Places to stay for BG Tampa

[mog]

We are thinking of visiting Busch Gardens Tampa and Adventure Island for a couple of days before heading to Orlando for our Disney vacation. Does anyone have any advice on good places to stay? I don't necessarily need it to be right near Busch Gardens - in fact we even thought about looking near the beach somewhere over there that might still be within driving distance to spend the day at BG or Adventure Island. I don't know anything about the beaches in that area, though - like Clearwater Beach for example.

If anyone has any ideas or experiences to share, I'd love to hear them!
thanks!

 

[kevg1889]

We have booked into the Best Western All Suites for the night (myself, my DW and DS12). We are doing the elite adventure tour at BG so will drive down from Orlando on the morning & park up at the hotel. We can then taxi or walk the short distance to BG and stay until close without needing to worry about driving back. (we can also sample the Budweiser products!!)

We are really looking forward to the tour, as it gives us front of line all day as well as lunch and best seats at the shows.

 

[tropical depression]

We have booked into the Best Western All Suites for the night (myself, my DW and DS12).

you might want to rethink that choice, it's not that nice of a hotel and it's bordering on a questionable section of Tampa. if you're not expecting much of a hotel, you'll be OK.

 

[kevg1889]

What's the problem with the hotel? We are only really planning on using it as a bed for the night before setting off back to Orlando early the next morning. We will be parking up there when we arrive in Tampa & going straight to BG, which I believe stays open until 11pm, so we will make our way back to the hotel & sleep before leaving again. Please advise us on whether this will be a problem, and if so can you reccomend an alternative hotel which is close to BG at a reasonable rate for the night.

I am a very inexperienced driver on the "other side" of the road and didn't fancy negotiating this at that time of night. As we are staying at AKL, we will be using Disney transport most of the time & this is one of the few occasions when I will need to drive.

 

[yaytezIOA]

The thing about BGT is that it is in a questionable part of Tampa. None of the hotels are really that great, and we have had our share of worried nights....but after a day at BGT the best bet is to have a place to rest your head. We stayed a few months ago at a hotel from priceline, and it wasnt bad. It was about 15 minutes from BGT, and I cant remember the name. But really, after a full day of coasters, walking and water slides, any place is going to be good. There is a hotel directly across the street, I think its a Baymont Inn, that is fairly nice, and pretty reasonable.

 

[bapvoeller]

We tried to go to the beaches from BG one time and we didn't find any good beaches close. I think the good beaches are going to be a fairly good drive, but I am not an expert on this. We always stay at the Embassy Suites by BG. It is a very nice hotel with a free full breakfast. I would highly recommend this hotel. We actually already have reservations there for Christmas.

 

[tropical depression]

What's the problem with the hotel? We are only really planning on using it as a bed for the night before setting off back to Orlando early the next morning.

if that's all you're using it for, it'll be fine. it's only a few minutes from the park, and it has a shuttle service.

the hotel zone around BG is a little complicated, you have very nice locations like Embassy Suites down to ratholes like the old Days Inn. the resort hotels are near the airport and the waterfront, not Busch Gardens.

 

[r3ngels]

Is Embassy Suites the only one you would recommend?

 

[bapvoeller]

Most of the hotels are not very nice around BG. Have you looked at reviews on tripadvisor. It is generally fairly accurate. I have stayed at Embassy muliple times and have been very happy. When we go to BG this is the only hotel we will stay at now. Tried a Quality Inn by I-75 one time. The area and hotel was questionable.

 

[tropical depression]

the doubletree on 30th and the wingate inn on fowler are solid choices.

 

[mog]

the doubletree on 30th and the wingate inn on fowler are solid choices.

When I searched for Doubletree, two came up - one on Rocky Point Dr and one on Cypress. Is one of those the one on 30th that you recommend?

 

[tropical depression]

11310 North 30th Street, Tampa, FL is the one by Busch Gardens. cypress is by the airport and rocky point is on the way to clearwater.

there's also a laquinta inn at 30th and fowler that looks pretty nice, but i haven't stayed there. you could look for reviews for that as well.

 

[mog]

Is it possible that the Doubletree on 30th isn't a Doubletree anymore? It isn't showing up on their website, but I found this:

http://www.grandsuitestampa.com/contact.html

It has the same address, but doesn't mention Doubletree. If this is the case, is it still a nice place or should I look elsewhere if it isn't owned by Doubletree anymore?
The Embassy Suites is much more expensive, but I'll go there if this Grand Suites isn't as nice.

I noticed before that someone mentioned that the nicer resort hotels are near the airport. We will have a car - how far is that area from BG? Maybe we'd be better off staying there instead.

Thanks for all the input! I just don't want to end up somewhere that is questionable because it sounds like there are some "not so nice" places near BG.

 

[nenner1]

I don't know if you have already gone on your trip or not, but here is my $0.02...

The area around BG and AI is not the greatest in Tampa, but it's not the worst either. IMO it has improved over the last few years. I would not feel uncomfortable walking down the street there, if that helps. In fact the immediate area is downright touristy. I haven't paid too much attention to the hotels around so I can't vouch for them.

But I do have some opinions about the beaches. Don't bother with any beaches in Hillsborough county (TAMPA). Ben T Davis- blegh! You don't want to swim in the bay!! Instead take the 40 minute drive over the bridge to Pinellas County (St. Petersburg/Largo/Seminole/Clearwater). My absolute favorite is Sand Key State Park over in Clearwater (which is separate from Clearwater beach). It has a large (metered, they all are)parking lot, picnic areas, bathrooms and showers. It is gorgeous. The water is the clearest in the area and the sand is thick powder. It is a little removed from the partying throngs @ CLW beach, so it is quiet and lovely. Here is a link to their website:
Sand Key State Park


If you are in the mood for a more touristy and raucous beach adventure, try Clearwater or St. Pete Beaches. Both have bars aplenty and plenty of people watching opportunities.

The options in between (literally) as you drive along Gulf Blvd. in Pinellas all offer a quiet traditional beach experience. You'll find all these beaches less crowded than the mainstays in north and south county. Redington, Madeira, Treasure Island, John's Pass and Indian Rocks are all great. All have metered parking and bathroom/shower facilities. Some have limited picnic areas. You can view the webpages for each of these beaches by going to the Pinellas County Parks website and selecting one from the dropdown menu.

Hope you have a fantastic vacation!