Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[flyingb]

Thanks Ken,

I'll call the hotel and ask about parking, also if they have a shuttle.

Happy cruising!

Luv's Crusin'

[CMJFamily]

Hello again Ken,

 

What about the HoJo Plaza downtown? It has rooms available (is that a good thing?) Also, the Residence Inn By Marriott Downtown or Courtyard Downtown? There have been some other reviews of these but I value your opinion.

[Cracker Ken]

HockeyFamilyCruisers - The HoJo Plaza downtown is a recently refurbished Holiday Inn, high rise type. It has been there since at least 1980, perhaps longer. They have exposed outside parking lots. Don't know if they provide security to the lot. I don't know anything negative about it. Looks OK from the outside. The Courtyard and Residence Inn are close to the HoJo (a block). Nothing much open in that corner of downtown at night. During the day, there is an in-town trolley system that connects to the street car line. I can't recall if the in-town trolley works at night, don't think so. The only restaurant I know of would be in the HoJo hotel. You would have to get a cab to find eating places or go down to the Channelside complex. I don't recommend walking the streets at night, mainly due to homeless people wandering around. During the day, no problem, since this is primarily a business district. This is on the opposite corner of the downtown core from the Channelside cruise complex.

 

Ken

[CruisinJul]

First, Thank you to the folks that put together the comprehensive info on the Tampa hotels.

 

Cracker Ken- I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Rocky Point. Do you know is there is anything close to by to get a more substantial breakfast than what is being offered at the hotel? I stayed at the Holiday Inn on Galbraith a couple of weeks ago and was not impressed with the breakfast.

 

Luv's Cruisin' - I was just at the Holiday Inn on Galbraith on Business. The hotel is nice and there are a lot of places to eat. As I stated above, I was not impressed with the breakfast and went to Dunkin Donuts. It took at least 40 minutes to get to the Tampa airport from there and this was early in the am with little traffic. I think it is a bit out of the way for a pre-cruise stay unless you are going to Busch Gardens for a day or two. I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Rocky Point. This was not my first choice, but some hotels are full.

[KreinKrunker]

HockeyFamilyCruisers -The Courtyard and Residence Inn are close to the HoJo .............. You would have to get a cab to find eating places or go down to the Channelside complex.

 

The Courtyard, and Residence Inn have a shuttle that will take you to the aquarium, Channelside, the port, and Ybor(So you can eat at Columbia.) The Residence also has the usual breakfast, if interested. No shuttle from the airport, have to use a taxi.

[richym1]

We have reservations at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott for our October Legend cruise. Does anyone have any information about this area and places to eat or see? It's located on 102 E. Cass Street. We would like to get over to Channelside if we could.

[CMJFamily]

Well, it seems like most of the nice downtown hotels are booked so after going through the reviews (thanks everyone, especially Ken and MsSimba) I think we will try the Airport/WestShore area. The Embassy Suites Airport seem good (although there were some awful reviews on TripAdvisor) Ken, can I bother you again for your opinion? Once again, thanks for all the info.

[KreinKrunker]

We have reservations at the Downtown Courtyard Marriott for our October Legend cruise. Does anyone have any information about this area and places to eat or see? It's located on 102 E. Cass Street. We would like to get over to Channelside if we could.

 

Here are some links:

 

http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/about/maps/index.htm

 

http://www.channelside.com/

 

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/ybor.asp

 

http://www.flaquarium.org

[Cracker Ken]

See post #1653, just a few posts above here. I talked about Courtyard, Residence Inn and HoJo downtown, including the trolleys and street car.

 

Those links posted by KreinKrunker are indeed good suggestions.

 

In addition, reading through the last several pages of this thread would reveal loads of information that I am not inclined to write again.

 

Ken

[cruisnpat]

Thanks so much for all the information on this thread.

 

Ms soimba Was so happy to see the spread sheet for all the hotels but the one thing I was looking for isn't there. I was looking for the phone # for the Howard Johnson Plaza hotel.

 

Also is it a safe place to stay for one night, we also want to leave our car there while we cruise.

[Victrola]

CruisinJul... we just returned from a stay at Rocky Point Holiday Inn and the breakfast was not bad. Granted its not a Cracker Barrell but they had fresh fruit, cereal, pasteries, link sausage and an egg and cheese combo similier to an egg McMuffin. Coffee and juice were both fresh.

