Help with Tampa hotel?

[maureenk]

When we went to Disney, this board was so helpful and it seemed that many people were from Florida, SO I thought I might ask this even though it's off topic. We are taking a cruise, which is departing from Tampa. I found a Howard Johnsons hotel for $50 per night for family of 4, including airport shuttle, cruise port shuttle, and continental breakfast. Now, I'm thinking, too good to be true? The address is 2055 N Dale Mabry in Tampa. Anyone know anything? Is this a really bad neighborhood or something? We are pretty much just staying the night (arriving at 8 p.m.) and then leaving for the cruise port around 11 a.m., so the most we might do at the hotel is eat the free breakfast (!) and let the kids swim for bit in the a.m. Not like we need a lot from the hotel, but wanted to make sure it was safe and clean! Thanks so much......

Also, if anyone knows of a board that is for the Tampa area, could you direct me there!

Thanks in advance - Maureen

 

[denisenh]

I don't know the hotel or even the area, but you are smart to ask about it. Like any big city, Tampa has its problem areas and problems in general.
I think that, if it were me, unless I found a reliable source that knows the hotel and says it is clean and safe, I would skip on it. Does it have interior hallway room entrances? If not, I would probably skip it as well.
The older family style hotel chains, like Howard Johnson's, have such varying standards, it seems, so its hard to tell if it is going to be a dump or decent place.
I know its nice to find a bargain but a dilapidated hotel for even $10 wouldn't be a bargain.
Hopefully someone will be able to help you decide. Maybe you can try a Tampa message board, like AOL travel, while waiting for help here?


I found one review that matches the address that you gave:
User reviews (1-1 of 1)



Tampa: Howard Johnson Hotel - Tampa: "Don't stop there !"
Date: March 24, 2004
Reviewer: A TripAdvisor User, Olympia, Washington
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We have stayed at many Howard Johnson's and we have always been happy with our stay. We arrived and checked in. The man at the desk had a hard time understanding us. We had booked 4 months in advance because we were taking a cruise. When we arrived in our room it only had one bed. We had two teens and two adults. We asked for another room and they did not have any rooms, extra pillows, or blankets/ They did locate a rollaway bed, but we had to deliver it to our own room up two flights of stairs. We had to share the blankets on our bed. So a few of us only had a sheet. The location is not great it is situated right next to two strip joints. We will not be staying there again. !!!