Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[Cracker Ken]

That LaQuinta on W Cypress isn't all bad. Just a couple of blocks E of that LaQuinta by the airport is a Hampton Inn, AmeriSuites, and an Extended Stay America. On down the street on Lois Ave is a Residence Inn (by Marriott). Those are in the same vicinity as the Springhill Suites and the LaQuinta.

 

Closer to the port, in Ybor City (roughly 1-2 miles N from the cruise terminals) is a Hampton Inn and a Hilton Garden Inn. I would hope those would be quite a bit less than $200 a night. The area close to the terminals (downtown Tampa) has a Courtyard by Marriott and a Residence Inn (on the opposite side of downtown from the cruise terminals). Everything else in downtown is a high rise hotel and more expensive. People have reported Priceline deals at the Marriott Waterside Hotel (a prime locations for cruisers, if you can handle the price - I can't). If you luck out and get a reasonable Priceline deal at the Waterside it would be great. I've never used Priceline. Maybe someone who has will read this and offer some advice. It's my understanding that you enter the location and the least rating you will take (like 3, 4, 5 stars), and enter a bid. I also understand that you are stuck with what they give you (I wouldn't necessarily like that - I might, but then again...).

 

I hope this helps.

 

Happy hunting. :)

 

Ken

[cruising grandma]

We booked the Wyndham Harbor Island through priceline a few days ago for mid-April and got it for under $100. Put in Tampa, downtown, three star and place your bid. These are all nice hotels. Check out biddingfortravel.com before you use priceline. We've booked several NICE hotels in different locations for prior cruise nights. We got the Sheraton Harbor in San Diego for under $85 and a nice Wyndham in Baltimore for around $75. Do your homework, and you can get some nice precruise hotels this way. Then, check out the hotel's website, and see what amenities are offered. We've not been disappointed.

 

 

Crackerken---Do you have trolley/cable car times?? We'll fly into Tampa early evening, and wondered if we could sightsee a little that evening and a little more before we embark. Or, possibly after we embark and eat lunch, before the ship leaves. Thanks for all your information, and wonderful photos!!

[Cracker Ken]

cruising grandma - Regarding the street cars - check out this site:

 

http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/home.html

 

Everything there is to know is there at that web site. I don't believe they have a certain schedule. There are several of them, and they are moving up and down the tracks all the time from mid morning until night time, and later on the weekends. Every time I'm in the area, they are always around. You just walk up to a station and they stop when they come by.

 

Ken

[cruising grandma]

Ken,

 

Thanks for the site, I'll check it out.

[mahdnc]

We will be in Tampa for the 3/25 sailing of the Horizon. We will be hauling our 9 & 12 yr old kids as this will be their Spring Break. I have spent considerable time reading this entire thread and the info is great. But still I have some questions:

 

1. We are planning on staying at the Tampa Marriott Waterside we are redeeming Marriott points so we will be able to avoid the high rent. Marriott just opened the new Rennaisance Hotel next to the airport. Any reason to stay there instead?

 

2. We are trying to figure out what we want to see in Tampa and we are thinking that the aquarium might make a good choice. However we get into TPA at about 1:15pm and the aquarium's website says they open from 9:30am-5pm (not much time left after we check in to the hotel, etc). So we are thinking that seeing it on the morning of the cruise would make more sense. It is difficult to get a feel for how much time it would take to see the aquarium and whether it is worth it? Or are there other suggestions of things to see for our family?

 

3. We are also clueless on good restaurants to eat at for dinner that would be fun for the kids and nice for the parents.........

[Gramsof7]

Check out biddingfortravel.com before you use priceline.

 

If only I knew how to use that site. I see some boards, but how do I search? I'll keep reading.

 

Thanks for the tip. Never heard of biddingfortravel.

[Gramsof7]

Thanks, Ken, for all the info. I'll go see if I can find something on a discount site. Never used them, don't know anything about them, but will give it a try. I think the price goes up considerably for four people in one room.

