Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[crcmb@msn.com]

After some checking around, the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore does provide what you are looking for. The shuttle to the airport is free and the shuttle to the port is $5.00 per person.

[cruzin w chris]

i think cc should pay you ken, lol. they could actually pay someone to do the work and research that you do and that person would never be half as good as you !! keep up the great work it is much appreciated.

[KAWS]

Chase Suites also offers a ship to shore package that includes free shuttle to/from airport and to/from pier. Breakfast is included and they will also shuttle you around to the stores so that you can get any last minute supplies or if you want to go somewhere else to eat besides the restaurant that's right beside the hotel. Bahama Breezes is right there and the food is great but wow the wait time to get in can get nuts. We wound up ordering take out and brought it back to our suite.

 

Kim

[jjbescher]

I booked the Doubletree for August 25th for $89.00. That includes parking and shuttle to the Pier. I can park my car for up to 14 days. They say it is the Park & Cruise option. When I booked it on-line, they only showed park & fly rates, but I called the hotel number and they changed it to Park & Cruise for me at the same rate. This does NOT include breakfast, but the Dream package was $99.00 and that did include breakfast, but I do not know if it included the parking part of the package.

 

jon

[Boozebabe]

fyi, our Doubletree/Westshore Dream Deal pkg for Dec. (breakfast, shuttle to airport/port/airport) dropped in price to $133.28 inclusive when I checked yesterday:D AAA rate.

 

the best rate i've found that includes breakfast & all transportation.

 

I got the same Doubletree on Priceline for $60. in May but no breakfast. At that price I will gladly buy my own breakfast. Why don't you try bidding. Most of the hotels I checked had shuttles.

 

happy cruising

[CBussey64]

We booked this for the day before our cruise:

 

Howard Johnson's

2520 N 50th St.

 

And the day we return:

Hampton Inn

3035 N Rocky Point Drive

 

If these aren't good can you please recommend one that is clean, not overly expensive ... has shuttle to the cruise ships ... and possible shuttle from airport as well?

 

Thank you

[signman]

Now that I have the address, I posted already on the East Coast Board.

 

STAY AWAY FROM the 50th Street area. Think rooms by the hour.

 

The Hampton Inn is just fine. Almost anything in the Airport - Westshore area is acceptable and most are good to very good.

[CBussey64]

Thanks, maybe I'll just book the Hampton Inn for both days instead. :)

[CBussey64]

Now that I have the address, I posted already on the East Coast Board.

 

STAY AWAY FROM the 50th Street area. Think rooms by the hour.

 

The Hampton Inn is just fine. Almost anything in the Airport - Westshore area is acceptable and most are good to very good.

 

 

Tampa-Days Inn Airport/Stadium

 

2522 N Dale Mabry

 

Is this one pretty decent????

[KAWS]

Hampton Inn is right next to the Holiday Inn which is also next to Chase Suites.

 

Chase has a ship/shore package that includes free shuttle to from airport and to/from port. Great continental free breakie in the morning too. They also will shuttle you (free) to do some shopping - they took us to a place that had groceries, liquor and a Kmart. Lovely rooms and there's a restaurant for dinner "Bahama Breezes" right next door and the food was delicious. Get there early though or you'll be waiting a while. We wound up getting take out and ate it in our room. No problem because it was a suite and we had a kitchen area. I'd definitely stay there again.

 

Kim

[signman]

Everyone seems to like the Chase Suites. I have no personal experience anywhere except at the Grand Hyatt, as I usually stay with a friend, but I spend a week in the Tampa area every year and pay attention to things of interest to travelers.

 

The Hampton Inn in Rocky Point is in a very nice area. But it's more of an office park type environment. There is lots of construction in the area right now, and Bahama Breeze is about the only walkable convenience. There is no shopping at all.

 

The Days Inn on Dale Mabry is an older property with two floors and access to your room from the outside. Dale Mabry is a very busy commercial street, but there are lots of shopping and dining options within walking distance. You are also in walking distance of 3 very prominent strip clubs, gentlemen's club is too nice a term for these places, but they are absolutely harmless and do not make the area undesirable. You are also very close to International Plaza and it's terrific Bay Street with numerous dining and drinking establishments.

