Hyatt Regency Tampa

For the high price you'll pay, you'll get very little value. There's no shuttle for instance, so you've got to pay to go anywhere (especially since there's very little downtown). And the room will need serious updating. And the front desk staff won't be particularly helpful. Also, the online reservation system is tricky -- it will look like you've made your reservation, but be sure to click the 'finalize' button or you'll get to find out first hand how little help the front desk will give you. I was there for a big conference, and the hotel was always late in setting up the rooms and delaying the meals. The food was good, but when you're hungry you don't want to stand in front of a closed door wondering what's going on. Tampa downtown isn't good for a conference, and this hotel doesn't help things.

Let me begin by saying that I read the other reviews on this site before my stay, and I had such a great experience that I had to come back and share it on this website. I was attending a large conference at the Convention Center, and booked my stay at the Hyatt Regency Tampa. It was walking distance from the convention center, and moments away from many different restaurants, from Subway to fine dining, which was helpful for my smaller budget. The front desk agent was so welcoming, making check in quick and easy, and the room was great! I loved the flat screen TV and the IPOD alarm clock. I did eat one meal at their restaurant, and the server was so knowledgable and helpful. The hotel was full from all of the other attendees, but I didn't experience any elevator issues or poor service. I would absolutely return to this hotel and recommend this hotel to my friends and co-workers.

I would like to share my recent experience at the Hyatt Regency Tampa.

I was so amazed the change they made at this hotel.

I have been a business traveler and used to stay at this hotel.

In early 2007, I had a few bad experiences and I have decided to change my accommodation in Tampa.

I stayed at the Hyatt last week as no other hotels were available and WOW!!! everything was so different! This is what I expect from Hyatt. Guestroom was brand new, front desk agents were so nice and quick, and I enjoyed the LIVE music with 2 for 1 drink at the bar.

Due to proximity to my office and airport, the Hyatt Regency Tampa is once again my choice of accommodation in Tampa.

After booking this hotel on Priceline then reading the TripAdvisor reviews I was not expecting to be so pleased.

The hotel was a convenient 3 block walk to the Tampa convention center and the Forum & there are several great places to eat nearby. I usually look for food outside of a hotel and did not eat in their restaurants.

The room was spacious & nicely appointed and the pillow top bed was great. The staff was very gracious and ready to help. There is an $18 per day parking fee since it is in a busy downtown area & parking is at a premium.

I can see how it could be noisy with convention-eers as the doors do not seem to have any sound proofing. Happily, I only had a few exuberant children passing by.

Everything.

Was.

Perfect.

A hotel this perfect only comes from great management hiring great people. It's a business hotel--not much for kids to do or watch (6 news channels, 4 sports channels, etc.) The bar closes too early, and there are few drinking and dining options in walking distance, but man, this place really does do everything right.

One thing in particular that I noticed was that it would be an ideal hotel for someone traveling alone who was concerned about security. The valet and bell staff seem to be on duty 24 hours a day, no one gets in without a greeting from them first. No dark hallways, no unguarded entrances...

I love ths hotel! The staff are some of the best I have ever met, and I have stayed at alot of hotels around the world.

The room was totally renovated and the bed was amazing!! There were no stains or old carpets in the hallways. I almost changed my reservation based on the reviews I read, but I am truly glad I did not. It was excellent as well for getting around ..I walked to the St.Pete Times forum for the hockey game and that was only about 10 minutes from the hotel.There is a great bagel shop for breakfast and good coffee up the road for those on a budget(about a 3 minute walk). Beer and wine could be purchased within a 3 minute walk as well at the drugstore.

If you have any doubts about staying here...put them to rest unless you are the type of person who is bored and stays in all the time trying to find things wrong with room.

This hotel will soon be getting back it's 4* rating.

I wanted to stay at the Marriott, but since they have gone 100% non-smoking, they have lost a customer. After being lied to by the Holiday Inn Express on Rocky Point about a guaranteed bay view room, I called the Hyatt downtown because we were attending The Police concert and wanted a hotel we could walk to afterwards and not have to fight the traffic. I sure am glad that I did! Although it is dated and especially needs new carpet, I have no complaints. EVERYONE was very friendly, helpful and attentive. The room and bathroom were clean. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. The air conditioner worked fine. I would much rather stay in a place like this where customer service is paramount, than to stay in a beautifully aesthetic hotel run by snobs who just want the money and don't offer the service.

I absolutely loved this hotel. The service is top notched and they answer to your beckon call!!! It reminds me so much of a hotel in New York, as the front entrance sits pretty much on the main street, it's wonderful. The room was spacious and the bed, although high off of the ground was very comfy. You must order the chocolate raspberry cheesecake from room service, it is to die for!!!

After "winning" my stay at Priceline for a more than fair price ($70/night) I came upon these reviews and was ready to rebook my visit to tampa with another hotel...I am glad I didn't...

