Hotel suggestions for Tampa

[crisp1]

We are cruising on the Miracle on 4/9. trying to find a hotel reasonably priced for our pre cuise night was impossible. I tried to get something thru priceline and was rejected. Hotwire seemed to offer a better chance for a hotel I wanted. So, after trying to 'buy' the Doubletree several times ( problems with booking), I finally got the Quorum for $97+17.23 taxes. I can live with that

I think until 'off' season the prices will remain high- what a drag. I might have done a little better if I waited until closer to our sailing date for hotwire or priceline, but I just wanted to get it over with :)

[BLUEICE]

CrackerKen:

 

Thanks for the info on the Residence Inn. Not sure about staying there so I also have a reservation for the Radission on Courtney ? Way booked but it can be cancelled without penalty.

 

Wondering your opinion on that hotel versus the Residence Inn.

 

Thanks in advance.

[butnzb]

Thanks so much for the info. It has been a big help & I will call to confirm my reservation & pricing.

[bluejeans]

Hello, and thank you for answering all these questions, must be overwhelming at times. Okay, now my turn, and you may have answered this already, but how far is the pier from Wyndham Harbor? I havent made reservations yet, but looked nice, and will be there for the 4th of July Inspiration cruise. Thank you in advance.

[Cracker Ken]

BLUEICE - The Radisson Bay Harbor Inn, on Courtney Cambell Causeway, is on Rocky Point, which has been mentioned before in the thread (with info on the Chase Suites, etc). It's nice out there. Quiet, safe, places to eat within walking distance. There is a nice casual seafood restaurant that joins the hotel, Crabby Bills. I went there with folks from work a while back, and we enjoyed it. Right down the street, is Landry's Seafood. To walk there, you would be on the grassy shoulder of the road, since there are no sidewalks. Also on Rocky Point, is Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Chase Suites, and a Double Tree Hotel. There's also a Bahama Breeze Restaurant next to Chase Suites and Holiday Inn Express. This area is about 2-3 miles W of the airport, and a little further away from town than the airport. Some of the folks reporting on this thread have stayed, or are going to stay, at the Double Tree on W. Cypress, which offers both airport and cruise terminal shuttle.

 

bluejeans - Thanks. One of these days, when I'm bored (seldom happens), I'm going to go through this entire thread and make an index. I figure that I can post the index, and it will help folks find info that's already been covered before. That will help me too.:) There's tons of info here, sometime repeated, but it's a long thread to look through, for sure.

 

The Wyndham Harbour Island is a mile or less from the cruise terminals. If you look at the photos in the Tampa album on my Yahoo photo page, you can see both the Wyndham and the Miracle sitting at dock. I was able to take photos of both places from the same place. Go to http://www.mapquest.com and pull up a map for S Franklin St & Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL. The point of reference (the red star) is also the location of the street car station. You can zoom in and out using the scale on the left side of the map, and you can move E, W, N, and S. using the frame of the map in the direction you wish. The Wyndham Harbour Island is on the corner of Harbour Island, right next to the "L" in Seddon Channel. If you go up the channel to the right (E), you will come to where the water turns to the North, and there are little gray figures to the right of S. Beneficial Drive, or where it says Garrison Channel. That's where the Miracle docks at the Channelside Complex. Those other little gray figures represent the FL Aquarium. Between there and York St, is Terminal 3, and just N. of York is Terminal 6. As you can see, it's not far at all.

 

Ken

[bluejeans]

Thanks again for the info,,,,,,,,sure was helpful. Think this is where I will stay.....you are very kind indeed for taking the time to help us. ;)

[signman]

Ken, what's needed is a sticky at the top of this category. I don't know how to do it. Maybe one of the moderators could help. All the information anyone could ever want is here, but it can no longer be easily found.

