Need info on Tampa area hotel near busch gardens? Anyone from that area?

[LisaRay]

Thought maybe someone out there could give me some help/advice? My worst fear is booking myself into a dump for 6 nights!

My DH has a class in Tampa for a week in Nov. My 2 kids (13&5) and I will be joining him. His class is not very far from busch gardens ( 5 miles) and he doesn't want to have to drive far each day in traffic and such so staying at the beach won't work for us (DARN!!)

I don't really have a big interest in going to Busch gardens for more than just one day. So I am looking for a hotel that is nice and can keep me and the kids busy. DH's company is paying for it so i can spend up to $120ish. We are hoping for a suite type so we will have 2 TV's and so my 13 year old will have some quiet time in a seperate room to do all her school work before we get to disney the next week. Suite with a seperate room as in a door would be great!

I have found these:
Embassy suites near BG for $109 ( free breakfast for all) but they say the pool is not heated.

Doubletree near BG for $115 ( free breakfast for all included with that rate) but they also say pool not heated.

Don't know what to do. It will be 1st week of Nov. and I have 5 FULL days to entertain 2 kids so we really want to be able to swim and they like to swim with dad in the evenings too.

I thought maybe someone from the area or has been to the area could give me some advice.

If i could find something really great I would make DH drive a little farther. But he didn't want to drive in everyday from Sand Key area. ( had my eye on the marriott suites there!)

Thanks!

 

[coach4448]

Of the 2 you listed I would go with the Doubletree. I wouldn't worry about the pool not being heated. November should be fine as far as the water temp. Also the Doubletree provides transportation to Busch Gardens.
If it is in the right price range and not too far of a drive for your husband I would think about either Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay or maybe the Suites at Mainsail Village Tampa. The Hyatt is great, has 2 pools and is right on the upper Tampa bay.
The area where Busch Gardens is located is not one the nicest area's in Tampa as far as things to do and see. Other than Busch Gardens there really isn't anything there.

 

[LisaRay]

coach4448........... thanks for your advice. Do you mind if i ask you .... is the transportation to BG the only reason you would choose the Doubletree over the Embassy? Because the Embassy also gives free shuttle to BG and we are only thinking of going there for one day. So I am wondering if there are any other thoughts on these 2 hotels?
I read on tripadvisor that the doubletree was an older hotel and the suites were smaller in size. So we had been thinking about the Embassy.
Do you really think the pool heat won't be a problem in Nov.? We have been to Disney in Nov. before but it was a few years ago and lately it has been in Jan. and we really needed that pool heat then!

The Grand Hyatt sounds nice but probably too much $$ ( i will check it out though). Can you tell me anything else about the Mainsail village? Never heard of that one.
Thank you sooooo much!

 

[lsyorke]

We Stayed at the Embassy Suites in Tampa years ago, and it was lovely then!

 

[Poohnatic]

My family just relocated to the Tampa area. I get off I-275 at Busch Blvd for work every day. There's a hotel right at the exit-I can post what it is on Tuesday nigh, if you'd like. South of I4 on I275, there are a bunch of hotels.

Fairly close to BG is Lowry Park Zoo(www.lowryparkzoo.com) (less than 10 minutes) . We went three weeks ago and liked it so much, we got a membership. Easily will entertain you for the day. My kids loved feeding and petting the stingrays. Something for the younger child is Kid City, it's right next to Lowry Park Zoo.

MOSI (www.mosi.org) is a little north of the BG area, and it's got an IMAX screen. The schedule of movies is on the website.

There's also a water park affilliated with Busch Gardens.

The Florida Aquarium (www.flaquarium.org) is about a 20-25 minute drive from that part of town. Another one we saw years ago and my son still talks about is the clearwater rescue aquarium.

We love how much we can do in this area, then we only have a 55 minute drive to WDW to boot.

Any questions, feel free to PM.

Suzanne

 

[LisaRay]

lsyorke...... there are 2 in Tampa do you know if it was the one near busch gardens? The other one is near the airport I think. thanks.


Poohnatic...... thanks for all the info and the links! I will get busy looking at them. I had heard about the water park but sad to say it closes at the end of Oct. and we will be there on Nov. 1st! Just our luck. As far as hotels I would gladly take any names you happen to catch on your way buy. Thanks alot! Must be so cool being so close to Disney!

 

[coach4448]

LisaRay
I think that you might be happier with the Embassy Suites. You are right about the Doubletree being older.
Depending on the weather a heated pool might be a good idea. Mine isn't heated and I've used it in November, but it could be too cool for some.

There is also Amerisuites which is in the same area. This has the heated pool as well as continental breakfast. I don't think that they provide transportation to Busch Gardens, but I am not sure.

Another would be Baymont Inns & Suites Tampa Busch Gardens. I know that they have a pool, but I'm not sure if it is heated.

The Suites at Mainsail Village are all suites. I have my family stay there when they visit. Here is a link to the website.
http://mainsailhotels.com/tampa/
I don't know if the location would be what you are looking for since it is near the airport. They are spacious, and there is a pool,
but I'm not sure if it is heated. The rooms there are more like apartments. ( these may have been apartments at one time)
They are very well maintained. There are 1 and 2 bedrooms, and all have full kitchens, living room and dining areas as well as washer and dryers.

The other poster is right about the zoo. It's a good way to spend a day. Mosi and the aquarium are also good bets.

You may want to check out tripadvisor.com and check out the reviews for some of the places that you are considering. I've used that site for years to get a general idea on hotels when planning trips.
There are some nice hotels in the Busch Gardens area, but there are some that are horrible. Several of them are older and have not been taken care of. The 2 that you asked about are both decent places.

 

[LisaRay]

thrilled about the help i've been given just giving myself a Bump incase anyone else had any info.