[PAC029]

I booked this hotel precruise for May. I liked the views and the fact is was all suites.

 

Has anyone stayed at this hotel that can give me some feedback??:confused:

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Pam:)

[Seturtle131]

I think I've decided on the Comfort Inn Airport at RJ Stadium for our pre cruise stay in October. I can cancel in case I find a better deal, but it is $80.59 (including tax), free airport shuttle, and free breakfast. It is $8.00/person to cruise terminal. I figure it will be about $22 for a taxi back to the airport post cruise. So, it comes to $118.59 once you add up all transportation. I was going to go with Chase, but their ship to shore package is $149.

Is this an ok place? Is that a good deal for October, or should I keep looking? I don’t need fancy, just safe and clean.

Thanks!

[signman]

Where is it? What does http://www.tripadvisor.com say?

[keishashadow]

I got the same Doubletree on Priceline for $60. in May but no breakfast. At that price I will gladly buy my own breakfast. Why don't you try bidding. Most of the hotels I checked had shuttles.

 

happy cruising

 

i'm a chicken, afraid i'd get stuck somewhere w/o a shuttle.

 

since the flight schedules have been released for our date from PIT toTampa the flight times are horrible.:mad: Some over 8 hours in length, most average 4 to 5 hours with at least 1 stop - bizarre imo.

 

We'll probably just fly into MCO the day before (2 hour NS), enjoy a park & rent a car for drive down @ this point.

[CLAUDIA&JAY]

This is a TREMENDOUS thread and I've attempted to search and locate info specifically about my inquiry but perhaps I just overlooked it? So here it is...

 

Ok, I've narrowed down our Tampa Pre Cruise hotel choices between the Wyndham Westshore or the Embassy Suites Downtown. So I'm calling on the Tampa area natives or those who have stayed at both or either of these hotels to let me know which of the two is the better property? We've stayed at both Embassy Suites & Wyndham properties elsewhere so we have an idea of what to expect, however as we ALL know that is NOT always the case.

 

 

Thanks for any info/help you can provide!

 

 

 

 

Jay

[jessemon]

This is a TREMENDOUS thread and I've attempted to search and locate info specifically about my inquiry but perhaps I just overlooked it? So here it is...

 

Ok, I've narrowed down our Tampa Pre Cruise hotel choices between the Wyndham Westshore or the Embassy Suites Downtown. So I'm calling on the Tampa area natives or those who have stayed at both or either of these hotels to let me know which of the two is the better property? We've stayed at both Embassy Suites & Wyndham properties elsewhere so we have an idea of what to expect, however as we ALL know that is NOT always the case.

 

 

Thanks for any info/help you can provide!

 

 

 

 

Jay

Embassy Suites is a brand new hotel downtown only three blocks from the piers...

Trolley in front will take you to Channelside and Ybor City for a nominal fee.

I would stay at either...but....close to the piers and the amount of things to do......

Embassy........

[TropicalisRex]

Booked the Doubletree 9/8 for $71 --- includes shuttle from airport and to pier. :) Thanks all for this thread --- I'm hoping since this is a "Hilton brand" that it will be a really good hotel. Seems to get good reviews.

[cruisebie]

I just got through reading through all 65 pages of this thread! (Not in one sitting, LOL) A big, big thank you to all of you who have been regular posters on this thread and have provided so much of your time & energy helping visitors to your city! This thread is an invaluable resource and I have gotten a lot of good ideas here!

 

I will be driving in from Tennessee in August and I'm considering staying in the Brandon area. It looks like I could just take Adamo Drive all the way into Channelside. I was confused when I zoomed in on the Google map, though, because there are a lot of arrows showing on Channelside Dr and some of the surrounding streets. Are a lot of these streets one way?

Is there a better way to get to the port from Brandon?

 

here's an approach that will most likely work nicely - try the telephone. I know that's old fashion, but it tends to work quite well in a pinch. That way, you can ask for and reserve what you want, asks lots of questions, etc.

 

Ken, this really cracked me up! It really says something about the way things have changed that we have to be reminded that the phone is an option. :D

[jessemon]

I just got through reading through all 65 pages of this thread! (Not in one sitting, LOL) A big, big thank you to all of you who have been regular posters on this thread and have provided so much of your time & energy helping visitors to your city! This thread is an invaluable resource and I have gotten a lot of good ideas here!