[SBBScruz]

We are cruising out of Tampa on 4/2 and are coming in the night before at 11:15 p.m. I have read much of this thread and there are so many nice hotels that have been recommended. My thought is we are coming in so late, and then getting up and going straight to the port. I want a clean, decent place to stay, but don't want to pay deluxe bucs. Any recommendations?

 

I've been trying to find Airport shuttle, plus continental breakfast. I just hate to pay $150 for 10 hours of stay. Didn't know if anyone else had any suggestions....... Cracker Ken and all other Tampa residence that have helped, I just have to say a big "hats off" to you for all your help on this thread. You are greatly appreciated! :D

[Cracker Ken]

SBBScruz - Thanks. I know of several decent hotels around the area of the airport. I was just looking at them, and everything is running over $100 a night. It's obviously high time of the year around here at that time. Lot's of spring breaking doing on. Here's a suggestion:

 

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do#null

 

or

 

http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/propertyProfile.do?ident=LQ597&propId=597

 

Those are a little over $100. I think they both have airport shuttles, but I didn't dig far enough to confirm.

 

These are really close to the airport, and a taxi ride downtown to the cruise terminals would cost about $20-25. They aren't fancy, but sufficient. With these lesser expensive (relatively speaking) places, the farther you get away from the airport, the less likely they are to have an airport shuttle. The only thing downtown that would be inexpensive, would be some joint that charges by the hour for certain clientel, and they are even scarce.

 

You could try something like Travelocity, and center your search on the area of N Westshore Blvd. and W. Spruce St in Tampa.

 

Another alternative, which I've never tried, is Priceline.com. You could go for the same general area, which is around the Tampa International Airport, go for a 3 star, and see what you come up with. You could even try for a 4 star. I've seen some people get deals of less than $100 at some really nice places in the area, like the Wyndham Westshore. I'm really surprised in some of the high prices at these moderate hotels in the area.

 

Good luck and happy cruising!:)

 

Ken

[Cracker Ken]

Signman - Thanks for the suggestion. I like that. As soon as I build an index (I'll do that on a Word document), I'll get with one of the hosts and see if they can put a sticky or a post at the top of the thread which would contain the index. Alternately, perhaps they could put it in a sticky up at the top of the Hotel board. If I can get an index together with posting numbers related to topics, it should help everyone out and they wouldn't even have to wait for a reply most of the time. It's hard to list page numbers for posts, because it all depends on how many post the person displays per page. The posting # should work though. If I wasn't a high speed typist, this would be a heavy duty chore. Also, thanks for your help from time to time. You must have lived around here at one time, or visited a bunch.

 

Ken

[signman]

Ken, I just visit a bunch and have been doing it for the past dozen or so years, although I won't make it this year. I am just the type who pays attention to this stuff. My computer skills are limited, but I am a very frequent satisfied user of Priceline, and have laid out very detailed step by step bidding strategies in the past on a few threads when the mood struck. I know these too could be helpful for people wanting to try PL, so maybe with help they could go into a sticky too.

 

Hey, I see you're booked on Century in April. I guess that's the trip over to the shipyard for the makeover. I just booked Century for January for a 5 nighter from Miami, so I can experience the new Century.

[airlink diva]

We are cruising out of Tampa on 4/2 and are coming in the night before at 11:15 p.m. I have read much of this thread and there are so many nice hotels that have been recommended. My thought is we are coming in so late, and then getting up and going straight to the port. I want a clean, decent place to stay, but don't want to pay deluxe bucs. Any recommendations?

 

I've been trying to find Airport shuttle, plus continental breakfast. I just hate to pay $150 for 10 hours of stay. Didn't know if anyone else had any suggestions....... Cracker Ken and all other Tampa residence that have helped, I just have to say a big "hats off" to you for all your help on this thread. You are greatly appreciated! :D

I agree with you on this, I'm arriving after 10 p.m. on Saturday night for my Sunday cruise (Miracle 4/30/06) and just want a safe, clean, hotel to stay until Sunday. However all the rates are over $100. I'm now going to attempt to change my arrival time to the first flight into Tampa (still wide open), rent a car and stay in one of the hotels that Cracker Ken suggested. :o

Have fun!!

