OT-Tampa

[mericletwins]

Hi all~
I am looking for a little help. We are splitting our Easter break between Tampa and Disney. We will be in Tampa from 4/6-4/10 and then Disney from 4/10-4/14. Our Disney part is all set. What I have no idea about is the Tampa part as far as hotels. We are planning on doing Busch Gardens one day and the water park place another. The guys in the group want to go fishing or play golf one day.

There will be my family of 5 which includes 7 yo twins and a 6 yo, my mom, my bro and friends of ours that are husband, wife, 8 yo and 10 yo. We want a nice room with micro and frig, good pool and decent location. Breakfast included or a breakfast place on site would also be nice. We will have rental cars so driving to places isn't too bad. I'm not sure how spread out Tampa is so when I look at the various hotels I am really confused. Plus, a lot of the hotels have reviews that are really erratic!

I did find a hotel that had a shuttle bus that went in a five mile radius from the hotel for free. That would be fabulous for mom who doesn't drive and may not want to do what the younger set does all the time. The problem, I can't find it again.

Has anyone stayed in Tampa recently? Do you have any advice as far as hotels?

 

[vacation dreamer]

Hi all~
I am looking for a little help. We are splitting our Easter break between Tampa and Disney. We will be in Tampa from 4/6-4/10 and then Disney from 4/10-4/14. Our Disney part is all set. What I have no idea about is the Tampa part as far as hotels. We are planning on doing Busch Gardens one day and the water park place another. The guys in the group want to go fishing or play golf one day.

There will be my family of 5 which includes 7 yo twins and a 6 yo, my mom, my bro and friends of ours that are husband, wife, 8 yo and 10 yo. We want a nice room with micro and frig, good pool and decent location. Breakfast included or a breakfast place on site would also be nice. We will have rental cars so driving to places isn't too bad. I'm not sure how spread out Tampa is so when I look at the various hotels I am really confused. Plus, a lot of the hotels have reviews that are really erratic!

I did find a hotel that had a shuttle bus that went in a five mile radius from the hotel for free. That would be fabulous for mom who doesn't drive and may not want to do what the younger set does all the time. The problem, I can't find it again.

Has anyone stayed in Tampa recently? Do you have any advice as far as hotels?

We just stayed at the Holiday Inn express near the fairgrounds near the end of October and found it to be very nice. Be careful of any hotels you book near BG, do your research. Some of the neighborhood is unsafe.Claerwater Beach has a few nice hotels.

 

[Ariel8676]

St. Petersburg beach is really nice, but about 40 minutes from Busch Gardens..its really beautiful though..we stayed at the Tradewinds resort.. http://www.tradewindsresort.com/ig_default.asp

 

[mericletwins]

We just stayed at the Holiday Inn express near the fairgrounds near the end of October and found it to be very nice. Be careful of any hotels you book near BG, do your research. Some of the neighborhood is unsafe.Claerwater Beach has a few nice hotels.

Thanks for your reply. I keep hearing that some of the area around BG is not the greatest. I have in mind the Embassy Suites USG/BG. I have looked at the various reviews and they all seem to be pretty good, but I am still leery. Do you have any knowledge of this hotel. It is either on the USF campus or on the outskirts.

 

[NotUrsula]

As long as you're going to Tampa, you might as well stay at one of the beaches and get to play in the sand. You'll have to drive a bit to get back east for your Busch Gardens daytrip, but that doesn't outweigh staying at the beach. (If you decide you want to stay in Tampa proper, I can recommend the Tahitian; DH stays there on business quite often. It's to the south of the airport, on Dale Mabry. The Tahitian's cafe is a breakfast institution in Tampa, it can get very busy on weekends, especially. The new section has more comfortable beds than the older rooms do.)

St. Pete Beach is a bit far south, as BG is rather on the north end of the Tampa area, but it does have a nice selection of charter companies for the fishing trip. (If they don't want to go out on a boat, Ft. DeSoto Park has a great pier, but they will get a better catch offshore.) It would be a good choice for your Mom, though; there is lots to do in the area, and a decent trolley transit system up and down the beach road. St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Beach (further north) are the two largest island communities and anchor the ends of the barrier islands off the coast near Tampa. There are lots of smaller communities in between them where you could also stay. Golf I can't tell you about, though there are several courses in St. Pete/Pinellas Park.

That beach area is called the Suncoast. Here is the official website: http://www.floridasbeach.com/cms/index.php?id=246 We've never gone wrong staying at any property that is a member of Superior Small Lodgings, so I recommend looking at properties that belong. You may have a hard time finding a true condo for such a short stay; the motels will be more likely. Most of them don't have restaurants onsite, but in that event you would have a full kitchen so that you could make your own breakfast. You'll want to get busy and book ASAP; Eastertime is popular at the beach.

 

[sully7]

I used to live in FL north of Tampa in Brooksville. We would drive in to Tampa to go to BG. I never really liked the look of the Hotels near there. I don't think they really say "Vacation time in Florida!" I would stay in St. Pete. Its much more fun looking!

