We stayed here from 19-23 Feb. The hotel is clean, the included breakfast was goos as usual for a Holiday Inn Express, it overlooked the pool area, which in turn overlooked the bay. We sat outside having breakfast one morning & it was very nice.

The rooms are good, our room had a fridge & microwave, our 2 chidren had the room next door, thanks to the staff following my request at booking.

Good location for the 2 nearby shopping malls & good links to St Petersburg & Tampa.

2 night visit before a cruise out of Tampa on Royal Caribbean.....we arrived early and were able to check in right away. We requested a water view and received it. Hotel was clean and had a Bahama Breeze restaurant right next door. We actually ate their twice - food and service was excellent. Pool was nice and overlooked the water - one drawback was that there were many leaves in the pool - it did not appear that they skimmed the pool very often as the next day the leaves were still there. On our last day we did see a pool guy checking the water and cleaning out the leaves - seems like it should be done at least once a day.

The website advertises free shuttle for 3 miles - but they only shuttle you to nearby restaurants on the island - very misleading. Cab fare to take you to any outlying restaurants and shopping are steep - so be aware! Overall a good visit, but you are somewhat limited to activities unless you have a car or willing to pay for taxis. There is a small market at the Chase Suites - it is walkable but expect to pay higher than normal prices for your drinks and incidentals.

Good complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport, and you can purchase a cruise package if you need shuttles to and from the port of Tampa.

Despite having record low temperatures in Tampa during our visit, we found this to be a warm and welcoming hotel. In fact, during our stay the heater in our room stopped working and Maintenance came by to replace it within minutes.

The pros were the friendliness of the staff, the quick access to the highways, the beaches and downtown Tampa, and proximity to the airport. The cons were that nothing is walking distance except one restaurant and a small convenience store. There was a nice complimentary breakfast.

The only dings we would give the hotel were that the vending machines were empty for days, and the front desk should have been staffed with more than one person when the hotel was full. Otherwise it was quiet and comfortable with a nice view of the Bay.

We arrived later than expected at Tampa airport but were soon on our way in the shuttle sent by the hotel. Christmas cookies and smiles at Reception, and a nice double room. The nearest restaurant/bar, the Bahama Breeze, was only a few yards away, adjacent to the hotel. A great atmosphere and such speedy waitresses! Comfortable night and a reasonable buffet breakfast. If it had not been so foggy, we would have sat outside, even though it was December, and watched the pelicans. Shuttle took us back to the airport to pick up our rental car - no hitches anywhere.