Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore - Airport Area, an IHG Hotel in Tampa, FL

We arrived from the UK and had chosen, as regular IHG users, Holiday Inn as our first port of call for our vacation. Exhausted after our travels we were looking forward to an early breakfast before embarking on our travels. Room was ok. Breakfast, however, was possibly the worst I have experienced in the US and certainly the worst in an IHG hotel. For some weird reason, Christmas music was playing in the restaurant - in mid October! We were greeted by 3 male members of staff who appeared extremely disinterested. The manager was wearing a leather jacket, no uniforms were worn. We sat ourselves down and asked where the cutlery was. We were pointed to a self-help station. The breakfast itself was limited. The cooked offering was lukewarm and limited in its offering. During our time there, a number of customers looked at the buffet and walked out. At no time were we offered coffee or asked about our experience. We cut short our breakfast and checked out. To add insult to injury, the hotel added $12 ($3 per family member) to the stay as 'service charge'. This was NOT agreed and was not stated at the time of booking. To be fair, and after getting IHG involved, and after a little bit of persuasion the hotel did refund the breakfast and 'service charge'.

We've stayed here several times so I will say that the hotel is always clean, that we received upgrade to the top floor (called the Club floor, but club closed during COVID and will probably never reopen?) so nothing but view upgrade, plus housekeeping did well when they cleaned. I asked to have room cleaned on 1st morning when we left. Returned 2+ hours later to find well cleaned room. Requested same on 2nd morning. Returned 2+ hours later to find untouched room. Weekend front desk not as attentive! We just waited for someone to knock on door several hours later so we could get clean towels and restocking (coffee pods for example)! We wanted to relax, take naps, watch college football, etc. but had to adapt to the unkept promise! Parking was better with more Diamond reserved spaces but still based on honor system so wonder how many without Diamond status park there? Price of $12.00 + 90 cents tax a bit steep for area. I should be glad they don't have a resort fee, which would probably be twice this and include parking plus many already earned or unused amenities such as wi-fi, pool access, etc. as many do now! The main focus of this review concerns breakfast. As an IHG Diamond Elite, I am given 3 amenity choices at check-in. 1) complimentary breakfast for 2, 2) welcome points, or 3) complimentary drinks, which I read on another review aren't offered here because the owners don't approve of drinking? They claim the restaurant is run separately from the hotel, but given the general manager is Santhosh J Happynook and the restaurant is also Indian, I think there is some overlap? Anyway, the restaurant doesn't follow IHG minimum standards for the so-called "complimentary breakfast" for Diamond level members. From the IHG web site for Holiday Inn properties, the complimentary breakfast includes one main menu item with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages or full buffet with unlimited non-alcoholic beverages per person. Selected breakfast menu items may be excluded (such as specialty/local-themed items). BUT here, there were 4 choices and not any exact items off main menu and either coffee or juice; I'm glad they didn't included tap water as 1 choice. The 4 choices also came with a $3 fee per person. This doesn't meet IHG policy in my interpretation! Also, the Belgian waffle choice includes "wiped" cream? Not "whipped "! I have attached a picture of the small card that I received at check-in with the 4 printed options. Breakfast service was better on Saturday than Friday but still below IHG standards for Diamond members! Sunday was with the same server as Saturday and as such efficient. I did get a decent breakfast each day and chose the same option. the Elite Hot Breakfast, with 2 eggs, bacon, potatoes, and a bowl of fruit. Although not on the card, it included toast as well. It was strange, but I received different toast each day (but only 1 slice on Friday). I just asked for non-white bread but toast rather than English muffin and took what came! Other half had ham, egg, and cheese croissant days 1 and 3 but Belgian waffle (they were out of wiped cream) the second day. In conclusion, I have to say I was disappointed that they didn't follow IHG standards and give me a choice of the menu items. I did notice that if someone ordered off the menu, there was an automatic 18% service charge. They said I could order off the menu but would be responsible for the posted prices (plus the 18% and taxes). This is the only IHG property where I have not received a "free" breakfast with this amenity. This doesn't involve the brands like HIE that offer complimentary breakfast to all. I usually add a tip, if they haven't already included one, but those that have, such as the Intercontinentals in Boston and Miami both wrote off the entire balance, including their added tip to guarantee the wait staff receives something, even if they don't deserve 18%, as happened one time at another hotel. I hope they rethink their policy and would hope that IHG would do an audit to make sure its properties are following, at least, minimum standards. We will return here if we need something in this part of Tampa. It is now the only IHG property in Westshore and is the most convenient to the University of Tampa, our usual destination. Thanks for the positives, but please make a change to your breakfast policy for Diamond members and don't let your front desk promise service they can't guarantee!

This was a great hotel stay. Super clean, super comfy! I lived the hard surface flooring and the beds was so comfy that I slept later than normal. Parking lot was easy to get in and out and no problems with getting Uber.

Just completed a one night stay, and overall was a great stay although it got off to a rough start. Upon arrival, I collected my baggage and followed directions in the app for the hotel shuttle which states: "Proceed to baggage claim, pickup baggage. Follow ground transportation, call hotel inform location". I did just that and let them know I was at "Blue 1". After waiting in the heat for 25 minutes, I called back to check on the shuttle and was told the hotel does not pick up there and I had to go somewhere else. The location she was saying was not readily available on a sign I could see, so I followed the Uber signs and went that way. If the hotel is going to provide a shuttle, they should tighten that up and make it useful. At a minimum, they need to change the instructions in the app because following the airport signs for "Hotel Shuttles" took me to a place the hotel apparently does not pick up. Fortunately, it improved rapidly. Upon arrival the person checking me in was perfect. I am Diamond level with IHG One Rewards for context and selected the complimentary breakfast for my welcome amenity. The breakfast offered several plated choices and was more than adequate. The one odd piece is it mentions at the bottom a $3 Service Charge will be added to your room bill. I have to make the assumption that this is a mandatory tip for the server or otherwise it would not be a "free" breakfast like they are required to provide per IHG policy. I have no problem with mandatory tips in markets where they clientele do not know to tip or how that is (unfortunately) so prealant in American culture. if it is not the tip, that should be more clearly identified and the hotel should change that to correctly follow IHG policy. This was one of the rare occasions that I actually NEEDED late check out. When I inquired, I was initially told to check with them in the morning (I personally hate this answer. You should know if you are nearly sold out the next day.). I explained my reasoning and she thought about it and said she would go ahead and put it down. I told her I would double check on the way out in the morning which I did and it was no problem. I very much appreciated the late check out this time as it made all the difference for my stay. It would have been a wasted trip otherwise. I do wish IHG would make this more guaranteed for Diamond. The room was comfortable and recently remodeled. It was quiet, no noise issues even being right by the airport. Clearly from the room layout, this hotel was built as a Courtyard which makes for a more spacious bathroom. The room had a fridge and all the standard Holiday Inn amenities. For dinner, I went downstairs to check out the restaurant(s). On the app, it implies there are two restaurants, one being Indian. In reality, it is the same restaurant with two menus. The Indian menu appeared to be exactly as posted on the app, but the non-Indian menu was far more abbreviated than what is posted on the app. As I don't like Indian food and couldn't find anything that interested me on the non-Indian menu, I skipped dinner at the hotel. All of the staff were great, and if I am in the area again I would certainly stay again.

My company had me booked at the awful Extended Stay and I pushed to stay here instead. Almost a hundred more for the night but certainly better. Staff are friendly and helpful I found and polite. I did have a nice stay here on a business trip. I would stay again but my expectations these days are very modest now. Not like before the pandemic. That quality level is gone almost everywhere I stay. It’s good and clean.