[tampahotelguy]

We have stayed with the Tampa Airport Hilton for several years now, it is about 2 miles from the airport and across the street from the large Int'l mall They have airport shuttle service plus they have an area shuttle to either mall or any restaurants in the area. The Hilton has a very organized shuttle service to port, upon arriving on saturday afternoon the driver signed our family up for the shuttle for the 11:30 port shuttle and at 11:15 the driver had the bags loaded and we were actually leaving early. The port shuttle departs the hotel every :30 minutes and everyone has a Port reservation so there is no confusion in the lobby like some other tampa hotels have with their port programs.

 

The Hilton has a restaurant on site, Room Service and a great heated pool to enjoy the Tampa Sunshine, hotel recently was refurbished. I have always found some great rates on-line.

 

Enjoy:)

[cruising grandma]

Gramsof7,

 

Biddingfortravel has a general how to bid on priceline; look up your city, then it tells which hotels are in each star ratings(2,3,4,or5 star). Read the general FAQ's. The only problem with bidding on priceline is it's actually for 2 people, but if you get the rate, then call the hotel and reqest two double beds.(It is only a request). We've done this twice, and most hotels put you into there rooms with two beds anyway, since king rooms are sometimes higher priced. Good luck.

[Adina]

WOW what a great thread with loads of info. I have been writing down all the info. and must say I am overwhelmed with it all. We will be driving from Savannah and will need a place to sleep for one night. (4-1-05) We will probably get in late evening. Don't need anything fancy nor expensive. I don't need a place that is near any certain place to eat, mall ... Do want a shuttle service to the pier. I went to parksleepfly.com and got a La Quinta Inn Tampa Bay for 132.00 includes nights stay, cont. breakfast, shuttle to pier, and we can keep our van at hotel out front. Sounds kinda high to me after reading some of the info. about the La Quinta Inn (if this is the same one) Anyone with info. to help me narrow down all the things that I have written down from this thread would be great. The list of web sites given on this thread was very useful as I am new to this stuff. Thanks for those that included them.

[Cracker Ken]

tampahotelguy - Thanks for the first hand account of the Airport Hilton. Sounds like a good deal there. In addition to the International Plaza, there are 3 restaurants (LeRoy Selmon's BBQ, Flemings Steakhouse, and Roy's) right up on the corner. All 3 are Outback Steakhouse Corp concept restaurants, and quite good.

 

mahdnc - Are you going to have a car in Tampa? Since you will be there on Thursday, arriving about 1:15PM, you won't have time to do the Aquarium. By the time you get your luggage and transport (rental?), it will be pushing 2PM. The traffic between downtown Tampa and the airport starts to get busy about 2:30PM. By 3:30-4:00, it could be total gridlock (even without an accident for people to look at). You could kill a lot of time by going for a walk on the River Walk behind the hotel, then take the street car down to the Channelside District and check out the complex. They have an IMAX theater there. In addition, you could take the street car on down to Ybor City and check out Centro Ybor (movies and such). I don't recommend Ybor City at night for children. I'm having trouble with a dining recommendation for you. I know a lot of great places to eat in Tampa, but finding one that would be fun for the kids, while nice for the parents isn't easy. I know of one place that could be a treat, and that's the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

 

Click here - http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/ybor.asp

 

This old historic restaurant has interesting Spanish decor inside, and they have Flamenco Dancers and music. If the kids could accept it as a "culture lesson", the grown-ups will probably enjoy it. They have a salad there called the 1905 Salad, and it's great. The Ybor location is the first location.

 

You can get to the Columbia on the street cars too. You just take the car all the way to the Eastern terminus, which is out in front of the Sheriff's Office. Get off and walk a block S. on 21st St. The restaurant is located between 21st St and 22nd St on 7th Ave (Broadway). The Motorman on the street car can direct you if needed. If you decide to do this, have the concierge at the hotel get you a reservation as soon as you get there. If you get a dinner reservation for 5:30-6:00PM, you can dine and leave the area before things get crazy around there. Later at night, Ybor City turns into a night club atmosphere.

 

The FL Aquarium is a nice place, and kids 9 and 12 should enjoy it a lot. I think you could do it in 2 - 2 1/2 hrs and squeeze it in between opening and time to get on the ship.

 

Hope this helps. If any other questions, let me know.