My husband, toddler, and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Tampa for 2 nights/3days recently, while I was to have outpatient surgery at Tampa General...Everything from the moment we arrived was beyond expectation... The valet and bell hop were courteous and efficient. I'd called earlier to request a fridge for the room and had a friendly conversation with a lady in customer service, somewhere I mentioned I was traveling with a toddler, but did not request an extra bed as we have a great aerobed he is used to sleeping on when visiting anywhere... When we got to the room our fridge was waiting, as well as a very comfortable portable bed for my little guy. We ate dinner that evening at the hotel rest. (avanzare? can't get the name right...sorry) and it was beyond expectations for hotel fare....The menu was beautiful-with choices (and prices) I'd expect from a very upscale place. Service was good. The food-fresh, delicious-everything the menu suggested. Our stay continued after my surgery- minor neck surgery-not terribly noticable- but the staff was so kind in asking how I was feeling and making me aware of their selection of ice creams and sorbets, even offering to check in on me before room service closed for the evening to see if I needed one last "dose" to sooth my sore throat! As someone with a history in customer service I tend to be very picky and somewhat demanding as a consumer, and I truly was thrilled with the high level of diligence, kindness, customer service, and professionalism we experienced....Although we got a great deal through priceline- Hyatt Regency -Tampa is a place I wouldn't mind paying full price for....

Oh- and while the views may not be great (we were on the 8th floor, and the hotel is in a city so views of buildings abound...although we did have a view of the pool area), the guestroom we had was ample in size, in good condition, and very clean and well appointed. They do have brochures about Hyatt's new mattresses and linens in the rooms however the room we had did not have those amenities -but I do not know about the rest of the rooms at this location or when they will be updated. The linens were typical white cotton hotel linens, the mattresses were xtra firm, and the bed cover/quilt was typical unattractive polyester fare...nothing unusual here....but after reading the little brochure about the new beds and down comforters I was a little bummed....still doesn't change my opinion though...

This hotel has a terrific location and is within minutes of many of the area's hot spots and attractions. I stayed at the hotel with my boyfriend for a weekend getaway. We went to Channelside, which was only minutes away and Busch Gardens was only 15 minutes. We went to Hyde Park one night for dinner at Bern's and that was only 5-10 minutes. The hotel is all about great location and if you're looking to be close to shopping, dining, and attractions this is a great place to set up shop.

Also, the room and room service were great, helpful and friendly staff overall. When we were there some sort of convention was also going on and there were lots of people however it didn't affect our experience our stay at all.

One thing I would note about the hotel is that on their website they list options for parking as so:

"Indoor Valet Parking

Cost: $18.00 per day – Available 24 hours a day including in / out privileges

Self-Parking

Cost: $10.00 per day - This does not include in / out privileges and is based upon availability

Should you require it, Fort Brooke Parking Garage - which is operated by the city of Tampa - is conveniently situated adjacent to our downtown luxury hotel. Hourly rates apply."

From the above it sounds like you have 3 options, valet, self-park and the Fort Brooke Garage, when really it's only valet and the Fort Brooke which is around the corner off of Whiting Street. When we pulled up to Valet, the first guy wasn't clear and the second valet guy who came up was like we don't have self-parking. My question is why would it be listed on the site that way as it's really misleading to visitors. He also didn't tell us about Fort Brooke, but fortunately I saw the garage when we were circling around the hotel to find this so called "self park" garage. I realized then that they were basically trying to get us to valet because he didn't mention Ft. Brooke so I said to him, "So the only garage you have around here is Ft. Brooke around the corner," and then he said "Oh, yeah, that's it." We parked in the Ft. Brooke garage and spent a third of what we would've for valet, $18 plus tip is a little ridiculous considering most hotels include the base amount of valet. It's worth it to self park at the Ft. Brooke garage. The max we paid was $9.50 not $10, but it is hourly so if you park for a few hours when you get in and decide to leave for dinner you pay the maybe 1 hour it took you to check in and then leave the hotel. Well worth it, trust me! Don't be fooled by the valet. This garage is a much better option if you're looking for an alternate option.

That's the only issue I had and when I came on looking for reviews before I took my trip there wasn't much info from reviewers about parking so just sharing what I know to save you the time and trouble because no one wants to get hustled and start off their stay bitter. After the parking confusion, all else was wonderful!

My experience at the Hyatt Regency Tampa was very good and much better than many of the other post I've seen here. I can only assume that some major renovations have been completed recently at this property.

I didn't see any stains on the carpets of the hallways or any in our room. Actually the rooms were very clean and very modern. Nice large flat screen, nice bathroom. Bed was average. On demand movie was fine, no issues. Very friendly staff.

Complaints - The elevators were still under repair as noted on a sign just outside the elevators on our floor, the 11th. This was a problem on 2 occasions out of 10-12 times we used the elevator. Upon arrival at 9pm on Friday, there was a line of about 15 people waiting for an elevator in the lobby. My 7 month pregnant wife and I took the stairs to the 11th floor after waiting for about 10 minutes. She is a trooper.

Valet parking for $18 a day should be expected in a downtown area, although not enjoyable to pay. However, the car was always waiting for us when we got downstairs and the door man was very nice/knowledgable.

