Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[bellybutton]

KEN, Do you know if there is a liquor store or place to buy liquor or beer by the Double Tree Westshore? We are flying in this year instead of driving and I would rather not fly with liquids in my cases:o

Thanks

[Poolguppy]

I was sent to this board for hotel suggestions but you kids sure have been busy out here! So rather than dig through a ton of pages to find a good hotel - can someone (Cracker Ken perhaps?) give me the Readers Digest version? I am just looking for somewhere nice for me and my mom, near the terminal and has or is within walking distance of a restaurant.

Thanks in advance!
:D

[Cracker Ken]

Two close choices - One expensive, the other not so expensive.

1/ Marriott Waterside Hotel. Very nice. Restaurant on premises. Expensive. Easy to get on the street car out front and go down to Channelside. This is about 1/2 from the dock, if not closer. Expensive and worth it.

2/ Hampton Inn - Ybor. Nice hotel and close, within a block or so, of good eating places. It's also along the street car line. This is about 1 mile away from the dock. Suggestion - The Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant is close by, the folks at the hotel can show you the way, a couple of blocks. Hotel - Moderate and well worth it.

Ken

[Poolguppy]

Cracker Ken - You are a wealth of information! Thank you. What do you know about the Holiday Inn Express near the terminal? I read a review on it from another member and was wondering about it. I will check out the Hampton Inn too.

[Cracker Ken]

To my knowledge, there is no Holiday Inn Express near the cruise terminal. The closest I know of is on Dale Mabry Highway, closer to the airport, or at Rocky Point (W of the airport). Both of them are just fine.

The Hampton Inn in Ybor is quite nice. Cool looking place. They built it to match the architecture in the area of the Ybor City Latin District. It fits right in. It's across the street from the street car garage and next to the line. If y'all stay at the Hampton Inn, I'd recommend being indoors after dark. The area of the hotel isn't so bad, but there are areas further to the East of there that are kind of crazy at night. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there, but I wouldn't be walking the streets very far from there at night myself.

Ken

[Poolguppy]

Yes, the Holiday Inn at Rocky Point is the one I was talking about. Interestingly enough, the Hampton Inn in Ybor is getting some negative reviews due to the area it is in too. It appears that everyone is afraid to stay in Tampa - no matter where the hotel is! LOL How about staying near the airport? Is that any better??

Thanks so much for your input - I really appreciate it! :)

[Hoosier Gal]

Three weeks from today (7) long time friends and myself will be leaving the cold and arriving in Tampa. Since our flight does not arrive until later in the evening we have decided for pure convenience to stay at the Airport Marriott. We will board the Grandeur on Saturday.

Question #1: What would be our best option for transportation for (8) from the Airport to the Port of Tampa.

Post cruise we are spending one night at the Embassy Suites Convention Center. Courtesy of Hilton Honor points! :D

Question #2: Can we walk the distance from the Port to this hotel?
Question #3: Does anyone have any experience with the Embassy Suites storing your luggage until check-in?
Question #4: What would be our best option for transportation for (8) to return to the airport from the Embassy Suites. (I assume the same answer as question #1)

Thanks to everyone for their help -- especially Cracker Ken!;)

[Cracker Ken]

[B]Hoosier Gal -[/B]

1/ Probably either Bay Shuttle (Google it - Tampa Bay Shuttle), or Super Shuttle - both ways.

2/ Yes, but it's a ways. If it's good weather you can walk it if you don't have disabilities. It's 1/2 mile, max. HOWEVER - The street cars run by the cruise terminals and the S. end station for the street cars is right next to the Embassy Suites, right out the door. Street cars are cheap, and can even take you into Ybor if you like (check the schedule to make sure they are running when you want to return to the hotel though)

3/ No experience, but I've never seen a hotel of this type and size where the bell man won't store luggage for you. I've even stored luggage at a Hampton Inn before.

4/ See 1.

[B]Poolguppy [/B]- Rocky Point is nice, but further away from the cruise terminals, like 10 miles. It's W of the airport. It's clean and quiet out there, mostly an office building park. There are 5 restaurants of various levels out there. I'm going out there to work in about an hour - our offices are there. No problem with staying on Rocky Point. I thought you wanted to be real close to the cruise terminals at the port. I don't know why people are getting afraid of Tampa. It's not that bad, and certainly no worse than any other larger city, better than many. There are indeed some areas of Ybor, futher to the east from the Hampton, blocks away, are get rowdy at night. There are a lot of clubs on 7th Ave/Broadway, and where there are drunks, there are problems. The Hampton is not in the middle of the problem area. Also, that area has more police presence than anywhere in town at night. I'm retired from law enforcement in this area, and I would stay at the Hampton in Ybor - I just have enough sense to know where to go and when (even if I'm not using my concealed carry permit). The Dale Mabry area isn't too bad in the area of the Holiday Inn Express either.

