardens, though I usually go to the one in the Tyrone area of St. Pete. The only better Greek food in the area imo is in Tarpon Springs.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4

I promised a few fellow CC'ers that I would post a mini review of my recent stay at the Best Western Bay Harbor overlooking Tampa Bay. The hotel is located on Rocky Point near the Tampa airport. It is about a 15 min ride to the port.

 

 

This was not a pre-cruise stay, just a weekend stay for friend and I , but the hotel does offer a cruise pkg that includes airport shuttle, parking-if needed and a shuttle to and from the port.

 

My friend and I checked in on a recent busy Friday afternoon. The lobby is beautiful as is most of the hotel UNTIL you check into your room. With that said, it was not dirty, just old and in dire need of a remodel to match the remainder of the hotel. Out of all fairness, I do believe that the hotel is under a renovation so we may have just received an older-style room.

 

If you can picture a Days Inn off of any interstate exit in the USA, then you can picture what the room is like. Older, press-board style furniture, worn but clean carpeting and a just average bathroom. We had a King waterfront room and it came with a mini fridge, free Wi-Fi and work desk plus an easy chair with side table. All rooms are non-smoking but you can smoke on the balconies.

 

Here is where you get the bada-bing !!!!! The Balcony !!!!!! What a kick-butt view of the Bay. Holy Cow, it was beautiful. We were on the 6th floor which is the top floor. Great height for fantastic views of the beach area, dock, bay, pool and two beach bars that are within walking distance: Hulk Hogan's, which is adjacent to the hotel and WhiskyJoe's, which is just a short walk along a pathway to the side of the hotel. You can also get a City-View balcony room, which basically translates to looking at the parking lot. Blahh !!! Spend the extra $18 and get a Bayview. It's so very, very worth it.

The balconies have 2 sitting chairs and a patio table.

 

We had dinner the first evening at Hogan's and for a beach bar, the food was pretty darn good. My friend had a bacon cheeseburger and I had a mini-pizza. It was above average as far as taste. The second day we ventured to the Derby Lane Dog racing track for the afternoon races and then brought back Greek take-out from a great little place called Athenian Gardens on 4th St. in St.Petersburg. We enjoyed our dinner and wine on the balcony then walked over to Whisky Joe's to see what was going on there.

 

At Whisky Joe's, we had one drink and left. It was just not our kind of place. Perhaps it was because the club was having a beachside concert tribute band to Motley Crue. I am a child of the 70's and know this band's music and can say that the tribute band sucked to high-heaven. Thank goodness we decided not to buy tickets for that evening's concert. We went back to our room and suffered through listening to them from our balcony for the rest of the evening.

 

So to sum it up, would I book there again? Yes, solely due to the fact that all rooms have a nice sized balcony and the waterfront rooms offer one heck of a view without the price or travel to the beachside hotels.

 

*** Just a heads-up. If you are sensitive to loud music late into the night, I would suggest requesting a room down from the pool and beach bar area. Our room was located over the swimming pool and near the beach bar. We heard the band until 3am..... every last song...... every last note.... everything. It was not a huge biggie to us but it was loud. It may be an issue to a family with children or to those that covet quiet hours so just wanted to mention this. You can also hear the bands and music from Whisky Joe's, so it's kind of a double whammy.

 

All in all, we got our money's worth at $134 per night for a King room water view with balcony. That rate was AAA and we enjoyed the view much more than the Holiday Inn Rocky Point where we have stayed pre-cruise on two prior occasions. The Holiday Inn had nicer rooms but no balcony so it's really a trade-off on what you are looking for.

 

The hotel does not offer a free breakfast but does have room service. The room did however have a coffee maker and mini-fridge. There is also a small gift shop for last minute items. All sodas are sold in singles so no 12pks of pop or water for pre-cruise. They offered a few snack items and last minute personal items plus typical gift shop cheapie stuff.

 

Also worth mentioning, there is a business center that we used while there. It was pretty up-to-date and rather nice as it overlooked the Bay.

 

 

Here is the hotel link if anyone is interested:

 

http://bestwesternflorida.com/hotels/best-western-bay-harbor-hotel

 

 

 

Cari

 

 

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I know this is an old thread but is there anything around there to do or is it just the beautiful balcony and view.

Thanks!

Harriet

I know this is an old thread but is there anything around there to do or is it just the beautiful balcony and view.

 

Thanks!

 

Harriet

It all depends on what you want to do. The hotel is located on the water so there are jet-ski rentals, volleyball etc..... There is a beach bar and restaurant adjacent plus Whisky Joe's beach bar within walking distance.

It is a laid-back waterfront property.

It you want to relax by the pool, rent a jet-ski or play beach volleyball then you may enjoy this place..... if not then you may want a downtown location that is closer to the trolley line and the aquarium, or perhaps a hotel near Busch Gardens, if you are into theme park fun.

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It all depends on what you want to do. The hotel is located on the water so there are jet-ski rentals, volleyball etc..... There is a beach bar and restaurant adjacent plus Whisky Joe's beach bar within walking distance.

It is a laid-back waterfront property.

 

It you want to relax by the pool, rent a jet-ski or play beach volleyball then you may enjoy this place..... if not then you may want a downtown location that is closer to the trolley line and the aquarium, or perhaps a hotel near Busch Gardens, if you are into theme park fun.

 

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Great! Thanks for your help!

Harriet

Do you know if there are concerts and parties on Sunday nights? I'm wondering if it will be quiet then since the weekend is about over.

Do you know if there are concerts and parties on Sunday nights? I'm wondering if it will be quiet then since the weekend is about over.

Here is the link to Hogan's Beach Bar. You could check their calendar for events.

http://www.hogansbeachtampa.com/

:)

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