Paid $95 a day on pricleline - stayed 3 nights.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the Hyatt Regency Tampa. We were there for a work convention and had a room with two beds on the 9th floor. Maintenance work on the elevators made it a bit of a wait going to and from our room, but not too bad. We arrived Saturday evening and had dinner in the lounge area. I would recommend their quesadillas to anyone.

The restaurant is a bit expensive, but the dinner we had there was tasty. Breakfast buffet is $12.95 and if you eat a lot in the morning they have a good selection of food for your money. There are no restaurants close by the hotel, but the Channelside shopping area is about a mile away and has a variety of eateries open for lunch and dinner. Next to the Channelside is the Florida Aquarium. Don't miss the penguin show!

The hallway and room decor is a bit dated and some repair maintenance is recommended, but it did not make our stay unenjoyable at all. Housekeeping did not come until late afternoon most days. No free internet here! Seems odd, since even lower priced hotels can offer it for free. $10 a day really adds up. Our room had an alarm clock/radio with a connection to play your Ipod or other MP3 player.

Convention rooms were clean and service was prompt. Food for the opening mixer was good, as were the cookies for an afternoon snack.

Sure, there are drawbacks to this hotel, but if you want to be close to the Convention Center, it is as good as any. If you aren't in Tampa for a convention or on business, why would you stay in the downtown area anyway?

Nice hotel in the downtown area of Tampa. Paid $75 on priceline. Room was clean and well furnished. The staff were great and answered all our questions.

Only downside is that if you want to go to the Aquqrium area or Ybor you will need to ride the trolley or bus..

We stayed here one night after a week on the beach. We were treated well and overall enjoyed our stay. I'll elaborate on the good and bad.

Good - the pool, the valet service (although expensive), the Starbucks, the bed, the pillows

Bad - The air conditioning in our room could not cool the room down; cool air was blowing but it would not get cool. Maybe it was the humidity or just an old system. The location was not very convenient for walking with small children and the trolley was not running because it was a Saturday night.

We ended up driving to Channelside which was a short easy drive, but we would have preferred to have something to do within walking distance. No biggie though.

We would stay here again, but would check the room's AC before getting too settled in.

Yes previous reviews did warn us of the stained hallway carpets that need replacing, however the staff could not be more helpfull and friendly. The consierge Randy (sp) was excellent provinding maps to various locations and on our day leaving to Winter Haven thought he had a discount coupon for Cyprus Gardens. Sure enough he phoned our room and said he had found it and it would be in an envelope waiting for us downstairs. The food in the hotel was above excellent but we never utilized the buffet as it was only available on certain days. Overall a great location and place to stay.

The front desk staff was very helpful, especially when we needed to extend our stay. Breakfast at the hotel's restaurant was great on Friday. Food was good and service was prompt. Breakfast on Saturday could have been better. The food didn't look or taste the way we thought it would based on the menu, and the service was very slow. It would have been nice to be closer to Channelside, but we didn't mind the walk. Overall we enjoyed our five night stay at the Hyatt, but the hotel could use some TLC. The hallway carpets are old and warn, and so are the bathroom floors. We would stay here again.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency for one night while on business in Tampa. The meetings were also held on site. I felt this hotel was above average. Requests for extra bathroom items were filled quickly and courteously. The front desk staff was professional and warm. The bed was extremely comfortable. The food served at the meeting events was inventive and fresh; better than I would expect for a hotel buffet. My only complaints are that I slipped and banged my shin on stepping into the shower as the floor was very slippery, and that the carpets in the hall clearly needed vacuuming.

I would stay again in future.

For the hugely popular Gasparilla Pirate Parade, my friend and I decided to finally splurge and stay in a hotel 2 blocks from the parade route. I had wanted to stay at the Hyatt years before, but the $289/night price was not worth it to me. I found what I thought was a deal for 1/27/07 for $170+12%tx=$192 with AAA discount. Later, I met people at the hotub (very large on the 5th floor rooftop) who stated they easily bought their rooms for $109+tx on Priceline.com. The hotel was nicer than I thought it would be. The bedding/beds/pillows were luxurious--I would kill for a bed and pillow that comfortable and soft!

My only complaints about the entire stay were: some hallway carpeting had stains, our bathroom tile grout lines were darkened in places, and 2 out of 4 elevators were not working during Sunday a.m. checkout (30 minute wait). Parking across the street at the parking garage was twice the price of parking 3 blocks away, also ($20 vs $10/day).

We stayed there over new year's because it was very close to a hotel that some friends were staying in that didn't have availability. Everything was absolutely wonderful! The staff were friendly and helpful and the room was in great condition with a very nice down comforter and feather pillows. The bar was constantly busy with guests, the pool and jacuzzi were inviting and clean, and the fitness room was always in use. It seemed that while the room had been updated, the bathroom had not. The only disappointment was in the showerhead - it definitely had seen better days. Honestly, the hotel is very nice - it was perfect for our trip. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to others traveling to tampa.