 

Ken

[mahdnc]

thanks for the reply. We are not planning on renting a car for this trip, hence we agree that we may "do" the aquarium the morning of the cruise.

 

I understand that there is a GameWorks in Tampa with a decent restaurant inside. Perhaps that may fit the bill for our family?

[Cracker Ken]

mahdnc - I've never been to Gameworks, so I can't vouch for it, but I looked it up on the Internet. It looks like a fun place to go with some decent food choices. The one in Tampa is in the Centro Ybor complex at 8th Ave and 17th St. There's a street car station close to the entrance on 8th. I think it would be lots of fun to take the street car from the hotel (the station is right out front, across the street) down to the Ybor area. I'd suggest checking with the motorman on the streetcar and verify the time of the last run at night. If you head down that way early enough, you could even get off and browse around the Channelside complex while you are at it.

 

Ken

[tampahotelguy]

WOW what a great thread with loads of info. I have been writing down all the info. and must say I am overwhelmed with it all. We will be driving from Savannah and will need a place to sleep for one night. (4-1-05) We will probably get in late evening. Don't need anything fancy nor expensive. I don't need a place that is near any certain place to eat, mall ... Do want a shuttle service to the pier. I went to parksleepfly.com and got a La Quinta Inn Tampa Bay for 132.00 includes nights stay, cont. breakfast, shuttle to pier, and we can keep our van at hotel out front. Sounds kinda high to me after reading some of the info. about the La Quinta Inn (if this is the same one) Anyone with info. to help me narrow down all the things that I have written down from this thread would be great. The list of web sites given on this thread was very useful as I am new to this stuff. Thanks for those that included them.

 

It sounds like you need to park, sleep and get on your way in the morning, I would suggest a group of hotels in the Wesley Chapel area, the last exit as you enter the tampa area, it is a very safe area with some clean hotels right on 75-south, I think there is Holdiay Inn Express and a comfort inn, they have a dennys, Waffle house and some other chains nearby for food. In the morning you would be 30 minutes away from the downtown tampa/port area and you would save some $$ being on the outside of tampa but so close to the port area.

[Carnival Queen]

Anyone just back from Tampa with a recent review of where you stayed pre-cruise? We stayed in a Ramada - not bad, but I'd rather something a little nicer/closer to the port - this was kind of in between the airport and cruise terminal.

 

The hotels near Channelside are all very expensive. I know a lot of people on our cruise stayed at Amerisuites, Grand Hyatt and a few others - I think they had some kind of group deals - wondering how everyone liked where they stayed. Also, never used priceline, so not really sure how that works?

 

Would appreciate any input. Thanks.

[Cracker Ken]

Carnival Queen - You could try the Hilton Garden Inn or the Hampton Inn in the Ybor City area. That's within a 1-2 miles of the port, and those shouldn't be nearly expensive as the hotels in the downtown area (like Marriott Waterside, Hyatt Regency, etc). There's a Courtyard by Marriott and a Residence Inn downtown too, and those won't be as expensive as the high rise hotels. I haven't used Priceline, so I can't help you there. People have reported some reasonable prices downtown and in the Westshore area before. If you will read up the thread a ways, there is a report on the Hilton Airport hotel on Lois Ave. There is also a report on the Marriott Westshore too.

 

Adina - The hotels at I-75 and SR 54 (Wesley Chapel area), or those at I-75 and Fletcher Ave N of Tampa would be OK. At Fletcher, there is a Fairfield Inn, Sleep Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, and a Hampton Inn. However, you won't get a shuttle to the port from those (they are too far from the port), and a cab would cost a small fortune. If you wanted to drive down and park at the port, those hotels N of Tampa on I-75 would be fine.

 

Port parking is $10 a day, payable in advance, and all credit cards except Diners Club are excepted. The port lot for Terminal 2 is a parking garage with security. The lot for Terminal 6 is open, however it's well lighted and surrounded by a high fence. They claim to have security there too.

 

The LaQuinta Inn that you mention is probably the one I mentioned earlier in the thread that's on W. Spruce St at the S. end of the airport. I recall looking up park & ride places a while back, and that hotel is the one in Tampa. If you consider that you get free parking while on your cruise (consider that worth $10 a day), a shuttle to the port (that's worth $20, easy), and the breakfast, the $132.00 isn't all bad.

