This hotel is a little out of the way, but really you don't have to leave if you don't want to. They have a really nice beach on-site and two really nice pools. The staff at this place really shine though. I've never stayed at a place with a better group of people taking care of you. They are extremely friendly and will do whatever it takes to make you happy.

Though we didn't come with children, this hotel is ideal for a family with kids. If you are coming to the Tampa Bay area with kids, I HIGHLY recommend this place.

I stayed a total of five nights in this Holiday Inn and was very pleased. Check in was fast and efficient. I found my room (251) easily on the second floor right above and overlooking the small beach. It was relatively large with a king bed and balcony. There were two easy chairs, a table, desk, fridge, coffee maker, safe, iron and board, etc. The bath was large and super clean. For my needs, the hotel and the room fit the bill nicely. I only used the restaurant for dinner once (good) but had breakfast there each morning. Very satisfactory. The grounds and two pools are very nice and there is a neat bar/lounge on pilings overlooking the water. The only real negative was the beach which the hotel staff apparently did not bother to keep clean. I saw staff carry back the beach chairs and lounges in the evening but ignored the drink and food containers left by the guests. Too bad because the hotel grounds and gardens were kept very clean. Hotel and restaurant staff were friendly and professional.

We booked two hotels for our holiday in Florida as we wanted a week on the coast and a week in Orlando.
The agent was asked to book a reasonably priced location in St Petersburg for the first week, and they came up with the Holiday inn at Marina Cove.
We had our doubts due to the bad reviews it has had in the past.
I can only say that they must have done a lot of work to clean up its act.
The hotel was really nice. Clean rooms, pleasant staff, good food.
When we had a problem with the people in the room next to us, the day manager (Joel) arranged for us to move to one of the nicer town houses on the complex within the hour.
The staff couldn't do enough for us.
Over the road from the hotel is Maximo Park, which is a very nice place to walk to, and spend an afternoon.

Very pleasant and recommended.

Nick and Jasmine
UK

My daughter and I stayed here while she was visiting Eckerd College right down the road.

We checked in on a Saturday in April - Spring Break season - and that night I realized the tub wasn't draining and the tub spigot wasn't working properly, plus it was not clean. The maintenance man was there within 10 minutes of my notifying the front desk and promptly fixed everything with a super attitude; the front desk clerk came within 20 minutes and cleaned the entire tub; the manager called to be sure everything was fixed satisfactorily and I was happy. I have needed repairs in everything from 5 star hotels down, and this was hands down the fastest repair (especially for a Saturday night!) with the best attitude I have ever encountered. VERY impressive!

In fact all the staff we encountered, from the front desk to the waiters and waitresses, to housekeeping and maintenance all had fabulous attitudes and were extremely helpful. Very pleasant change from the "who cares" attitude so prevalent today.

The next big plus was our room - second floor on a little group of rooms that actually sit out sort of into the bay between the Marina and the bay. We looked straight out across the bay - absolutely incredible view!

Our room (315) had a balcony looking over the bay, so the next morning we ordered room service (prompt, polite, and good food - recommend the cinnamon french toast) and ate while watching the birds and fish and boats. Nice.

Beds were comfortable, wireless internet good but a little variable once or twice. Towels just basic thin hotel towels.

Bathroom smallish but adequate.

The property is an older property, with no elevators to our area, and none that I saw to the other two areas. The other two areas had exterior corridors, ours had interior corridors with skylights, but you have to go outside to get from the main hotel to ours.

Part of the main hotel looks out on the bay and the pools; part seemed to just look onto parking lot with no view. Be sure to request a view if it matters to you.

The property has a man made small but adequate beach with palm huts and lounge chairs; a smaller heated pool with jacuzzi and a larger unheated pool with water features; a playground; a main restaurant and bar that had a definite odor (we gave it a miss - have asthma) and an outdoor tiki hut sort of restaurant bar on stilts (with elevator) by the bay. We ate there twice - very satisfactory and very casual. Weather permitting you can eat on the balcony that completely surrounds the bar, or if it is too cool they close the sliding doors and you can eat inside at the bar.

They have bikes and pedal surreys for rent, and they are almost adjacent to a really nice park with bike trails, frisbee golf, playground, boat ramp, fishing areas and beach.

The hotel is about 5-10 minutes from the beach, depending on traffic. We went to Fort DeSoto park, which was great. There is a 50 cent toll to get out towards St. Pete beach, then another 35 cent toll to get into the park. Be sure to carry change.

Sound proofing in our room was pretty good (nothing anyone can do about folks yelling in the hall <vbg>) and even given Spring Break and a wedding it never got really noisy.

The property felt very safe and secure, and was very clean. Beds were comfortable, and they have a "pillow menu" where you can order exactly what sort of pillow you want, including a special shaped pillow to hold your head and neck in position. Nice.

I would highly recommend this property to anyone looking for a mid-price resort/hotel experience, willing to do stairs and not minding an older facility. Do ask about specials - I got a much lower price calling than I found on the internet.