by Paul Heney
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Fri August 3, 2018
The mere mention of a convention center hotel might bring a certain bland corporate-ness to mind, and certainly not visions of a destination property. But 20 years after it was built, the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina has successfully broken that mold with a lovely new revamp of the guest rooms and new public spaces, as well as lobby improvements on the way-to the tune of $40 million.
The hotel, located in burgeoning downtown Tampa, will be the western anchor of the newly designated Waterstreet district, an area that includes Amalie Arena, home of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning and the city's convention center.
Guests will be delighted to find how the hotel's backside opens up to a portion of the city's lovely Riverwalk promenade along the Garrison Channel. There's indoor and outdoor seating for the lobby bar and I enjoyed lovely meals at the Waterside Grill facing the river. In fact, the wait staff I encountered there was among the most pleasant and engaging I've interacted with in a long time.
From the Riverwalk, visitors can hop on and off the Pirate Water Taxis, which stop at 15 locations around the city-a nice way to get around and enjoy some gorgeous waterfront views of the ever-changing skyline.
But back to the Marriott! The recently redone pool area and surrounding deck on the third floor is extensive, especially for an urban property. The Pool Bar & Grill is open for lunch and serves sandwiches, snacks and an assortment of drinks, tropical and otherwise.
Looking out over the pool area is a well-equipped fitness facility. It has an excellent collection of weights, exercise equipment and cardio machines … to help burn off all those fruity pool drinks you had earlier.
The final phase of the property's renovation, the lobby work, will start at the end of October. There is a whole new décor coming in, which will be more upscale and modern. This final phase will be completed by the end of March 2019.
"There will be a new Starbucks that will be street-facing, and guests can access it, as well as visitors from the convention center, which is adjacent," said Chris Adkins, the Director of Sales and Marketing. "It will have 65 indoor and outdoor seats. There will also be new guest registration pods."
Champions, which is the go-to sports bar at a lot of Marriotts, is gone completely, and Adkins said that the property has signed a contract with an outside restaurant firm.
"We're part of a new master development called Waterstreet Tampa. The owners wanted this hotel to embrace it much more," said Adkins. "So, what we did was to embrace the Riverwalk and embrace the Waterstreet district. The rooms now have lighter blues, kind of a nautical theme. You'll notice little details like nautical rope in the chairs and the lamps. The rooms have a little more of a residential feel with hardwood floors and area rugs. The idea is to embrace the destination and give it a little more of a water feel."
The Marriott will also be joined in a couple of years by a comparatively sized JW Marriott property, located immediately across the street. That hotel will be physically joined to the Waterside by a lobby bridge, allowing the two hotels to function as one integrated complex.
Given the Waterside's modern new look, it will fit right in with the high-end JW, and provide more flexibility for groups, as well as additional amenities for the traveler.
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