 

Y'all enjoy your cruises.:cool:

 

Ken

[Carnival Queen]

Thanks Ken. Will keep doing my homework - have to wait another week or two, since some of them don't allow you to book more then 330 days in advance (2/19/06) . . .

[mdc99]

Mahdnc-To answer your earlier question, if I could get the Marriott Waterside

for points or a price that I could live with it would be my #1 pre-

cruise hotel. Although the Rennaissance is one of the few nicer

hotels in Tampa that I have not stayed at. I think Gameworks is a

good choice for what your looking for and on a Thurs nite Ybor

shouldn't be to bad as long as your not there to late.The

other possibility would be Splitsville located in Channelside it

combines eating and bowling although you would want to check with

them because I believe kids are only welcome up to a certain time.

 

Carnivalqueen-To try to answer your questions about hotels for a pre-cruise

I think I would agree that I probably would want to stay in

in one of the downtown hotels. The Marriott Waterside, Hyatt

downtown, Wyndham Harbor Island, Tampa Riverside(former

Raddison) all do/have participated with Priceline in the 3*

category. I have listed them in my order of preference

starting with #1. To give you an example I stayed at the

Hyatt downtown on 2/12/05 for $93., this was the nite of the

Gasparilla nite parade so demand was probably higher as

was the price. This past weekend 2/26/05 I was succesful in

getting the Grand Hyatt (airport/ Westshore area 4*) for

$75 a nite. Generally what people do is book a cancellable

backup that they can live with and continue to try for a

better deal through priceline. Hope this gives you a little help.

[dmndlil]

Cracker Ken-

 

Thank you for all the info you provided about the Rocky Point area. My apology for not thanking you sooner. We did eat at Bahama Breeze.. it was great food. Thanks again! :D

[Carnival Queen]

mdc99: Thanks for the great suggestions. Guess I should try priceline, although the way someone explained it to me was that you have to give your bid and your credit card # first without even knowing what you might get? Is that correct?

[Cracker Ken]

dmndlil- You are welcome. Glad I could help. Thanks for posting your approval too. I went to Bahama Breeze for lunch one day, and we all enjoyed it. It's a really nice place and atmosphere out there.

 

Ken

[mahdnc]

thanks mdc and ken

[imosoreal]

I'm trying to figure out if I messed up with the hotel I won on Priceline. I bought the Marriott Tampa Airport for $60.00 but I haven't seen it mentioned here. Is it really far from the cruise terminal? If it's not nice I'll book somewhere else and lose my $60.00. Thanks for the help.

[BF_Philly]

Thanks for all your help Ken. I just booked my Pre and Post Cruise stays at the Chase Suites. I wasn't able to book this far out online (2/2006) so I sent an email to Customer Service on their website. The Manager replied and booked my stay for me. I got the Ship to Shore rate for just the days I need it and the regular rate for the others.

 

The best part for me is the access to Clearwater Beach Florida (Phillies Spring Training) . It's a straight 10 minute trip across the bridge to the stadium.

[mdc99]

Carnival Queen-Yes that is right you do have to give them your credit card

and bid before knowing what you will get. However you do

get to pick the *level and area that you want. So if you

do a little research at a site like biddingfortravel you can

have an idea what to expect. For instance if you go to the

hotel list under Tampa and were to bid 3* downtown you

would end up with one of the 4 I mentioned above, if your

bid is accepted. I generally approach it like; "if I recieved my

least favorite would I be happy?"

Imosoreal-I have not stayed at the Marriott airport but have read reviews

from people that have and they are generally positive. Of the

hotels that are listed in the Airport/Westshore area under 3*

that would be in my top 3-4. As you are probably aware the

hotel is located right in the airport so sooner or later you have to

make the same approx. 20 min.& $20 trip downtown to the port.

I think you got a good buy at $60. and would be happy with that.

You might want to catch a cab over to Bahamma Breeze like Ken

has suggested if your looking for a fun place to have dinner, cab

should just be few dollars.