Be sure to call the hotel prior to arrival and specify which shuttle you want to take. They offer an 11, 12 and 1 run. The 11 fills up fast and no one told us about it until we arrived. Lucky for us one of our fellow travellers had called to request a room change and booked all 6 of us. They will handle 10 people per run.

If you arrive in the evening a walk next door to Bahama Breeze will get your vacation to an early start.

You will have a great time.... happy cruisin

[signman]

First, Thank you to the folks that put together the comprehensive info on the Tampa hotels.

 

Cracker Ken- I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Rocky Point. Do you know is there is anything close to by to get a more substantial breakfast than what is being offered at the hotel? I stayed at the Holiday Inn on Galbraith a couple of weeks ago and was not impressed with the breakfast.

 

Luv's Cruisin' - I was just at the Holiday Inn on Galbraith on Business. The hotel is nice and there are a lot of places to eat. As I stated above, I was not impressed with the breakfast and went to Dunkin Donuts. It took at least 40 minutes to get to the Tampa airport from there and this was early in the am with little traffic. I think it is a bit out of the way for a pre-cruise stay unless you are going to Busch Gardens for a day or two. I am staying at the Holiday Inn on Rocky Point. This was not my first choice, but some hotels are full.

 

If you have a car, I would shoot right over the Courtney Campbell Causeway to Rt. 19 in Clearwater. Just north of the Causeway (Rt. 60) on the west side of 19 (before you get to the Phillies stadium) is LENNY"S. They serve one of the best breakfast's I've had ANYWHERE.

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=lenny%27s+clearwater&spell=1

[Cracker Ken]

CruisinJul - I'd go with Victrola's suggestion and do breakfast at your hotel. It's free and you can get all you want - besides, you can make up for it on the ship for the next several days. There's no breakfast type place out there at Rocky Point, other than what the hotels offer their guests. The place Signman mentioned is good, plus there are some places on Dale Mabry Highway that have a great breakfast, but you would need a car.

 

cruisnpat - On the post immediately above your question, I referred someone else to a post just above it. That's in post 1653 and 1659, within the SAME page of the thread, just above. Within the last few pages of the thread, this area is mentioned more.

 

PLEASE - Everyone, take some type to read backwards on this thread before asking a question. If you can at least go back 10-15 pages, you will most likely find your answer, probably several times.

]

I've been diligent and courteous over the years, trying to be helpful to folks, which is something I really like doing. I don't like seeing people receive misinformation either, which is why I got involved in this thread way back when. I've even did computer a Google research on items and posted links for people - things they could have done easily on their own. I could probably publish a book using the entries I've made on this thread.

Maybe I'm getting burned out or something, but I'm getting really tired of answering questions over and over that are already posted here and some recently.

 

Ken[/color]

[BraysMom]

Just booked the Holiday Inn Express at Rocky Point for six of us because we could all book in one room (4 kids). We don't arrive in Tampa until late, so really just need place to sleep. I got a price of $149 for room with 2 beds and a sofa bed, breakfast, and $40 extra for shuttle. Includes 24-hour shuttle transportation from airport to hotel (complimentary), next morning trip from hotel to port, and then after cruise, shuttle from port back to hotel or airport. This also would have included parking during cruise.

 

This works for us, as most everywhere else we would have had to have two rooms, and would have probably used two taxis per trip. Our flight gets in too late for most other hotel shuttles, so their complimentary 24-hour shuttle is good for us.

 

The only thing I feel uneasy about is that I couldn't reserve spots on shuttle until check in, and we like to get to port early. We won't arrive at hotel until close to 11:00pm so shuttle spots on early shuttle times might be booked already. Plus, I read that they share this shuttle with other hotels, so I am just hoping for the best I guess.

 

This seemed like the most economical deal for us, so thanks to all who post on this board for your insights and advice. It is a long thread, but full of good information if you take time to read through it.

[winncove]

Ken, I understand your frustrations. Thanks so much for your time & help to so many. Think maybe it's time to just add a note to your sig. saying "plz read this thread before asking questions" & then ignoring the repeats, esp. w/answers on the same pg? :eek: I know how much time I take to just read CC. Don't know how you do it plus working! Same for Bequia on the FLL board. Just proves how special some ppl are on this board. :D

[Hoosier Gal]

Just wanted to report back post cruise:

 

We arrived in Tampa on Friday evening March 21 late. Our group of eight ladies stayed at the Airport Marriott. Super Convenient!!! We did not even have go outside -- no shuttles -- just straight to our rooms.

 

We arranged for Blue One Shuttle to transport us to the port on Saturday. I cannot say enough about their professionalism and promptness!

