3 night weekend stay hotel was full but was able to get a desirable corner room with a balcony. If you look at fire escape photo, the horseshoe shaped room is 25% larger over regular room, I asked for mini fridge and received it at no charge. King room was comfortable new furnishings and everything was spotless. Housekeeping was great, room was done before I returned at lunchtime every day. I could hear planes taking off every morning (maybe sliding doors on balcony not as soundproofed?). WSJ was left at my front door the next morning according to my Marriott guest profile. Main motivation for staying here was the huge patio by the pool and plenty of chaise lounge chairs. Tons of free parking, and always felt safe around hotel, staff is extremely friendly and courteous. I booked a buy 2 nights get one free on the Marriott website, so rate was really competitive. I will stay here again in the future.

This is a hotel in close proximity to the airport and for that, it served its purpose. Unfortunately this is the decades old format of a Marriott hotel, perhaps I know too well. I was treated most kindly by the staff and appreciate the place. I would look elsewhere next time for something fresh in the vicinity

This is the poorest review I have written for a full service Marriott. It saddens me, as a loyal Marriott road warrior, to need to make some of the following statements. My rating of Average is a product of the good and the bad, but the bad is enough that I recommend avoiding this property. Unless you have a compelling reason for this specific property, the alternative Marriott properties in Tampa will be better suited for visitors to the area.

Initial approach
The property was easy to find, parking is free and spots available near the front. I was able to park less than 50 feet from the main entrance. The neighborhood is sketchy, I would not leave anything in the car including spare change - hotels with lower standards in better neighborhoods have either greeter at the entrance for gated parking for guests. There might be secure parking behind the property, I did not check - the rental car didn't have anything of value and I was close enough to the building to easily carry my bag.

Check In
There was one clerk at the Check in, a designated rewards check in lane is available but unnecessary based on the lack of check in volume. Check in was quick, polite, and I was pleasantly surprised by the rare acknowledgement of my Marriott Reward level - I am consistently acknowledged as Platinum, but the clerk acknowledged Platinum Premier (the fourth tier I oddly have at the moment). With 40 check ins 2011, the Premier was always omitted, this was the first time it was acknowledged since I received the card with the extra word.

I received an upgrade to a corner room with balcony (more on this later) - but on a low floor (5 of 14), I regret not asking for the floor over the square footage.

The key card machine was being repaired by the hotel engineer so I could not receive a key immediately, I was escorted by the lobby attendant to my room. Within 5 minutes, the engineer arrived at the room with the proper key.

So far I have good impression, the way the key issue was handled was excellent.


Room

The room was slightly larger based on its location at the end of the hall, it's awkwardly shaped. Other than the balcony there is nothing special about the room, though I'd argue the balcony is not desirable. I have a view of a building, some loud air handling equipment, and some of the neighboring properties that made me collect the spare change from the cup holder in the car when parking. The cabled Internet connection did not work, but the wifi signal was strong and service fast. I did have to select form a list of more than a dozen wireless networks, I chose the easy one "Hotel Guest". Based on the signal strength, I think the rest were in the building. Power was available at the desk, and unplugging the coffee maker located at the desk I could also charge my cell phone. Bathroom was clean and contained full amenities (more than just soap and conditioner, receiving the mouthwash, lotion, and the cotton amenities).

At 5am I also learned that my balcony was over the hotel dumpster, I was awoken to the garbage pickup which I believe was louder based on my location on the 5th floor. I desired a higher floor for the view (or lack thereof at my location), but the noise was the clincher.


Concierge Lounge (evening)

On the trek to the concierge lounge on the 14th floor I found the elevators are a tad slow on landing (while fast, they take a while to decide to open). Fortunately it's just old elevators, not malfunctioning as I was not trapped. The lounge was nearly empty, and the friendly attendant was happy to chat with all guests. The food was not appealing (evening snack was hardly identifiable), but free soft drinks were cold and plentiful. TV's were on but not loud. The attendant said she has 60 people in the room earlier in the week, there may have been seating for 30. I asked for food recommendations, and while given a few names, a list of restaurants and directions that I desired was not provided.


Lobby restaurant (Blue)
The restaurant has a sign on the street, a fancy name, and appears to have been recently remodeled. Unfortunately the restaurant is sub par on almost every other aspect. The hostess station was abandoned, I sat myself intentionally within view of the bartender so that I might be served. I found power outlets near tables, and Wi-Fi was strong. I waited for about five minutes to be acknowledged and offered a menu, I had to interrupt to order a drink. There are no drinks on tap (the first full service Marriott I've seen with this omission), and bottles cost more than larger drafts of the same at other properties. The menu had little that appealed to me and was overpriced. I ordered a poorly prepared $30 steak. The salad was fancy but not appetizing, the meat was prepared to my temperature but was of poor quality and cut. Surprising the mashed potatoes was very tasty. There is a Ruth Chris across the street - it would have cost less and been better food. By the time I was eating I realized there were over 20 people in the bar area, an empty restaurant area, two children sitting at the bar (probably illegal), and one person working. The manager came by to bus a table at one point, but otherwise made no other appearance.


Concierge Lounge (morning)
My standard of all breakfasts are the eggs. There was something that looked like they could be scrambled eggs, a over filled platter, but the smell and taste betray the identification card. They were sprinkled with chives, which indicated they had not been turned - and the previous guests did the same as I, dug a hole into the side of the mound to seek softer, moister scrambled eggs. There were none by 7:30am - it was dry. I'd suggest smaller portions and rotating trays out, rather than providing an egg loaf-mound as appeared. Cereal was available and the milk was not expired (depressingly, milk that is not expired is something I have learned to look for). No sausage or bacon was presented, very low attendance in the lounge for breakfast. Had I stayed more than one night, I would have skipped subsequent breakfasts based on the food quality.


Departure

Checking out was quick; a trainee was being coached and did everything perfectly. When asked if everything was okay with my stay I did mention that they could reschedule the garbage collection so that it didn’t awaken the first five floors of the hotel at 5am, the apathy was almost insulting – a sigh with a insincere notion that they felt regret for my lack of sleep solidified my impression. If two employees are not concerned that I was not satisfied with my sleep at a hotel, they have no business working in a hotel. I did not want a discount or any sort of financial consideration. What would have been the proper response would be to make a note and let me know that the property manager would be alerted to see what they could do about rescheduling the trash collection. Even if that never was accomplished, I would have felt like at least the one complaint I voiced of the dozen I have for my ten hours in their building meant something, the rest of my issues would have seemed less important.



An odd note - Elevator 1 does not have a proper license. The certificate indicates it's a 3 level hydrolic elevator, the other two elevators have appropriate 13

I was traveling with a small group and we stayed here 1 night. When we arrived in Tampa, we had to make no less than 9 calls and wait almost an hour for a ride to the hotel that is only 7-9 minutes away. We thought this might be an isolated incident, until we arrived at the front desk to check in. There were 2 more customers that had been left at a local hotel and had to wait for over an hour after they had called to request a shuttle ride back to the hotel. The lady said she was told by front desk staff that the shuttle is a courtesy to their customers and that if she didn't like the wait then she could call a cab. The kicker was that the lady was handicapped! So, based on this couples experience, as well as my groups experience, the hotel shuttle can in no way be trusted for any type of transportation.

On the other hand, their rooms, while surprisingly small, are very comfortable. I had a king size bed and it was a wonderful nights sleep. The door to the bathroom knocked against the front of the toilet when you closed it, so when I say the rooms are small, they are really small.

Also, they hotel still charges $12.95 for their internet.