Courtyard by Marriott Tampa Downtown

In August, we stayed for one Saturday night at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown in Tampa before taking a Carnival cruise out of the port of Tampa. The hotel was a great place to stay. The hotel staff were very helpful, the room was very nice, well kept and clean and the free shuttle was a great convenience.

We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon and were immediately greeted by a very friendly and helpful porter. After we checked in and he took our bags to our room, he gave us a lot of great ideas for places to go for dinner and spend a fun evening in Tampa.

The room was very clean and comfortable. The king size bed had a wide variety of pillow types and was very comfortable. The view was of a courtyard between the Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn where there is a swimming pool and hot tub. The street was pretty close, but there was hardly any traffic in that area of downtown at night.

The free shuttle was by far the best part of the accomodations. There is a small restaurant in the hotel, but we chose to take the shuttle to Ybor City about 10 minutes away where there are a variety of dining options from fast food to elegant dining and dinner shows with dancing or comedy. We chose to eat at DISH which is a restaurant that allows you to choose your own meat, vegetables and sauce that they cook for you on a huge grill. It was all-you-can-eat and very good. All of the food was very fresh. The cooks were fun to watch, as well.

The free shuttle took us to the port to catch the ship on Sunday morning. He picked us up right at the front door of the hotel and took us right to the porters at the port. There was a luggage rack in the shuttle. It was very convenient.

The only downside of this hotel is that they do not offer a shuttle from the airport. You do have to take a taxi which costs about $20-$25 for the fifteen minute ride.

In August, we stayed for one Saturday night at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown in Tampa before taking a Carnival cruise out of the port of Tampa. The hotel was a great place to stay. The hotel staff were very helpful, the room was very nice, well kept and clean and the free shuttle was a great convenience.

We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon and were immediately greeted by a very friendly and helpful porter. After we checked in and he took our bags to our room, he gave us a lot of great ideas for places to go for dinner and spend a fun evening in Tampa.

The room was very clean and comfortable. The king size bed had a wide variety of pillow types and was very comfortable. The view was of a courtyard between the Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn where there is a swimming pool and hot tub. The street was pretty close, but there was hardly any traffic in that area of downtown at night.

The free shuttle was by far the best part of the accomodations. There is a small restaurant in the hotel, but we chose to take the shuttle to Ybor City about 10 minutes away where there are a variety of dining options from fast food to elegant dining and dinner shows with dancing or comedy. We chose to eat at DISH which is a restaurant that allows you to choose your own meat, vegetables and sauce that they cook for you on a huge grill. It was all-you-can-eat and very good. All of the food was very fresh. The cooks were fun to watch, as well.

The free shuttle took us to the port to catch the ship on Sunday morning. He picked us up right at the front door of the hotel and took us right to the porters at the port. There was a luggage rack in the shuttle. It was very convenient.

The only downside of this hotel is that they do not offer a shuttle from the airport. You do have to take a taxi which costs about $20-$25 for the fifteen minute ride.

We recently stayed at the Tampa Downtown Courtyard pre and post cruise.

Although the downtown area isn't great the shuttle service that the hotel provided was great.

We used it to get to and from the port before and after our cruise. They also drove us to dinner on both evenings that we were there.

The hotel staff were incredibly helpful. They recommended a restaurant to us and made the reservations as well.

Our group consisted of 9 people in 3 rooms. Some of our party originally had reservations for another hotel on the way back from our cruise. They had been told that the Courtyard Downtown Tampa was full. The front desk staff were able to book a reservation and assisted in cancelling the other reservations that we had made.

On our return from the cruise we arrived early in the morning before regular check-in. The hotel stored our luggage while we explored Tampa and when we returned they let us into our rooms earlier than the regular check-in.

The hotel has a nice pool and hot tub at the back of the hotel which they share with the Residence Inn. (They also share the shuttle service as well.)

The only thing I would change is ensure that we have a room at the back of the hotel (over the pool).

On the Friday night on our stay there we didn't realize that a club closes at about 3:00 am in the morning. The parking lot that seems to be the hangout after the club closing is right in front of the hotel (below our rooms). It woke us up (kids as well) while the rowdy crowd dispersed.

On our return the hotel staff were able to give us rooms that were at the back of the hotel and we did not have the same problem.

We used the restaurant only for breakfast so I can not comment on the food services that they provide.

The area is currently being revitalized but not an area that I would want to walk around at night.. and in fact is not recommended.

This hotel was perfect and convenient for all my needs while visiting Tampa. The staff was very helpful and offered suggestions regarding meals and things to do in the area during my weekend stay. Breakfast was satisfying and the fact that this Courtyard provided dinner and room service was very convenient. I will definitely stay again in my future travels to Tampa.

Coming from the UK we had no idea what to expect at the Courtyard in downtown Tampa, as the one we stayed in 3 days previously in Fort Lauderdale was dirty, tired and generally shabby, even though the staff were very pleasant. I was delighted to discover, however, that the Courtyard on East Cass Street in Tampa is a lovely hotel. Check in was smooth, swift and taken care of by BARBARA who gave us warm chocolate chip cookies to munch as soon as we approached the desk (a first for us!!). Barbara was utterly charming and also proved to be a fountain of local knowledge - she made us feel very welcome. The hotel, meanwhile, was spotlessly clean and has a well maintained heated pool and jacuzzi, not to mention an excellent gym and a laundry room - everything we needed for our short stay which included swimming, exercise and washing our clothes.... The beds were very comfortable and we had a great night's sleep. For an inexpensive stay in Tampa city I would certainly recommend this hotel.

