Drew Baird

Review of Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk

The location of this place is great, but it's hard...

The location of this place is great, but it's hard to leave without feeling somewhat swindled by sneaky (exorbitant) costs. You will realize the first one the minute you get there. The only parking is valet, and it's 18 dollars.................... A NIGHT. I used Twiggs Street Garage a 15 minute walk away for much more reasonable 7 dollars a night after I realized the hotel's grift. You get up to your room and log onto the internet. You quickly realize that the "complementary" internet is throttled to near useless levels. To get more speed there is a pricing tier system.

I should have asked prior to falling victim to the last one, but the staff was more than happy to let me haplessly fall into the trap. I go to breakfast and see they have a set up that is about on par with other hotel's complementary breakfast. So I sit down and start eating assuming its free. Thirty seconds later a staff member drops a bill on my table, as if to confirm "NO THIS ISN"T FREE. Don't expect to be leaving without paying 16 dollars for what you clearly thought was free." There's no signage, and my outcome of haplessly assuming it was free only to shell out 16 dollars was obviously the goal.

The hotel will tell you these costs are on par with similarly priced hotels and/or area hotels. As a relatively frequent traveler, I can tell you there are plenty other hotels for the same price that don't play a perpetual game of "GOTCHA!" after you enter the door.