Also, I'm glad your Disney time is after Tampa! I try never to go to a hotel or theme park immediately after Disney because the difference between Disney and any other place is sooo big it is disappointing!! Disney spoils you for any thing else!

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[mericletwins]

As long as you're going to Tampa, you might as well stay at one of the beaches and get to play in the sand. You'll have to drive a bit to get back east for your Busch Gardens daytrip, but that doesn't outweigh staying at the beach. (If you decide you want to stay in Tampa proper, I can recommend the Tahitian; DH stays there on business quite often. It's to the south of the airport, on Dale Mabry. The Tahitian's cafe is a breakfast institution in Tampa, it can get very busy on weekends, especially. The new section has more comfortable beds than the older rooms do.)

.

The beach is not a draw at all for us because we live at the beach. We will be arriving late on Friday and doing BG one day, Adventure Island waterpark one day, and the third day will be MOSI, the aquarium or the zoo, then leave early the next morning for Disney. Since all or most of the things we'll be doing are going to be in the area of BG, it would be kind of inconvenient to stay far away. Aren't there any good hotels in the BG area?

 

[NotUrsula]

It's not so much the beach itself, but that you want a good pool, etc. and nearby restaurants and a safe walking area for your Mom. For that the best selection is near the beach, where tourism concentrates.

The majority of hotels in the northern end of the mainland Tampa area concentrate on business travelers who are there visiting industrial clients, USF, or the nearby VA hospital; most of them are kind of bare bones. When I traveled for business to USF a couple of years ago, my contact warned me that for a woman alone, the area around the nearby hotels could be somewhat risky after dark. I stayed at the beach that trip, but then, I'm a water rat.

Business travelers who want nicer restaurants, nightlife etc. tend to stay at the beach, too, or downtown near the harbor, which is very nice but can run into serious money.

 

[Darcy03231]

We stayed at Chase Suites and really liked it. We have a large family and rented the two bedroom suite. The pool was nice, the rooms clean and comfortable and the staff was great. They offer a free hot & cold breakfast & have a shuttle service. I think it was a 3-5 mile radius.

 

[mericletwins]

We stayed at Chase Suites and really liked it. We have a large family and rented the two bedroom suite. The pool was nice, the rooms clean and comfortable and the staff was great. They offer a free hot & cold breakfast & have a shuttle service. I think it was a 3-5 mile radius.

That sounds great. Do you happen to know about how far it is from Busch Gardens?

 

[Darcy03231]

Sorry Lisa, I don't. We didn't go to Busch Gardens on that trip, we were just cruising. If you call them (#813-433-9644) I'm sure they can let you know. We found the staff there to be very helpful.

 

[mericletwins]

After extensive research and reading online reviews from multiple web sites we have booked Embassy Suites USF. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[zalansky]

Hi Op - I live in Tampa and I would suggest the Embassy Suites so I am glas you booked that. It is close to BG and the water park there and it is a nice hotel. We had a Xmas party there once. That Chase Hotel is a good 15-20 minute drive to Busch Gardens with no traffic. I am sure you will be happy with Embassy...don't they give free breakfast buffets too? Enjoy your trip!

 

[mericletwins]

Hi Op - I live in Tampa and I would suggest the Embassy Suites so I am glas you booked that. It is close to BG and the water park there and it is a nice hotel. We had a Xmas party there once. That Chase Hotel is a good 15-20 minute drive to Busch Gardens with no traffic. I am sure you will be happy with Embassy...don't they give free breakfast buffets too? Enjoy your trip!

They have free breakfast, a managers reception w/ free adult beverages nightly and an on demand shuttle w/i a 5 mile radius. I am excited and hopeful that it is a nice hotel. I am glad to hear that as a local, you think it is a good choice. One day we will do BG, one day Adventure Island and then trying to pick between MOSI, Lowry Zoo and the aquarium. Any thoughts? The men want to do a half day fishing charter or a golf outing so I guess we have to look into that also.

 

[zalansky]

Lisa,
It definitelt is one of the nicer hotels in that area, and by the way thw hotel you'll be at is more towards (practically on) the campus for USF. It is one of the best hotels in that area, this I can say with cartainty. With the freebies, it rises to exceptional.

As for the day with something to do. That's a tough one. I'd skip MOSI unless your kids are really into science and that sort of stuff. The Zoo is great, Voted #1 for families from some magazine. The aquarium is cool, we find it boring but our kids are very little so they enjoy it. The benefit of the Aquarium is that it is located next to Channelside, where they have a new, cool, entertainment area called Channelside. You can go eat dinner there and have some fun. There is a movie theater and a bowling alley that plays GOOD music and also serve good food. Google "Channelside Tampa" and you can pull it up and check out things to do there after you go to see the fish. Thats my best advice, Let me know if you need more help.