Tampa Hotels

crislen

Hi everyone!  I'm usually just a lurker here but I need some help.

I'm having a cruise wedding which leaves out of Tampa in May 2011.

My fiance and I are trying to find a hotel to stay at for a few nights prior to leaving on Sunday (the rest of the guests will most likely stay one night and arrive in Tampa on Saturday morning)

We've narrowed it down to 2:

One is the Hyatt Regency Tampa.
http://tamparegency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

which my fiance's cousin can get a family rate for $89 a night (for his side of the family) which leaves our friends and my side of the family with a group rate of $120 a night.  We also wouldn't necessarily have a block of rooms together.

The other is the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1021
which we can get a group rate of $79 for everyone.

Which one??  I love the location of the Hyatt, but the Sheraton has a free shuttle within 3 miles of the hotel, but I don't know about the location.

We also need a room large enough (either a meeting space or pony up the money for a suite) to host a chinese wedding tea ceremony on Sunday morning so we are hoping all guests will stay together.

Any advice??  I'm really torn as most of our guests want a hotel for under $100 a night. 

Thank you so much!

lisanunez73

If you're doing a cruise why not consider staying closer to Channelside. The Hilton Garden in Ybor is pretty good and the Hampton Inn (although some might be shady this one is pretty new and inexpensive). The Sheraton is kinda old, but the Hyatt is very nice and much closer to Channelside then the Sheraton.

jtritch

The Hyatt is very nice- and in the downtown core, which is way closer to the Channelside port.  You may want to verify with the Sheraton that the shuttle from the hotel to the port would be within that 3 mile radius. 

Have you tried to go through the Hyatt directly to see what kind of group rate you can get, especially if you are needing a meeting room for the tea ceremony?

There are also some other very nice hotels in the downtown area- Sheraton Riverwalk, Marriott Waterside, Embassy Suites, Courtyard etc. 

Good luck!