[mark1]

We are arriving TH nite for a SAT cruise. So, we will have a day available.

 

We'll be staying at the Hilton Westshore. Are there sites worth seeing, a trip to the pier perhaps. If not, a day in at hotel pool and walk to a couple of restaurants works fine for us.

 

Also when will the Veendam allow us to board? We were thinking noon.

 

mark and gretchen

 

Galaxy 3/04

[signman]

Mark, here you go.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=297942

[jessemon]

We are arriving TH nite for a SAT cruise. So, we will have a day available.

 

We'll be staying at the Hilton Westshore. Are there sites worth seeing, a trip to the pier perhaps. If not, a day in at hotel pool and walk to a couple of restaurants works fine for us.

 

Also when will the Veendam allow us to board? We were thinking noon.

 

mark and gretchen

 

Galaxy 3/04

Hey mark1,

The Hilton Westshore is in a good location for restaurants. (Ken can probably fill you in on all the fun stuff):cool:

As far as boarding the Veendam...noon is about right. We went at Christmas and boarded about 12:15. That was right after we arrived. We however had to wait for the cabin to be finished until about 1:30. (The nice surprise though was we were bumped to a suite.)

If it were me, I'd probably get there at 11:30. Make sure you fill out your docs on line with HAL. Makes it alot faster when you arrive.

[Cracker Ken]

mark1 - As for the time to show up at the ship, I agree with Jessemon. We have been on the Veendam from Tampa, and DW has been on it 2x with her mother. You could get into the terminal earlier, probably as early as 10:30-11:00, but getting there a little later like Jessemon said is a good idea too. If you get there a little later, the huge crowd that gets there very early (as if they think someone else may be able to get on the ship before them or something...:rolleyes: ), will have already boarded. So, you can waltz right in, go to the counter, check in, and walk on the ship. No sense in dealing with the crowd and lines. There's something to be said for showing up with the boarding passengers are down to a trickle. They won't give your cabin to someone else if you wait until 12:30 to 1PM to board, and there will still be plenty of food left in the lido (despite what some folks seem to think:) ).

 

As for the Hilton Westshore: There are some good places to eat in walking distance. LeRoy Selmons BBQ (That's LeRoy Selmon, as in Tampa Bay Bucs years ago), Flemings Prime Steakhouse, and Roy's. Those are all Outback Steakhouse Corp. concepts. Great places to eat. Across the street (a busy divided highway), is the International Plaza Mall. It's upscale, and very nice. Huge too. In an area behind the mall is an area with some nice restaurants, including the Cheesecake Factory (you might need a cargo van to take you back to the hotel when you leave there).

Going down to the Port of Tampa could be fun. You could go down to the Channelside District shopping complex for some light shopping and restaurants. The FL Aquarium is next door. The street cars run by Channelside, so you could take one down to Ybor City and scout around there too. The Centro Ybor complex is nice, with movies and fun things to do, and restaurants, etc. It all depends on your mode of transportation.

If any other questions, just ask.

 

Ken

[msnan]

We will be staying at the Best Western-Westshore the 3rd of Mar. prior to our cruise and have been wondering about the rooms and the shuttle service also. Anyone stayed here and used their service?

We got the Destination Guide from the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau and has a lot of good info in there

[mommyto2girls]

Okay we did this back in November and now we have to do it again, my daughter is leaving in less than 2 weeks...Embassy Suites Westshore has been bashed to death on Trip Advisor, should she switch to Doubletree Westshore or Springhill Suites or are we okay with what we have. We need airport shuttle, a pool, and a safe area. Ken or anyone please HELP!!!