 

I will be driving in from Tennessee in August and I'm considering staying in the Brandon area. It looks like I could just take Adamo Drive all the way into Channelside. I was confused when I zoomed in on the Google map, though, because there are a lot of arrows showing on Channelside Dr and some of the surrounding streets. Are a lot of these streets one way?

Is there a better way to get to the port from Brandon?

Thank you for the compliment to those here who try and help.:)

Just stay on Rt. 60 (Adamo Dr.) from Brandon. It will lead you all the way to the terminals. They are right downtown on the water. It is that easy....

[Sunshine827]

Booked the Doubletree 9/8 for $71 --- includes shuttle from airport and to pier. :) Thanks all for this thread --- I'm hoping since this is a "Hilton brand" that it will be a really good hotel. Seems to get good reviews.

I was thinking about staying at the Double Tree myself. It looks clean & is very reasonable. Did you have to pay more for the shuttle from the airport & then to the pier OR was that included??

[zandk]

Hi All!

We have just booked the Embassy Suites Airport/Westshore.

Pre-cruise at $139.99 for the cruise pkg.

 

My question is this: Is this the new one that people have

been talking about?

 

I thought I just read some where that it is 5 miles from port.

Is that right?:confused:

 

Thank for any help.

[jessemon]

Hi All!

We have just booked the Embassy Suites Airport/Westshore.

Pre-cruise at $139.99 for the cruise pkg.

 

My question is this: Is this the new one that people have

been talking about?

 

I thought I just read some where that it is 5 miles from port.

Is that right?:confused:

 

Thank for any help.

No it is not.

The new one is downtown across from the covention center and the Marriot Waterside. Walking distance to ships/port...5 minutes.....

Check on this thread...many things to do...trolley service and all.....

[wvufan]

Thanks to all who have made this such a valuable thread.

 

We recently stayed at the Westshore (formerly Best Western) for two nights. We paid sixty some dollars per night. It was perfectly fine-not plush, but clean and convenient. They were doing a lot of intensive building washing presumably due to new ownership, which is a good omen. Good restaurant on location. It was in the same area as many of the more expensive places. It was a short walk to the Westshore Mall and about a mile to the big International Plaza. That is where a dozen of us from the roll call got together for our precrusie sailaway dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Great place! I think the hotel offered free shuttle to the International Mall, but we like to walk so didn't use it.

 

The hotel is a short distance from the airport, and there was a free shuttle. The cost to go to the port was $10 pp.

 

We used the local bus service to go into downtown Tampa, Ybor City, etc, There is a bus stop almost in front of the hotel, and a bus hub at the Westshore Mall. Got a day pass for a few bucks which included all bus and trolley fares.

 

We will be in Tampa precruise again next year, and unless we can score a great deal though Priceline elsewhere, we will stay at the Westshore again.

 

We were a bit disappointed with Ybor City-I was expecting more of a St. Augustine atmosphere, but we did eat at a great restaurant. I think the name was the Columbia.

 

We didn't go to the Florida aquarium this time, but had gone before and it is super. Will do so next time.

 

Thanks agaiin to all you Tampa folks and other posters for helping others enjoy your fine city.

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[cruisebie]

Thank you for the compliment to those here who try and help.:)

Just stay on Rt. 60 (Adamo Dr.) from Brandon. It will lead you all the way to the terminals. They are right downtown on the water. It is that easy....

 

Thanks, Jessemon! :) I was hoping it was easy! Easy, I like! I think I will probably book the Fairfield Inn-it has gotten a couple of good reviews on this thread. I'm still weighing my options, though, The Marriott Waterside has a AAA price of $135 and it would be great to stay there! Do you know if you have to do valet parking there, or do they have parking on-site?

 

Also, I'm wondering about the Columbia. If we get there early enough, it sound like it would be fun. How expensive are the prices there? I've seen several posts that say it's not bad, but can anyone give me an idea of the price ranges?

 

Hey, cool! I just noticed that I got post 1300!! That has to be some kind of record for a thread on this site!