We stayed at this hotel over the weekend of 6/19-6/22/14.
My husband and I wanted a mini weekend getaway to the city of Tampa. We booked this room on Priceline. The Westin advertises their "Heavenly bed" and a relaxing, restful weekend, and that was our intention.
When we checked in, Mike N. helped us at the front desk, and informed us that we would not be charged for parking or internet service. We also received two free drink coupons. We were quite pleased with this, as it seems to be what they do for all of their guests. Nice little perk!
The lobby was lovely and comfy, recently updated. The hallways leading up to our room were definitely older and looked dirty. The hotel room (924) was perfectly fine. Clean, comfy, with a nice view of the harbor. The bathroom wasn't very exciting, but it was clean and suited our needs.
I'm currently pregnant, and therefore, exhausted much of the time. I fell asleep a little earlier than normal on the comfy "Heavenly bed". I woke up after about an hour (Around 10:30-11pm) to ruckus going on outside in the hallway, and a small dog barking in the next room. I tend to understand that when I'm staying in a hotel I may hear the occasional voice or door in the hallway and that doesn't bother me. However, this noise was excessive. There were people going in and out of...We stayed at this hotel over the weekend of 6/19-6/22/14.
My husband and I wanted a mini weekend getaway to the city of Tampa. We booked this room on Priceline. The Westin advertises their "Heavenly bed" and a relaxing, restful weekend, and that was our intention.
When we checked in, Mike N. helped us at the front desk, and informed us that we would not be charged for parking or internet service. We also received two free drink coupons. We were quite pleased with this, as it seems to be what they do for all of their guests. Nice little perk!
The lobby was lovely and comfy, recently updated. The hallways leading up to our room were definitely older and looked dirty. The hotel room (924) was perfectly fine. Clean, comfy, with a nice view of the harbor. The bathroom wasn't very exciting, but it was clean and suited our needs.
I'm currently pregnant, and therefore, exhausted much of the time. I fell asleep a little earlier than normal on the comfy "Heavenly bed". I woke up after about an hour (Around 10:30-11pm) to ruckus going on outside in the hallway, and a small dog barking in the next room. I tend to understand that when I'm staying in a hotel I may hear the occasional voice or door in the hallway and that doesn't bother me. However, this noise was excessive. There were people going in and out of their rooms every minute or so, running back and forth. People were shouting at each other down the halls.
My husband called the front desk and asked them to come and check on it, and they said they'd send security up. They came, but the noise didn't subside. It was just as loud and the people were being just as obnoxious as before we called. So my husband called again. And again. There was a woman walking up and down the halls singing to herself.
The security guard, Keith, was condescending to my husband the third time that he called. He said, "Sir, have you ever stayed in a hotel on the weekend?" He conveyed that this was the status quo. It's the weekend and people party it up. It was very rude. We stay in hotels on the weekends quite often, actually, and this was the worst I've ever dealt with. Although this hotel is near the Tampa Bay Times Forum and the Tampa Bay Convention Center, there were no events going on this weekend at either locale. There weren't even any weddings or large parties going on in the hotel during this time. And this is downtown, not the Ybor party district. I don't think we should be expected to just "deal with" obnoxious hotel guests.
My husband spoke with the night manager, Claudio, who agreed to move us to another floor. We were moved up to the 12th floor a little after midnight. Unfortunately, we packed up so quickly that we left our car keys in the room and it took a couple of days to get them back. An inconvenience that ended up costing us a couple of cab rides, but I guess we can't blame the hotel on that. Claudio did end up giving us complimentary breakfasts over the ordeal, which was much appreciated.
The 12th floor was much more quiet. There was a bit of rot on the exterior sliding glass doors, but other than that the room was clean and comfortable. We still had a nice view of the harbor.
The pool was clean and decent, except for the hotel guest who brought her dog into the pool, and was not stopped by hotel staff. Someone was smoking, despite the many "No Smoking" signs hung up around the pool. This person was also not stopped by staff. I was not thrilled with that. The pool itself was a bit small. It was fine for a slow day, but I think it would be way overcrowded during a busier weekend.
We ate breakfast on Sunday in the 725 restaurant. I like healthy food and I was happy with their selection of "superfoods" on the menu. I ordered the granola pancake and it was delicious. My husband ordered the breakfast buffet. For the price, he felt it to be a little lacking in options, but decent.
When we went to get our free drinks at the bar, I wanted a virgin drink because I'm pregnant. They had my husband's favorite beer, but no blender for a nice virgin pina colada or daiquiri. So I opted for a virgin bloody Mary. At first the bartender said that they couldn't do that because they were also out of mix, but then he found some tomato juice and was able to make me a yummy, slightly spicy virgin bloody Mary which I liked better than a mix anyway. I was just surprised at the lack of selection, especially on such a slow weekend. The bartender, Tony, was very friendly and outgoing, and we liked him a lot.
Overall I'd probably choose a different hotel if I took a trip to Tampa again, just because I was turned off by the attitude of the security guard that a loud, obnoxious atmosphere was the "status quo" for that hotel, and the little updates that need to be done around the hotel. If the price was super cheap and I needed a place that was really close to the Tampa Bay Times Forum and Convention Center, I'd probably be swayed to stay here again, as the rest of the staff was very friendly and customer-oriented.More
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