[B]One thing for sure[/B] - If I ever see people on this thread wanting to stay in what I'd consider really bad areas, I'll warn them about it - no holds barred.

Ken

[Poolguppy]

Cracker Ken - Are they paying you on this board??? LOL Thanks for the info. I never once have felt you would send any of us to the "bad" part of town but since we are two women traveling on our own, I just want to be sure I am booking a room in a decent area. Of course, it's my mom that everyone has to watch out for! Don't mess with her! ;)

Thanks for the info!!!
Elaine

[Cracker Ken]

No, no pay. I'd work for tips, but I haven't found anywhere to place my jar. :)

The Tampa Chamber of Commerece or Tourist Council doesn't pay me either. :(

Cruise Critic should send me some "free stuff."

If you get a chance, go to my Flickr photo album and look at the Tampa pics.

Ken

[riu girl]

I can get this hotel for about $50 per night including taxes and hot breakfast for four.

Any comments/opinions on this hotel and surrounding area for two adults and two kids would be really appreciated for two nights pre cruise.
Thank you

[CENTER][B]Wingate by Wyndham[/B]
Tampa North
17301 Dona Michelle Drive
Tampa, FL 33647
[URL="http://www.wingatenewtampa.com/"][COLOR=#0000ff]www.WingateNewTampa.com[/COLOR][/URL][/CENTER]

[signman]

Looks fine to me. Off the interstate, but sounds like there are a few places to eat nearby. Not too bad a trip to the port either. Spent time at a friends off of Bruce Downs for many years.

Can you get me a deal at RIU in Cabo?

[ronrythm]

[quote name='Cracker Ken']No, no pay. I'd work for tips, but I haven't found anywhere to place my jar. :)

The Tampa Chamber of Commerece or Tourist Council doesn't pay me either. :(

Cruise Critic should send me some "free stuff."

If you get a chance, go to my Flickr photo album and look at the Tampa pics.

Ken[/quote]Don't play the horses:D It's the only tip I ever got that worked.

Thanks for all the info. I went to your Flickr albums and checked out the Tampa shots. From their that lead me to looking into the Streetcar web site. I'm staying at the Courtyard by the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Since I planned to go there both nights of my pre-cruise stay, I figured I might as well stay close to the PAC. It looks like the Streetcar line runs right past the Courtyard and with a transfer down to Channelside. Would this work well? I'm kind of feeling I don't want to rent a car but I want to go be a tourist on Saturday. $4.00 for an all day pass sounds good too.
Thanks
Ron
p.s. I hope I get some of the nice sunsets like you have in your photos!

[riu girl]

[quote name='signman'] Can you get me a deal at RIU in Cabo?[/quote]

:) Sorry, I am not a RIU employee, it is just my all time favorite resort chain!!

[Poolguppy]

Tip - Don't eat yellow snow! ;) We have to watch that here in Chicago!

Cracker Ken - what do you think about the Wingate by Wyndham? I am able to get a good senior rate (thanks mom!) but I am not sure about the location. Actually, I'm able to get into the Grand Hyatt Tampa on her senior rate for a really good price, so I was wondering what you thought about that one as well.

I think Cruise Critic should send you some free stuff too! A beach safe at the very least! :D

[Poolguppy]

[quote name='riu girl']:) Sorry, I am not a RIU employee, it is just my all time favorite resort chain!![/quote]

Ok - I give - what restaurant chain is this? LOL

[Cracker Ken]

[B]ronrythm - [/B]Thanks for the tip. At least I don't have to claim taxes on that.:) Yes, that should work. Be sure to note the schedule, since the "In-Town Trolley" stops at 11PM. The In-Town Trolley is a bus type trolley thing, and isn't the same as the street car line (cars on tracks), and it stops earlier than the main street car which operates until 2AM on Friday and Saturday nights. It's a part of the system though and connects you up with the main street car line.

