The Positives:
Large room with a comforable bed. Several amenities within walking distance including such essentials as a supermarket (Publix), a liquor store, restaurants, an entertainment/shopping mall, and Tampa Bay. The lobby area is very attractive with a series of small well-designed, cozy seating areas where one can meet friends and have a conversation. The meeting space is also attractive, as is the in-house restaurant. Of special note is the friendliness, and helpfulness of the staff.
The Negatives:
We encountered several problems most of which suggested that there are areas of the property that need up-dating and perhaps modernizing. For example, when we first tried to enter the room we had difficulty. The room locks are different from any I have encountered in the States. They do work with a credit-card type key, but instead of inserting the key horizontally and then removing, one has to swipe the card vertically much like card readers at supermarkets. It took about 6 or 7 swipes to get it to work and that tended to be a problem during our entire stay. Then our TV (admittedly a large screen LCD) quit. We called the front desk but managed to discover before assistance arrived that the power cord at the TV end was not fully inserted. Not a big deal, but the next problem was. We could not get the commode to flush fully. This time our call got someone to the room very quickly. After trying a few things like adjusting the water flow, he told us that we simply needed to hold the flush handle down for about 20 or 30 seconds and all would be fine. That solution did work about two times out of three. So we spent a bit more time flushing than we had anticipated. (The workman did say they hotel was in the process of replacing the commodes with a more modern, compression version, but that was in process and not complete). And, while we are on the subject of the bathroom, it turns out that the door was out a plumb. One could force it closed, but only at the expense of a loud bang which was repeated when one opened the door. Again, no problem generally, except if one needed to use the facilities during the middle of the night and wished not to awaken one’s spouse. And there were other signs of aging. The desk was clearly old and needed replacing or refinishing so badly that the varnish was totally worn off the front ledge. That is, totally except in one corner where a sufficient amount remained to stain my shirt cuff. The desk chair, by the way, though adjustable, was not sufficiently adjustable to reach the appropriate desk height. It was also rather shabby. So, I went to get some ice to make myself a “relaxer” only to discover a sign on the ice machine that it was out of order and suggested I try one on another floor. The room could also use more easily accessible electrical receptacles. The desk lamp does have two, but with a laptop, two cell phones, a digital camera, an IPod and an IPad to charge, we were playing musical power cords. This is the digital age, after all. The view from the room was nice, but marred by dirty exterior class.
I really don’t wish to imply a totally negative experience. To the contrary, we enjoyed our stay and would return should we find ourselves again in St. Pete. But Hilton’s usually don’t have such a plethora of minor irritations. They are minor. Once fixed, this would be a fabulous property.

I stayed three nights whilst travelling on business in St Petersburg. This hotel is really well located for the city center with about a 5 min walk to the main street.

Check-in was straight forward and I was given a room on the 9th floor with views of the bay and the baseball field. The room was a good size with a desk area, separate chair with footstool, large kingsize bed, multiple phones, large LCD TV with some cable channels, a Lavazza coffee machine with lavazza coffee and Tazo teas. There was a large wardrobe with hangers, iron, ironing board and safe located in a dressing area. There was a fully functioning hairdryer available in the bathroom.

Wireless was available free for those with Silver Hilton membership (I was inadvertently checked in under this class and was given the free access codes). Those with membership were also invited to cocktail hour and breakfast up on the 11th floor, although I did not get to sample this benefit.

The hotel was well laid out with restaurant, meeting rooms, outdoor pool and gym. I didn't try any of these first hand although others did recommend. There is a Starbucks at the back of the lobby that operates from 6am to 5pm and can be a cheaper alternative for breakfast for those on a budget. The nearest Starbucks of an evening is approx 5 blocks away.

There is a large grocery store along with a Chinese take away and an Italian restaurant across the street. More restaurants are available along the Bay which is 15 - 20 mins walk. Taxi's cannot be easily hailed from the street, although terrain is flat so a walk is enjoyable.

I did order room service for dinner and breakfast. Choice was good and food was delivered within 30 mins from ordering. I had balsamic chicken risotto which came with complementary Focaccia and water. It was very enjoyable. One morning, the room service orders for breakfast were misplaced and food was not delivered on time. The hotel did quickly rectify the issue and no charge was made due to the inconvenience. This happened for all hotel guests that morning, so appears not to be a localized issue but was likely a one-off.

There is no mini bar within the room itself, however a snack machine along with ice is located at the end of end floor. There is also a grab bar which is located in the lobby and is stocked with ice-creams / soda / chips / snacks etc.

The bed was extremely comfortable and afforded a great nights sleep.

The only drawback was that the room could have benefited from a thorough hoovering - the edges of the carpet were dusty all around the room.

The Hilton in St. Petersburg is a comfortable and well located hotel that gives great access to lot's of restaurants and things to do. The rooms are quite comfortable, and if you are Hilton Honors internet is free. I was pleased that the baths all had "grab bars" for getting in and out (important for slightly older folk). I did find that there is not enough counter space in the bathroom, and no place to hang a hand towel between uses. The bed was very comfortable and there is a good sized desk area, although the chair is a bit low and cannot be raised enough to be really comfortable.

The hotel has a nice restaurant for breakfast and lunch, a really nice pool area, and a Starbucks. This is definitely a hotel to use again.

The towel rack at the end of the bath tub had fallen off the wall on my first use of the shower. Two reports to the front desk latter, the rack was still not fixed. I had to use a small Swiss Army Knife to put it back on the wall.

Additionally, I returned to the hotel the evening before my early morning departure to find my room unsecured, huge fans running in the hall way and cords everywhere. No attempt had been made to contact me that the hotel had had a water issue and rooms on several floors were flooded. The front desk had new room keys for me with a free pass to their "Hilton Honors area. By the time I got moved to my new room which was old and had a lamp that looked like they had pulled it out of the dumpster. I took my pass and went to get the free drink the clerk had promised only to find that their "Happy Hour" had ended 30 minutes before and he had removed everything. The free breakfast didn't happen as I was scheduled to head out at 0500 and it didn't start until 0630. I can understand the burst pipe or a leak, stuff happens. But not being informed nor leaving my room (or the five others that were open as well) with all my luggage, laptop etc, unsecured.

I will give the restaurant and more specifically "Maxine" high marks for a nice meal and great service.