[CruisinJul]

I also have a late flight into Tampa for the 04/30/06 Miracle cruise. My husband and I will be staying at the La Quinta Inn by the airport for $105 (does not include taxes & fees). They have shuttle service from the airport to the hotel as well as a shuttle to the port for $5pp. I read in other posts that the hotel is okay and the continental breakfast is good. I wanted something close by that served breakfast. I thought we would hang by the pool until early afternoon and then head over to the port. My thanks to all that posted information regarding Tampa hotels. It made choosing a hotel much easier!!

[airlink diva]

Can you tell me if the Holiday Inn Express--Rocky Point Island? I have a good rate for this hotel. At first, I was going to arrive at 11:00 p.m., but I changed my time to arrive at 12:30 p.m. Is this a good area (coming in solo, but use common sense), what about resturants? How close to the Port? Thanks!!

[signman]

You'll be a little isolated in Rocky Point, but it's a safe area. There's a Bahama Breeze very close by, and a Landry's not too far away. Hotel might be able to shuttle you. They may also be able to shuttle you to Westshore Plaza or International Mall for shopping. Both are well worth it if shopping is your thing. You'll be 15-20 minutes from the port. Rocky Point is an office park area west of the airport. Port is east of airport.

[cruisegirl29]

Okay we did this back in November and now we have to do it again, my daughter is leaving in less than 2 weeks...Embassy Suites Westshore has been bashed to death on Trip Advisor, should she switch to Doubletree Westshore or Springhill Suites or are we okay with what we have. We need airport shuttle, a pool, and a safe area. Ken or anyone please HELP!!!

 

Hi Mommy to 2 girls,

We had a great stay at the Embassy Suites Westshore on Jan 6th precruise one night. We had the 2 bed 2 bath suite. It was really nice. Evening Cocktail reception was wonderful and the free breakfast buffet was really very good. Safe area-close to the Westshore mall, which we walked to for dinner. Outside pool & hot tub looked very nice but it was too cold for us to swim as the air temp was about 50ish....

 

If you click on the link below you should be able to see my Embassy Suites photo album.......

 

http://cruisegirl29.shutterfly.com/action/

 

You have to enter the password: bella3

 

 

I would stay there again. Also stayed at the Marriott Westshore post-cruise. They have a wonderful indoor/outdoor pool too. Very clean & nice....

 

Sue

[surfklutz]

Does anyone have any information on the Howard Johnson Express Inn at 2520 No. 50th street, Tampa? How close is it to the Cruise Piers? Do they have shuttle service to the Pier? Thanks.

 

Yikes - that is a horrible area - and the hotels are all dumps. If you want something near Busch Gardens - stay at the Embassy Suites on the USF campus. If you want something near the pier - stay at the Hilton Gardens in Ybor City.

 

If you want a nice place near Land O Lakes, stay at Saddlebrook in Wesley Chapel.

[Cracker Ken]

Like Surfklutz said, this is bad, VERY Bad. Don't even THINK about staying at that place, much less do it. Aside from being right next to some heavy duty construction, it's a high crime area. Just yesterday, the Tampa Police shot a guy that tried to run over them during a drug bust at the hotel. People would be better off sleeping on the floor in the airport terminal than staying there.

[Cracker Ken]

airlink diva - I have stayed at this hotel a couple of times. It's nice and quiet out there. Safe too. The hotel sits right on the water. Continetal breakfast is very good (I love the hot cinnamon buns they have). Everything was clean and well kept there. You can walk across the parking lot to the Bahama Breeze Restaurant, which is a really good place to eat. They have an airport shuttle. You will probably have to take a taxi to the port, which could cost you $25-$30.

 

mommyto2girls - Nobody that responds to this thread has ever said anything bad about the Embassy Suites on Westshore. As noted just above, folks have actually liked it. I think some of the people who write critiques on Trip Advisor are just too picky. Some people are never satisfied with anything. People have also responded that they liked the Double Tree on W. Cypress, and that's covered up the thread a ways.

 

Ken