We stayed at the hotel for a convention and got the group rate. It's expensive and they seem to want to nickle and dime you to death (ten dollars a day for internet access, thirteen dollars to watch a movie in your room etc) but the room was nice and big and comfortable, and we had a view over the swimming pool from our room (a nice change from all the places we've stayed in where you had a lovely view of the building next door's brick wall!)

My biggest complaint is the elevators - they're very slow and they broke down continually during the weekend. One of them was fixed twice on the first day we were there!

Also, their conference rooms have LOUSY soundproofing.

Stayed one night at the Hyatt in May 2006. Booked for a wonderful price of 70 USD plus tax through Priceline. Shortly after the confirmation from Priceline, I got an email from the Concierge informing me about the hotel etc. I wrote back and asked for bedding type etc. He replied within short and when we arrived, everything was booked for us. No speeches like "Since you booked via priceline, I cannot give you this type of bed, bla, bla, bla". The room was nice - high floor, nice view. The whole apperiance of the hotel was excellent. I also liked the self-service fast check-out machines in the lobby. Concierge was very helpful and Check In was fast. Valet parking also good. Room was good, althought I expected some more toiletries. On the whole, we were very pleased with this stay and of course the price!

Just Stayed at this hotel and had a outstaning experience. I would return here for any stay. other hotels in the area are extremy overpriced and this hotel has a gret price value

Stayed here on business and this property is not what I expect form Hyatt. The food was consistently bad. Wine selection in bar was narrow and below average. It was hot and muggy outside and the air comditioning was loud and never cooled the room down. The only good thing was the comfortable bed.

A typical major chain hotel, it’s business centre location is not best suited for tourists; as you need to travel for: shops, bars, restaurants etc.

Rooms are spacious, my upgraded Executive room had nice touches like an IPod speaker dock (not in all rooms), plasma TV and large safe for laptop storage. Chargeable Wi-Fi worked well throughout the hotel.

Disappointments were the small bathroom (over bath shower) and lack of bath robes. Lifts are currently being renovated, so a very long wait time and the bar area lacks atmosphere due to it’s entrance lobby location.

The unmanned rooftop pool and hot tub is a welcome touch; as is the gym.

In summary: clean, comfortable but boring.

I didn't find anything particularly wrong with this hotel, but there is equally very little that memorable about the hotel itself. It's your average downtown business chain hotel, albeit with excellent staff.

The room is what you expect from this sort of hotel - nine pillows to a bed, but $5 bottles of water. Internet costs $9.95 per day.

Front desk staff were extremely helpful and polite - amending my reservation late on the night of my first booking with no charge after I was stuck in another city. Concierge staff were also excellent.

The location is fine for office meetings, but downtown is dead in the evening - grab a taxi a few miles to Ybor City.

The front desk people and the breakfast was awesome. The beds don't have fitted sheets on them. You sleep in between 2 regular sheets tucked into the mattress. It gets all bunched up. I was on the 17th. You also have to pay for parking and internet.

I stayed here last week for a business function. The hotel is in a great location, near the convention center, hockey arena, and Ybor city, but compared to other Hyatt's that I've visited, this one is in need of serious renovation.

The carpet in the halls was a mess. The room was a mix, nice big comfortable bed, good selection of TV channels, but old carpet and an older bathroom with a clogged shower drain. The bathroom also needed renovation.

On the plus side, staff was friendly, and room service had a good selection, prompt response, and good quality food.

For business travel, this place is fine, but it would be a lot nicer with a facelift.

stayed only one short night. The bed was so comfy.

I wasn't planning on having to pay for parking-an extra $10.

Also no free breakfast-had to pay for it and it was $$$$

It was clean but outdated.

The Hyatt Regency is well positioned in downtown Tampa. It is within walking distance of the convention center, the St. Pete Times Forum and Channelside. The hotel is pleasant but certainly showing signs of age. As has been noted in previous reviews, hallway carpets are stained, elevators break down, bathrooms seem dated and during busy times, the staff seems overwhelmed. My biggest complaint has to do with the quality of housekeeping. During a four day stay, the water glasses in our room were never changed, and the beds were only "smoothed over", never completely made -- the bottom sheets were never adjusted. Certainly one expects more from Hyatt, and while several things did not meet our expectations, our stay was OK, but just OK. There are better choices, the Marriott and Embassy Suites, in downtown Tampa.

So here's the deal. This hotel is basically what you'd expect from a Hyatt - mostly clean, mostly modern, mostly okay. However, it has a few problems that I can no longer deal with. Despite the proximity to my company's local office, I won't be staying here again.

One is that people smoke in the non-smoking rooms and the lack of enforcement has led me to get two horribly smoke smelling non-smoking rooms in my last two stays. I didn't want to go through the trouble of asking for a new room this time, so I'm sitting here with the headache it's given me.

The other is that the hotel is regularly overrun by groups of odd-ball conventioners. This time, it was female bodybuilders and clove-smoking goths. Not much fun if you want a low key place to feel comfortable while on business or family trips.