I need to take a ride to downtown Tampa on a Sunday afternoon and update my pictures. For instance, there's now a big new Embassy Suites next door to the street car station that's out front of the Marriott Waterside. There are condos and condo towers built or being built in the Channelside District too. They are making things very nice down there. The two things cruisers want in that area - economy and moderately priced hotels, and rental car agencies - are not there though (other than the Hertz desk at the Marriott Waterside).

This works for the Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel, the Howard Johnsons (noted on the map as Ashley Plaza), the Courtyard and Residence Inn. It's nice that they have this set up, or else folks would have to walk considerable distances just to get to the street cars.

It's been a long while since I posted the links, so here they are:

Here's a link to the TECO Street Car Site:

[URL]http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/[/URL]

Here is a link that shows the routes and schedules:

[URL]http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/news/20_ride_discount.pdf[/URL]

Note that the weekend service for the In-Town Trolley is the dotted lines.

Again folks, don't forget to note the schedules.

[B]riu girl - [/B]Ditto's what Signman said. I was there at a meeting last year. Nice place. Kind of like a Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express. It's close to a bunch of good restaurants. Clean and safe area.

Ken

[riu girl]

[quote name='Poolguppy']Ok - I give - what restaurant chain is this? LOL[/quote]

[URL="http://www.riu.com"]www.riu.com[/URL] is a resort chain. If anyone is interested you can go to their web site and sign up to be added to their e-mail specials list.

Cracker Ken and Sign Man:Thanks for the info. on the Wingate.

[flvillager]

Does anyone know of a good hotel close to the port where you can leave your car for the duration of the cruise (safe area) with transportation to and from the port.

[Cracker Ken]

I don't know of any that are close. I consider "close" to be like within a few blocks or up to a mile.

I believe there may be a couple of places in Tampa that are several miles away, and that is covered quite a bit in this thread, even within the last few pages.

Maybe someone else knows of something.

One thing for certain, I'm not leaving a car for a length of time in any area, anywhere in Tampa, that isn't in a fenced or walled secure compound (such as secured lots or parking garages of the type they have at the port). I wouldn't just leave it in a parking lot of a hotel somewhere unless I was prepared to deal with the hassle of it being gone when I return.

Ken

[flvillager]

Thanks for the info. Driving over the day of, and leaving car in garage at the port is sounding pretty good. Just was trying to avoid Tampa traffic on a Monday morning!

[Brenda Bell]

Cracker Ken, can you tell me about the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel? The reviews that i have seen are not so good. I have already got reservations to this hotel. Thank you for any informations that you may have on this hotel.

[Cracker Ken]

[B]flvillager - [/B]That's probably the best option. We have parked in the terminal parking before with no problems. They take credit cards of all types, except Diners Club, and you pay as you enter. When you get ready to leave, there's no stopping to pay. Even the outside lot at terminal 6 (usually for HAL cruises) is secure with a really high fence and lots of lights (and security). As for traffic, if you are coming into town around 10:30-11:00, the traffic shouldn't be much of an issue. I go through there regularly after about 9:30, and it's usually moving OK.

[B]Brenda Bell[/B] - A couple or three pages back someone asked about Sheraton Riverwalk and mentioned seeing a score of 2.5 on trip advisor. I was by this hotel this past week. It has been spruced up on the outside, a lot, and there's a big banner saying new owner and new management. Looks nice and clean. I have attended conferences in that hotel before, and stayed there one night, but that was a long while back, like maybe 8 years. It hasn't been long that this hotel was refurbished and turned back into the Sheraton name. As a rule, Sheraton hotels doesn't operate bad places. I've stayed at many of them since the company I work for used to be part of the ITT group when it owned Sheraton, and it was our hotel of choice when traveling. It would be good if someone reading this thread who has stayed there recently would report in. As I mentioned before, I take most Trip Advisor reports with a grain of salt. I sometime think most people reporting there are aggravated about something and there's no balance.

Also, see my posting on the street car and trolley system - it goes by the Sheraton Riverwalk too.

Ken

[Hoosier Gal]

[quote name='Cracker Ken'][B]Hoosier Gal -[/B]

1/ Probably either Bay Shuttle (Google it - Tampa Bay Shuttle), or Super Shuttle - both ways.

Ken[/quote]

Does anyone have experience with Blue One Transportation? That is who the Marriott suggested.

[davex100]

We reserved a room at Embassy Suites Airport/Westshore 555 Westshore Blvd for 12/6/08 at a $129 rate. The description said 5 miles to the port, can anyone confirm if this is an OK place in a decent area?:D