 

After a great cruise, Blue One took us to the Embassy Suites/Convention Center. We arrived at 11:00 a.m. fully expecting to check our luggage and have several hours prior to our rooms being available. To our surprise, both of our rooms were already available and we were allowed to check-in at 11:00 a.m. YES!! Some of our group took in the Channelside attractions including the aquarium. The rest of us took advantage of the Florida sunshine poolside. After 5 days and nights of nonstop eating, we decided to call for pizza delivery. NYPD promptly delivered our final meal.

 

Blue One Transportation arrived to take us back to the airport on Friday morning.

 

Thanks to everyone here on this board for your tips and suggestions. Tampa was a great cruise departure site. I look forward to cruising again from there!

[Al's_gal]

phew...just read through 30 some pages and got all the answers I needed. thanks so much Ken for all of your help!!

[Cracker Ken]

Al's_gal - Glad to help. Thanks for reading. If there's an answer you couldn't find, ask me.

 

Hoosier Gal - Thanks for the update and trip report.

 

winncove - Thank you. It's comments like yours that keep me going.

 

Ken

[CruisinJul]

Thank you Victrola, Signman and Cracker Ken for the info.

 

Victrola, I am glad to hear that that you found the breakfast to be okay. I stayed at the Holiday Express by Busch Gardens on business a few weeks ago and the breakfast was not so great. No eggs or anything like that. I will make sure to contact the hotel and setup the shuttle time to the port. ;)

[sledhead]

CruisinJul... we just returned from a stay at Rocky Point Holiday Inn and the breakfast was not bad. Granted its not a Cracker Barrell but they had fresh fruit, cereal, pasteries, link sausage and an egg and cheese combo similier to an egg McMuffin. Coffee and juice were both fresh.

Be sure to call the hotel prior to arrival and specify which shuttle you want to take. They offer an 11, 12 and 1 run. The 11 fills up fast and no one told us about it until we arrived. Lucky for us one of our fellow travellers had called to request a room change and booked all 6 of us. They will handle 10 people per run.

If you arrive in the evening a walk next door to Bahama Breeze will get your vacation to an early start.

You will have a great time.... happy cruisin

Is the shuttle included in the price of the room or is it extra ?

 

Hows the pool and recreation facilities ? Thanks for any info.

[Caribbean-Ria]

Holiday in has a Park & Fly package. The reservation Holiday Inn specialist I spoke with said for $5 pp they will shuttle you to the port and and pick you up when you return. This includes leaving you car in their lot and breakfast.

 

Can you tell me which Holiday Inn that was Cause I called one and they told me I had to find my way back to the hotel.

thanks

[cruisinlawn]

looking for a two room suite one night pre-cruise, for my two daughters and SO. I'd like to put the very near the cruise port (Carni), they will be driving in and plan on utilizing the parking deck at port so transfers are not an issue. From what I have read (in the multitude of informative pages), seems that Marriott Waterside or Embassy would be a nice choice. Unfortunately, neither are showing availability. What's going to be my next couple of choices...Chase Suite, etc.??? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

Guess I could go with two rooms, perhaps connecting. Don't ask, must be a sister thing:confused: .

[cruisinlawn]

moving this up in hopes to get a response from my previous post above. Thanks for the input.

[Cracker Ken]

cruisinlawn - The Hampton Inn in Ybor City is only about a mile from the cruise terminal, and easily accessible to the street car line. It's an OK place to be, but I don't recommend people venturing out on the street at night unless in numbers.

 

The Chase Suites is a nice place, in a very safe and clean area, but it's about 9 miles or so from the port. Shuttles can be arranged, and a taxi would be about $25. The rooms are big and I think they have free breakfast. There is a nice restaurant right next door to the hotel, joining the parking lot, and others nearby.

 

It's a shame that your two first choices are booked up. It's really nice down there and so close to the terminal. They need more hotels down there, but it seems high priced upscale condos are winning the fight for the real estate.

 

I about forgot - How about the Westin Tampa Harbour Island Hotel? It's directly across the channel from the Marriott Waterside. Nice place too. Safe and clean area. The Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel is further around on the river, a few blocks to the north. I'd stay at either of these.

 

If any further questions, ask, and I'll try to get back with you soon.

 

Ken

[Gra14gra2]

Could anyone tell me if the Courtyard by Marriott Brandon/Tampa is a decent place to stay? There may already have been posts about this but the search is down.

We will be driving and parking at the port so transfers are not an issue with us.

Thanks for any info.