All in all, I blame the management. Why should I have to worry about junk like this when a simple cheap hotel like La Quinta is comfortable and predictable?

The room itself was fine, clean, comfortable bed, clean towels, air worked, etc. (we were on the 12th floor), however, there were 2 high school conventions that weekend (drama club and chess club), so there were what seemed like thousands of teenagers there. Also, the elevators were under renovation so between the kids packed into them and the renovations on top of that, it was hell trying to get one. We ended up using the service elevators instead.

Other than the kids/elevators, we had a good time. The staff was friendly and they took off $20 because they did not give us breakfast vouchers when we checked in.

I think we would stay again but not until after the elevators are fixed!

This is a clean and acceptable place to stay, but if falls far short of what is expected of a Hyatt. To be fair, it is undergoing a rennovation, but that is no excuse for poor service and lack of maintenance. While not the hotel's fault, it is in an area vitrually devoid of places to eat, other than at lunch. The sole restaurant in the hotel is very upscale and expensive. There is really no reasonably priced alternative for breakfast nearby. You can get a bagel you toast yourself at the Starbucks in the lobby. I would not recommend this hotel at all.

For the high price you'll pay, you'll get very little value. There's no shuttle for instance, so you've got to pay to go anywhere (especially since there's very little downtown). And the room will need serious updating. And the front desk staff won't be particularly helpful. Also, the online reservation system is tricky -- it will look like you've made your reservation, but be sure to click the 'finalize' button or you'll get to find out first hand how little help the front desk will give you. I was there for a big conference, and the hotel was always late in setting up the rooms and delaying the meals. The food was good, but when you're hungry you don't want to stand in front of a closed door wondering what's going on. Tampa downtown isn't good for a conference, and this hotel doesn't help things.

We stayed here 8/20 - 8/23, 2007 while we brought our daughter to college. I expected a lot more - the carpets in the hallways are unbelievably stained. The room was average but very dated. It takes about 30 minutes to get out of the building - the elevators are sooooo slow - also even if you call ahead for your car it can still take 10 - 15 minutes. They have a very slow Starbucks in the lobby area - nothing is free here. Valet parking is $16. a day to park plus tip. That being said the staff was very helpful except for the maid who knocked on our door the first morning at 7:45 am and asked when we would be leaving. This hotel definitely needs an update and not what you would expect from a Hyatt. I was glad we had a special rate that is the only way that we would return.

My review is based on a 2-night stay in early August 2007. I booked my stay directly from the Hyatt website, and paid $119.00 per night for a standard King.

THE HOTEL: The hotel is centrally located in downtown Tampa. It is a large, impressive-looking building. When you drive up doormen and valet attendants immediately greet you and offer to bring in your luggage. The lobby is large with a bar and restaurant (I didn't try either). Check in was fast and the check in staff were professional.

THE ROOM: Immediately after getting off the elevator on my floor, I noticed that the hallway carpets were terribly stained and looked filthy. I have never seen anything this bad in a hotel.

The room was standard. The king bed was comfortable. The air conditioning, however, I could not get below 70F. There was a digital thermostat located directly under the A/C vent (there is only one small vent in the room), and although I set it down in the low 60's, it would not go below 70 and this was a problem as the outside temp. was in the low 90's. The result was the room being warm, it had a musty odor, and the carpet seemed damp.

Speaking of the carpet, the room carpet was no better than the hallway carpet. It had numerous stains and cigarette burns and needed replacing. I would not walk barefooted on the carpet of my own room.

The bathroom was small, with a standard (small) tub/shower. The bathroom seemed old, like a motel bathroom. Not impressed. The water pressure and hot water worked fine, however.

With the exception of the A/C, everything in the room worked fine, including the WIFI (T-Mobile Hot Spot--$9.99 per day and fast). The TV was a little small but had many channels and ondemand movies.

ROOM SERVICE: I ordered breakfast two days in a row. The service was prompt but pricey. The 20% plus delivery charge drives the price up. The coffee and breakfast was very good.

STAFF: As stated above, the staff that I deal with (check-in, room service, valet) were all very nice, and for this alone I will give the hotel 2-stars.

I won't stay here again until this place gets a major overhaul.

The reviews are correct - this place is long in the tooth. Its location (downtown) is ideal but it is in need of an update. My room was clean but the carpet, wallpaper, furniture and paint (in halls and room) are all old and in need of renovation. Staff is really nice and rate is OK. I usually stay at the Grand Hyatt (closer to the airport) when I am in town for business but it was sold out due to a convention in town so I thought Hyartt Regency would be a great #2. The Grand Hyatt is definitely nicer than this place. Again, clean but very worn down. Only stayed for 1 night so it served my purposes OK in a pinch. Its time for a makeover for this place.

The Hyatt was a rather disappointing business trip hotel that I stayed in in February of 2006 for two separate weekends. The first weekend was not all that bad-the room was clean, but the bathroom was old and outdated. I had a view of the pool, which was nice, and it looked like several people were enjoying it. I ordered room service one evening and the food arrived promptly and was rather good.

