The Barrymore Hotel Tampa Riverwalk

The reviews scared us but we took a chance and we’re pleased with our experience. Overall it was a nice place to stay, not upscale but on the nicer side with touches of fancy.
We had a room in the 3^rd floor away from the elevator or stairs and it was super quiet during our overnight stay.
Front desk customer service was friendly and helpful despite it being a busy NYE evening with people pouring in and out of the lobby trying to catch the free shuttle downtown.
I’m disappointed that we couldn’t take the shuttle after all to our big NYE party downtown. We saw several vans around the 9pm hour but after 10pm we were waiting almost 30 mins before we gave up and grabbed an arriving cab. The shuttles were supposed to come every 15 – 20 mins but I guess it got very busy.
There is an adjacent parking lot with a guard and a gate and we were lucky to snag a spot as someone was coming out.
There is a computer in the lobby to print stuff. Classy Lobby with leather couches.
The shower in our room was super loud for some Reason, haha.
Got our hotel for only $ 120 after taxes on
. It didn’t seem fancy despite being the double queen deluxe room but that price is excellent especially on a holiday. My friend was excited that we got red and blue candies that looked like mini light sabers.
About ¾ mile to the river walk through a barren undeveloped area with no pedestrians. I would drive next time since there wasn’t traffic down there.
Didn’t even try the free in room wifi but I know it worked.

Dirty and woke up to a roach above my bed. Front desk said a manager would contact me. No one ever did contact me to follow up with my complaint. Poorly run management and can see why this place is so filthy and bug infested. Stay away!

The customer service and cleanliness are excellent. The location is in the city and you can conveniently catch a Broadway performance across the street at the Straz Center. However, the only flaw would be the internet speeds. Other than that, I am pleased with the hotel.

BED BUGS. Totally Disgusting, never experienced at a hotel/​chose it because of good reviews on the Trip Advisor, dunno what where those guest stayed. Checked out at midnight few hrs after checkin in being eaten alive by bed bugs. Was watchin tv my leg started to itch then my waist started to itch, pulled off the sheets, bug, stripped sheet off bed, Bugsss. Apart from checking in, hotel is like a flea motel. Elevator was soaked with water, everything was old/​disgusting.

I stayed at this hotel for Metrocon June 11^th-​14^th, so keep in mind, the hotel was busy dealing with a mass of young adults in costume. With that being said, there were still some issues that can’t be overlooked or attributed to the business of a convention. First off, the hotel is very old, and that can’t be helped. However, they definitely need to do some renovations if they plan on staying in business.
We arrived at our room with a mass of bags including some with food. I had called ahead the week before and was assured we were already assigned to a room with a fridge. But when we got there, there was no fridge and we had to move all our stuff to another room. We forgave that but late ran into problems with the drain in the shower. The water wouldn’t drain and we had to call someone to come fix it. Several times we requested more towels and never received them.
The shuttle service was either terrible or really good depending on the situation. It’s a free service and shouldn’t be counted on, however, they knew they were a host hotel for the con and still didn’t add more shuttles. I found that a little irresponsible with 3 shuttles sitting unused and a mass of people waiting. We waited to be picked up for an hour in the rain before they promised to send a cab and pay the fare (never happened).
The pool was essentially a hole in the ground. The water smelt odd and stagnant, like a dirty puddle on a hot day. There is no shade, just chairs around the pool. There’s nothing besides a hole in the ground, really.
Don’t even get me started on the hotel restaurant. The name is «Waterworks» which gave me the impression that it was poolside but it’s not. There’s no reason for it to be called that. Every one of our meals was disappointing. The salad is $ 10 and is 4 pieces of uncut lettuce leaves with dressing. Everything was soggy, strangely. How do you make a salad soggy? I don’t know but they did it. The room seemed clean enough. No problems there.
They have wifi… technically. It’s so bad it’s basically no wifi. Don’t count on using the internet.
Basically, if you’re staying here 1 night, it’s fine. Any longer, look elsewhere. Painfully average overall. Would be 3 stars but the service knocks it down to two. One positive is it’s pretty cheap so if you’re on a budget, this is a good place to consider. It’s not too dumpy, just pretty bad service.

Just checked in to this hotel. Rita at the front desk was absolutely wonderful. Great first impression.

BED BUGS!!!
I want to give ZERO stars!!! We stayed here one night and brought home bed bugs!!! Two months and much pain and suffering (physically, mentally, financially) we finally had to call an exterminator… we have spent a TON of money trying to eradicate these evil blood-​suckers from our house!
Contacted the management and they said they’d refund our stay. They never did so, a month later, contacted again and they did send us a check for the stay. The $ 60-​some refund pales in comparison the the LARGE amount of money that we have spent, and are still spending, to try to kill them :-(
Stay very far away!!!

It was good for what we needed. We didn’t spend much time in the room anyway. The rooms are fine. Nothing super nice but good enough for the price and location. The staff was really nice and the bartenders were great. The best thing is the free shuttle that will take you anywhere in a 2 mile radius — including Ybor and Channelside. They will also pick you up at the end of the night so we never had to deal with a cab. I wouldn’t do the breakfast buffet. Not great. But overall we really enjoyed our stay and had everything we needed for a great trip. I would stay here again.

