Downtown location. Dirty streets and lots of homeless and drunk people hanging around. Restaurants within walking distance cater to people who work downtown and are closed for dinner. The staff advised me not to walk after dark because of crime. Parking is $8 per day in a lot accross from the hotel. Rooms are mostly clean, but beware of rooms where cigarette smoke is very noticeable even though the hotel claims all the rooms are non-smoking. Management on site and front desk employees are annoyingly loud and unprofessional. I do commend housekeeping staff who is polite and works hard. Be sure to check your bill as mistakes are frequent. I have yet to hear an employee apologize for her mistake. Front desk employees talk loudly with housekeeping staff who appears to be taking breaks, while ignoring and disturbing guests. Breakfast is OK but on several occasions guests could not find a place to sit down, and coffee, juice etc. were gone and not replaced. Guests regularly show up for breakfast in their pajamas. If you want to have a nice breakfast, show up early! The pool, hot tub and the rest of the small outdoor area are overcrowded and shared with the Marriott hotel next door. Carpets are old and look dirty even after cleaning. There is one PC available to guests at the entrance and the sign asks guests not to use it for longer than 15 minutes. However, that is not enforced at all, and teens play much longer while lines form.

This hotel is very overpriced for what you get.

Advice to the hotel owners: Renovate the hotel and replace employees in management and the front desk with professional customer service TRAINED employees!

This hotel is not what you would expect a Marriott hotel to be. Huge disappointment!!!

Definitely needs refurbishing. Shabby.
Staff is unprofessional. Needs customer service training.
Annoying loud manager and loud staff.
Breakfast buffet is nice but same every single day. Fruit in the fruit salad is never ripe.
Unsafe area. Advised by hotel staff not to go out at night. Actually witnessed an arrest in front of the hotel.

Overpriced for what you get.

Hotels in downtown Tampa are generally expensive, so I tried my luck at Priceline and got this one for only $65 (I talked to some people on the van who paid $179, so my deal was much sweeter!) It was confusing to find due to the closed exit, one-way streets, and several streets closed due to construction. We could see the hotel but it took us driving around it a couple of times to actually make it there. There is a curbside area at the entrance for 10-minute parking for registration and then you drive across the street into the gated parking lot. My clerk, Jackie, was friendly and helpful at check-in and gave us a lovely room on the 7th floor. The room consisted of a desk, an L-Shaped sectional, coffee table, chest of drawers, TV, Queen size bed (I asked for a King, but she said they had none in the hotel,) a nicely equipped kitchen (cooktop, microwave, full-size refrigerator, and all pots/dishes/etc.) and a little bar with 2 stools. (**Note, there is no oven. I was happy I didn't bring a frozen pizza to bake when I noticed this! Also, there is no table, just the bar.) There is a sink/vanity area separate from the toilet/shower room, which was nice. The room was average and showed very little wear. The room wasn't the cleanest I've stayed in, but was acceptable. Mostly the floor in the kitchen area needed to be mopped (actually I thought it was a marble design, until I spilled some water and wiped it up to find that the floor wasn't the color I thought!)

In terms of furnishings, the best feature was the bed. It was high and had nice, comfy linens. The sofa was less than comfortable. I found the ends to be OK, but the middles were too soft.

The hotel has nice amenties such as free breakfast (which was standard cafeteria-style buffet and pretty bland, but they did have salsa and cheese sauce to spice things up, a really good oatmeal bar with nuts, raisins, and brown sugar, make-your-own waffle station, a yogurt-parfait station, scrambled eggs (too wet for my taste), sausage, pancakes, and potatoes.) They also have free internet access in the room. But, I think the best feature is the free shuttle service. The shuttle actually leaves from the adjoining property (Courtyard by Marriott) but will take you anywhere within a 2 mile radius. I used it to get to and from the convention center and my friends who stayed elsewhere and had to drive were envious.

The shuttle is great since there is really nothing around the hotel. The Performing Arts Center is close, as is the library, and a Domino's Pizza. The shuttle driver told me there will be new "high-end" condos across the street from the hotel soon, as well as a new shopping/entertainment area. From the looks of things, I wouldn't expect many changes until maybe 2008. Be sure to take food for your room, or have the shuttle take you out for meals.

Booked hotel on Priceline for a pre-cruise stay. The hotel is not a luxury hotel by any means, but has lots of extras. Kitchens, fold out couch, beer, wine and food on weekdays and a shuttle. Workers were nice and helpful. Would stay there again.