Staying in Downtown Tampa - Barrymore Hotel

Photo credit: Marina K. Villatoro /Gringa TravelingMom

When you look for a hotel in Tampa it is all about location, location, location. Staying in Downtown Tampa is the best idea.

Tampa is a small city so you can pretty much walk all of it easily. Wherever you stay, you will find things to see and do near you, but there is no comparison to staying along the river.

Finding a Hotel in Downtown Tampa

Recently my favorite way of getting started with research for a trip is to contact the local tourism board. For my trip to Florida Visit Tampa Bay was extremely helpful. The staff immediately started replying with ideas on what to see, where to eat, and most importantly where to stay.

After considering what I liked, needed and wanted they pointed me to the Barrymore Hotel.

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When I first started planning this trip I had no idea that staying in Downtown was the best option. That is because I have a hard time orienting myself in new places. It is also hard for me to figure out how to get from the hotel to the attractions I’m interested in.

Now that I have been there and got to know Tampa I would definitely recommend staying in a hotel on the river walk.

Staying at the Barrymore Hotel

This is a 14 floor hotel where the higher you stay the better because you get gorgeous views of the river. I stayed on the ninth floor and my view was pretty great!

My room was a double queen sized room, spacious and came with TV, microwave and fridge. There was also fast and reliable internet available for the rooms.

Don’t worry if you didn’t bring your computer; you can use any of theirs in the computer area.

One thing that I noticed pretty fast was the fact that the hotel is a little outdated. You won’t get a lot of the modern amenities as you would in most hotels these days. However, the location is the best and their staff is helpful and friendly.

The restaurant at the hotel is called WaterWorks Café. It offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is no room service but you can place your order at the hotel and get your food to go.