The cons to the first weekend were the elevators and the valet service. When arriving, it took approximately 20 minutes to be able to take an elevator up to my room. Two times, the elevator would fully unload and the doors would close so quickly afterwards that there was no time for anyone to try to move into it to go up. For a hotel this large, you wouldn't think elevators would create a problem. Then, when departing the first weekend, I had called from my room to have the valet bring my car around. When I arrived down, my car was nowhere in sight and no one had record of my call down, so I requested that my keys be put in line. I then proceeded to have to wait another 20 minutes in the cold for them to complete my request.

On the second weekend (which I considered rebooking somewhere else after the first, but ran out of time), I arrived late after a business meeting and the king non-smoking room I had booked was no longer available. Instead, I was put in a double smoking room. The room wreaked and had cigarette burns in the comforter. Fortunately, Hyatt somewhat redeemed themselves by refunding part of the cost of the room, but I would look elsewhere before staying here again.

I expected a Hyatt that's located in downtown Tampa to be breathtaking. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn't live up to the name. The lobby is probably the nicest area of the hotel. Some problems: carpet nasty and dirty in hallways, doors slam throughout the night unusually loudly (soundproofing or thicker carper needed), elevator was broken for a minimum of two days, letters peeling off of walls, needs to be priced at a lower rate considering condition of hotel., not near enough restaurants or fast food places. Positives: Food in Avantare restaurant is excellent (not for a limited budget), wait staff need more customer service training though, concierge, bell wait staff (ask for Gita) very helpful. Hotel operator and front desk staff (sounds like they have a mouth full of cotton and can be short at times with customers). If traveling on business, take tax exempt letter to alleviate being charged for taxes.

Stayed here for one night on business. I will not return. Never have I paid so much for so little. At nearly $400, I expected the room to be much nicer than it was. The room was relatively small and the air didn't work very well (6 hours to go from 75 degrees to 70). Additionally, the bathroom was incredibly musty--I had to keep the door closed. The whole place felt more like $150/night. The restaurant ambiance was nice but the food was overpriced and, consistent with the room, was nothing to write home about.

The staff was great...the valet greeted us and had a short conversation with us; the front desk personnel performed quickly and efficently; other employees made sure to say hello. I had forgotten to bring toothpaste. The shop in the hotel was out of toothpaste. A security officer overheard this and told me that he would have some toothpaste sent up to my room. Within 5 minutes, an attendent brought toothpaste and mouthwash. Excellent job! However, the room could have been better. There was a small droplets of a grease type substance on the floor of the shower. The bathroom sink was cracked. The rooms were not the best at being soundproof. It took about 3 minutes before I was able to get hot water in the sink of our 6th floor room. I would probably look elsewhere if I were to stay in Tampa again...too bad, because the employees were great.

The service at this hotel is the worst! We had a confirmed reservation for a non-smoking room with 2 double beds. We tried to check in at 1:00 PM and were told our room was not ready. We came back at check in time (3:00 PM) and were told it was still not ready but they would put a rush on getting the room cleaned. We returned again at 5:30 and were told the room was still not ready so we went to eat. At 8:00 PM --- 5 hours after their stated check-in time -- the room was finally available. I requested a late check out and was told that was not possible. After talking to the manager, she allowed us to stay one extra hour in the room. How big of her considering we waited 7 hours to get into our room. The service in the hotel restaurant was horrible as well. We waited a long time to get our lunch even though there were not very many other customers in the restaurant. At dinner we waited what seemed like an hour to get our mediocre food. This hotel is extremely overpriced for the horrible service they provide.

Stayed there for 6 nights for a convention last week. Major disappointment, but thats to be expected these days from Hyatt.

Housekeeping needs to go back to school. Filthy rooms and inconsistent supervision make this hotel one to shy away from. No apologies whatsoever from management when i complained about the filth in the room. Stay away. Lots of other hotels in the area to choose from.

I will be the first to admit that I sometimes feel people seem to be way too critical when writing these hotel reviews. After reading my review, you may think that of mine, but just remember - you have been warned! I was staying there for a conference, and if you are too, please check out Embassy Suites and the Marriott instead! This is three blocks away and just feels disconnected with the convention center area (which is so much prettier anyway!!!)

Wow! I started writing my review and things were so bad that it was getting too long so I am going to go with bullet points on this one!

- Dirty sewage backed up in tub the first three days.

- It was still there the fourth day because - get this - THE MAID DIDN'T CLEAN IT! (And this was even after calling the front desk the night before to complain about the maid and the plumbing!)

- Glasses we used from the first night stayed in the room and were never replaced (the entire five day stay!)

- Coffee and coffee cups never replaced

_ Very dirty grout on the bathroom floor

- Pink mold and dirty grout in the shower

- Bathroom floor looked like it needed mopping in general (dirty looking shoe marks on the floor).

- Ashes in the toilet the night of checking in

- Ice Bucket never emptied and liner never replaced

- Their complimentary (free advertising) pen didn't even work! (I then had to get mine from my purse, and where was it from? Marriott! Where I will be staying the next time!)