I stayed in this place a couple of years ago and it was a good stay. So I stayed again this past July and it was even better. The staff made me feel like I was staying at a 5 star resort. They were friendly, fun, helpful and attentive. The room was fine and the pool is nice but overall the hotel was just a good one that was made great by the attitude of the staff. Thank you!

My daughter and I stayed at this hotel last weekend during a visit to the University of Tampa. The hotel is small but in a good location, very clean, and best of all, the staff is wonderful. They were all friendly and helpful (right down to the guy rolling the spare cot down the hall).

The room was fine and had a big flat screen that my daughter loved ;). The hotel has a shuttle that you can use (no charge, just tips) within a 2 mile radius, I believe. (We took a cab from the airport $22+tip. No more expensive than a shuttle for 2.)

While in Tampa, we ate at the Columbia (separate review) and a small breakfast/lunch place called Paninoteca, a few blocks from the hotel. We had a goat cheese with roasted garlic appetizer served with warm pita that was wonderful. I had the tomato, basil, mozzarella salad and my daughter had the greek salad; both very fresh & yummy.

The hotel front desk staff also let us have a late check-out since we had a late afternoon flight.

Very nice, clean hotel with friendly staff. And the room had a data jack for our laptop, no charge. Good enough for me!

I have been a guest at many Courtyards over the years and this experience was as good as ever. This concept has consistently delivered value for money over the years when compared to the typical "large lobby" hotel with all the accompanying overhead.

Staff were very helpful indeed.

Very nice staff and rooms, will stay there again.

Hotel wasn't located close to anything. Valet parking is $12. Beds were uncomfortable and bath towels needs to be replaced. Since my stay was short I decided not to switch hotels. They did have a free shuttle within a 2 mile radius.

Decent value. Nice staff. Business center is ridiculous - it consists of one computer located IN THE BAR. I had to check my work email surrounded by drunk convention-goers. Completely unacceptable. I also did not receive my wake-up call. Valet took a long time to bring my car around. The hotel is not well located - no restaurants or sites nearby. However, the hotel does offer a complimentary shuttle to nearby restaurants. Comfortable bed and quiet room.

Stayed at the Courtyard in Downtown Tampa for (1) night because departing for a cruise, the hotel in a $22.00 cab ride from airport (no shuttle service). Basic hotel, clean, friendly staff, and good size room, nothing over exciting, nothing overly bad either...average!

We flew in from London and were greeted well. The guy on the desk told us he was putting us in a room at the front and was that ok. We said sure - not knowing that the room had no double glazing and was right on the corner of one of the busiest roads in Tampa. No complaints about the room but the traffic noise was unbelievable. We didn't complain as we figured it would be quieter the next day as it was Saturday and therefore less work traffic. What we hadn't bargained for was a nightclub that closes at around 3 am. The noise woke us up and we looked out of the window to witness what seemed like a riot. People running amok, cars all tuned into the same radio station playing the same rap song at full volume and the cops just letting it happen. This is obviously a weekly occurence.. Apart from that, we thought the hotel and staff were great and the location good - apart from the fact that there's not much to do in Tampa. If you book, get a room overlooking the pool.

Can't argue with the location -- it's perfect for most downtown offices, although the Hyatt or Sheraton are marginally closer to the University of Tampa. The front desk staff, lauded by previous reviewers, were certainly helpful, although not especially friendly. When asked for the telephone number of a local car service or cab company that I would need to use later in the day from another location to get to the airport, they weren't able to provide one.

Despite paying almost $200 for the room (more than I paid the previous week for a fabulous room at the San Francisco full-service Marriott, with views of the bay), the room is lacklustre: I know this is a Courtyard property, but the dingy entrance hall, the woodchip effect wallpaper, the dowdy desk and other furniture, and the aging TV made for a pretty depressing experience. Flyers for pizza delivery stuffed under your door mid-afternoon didn't add to the charm (why would the hotel allow merchants to deliver these? It makes the place seem seedy, and less than safe.) In addition, there was absolutely no information about the city of Tampa, things to do in the neighborhood, map, etc., in the room. Having said all that, the bed was very comfortable and linens, towels and bathroom were spotless.

One serious deficiency, even for a property of this class, is the breakfast buffet: despite only 2 other patrons when I went down at 8.30am -- the staff easily outnumbered the guests -- it took 3 or 4 minutes for a waitress to come over, and despite a menu boasting eggs made to order, none were offered. The scrambled eggs on the buffet table were some of the most disgusting I'd ever tasted -- like they'd been made up from some kind of powder, congealed to the point of solidity, yet floating in a mildly brown liquid (presumably grease of some kind). Bacon of the deep-fried-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life variety. Muffins that were literally in the process of attaining liquid status. The only redeeming feature was the fruit salad, which was fine in quality, if not in variety. If you can't lay on something reasonably tasty for $8.95, then increase the price -- I'm sure the typical business clientel wouldn't care paying $3-5 more if it meant breakfast was actually rendered edible. (Judging from the lack of guests frequenting the breakast, I'd guess others weren't impressed, either.)