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Hotel suggestions for Tampa

lambcom

By lambcom,
in Florida Departures

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ronrythm

ronrythm

Posted
Posted
I am staying across from the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center as I want to see a couple of performances before my cruise. I work at a performing arts center, so I want to see a show where I don't have to worry about what could be going wrong:D Any one have any experiences with this place?

Ken thanks for the post about Tampa Bay Shuttle. One less thing to think about.

Thanks
Ron
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ms simba

ms simba

Posted
Posted
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. But I really think all of us should pitch in to buy Cracker Ken a gift for all his hard work. I am still hoping that he will write a guide book about Tampa hotels!

I had to laugh at Cracker Ken's comment about TripAdvisor "If I depended upon the hotel reviews on TripAdvisor, I would be sleeping in my car (or something like that). LOL

I have posted hotel reviews on TripAdvisor for the Kissimmee, FL area. However, I only post if I have good things to say. I now have a review I should post about the AmeriHost Inn but feel that if I do then more people will go there and I won't be able to get a room when I want or the rates will go up since they then will have so many people coming there.

Anyway, thanks to ALL of you for posting your comments. I have never been to Tampa and this website has really helped me.

One suggestion I would make to those of you that are wondering what is around your hotel, is to go to MapQuest.com, put in the address, and after the map comes up go to the [COLOR=#272750][B]Find Nearby:[/B] area and put in something like restaurants or choose from their list. Many choices will then be shown on the map.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#272750][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#272750]Another suggestion for those wondering how far it would be to walk to a place, use Microsoft Live Search maps [URL]http://maps.live.com/[/URL] put in an address, do the "Birds Eye" view selection and look down to the area you will be in. This is especially helpful if you are thinking about walking to a dining place, etc. and are of the less-mobile group as I am. What some of the young whippersnappers think is just a nice stroll would do me in (even with my walker helping me along).[/COLOR]
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Poolguppy

Poolguppy

Posted
Posted
Ok - how about this? I'm getting a 3.5 star hotel on Hotwire, downtown Tampa, 5.3 miles from the airport for $79. I've never used Hotwire or Priceline, so I'm a little nervous about doing this. I'm hoping it's the Sheraton or the Hyatt. Any thoughts on this??
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Coralc

Coralc

Posted
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I'm sure people have used it. I was looking at Hotwire last evening, and based on Cracker Ken's excellent information. It looks like you can narrow your search to downtown, which looks like it includes the Westshore? area and some nice hotels.:) I would obviously exclude most of the other areas, like Busch Gardens. :D
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suemecham

suemecham

Posted
Posted

Another option if you are considering bidding on a hotel:

 

biddingfortravel.com

 

it lists recent bids accepted and rejected, and has a list of what priceline considers 3* 2* etc listed by the area... this gives you an idea of what hotel you would get if you bid in that category....

 

a few years ago before a cruise out of Miami I saw that the Hyatt by the port was accepting bids of $35 a night... (yes... $35 a night...) we enjoyed that a BUNCH knowing how much we saved!

 

I'm watching this thread for an upcoming cruise out of Tampa NOV 30 - Carnival Legend. I'm working on a group deal if anyone else here is interested....

 

Sue

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Poolguppy

Poolguppy

Posted
Posted

I thought it might be the Sheraton as well. It also lists the aquarium as a landmark that is near. I want to try it but am a little nervous. I just want to make sure I end up in a decent part of town, that's all. I assume that the downtown area is nice but what are the chances of winding up in a not so great part of the downtown area. Should I just suck it up and do it or would you wait and see what else might come up?

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signman

signman

Posted
Posted

Any 3 1/2 star in Downtown would be OK. There really are no clunkers and the area is fine. I assume you are really only sleeping and leaving for the pier in the AM. If you want to go out for the evening, head to Channelside or Ybor City. The trolley will get you to both.

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signman

signman

Posted
Posted
Another option if you are considering bidding on a hotel:

 

biddingfortravel.com

 

it lists recent bids accepted and rejected, and has a list of what priceline considers 3* 2* etc listed by the area... this gives you an idea of what hotel you would get if you bid in that category....

 

a few years ago before a cruise out of Miami I saw that the Hyatt by the port was accepting bids of $35 a night... (yes... $35 a night...) we enjoyed that a BUNCH knowing how much we saved!

 

I'm watching this thread for an upcoming cruise out of Tampa NOV 30 - Carnival Legend. I'm working on a group deal if anyone else here is interested....

 

Sue

 

 

You overpaid. Was going for $27 for many months after 9/11. Yes BFT has led to savings in the thousands for me.

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Coralc

Coralc

Posted
Posted

Really...the suspense is hurting me. :D :D :D Maybe you should start a Hotwire/Priceline Tampa thread poolguppy. You really have to make up your mind....so we can go back to discussing various hotels. :rolleyes:

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Poolguppy

Poolguppy

Posted
Posted

Ok, ok! I have made up my mind. I have decided not to try Hotwire (call me a wimp, go ahead!) and I am instead going to book a room at the Hyatt Tampa Downtown. I also did what Ms Simba suggested and mapped it on yellow pages.com so I could see where the hotel was and what the area looked like and where it was in relation to the port, etc. I picked this hotel because it's just a few minutes from the port, it's a nice hotel and I can get a decent rate through AARP.

 

So with that being said, if anyone has any reason why I should not book the Hyatt Tampa, speak now or I am booking it tomorrow! :p

 

Thanks to all of you who have helped me!

E

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ShedQueen77

ShedQueen77

Posted
Posted

First off, Ken and Jeff thank you so much for the time you put into this thread!! :D I spent two nights reading it and garnered a LOT of information to do my hotel planning with! We're raiding Tampa and the Inspiration with our three kids this January.

 

I don't even want to start messing with Priceline (call me a chicken too! lol) so I'm looking at cost factors as well as a clean, safe place to put our heads down. I don't mind paying for a good nights sleep, but with 5 people that can easily get pricey. That eliminated the Hilton, Hyatt, and Embassy right off the bat. They were batting a 300 average for a one nighter.

 

I think I have my choices narrowed down finally. I'm down to:

 

1. Chase Suites on Rocky Point Dr. $189 per night. If I read correctly, this includes shuttle from the airport and to the pier as well?

 

2. Doubletree Guest Suites also on Rocky Point. $178 per night, shuttle from airport but not to the pier (that I found anyhow)

 

(I tried to check availability at the Doubletree Westshore but could not get any availability for 5, even using two rooms.)

 

Did I get the location thing right when it comes to distance from the airport and the pier? (Meaning I'm not too far away from either or ;))

 

Is there a specific one of these two you would recommend as better than the other? I figured that the "cheaper" room at Doubletree wouldn't really be cheaper by the time we paid for cab fare for 5 to the pier in the morning. By the way, anyone know about how much that would run if I did choose Doubletree?

 

You guys are great! I can't wait to have this experience under my belt so I can help others with my newfound knowledge.

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