- Dirty coffee spills in the mouthpiece section of the phone base by the bed

- Toilet paper not replaced

- Elevators not working (and don't believe the signs the hotel has out about "elevator renovations" or whatever! I have read these reviews now back to 2004, and this has been going on for YEARS! Along with these type of housekeeping issues as well!)

- They sell PORN in the gift shop magazine rack?!? How tacky is that? I mean I personally don't have issues with porn, but I just don't want to see it in a hotel that brands themselves as top quality!

- Their concierge is a joke! My industry has to do with tourism, and you do NOT try to push chain shopping on people! As soon as we approached him the first time (simply for directions to Sarasota), he tried to run lines on us about how we looked like shoppers or some crap, and shoved outlet mall shopping brochures in our hand! He then gave us directions that the valet said would be 1 hour round trip extra and gave us much more efficient directions! And the second time we used him we wanted to take the trolley to Ybor City. His reply was, "Why do you want to go there?!?" He then said "Everything is closed there. It is only a weekend place." And then he gave us more shopping brochures! We wanted to check it out anyway and were really glad we did. Cool vibes and interesting history about the area.

- There is NOWHERE to eat around this hotel! I heard several convention attendees say they had at least lost weight at the conference! And the hotel restaurant is not worth the money either! (The room service menu along with the one outside the resaurant had a burger listed for $10.00, but then in the restaurant it was instead $11.50 for instance.)

So needless to say, I felt very deserving of some compensation from the hotel to possibly redeem the brand with me. (I happen to have reservations at another Hyatt in a few months.) I had already called the front desk to complain (to no avail) so the next time I asked for a manager. I shared my complaints with him and was offered a "room upgrade" on my next stay! Are you kidding me?!? I was then told to contact a manager the next morning upon checking out. When I went downstairs to speak with her, I was offered a free breakfast - but I was CHECKING OUT right then (and it was 11:00 a.m. already!) I reminded her I was leaving and didn't want to eat in the restaurant again anyway! I was then offered the meal I had eaten there taken off my bill, but I had already paid it and wouldn't have settled for that anyway! She finally offered to refund me one night, and I finally settled for that!

If you do decide to stay here - good luck is all I can say! At least the bellhops and the valets are good!

In summary, dated, overpriced, with poor service and poor facilities. The room I had was non-smoking but reeked of smoke. Despite several complaints, nothing was done. The decor is old and the walls and floors badly stained. In three days the toilet bowl was never cleaned properly. The toilet had no toilet tissue and I had to make three calls to housekeeping to get some.

The internet connection was wi-fi and I kept losing the signal.

The food in the restaurant is mediocre and the breakfast coupons are a joke. Unfortunately if you stay on Sat or Sun you have little choice as there is NO eatery nearby.

There are no coffee facilities in the rooms.

The lifts (those that are actually working) are very slow.

This hotel is located in the business district. To get to a mall or local shops will cost about $15 each way, If all you need is a room to sleep in, find somewhere else!

We arrived at the Hyatt on the 24th of September, staying till October 2, We saved our money for awhile, as we are from British Columbia, Canada. And it was our family vacation and we wanted it to be awesome. When we arrived they put us in a room, that when you walked it their was melted iron burn in thrus, very clear. Well since we were staying 10 nights here , we did not feel like staring at for that long, olus we thought we got a very nice hotel, better than what we normally stay in. Now I wish we would have stayed in a cheaper motel, as we would have saved oodles of money, and it would have been cleaner than this! The second night we were here, the toilet starts running, every time you flush it runs an average between 60 seconds and 3 minutes. Sometimes when you flush the toilet it gurgles into the bathtub. Next when the people in the room next to us take a shower, their excess water, dirt and care comes in to ourbathub, at lest 2 inches of that, and it takes 20 minutes drain. They sent the repair man up 4 times, each tines he fixes, but it was not fixed. So we would call fromt desk again, and he woud come agian, and couldn;t fix it. We went to the Manager, they offered us one free night! What a joke!!! Here we are paying between $140 to $117 a night and that is all they could do for us!! I say no wonder their hotel hallways and the housecleaning is so terrible, they are too cheap to pay them! The houscleaning did not vaccum the hall way carpets not 1 time in our 10 day stay! This is not a classy hotel at all! I will naver stay in another Hyatt! As for housekeeping, they sometimes forgot to leave clean towels dump garbages, leave shamppoo, even when you left little notes with a tip, they didn't even do a good job. Tonight when we came home to take a shower from being in the ocean all day, we couldn't even take showers to clean, cause our bathtub was filled 2 inches of water from the room next door. So we had to wait 15 minutes for it to drain, then clean the tun, and all the hair and dirt from next door is in the bathtub. We also came home to no housecleaning today. They never even came in our room to clean it! We went to bed early tonight as we have to fly out early. At 12:06am, somebody knocks on our door and wants to know if we need housekeeping now!!!1 Now!?! My 2 kids and I were sleeping, but guess what? We arn't now. The people here are so considerate. And they don;t offer much in apology either. They ended up taking 3 nights off, but still I think they are being cheap, just the way it shows on how they keep this place clean! I would advise nobody to stay here ever!

