Has anyone been to the Loews Don Cesar in Tampa?

[lindalinda]

I was wondering what the upgrade is there for platinum loews. On the website they list a bunch of suites, and one of them is just a king room (250 sq ft) that doesnt sound like a suite at all. there is a junior suite listed, that sounds good, so I am hoping that is the upgrade room.

 

[damo]

Pretty sure Motherfletcher stayed there once with his daughter.

 

[Motherfletcher]

We scored a Jr. Suite with Platinum. The hotel is old (historic) so the rooms are likely very varied. Ours was very similar to the RPR layout except the bathroom (huge) was off the bedroom instead of the parlor. Check in was 4 but we stayed New Year's Eve and didn't get in the room until 7. For our inconvenience and to stop me from yelling they gave us free dinner. Make sure to visit the ice cream shop downstairs.

 

[Motherfletcher]

My daughter and I went in search of the best hotel in the Tampa Bay area and stayed in the Pink Castle, Vinoy, Seminole Hard Rock and the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. The best value was the Hyatt where we upgraded to club level for $50. There is a deal on Travelzoo right now that isn't too bad:
http://hotels.travelzoo.com/florida-hotels/302800
The Don Cesar was the most expensive but on the beach.

 

[goofy!]

We have stayed in the Beach House Suites by The Don Cesar

It is part of the Don Cesar hotel, but a few buildings down the beach. It looks like it was a condo unit at one time. You get all the amenities of Don Cesar, but are in a pleasant 1 bedroom condo.

The thing we liked is every "suite" is ocean front, so it was great sitting on the balcony and watching the waves. It wasn't sumptious like the Don Cesar (or the Portofino suites), just a regular run of the mill condo. But we really enjoyed it, especially the views.

A little bit of a hike down the beach to the Don Cesar, but not bad.

This was before the Don Cesar was a Loews hotel, so have no idea how it would work with the Loews perks. They are listed as the "standard beachhouse suites" on the Loews website.

http://www.beachhousesuites.com/

 

[D&R love Disney]

The Don is actually located on St Pete Beach not in Tampa. We were there a month ago for my birthday. We love staying there and they are building a brand new spa to open in December.

 

[WDW Princess]

We've stayed there just a couple of times and got an upgrade to a Jr. Suite once. My company has Christmas parties and a few other events there and we get discounts on rooms. The suite was ok - very ample space and nice bathrooms.

I like the historical aspect of the hotel, but I personally do not like quaint, per se (prefer more modern/hip resorts). I do have to admit that service is impeccable and we have always been treated with utmost respect and attention. And the location is fabulous as well and makes a perfect weekend getaway for us (20 minutes away from the house!!! can't beat that!). A lot of relaxing things to do around the resort. Spa is extremely overpriced.

 

[Motherfletcher]

They are offering a summer rate of $179/weekdays.
https://loewshotels.ibe.netbooker.c...o;jsessionid=23A37DE4E487872BC1A9CDB669C2D373