Not a bad place, but not very good if you’re staying for more than 1 – 2 nights. Rooms are not clean, the shuttle service is a joke. It takes forever to get you at a common pick up place. The drivers stopped & wouldn’t take some people to destinations.
The restaurant for breakfast is hardly a restaurant. It was 7 – 8 tables with a buffet that was not worth the $. I would not recommend for anyone looking to stay 3 – 4 nights.

I had a quick turnaround trip and needed a convenient location. Hotel was clean, room was updated and comfortable. Nice TV and fridge. Comfortable pillows. Water Works bar was good for a cocktail. Shuttle will take you within a few miles to different locations and pick you up. Airport shuttle $ 13 vs $ 25 taxi. Staff was pleasant and accommodating. The hotel lobby was busy and printer wasn’t working but staff immediately allowed use of their computer and printer to print boarding pass. I was pleasantly surprised as I usually stay in Hilton or IHG hotels. May return again.

Good for the price. Rooms were in some disrepair (toilet paper dispenser taped to the wall) but clean. Room had a refrigerator & microwave, which was a good money saver. TV only had like 30 channels but the hotel is in a good location downtown and was way cheaper than anything else I could find there.
Free shuttle service downtown was awesome— driver Karen is great! Very friendly and didn’t keep me waiting for rides. Staff was friendly.

I stayed at the Barrymore for 3 nights recently for a work event that was held nearby. Check in desk agent was unfriendly and hardly efficient. She did not give us any information about the hotel such as where the pool is located, where the fitness room might be, she didn’t even tell us or room number! She just handed us the envelope with the keys and the room number was written inside. As with many other reviews I read, the house keeping is a huge joke. Rooms not cleaned until dinner time, dirty towels and linens laying in piles down the hallways next to room doors. (I took pictures) very disgusting and not hygienic at all! We went to the pool in the late after noon and there were no clean towels available… plenty of dirty used ones laying all over the deck though. There is a big section of dry wall missing from each floor from the top to the bottom levels of the hotel. I’m assuming they were working on something inside the wall, but it seems like a hazard. There was garbage thrown into the hole in the wall and the housekeeping staff seems unconcerned with that. There was a dirty glass with a banana peal in it sitting on the edge of the hole on the second floor for the entire fusion of my stay… and I personally witnessed house keeping staff walk passed it and not clan it up.
The shuttle bus they offer takes forever to pick you up, we waited 30minutes a couple of times to get picked up, and of course when you call to ask for a pick up no one will mention the long wait.
Overall I would say this place is an epic fail.

It did the job. Rooms were fairly clean and the beds were comfy. $ 8.00/a night to use their parking lot, but only $ 5.00/event for patrons of the Straz Center. Makes no sense.
We did not receive house keeping by 330 pm so we put the do not disturb sign up. The next day same thing, but not by 6pm. Called and got fresh towels.
Made the reservations in January and still got two queen beds, for just my boyfriend and I.
The pool is awful, cold, dirty and not heated.
The location is fantastic. Close walking distance to a lot of really great places to eat and walk.

Let’s start with the positive: the location is awesome and there’s plenty of free parking. The shuttle is also great which gets you around to surrounding sites. If you’re looking for convenience, the Barrymore is awesome for that. However, the interior is quite outdated and run down. When we checked into our room, the toilet was broken and we had to have someone come fix it. The room also had a strange, moldy odor. I just never felt like the room was clean.

This place doesn’t even deserve 1 star. Rooms are like prison cells — cement walls painted a horrible yellow color. I love how they say they have high speed internet! I could walk to NYC faster. Oh and be warned, a few floors are dorms for The University of Tampa! They use it because the rooms are exactly like a dormitory. The changed the name but it’s still an old Howard Johnson’s. I wish the restaurant was still a HoJo. It might be good.

I stayed here last year when it was a HOJO and as impressed this year it’s got a new name and new construction and new management. The only real problem is the management. You can see them sitting at their desk ignoring customers no matter how long the line of customers get and when I requested a late check out I was offered a noon check out even though my room wasn’t ready till 10pm. Very disappointing stay.

Unfortunately, I did not get to experience any other amenity aside from the front desk. I booked a room months in advance to ensure I stayed close for a race I was running the next day to find out I did not have a room. We were told there were other rooms of folks that had not checked in but were not able to give us a room because they had already paid (as had I).
They gave us a voucher to another hotel 15 mins away. Not the greatest experience at midnight… having to get up at 4am to run a race. Having worked in hospitality for some time, the situation happens but could have certainly been handled differently.

I found this place at complete random. I needed to stay somewhat close to this area of town, and basically just searched for the best deal. VERY happy with this place. It is in the BEST location, right on the beautiful riverwalk. Walking access to all of the art district: shops, restaurants, bars, theaters, etc. (they also offer free driver service anywhere within 2 – 3 miles). My room was clean and comfortable, with a microwave, fridge, and coffee maker. Staff was very friendly.
The downsides… for being in the famous art district it was funny not to have any art at all in the rooms, no menus posted or in the room for what was available in the restaurant, gym equipment was dirty and broken, people started knocking on my door from 9−12p to see if they could clean (was given a later checkout time of noon). Not that these things mattered much individually, but added up I had to remove one star.

Not a great experience. We didn’t get house keeping when I returned to my room at 4:30. Went down stairs explained the situation and left for a few hours. Came back at 10 still no house keeping. I went back down and complained and was asked did I want it now. Of course I didn’t as I was going to bed. I did ask for fresh towels however and I got them a few minutes later hence the 2^nd star. There are nicer hotels in the area for the price they are charging here.