I stayed here for a conference on July 18-20.

Room was on 5th floor. It was HOT, HOT, HOT! No matter how low I put the A/C, it never cooled. The hotel sent someone up to check it and his laser temp reader showed the room being hotter than it registered on the thermostat. He brought me a fan!!!! A fan!!!

The shower was horrible. It came out so hard that it hurt! The curtain couldn't contain the water and it flowed into the floor.

The wireless service is not free.

The beds were comfortable. They have a down comforter, which is nice. The pillows are nice.

The room was really small. It overlooked the pool area.

The pool was small.

The elevators are slow.

The restaurant in the hotel was good for lunch. A bit pricey, but good food.

The parking on the backside of the building is cheaper than the hotel parking, and you can walk right into the hotel from the 3rd floor parking deck.

When I checked in I advised the clerk that my last experience in the hotel was miserable (I was forced to stay here on business) and asked for a renovated room. I was told that the renovation - years delayed - is starting in August 2007. I was given what I am sure is the nicest room in the hotel - a huge suite with a bath and a half and a sauna (or steam room - I didn't turn it on) a small kitchen and a large dining/living room area. The room was very nicely furnished, but that's where the fun ended. Among the complaints I gave to the front desk on check out: the toilet mysteriously flushed every five minutes all night until it died at 7am, the shower had brown water to start, no water pressure and did not drain (shower/whirlpool combo - which was so hard to get into because not only was it deep, the tile ledge was wide and it had the tracks of a shower door on it - how does anyone climb over this naked??). Also, the TV in the bathroom didn't turn on, the IPOD (nice touch) mysteriously went on (and off) several times during the night, and the two doors to the hallway seemed insecure (one had a chain latch, and the other had nothing - so anyone with a key could easily get in, and you wouldn't hear them in the bedroom - the room was so far from the doors to the hall). I didn't get a newspaper, despite being HYATT Gold, and when I was offered free breakfast, I said no thanks - I was too grossed out by the place, and bought a bagel next door. I did mention to the front desk person on checkout that it will be a lovely room once it is renovated and she said that room is not slated for renovation.

This is not what i expected. Old run down and dirty. My room was okay but get this my bathroom was not really cleaned. The toilet was up, soil was on the floor, the sink had hair and the maid left the old soap and used glasses in the bathroom. When I called to compalin they sent up the head og housekeeping who apologized and said the maid on that floor is not too good. DUH so fire her.

I recently booked a stay for my parents at this place through priceline. Numerous things went wrong throughout their stay there. First of all...they were given a room which was located right below a room that they were renovating and noise was going on all through the night and day. The bathroom was not clean and there was some nights that they were given no washcloths or handtowels. The beds were made very sloppy and there was a lack of attention to detail. They complained to housekeeping manager and the room was then taken care and up to standards for 1 night. So basically of their 5 nights stay, 4 nights were found to be lacking and not up to Hyatt standards.

I stayed at this hotel in downtown Tampa because I am a Hyatt Gold Passport member, and the rate was $179/night for a standard room (and included breakfast). I decided against the Grand Hyatt near the airport where I stayed the last time in Tampa because it was nothing special and the rate this time was around $310/night. My stay was an utter misery. Here is an excerpt from the email I sent to the hotel manager with all of my complaints:

1)There was a small amount of fecal matter on the toilet seat. I always travel with alcohol wipes; nevertheless, this is unacceptable for a hotel of this caliber.

2)Even though I asked for a non-smoking room, the guest before me clearly smoked in the room because it reeked of cigarettes.

3)The alarm clock was full of dust. I mean not just a small amount of dust, but the whole top was covered with a large amount of dust.

4)I ordered room service one morning; I ordered a toasted bagel and two bottles of San Pellegrino water. The employee only brought me one bottle of water upon delivery.

5)Also on the same room service order, the glass that was given to me for drinking was clearly dirty.

6)The elevators in the hotel sometimes failed to appear when they announced their presence. You have to push the up or down button again to get an elevator. This happened to me more than once.

7)The carpets in the hallways are way past their prime and smelt terribly. At minimum, you need to shampoo these carpets (including the room carpets).

8)When I tried to watch a pay-per-view movie, the system hung forever at the time clock screen (the working screen) when pressing MENU on the remote. However, the next morning everything seemed to be working fine.

9)Upon check-out, I asked the attendant about filing a complaint and she just handed me a comment card without being professional. Someone professional would have asked me what was wrong with my stay (or should have asked me how my stay was before getting to this point) and helped rectify the situation. I do not remember her name, but I do remember her name tag said she was from some Caribbean local.

This place is a mess. Carpet is dirty in hallways and room. Mold and mildew in bathroom. TV and Air conditioner were not working when we arrived and it took them 2 hours to get someone up to fix it. Wrong directions on their website to their hotel. Desk clerks and restaurant staff were not helpful. The only good thing about this place was the doorman. Don't waste your money here.