Point Me to the Miles

Surf & Sun Tampa Style: Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina

Introduction
Pasco to Salt Lake City (SLC)
SLC to Los Angeles (LAX)
LAX, “The Bump,” and Torrance Marriott
LAX to Atlanta
Atlanta to Tampa
Hotel Review: DoubleTree Suites Tampa Bay
Exploring Tampa Part 1: Honeymoon Island
Hotel Review: Tampa Marriott Waterside
Bern’s Steak House Tampa
Exploring Tampa Part 2: Cigar City Brewery and Clearwater Beach
Hotel Review: Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel
Exploring Tampa Part 3: Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center and Ybor City
Tampa to New York (LGA)
New York to Minneapolis (MSP) to Pasco, WA (PSC)

The second night of my stay I decided to stay at the Tampa Marriott Waterside, which is located downtown in the Channelside district, next to the Tampa Times (formerly St. Pete Times ) forum.

Tampa Times Forum

Things were a little hectic when I walked in, considering that a large group had their baggage sitting around.

Lobby

After navigating the maze to check-in, I was recognized as a valued Gold Elite member, and told that I had been given a room on the 25th (of 27) floor with a water view.

Bay View

The room was above other rooms with a balcony, but did not have one itself.  This bugged me a little bit, but at least I didn’t have any chance of a railing obstructing my view.

I went online and checked to see if any suites were available, and found that they were still selling some.  I went back down to the front desk and inquired about being upgraded to a suite.  Without even checking, she flatly told me (with a smile of course) that there weren’t any available.  I quickly replied that their were suites available on their website.  She finally checked, and told me it was on the 4th floor, and thought it had a city view.

I was still a little bit skeptical, but thought for just one night it would better to have a room higher up with a much better view.  And really, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time in my room. anyway.  What would you do?

The room seemed a little small, especially compared to my last hotel room.  Right after entering the room, there was a long closet on the right, and the bathroom to the right.

Bathroom

King Bed

Across from the bed, was the desk area, which made for a pretty good workspace.

Overall, I would rate the hotel as decent.  It was good to be recognized as a Marriott elite, and be automatically given a high-floor room with a decent view.  But they didn’t seem forthright and honest with me, especially about just the possibility of a suite upgrade.  And never did they mention that since the Club Lounge was closed (over the weekend) that I would be able to receive complimentary breakfast in the restaurant.

In the end it worked out fine, since I grabbed something from Starbucks, but they could have at least informed me about this benefit.