Avoid the Best Western Westshore Hotel in Tampa Florida! It claims to be a 3 star hotel but it is far, far from it. The room was not only old but dirty. There were stains on the carpet, mold in the shower, bugs in the bathroom, lipstick on the telephone and perfume on the sheets. I was appalled!

I stayed there because of the price ($54) but I suspect you would be better off at La Quinta (similar price range). It was the worst room I have ever stayed in!!! Avoid it if at all possible! There are many other hotels in the area. No reason to stay at this particular Best Western.

thanks for the warning. am actually looking for a clean but reasonable hotel/motel for one night in Feb. near tampa airport as we arrive really late and are driving to Sanibel the next morning. Any advice would be appreciated.

Doubletree Westshore usually has good rates, and more than satisfactory.

Hilton Garden Inn Ybor is VERY nice and again, usually good rates.

The Hamptons Inn (either the Westshore or Rocky Point locations) are your basic but very nice and clean possibilities.

Have a wonderful trip!

stephyjo
Please tell me you called housekeeping to have clean sheets delivered, the mold removed and the telephone cleaned.

Let me get this straight. You paid them real money to stay in a place that had perfumed (presumably not just the smell of a fabric softener) sheets, had mold in the shower, lipstick on the telephone, and bugs in the bathroom? Stains on the carpet are not all that unusual.
Frankly there is something seriously wrong with you. I'd refuse to pay and sleep in my car before doing that. Why in the world would you do that if it was as bad as you say?

Patrick, I'm with you--I'm always suspicious of these posts, because while there are certainly awful rooms out there, I don't believe anyone who posts here would actually sleep in one. Therefore, I have to assume that this is a disgruntled employee or someone of that ilk. And stephen, if you're legit, then please tell us what you did about this gross situation.

Count me in. Why would you stay in filth?

A good comparison is saying, "I knew the fish was spoiled but since it was only $2.50 I ate it anyway."

I don't see why everyone is jumping on the OP. An opinion of the property was given. It was only an FYI. Perhaps the room was pre-purchased through Hotwire or Pricline. Perhaps the feeling was all the rooms would be like this one and there was no point trying to change rooms. Hotels at that level aren't exactly known for their top-notch service. The poster has actually recommended other Best Western in other posts so it's not like she's got it out for the chain.

I could be wrong about the poster, but either way, there is no reason to continue to dwell on it.

HUH? I don't think anyone is really complaining about anyone giving the opinion. We all just want to know what would possess a person to actually pay money and stay in a place that was like that? It's totally beyond my comprehension. If he gave that opinion and said, "we refused to pay and left", that would make sense. But telling us they stayed anyway and paid for it???

Thanks for your support puddy! I was just giving everyone a heads up. And no - I am not a disgruntled employee. Check my previous posts to confirm!!!!

The room was prepaid. I checked in after midnight and was checking out at 4:30am. I did request clean sheets but was told that it would take at least 45 mins. In hindsight, I should have requested a different room but in my experience, the requests of young women (>26) are often not taken seriously by service workers (at least not as seriously as requests made by travellers like Patrick, E and GoTravel).

I know it is gross and I doubt my own decision in hindsight. But I reminded myself of the days when I thought nothing of sleeping in Eastern European (or for that matter French) youth hostels and decided to tough it out for the few hours of sleep.

But the take home point from all of this should NOT be that I am gross but rather that the Best Western Westshore in Tampa is gross!!!!

LOL. You tell us you sleep in what smells like used sheets in a room with stained carpet, use a moldy bathtub in a bathroom with bugs and yet you're not gross?

steph, I've been a business traveler since I graduated from college at 22 yrs old and you better believe that neither then nor now will I stay in a filthy room.

Why would your age or gender have anything to do with anything? Maybe you should take yourself seriously and stopped looking down on 'service workers'.