DebitNM

Hi All,
We will be heading to Tampa at the end of March 2007 to attend my nieces' wedding. It is being held at Rusty Pelican restaurant in Tampa. [It's in the Rocky Point section of the city].

Does anyone have any suggestions on hotels in the area. Also, if we try to use priceline to get a room, what area to we want to indicate?

Thanks in advance...
Debi

OO

Rusty Pelican is just off Courtney Campbell Cswy, and PCLN bidding would be in the Westshore region. There are a few hotels on Rocky Point, which would be the most convenient for your wedding--Chase, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, all on the opposite side of Courtney Campbell (busy highway). Saliport is on the same side, but I just dunno about that place, how nice it is... My DH's last hotel is a block away and is really really nice...Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. You can either stay in the "tower" or Casita section..the casitas are a boardwalk away from the tower through mangroves and it's very pretty out there...my favorite section of the hotel. It's probably 3 minutes to Rusty Pelican.

Be forewarned, March is a tough time to bid on PCLN as it is high demand season!

birder

We stayed at the Doubletree Suites in Rocky Point and were happy - it was fairly nice. But definitely the nicest hotel in the area is the Grand Hyatt, as OO has indicated. It's one of the top hotels in the entire Tampa-St. Pete area. Rocky Point is a great place to stay, especially since the wedding will be right there.

I also agree that getting a hotel via priceline during March - spring break season - could be very difficult. You may want to book something as a backup just in case. What's your budget? We could make some suggestions for a backup hotel.

DebitNM

Thanks OO and birder! We are not sure if we will need 1 or 2 room [not sure if our sort of grown up kids are invited yet] which will dictate budget. I would like to stay under $200 if possible.

I see that there is an Embassy Suite showing in Airport/West Shore Area. Would that be close?

Thanks again...
Debi

DebitNM

ttt

birder

That Embassy Suites isn't that far - you could mapquest it using its address and the address of the Rusty Pelican to see just how far. It would be maybe 7-10 minutes by car?

I did a search on orbitz in March 2006 and saw that both the Holiday Inn Express and a few other hotels were coming in at around $150/night. The Holiday Inn Express is quite new so that might be a good choice. It's right next to Bahama Breeze, which is a fun restaurant. I guess my preference really is for Rocky Point area, as opposed to the Westshore area, which is office buildings, etc.

OO

PCLN bidding, for lack of smaller districts, encompasses all of Westshore, a large area which includes Rocky Point, but really, the difference in ambiance of the entire Westshore area, and the Rocky Point section of it is so great, I wouldn't even consider a PCLN bid for fear of getting stuck near one of the malls...or even worse, between malls, Anywhereville, USA. You'll be fairly close to Rusty Pelican, but of course with PCLN, virtually anything can come up in the Westhshore area and odds are, you will not be on the water, which you will be if you select a hotel on Rocky Point and reserve a room conventionally.

Embassy Suites is OK, but near International Mall, which is a great mall, if that's what you want, but who wants a mall when you can be next to, or on, Tampa Bay!

DebitNM

Again, thanks OO and birder. Just heard that my niece is trying to get a block of rooms reserved so I'll see what she comes up with. Not sure I want to stay with all the family...if you get my drift

I will make note of your suggestions. And yes, I would rather be on/overlooking the water...coming from the SW where the only water we see is in arroyos!

Debi