We purchased the cruise package. Our group of 5 arrived at the airport and contacted the hotel for the pick-up shuttle, which arrived a short time later. We were taken to the hotel. In our room there were only 2 beds made up. The 5th person would sleep on the sofa bed that we had to go get sheets for and make up ourselves. Complimentary breakfast was adequate. We then used the free shuttle to the cruise port which was great. Upon completion of the cruise, we called the hotel and they sent the free shuttle to pick us up and transport us direct to the airport. 2 thumbs up for the shuttle service which was included in the price of the hotel room.

This hotel has to be the worst stay that I have had in a while. We didn't realize until late at night that only two towels were in the room. We had to go down to the front desk to get more. We had two rooms and both were the same. The next morning people were coming down the elevator going to the front desk to get towels. I spoke with the manager of housekeeping in the hallway and was told that was management's policy. The beds were old and uncomfortable. The view of the waterway was beautiful, but the rest of the stay was poor. Also, we had to wait for our rooms to become available and were not ready until after 3:30pm. We had arrived back from our cruise.

I stayed at this hotel for 2 nights on business. It was the only hotel available in a 2 mile radius, the others were sold out. The check-in was long as they only had one person behind the desk. The hotel room was dark and dreary, bathroom was tiny and very basic, there was a kitchenette but it was so small it served no purpose. The "fitness center" was a small room with no air conditioning (room was about 80 degress) and had NO WORKING EQUIPMENT (treadmills were both broken, there was a stairmaster that was rusted and old). The breakfast had only high fat content foods like pastries and bacon. There was only 1 restaurant within walking distance. After the second night I switched to the Intercontinental Tampa (2 miles away, and SO MUCH BETTER - night and day difference - see my review on that separately). The Interncontinental was actually cheaper than this Holiday Inn. A word to the folks running the Holiday Inn Express, please improve your hotel, just because you are a "cheaper" hotel doesn't mean business travelers expect such dreary accommodations.

Nice hotel for short stays or overnight near the airport. Gives visitors a chance to see Tampa Bay up close along with some Florida bird life. Has a very good Park,Stay,Fly program that allows 2 weeks of free parking with a stay coming or going on your trip with shuttle to airport. Lot better location than the "industrial zone" off Syracuse St. The included breakfast was enough to start the day with. Restaurants nearby include Bahama Breeze (walking distance), Oyster Catchers, Rusty Pelican, etc all with water views. Plan to stay again in January.