More about Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort St. Petersburg Marina Cove
Great place for kids..
by TripAdvisor Member BostonMel
I stayed at the Holiday Inn Marina Cove from April 26th-May 1st.. The hotel itself is nice. They have 2 pools, hot tub, play area for kids, 3-4 restaurants (places to eat), and a beach. The offer rentals of boats, wave runners and fun little go cart type vehicles. Our room had a fridge, safe, 2 beds, and a TV. The room was clean, smelled a tad from moisture, but thats expected. the water pressure was decent, but the temperature fluctuation was at times a bit much. The staff was friendly and helpful. They offered many different tours that you could reserve through them. I didn't know that they offered Busch Gardens tickets. I had only planned on 1 day @ Busch Gardens, but they have a deal that when you pay for a 1 day pass you get a 5 day pass. Which was great, but we had other plans while down there. So we only used the pass for 1 day. The also give a AAA discount. The location is very easy to get to, right off the highway. The food was decent. Not too overpriced, but just decent. The coffee, being a (starbucks) coffee addict was not so great, but it worked to keep the headache of withdrawal away. Now on to the beach area. The beach is really not too hot. It's a bay, so it's not the open gulf. The water in bays tends to smell a bit, it just doesn't get the turn over of the open ocean. There is alot of sea grass. It's pretty to look at, but there are many gorgeous beaches in the surrounding area. It's a place to rest your head while having a great time exploring Florida.. The kids love the pools.. they do have kids activities scheduled for each day, but my 10 year old wasn't too interested. We were pretty busy each day anyway.
Clean and quiet kid suite
by A TripAdvisor Member
My family stayed here in April 2005 during the St. Anthony's Triathlon. It was a little removed from the downtown pier area where the race is held, but only a short driving distance. Since all of the downtown hotels were sold out, this was our best option.
We had a "kid suite" which our 6 YO thought was the best. The kid suite is a hotel room that has been divided by a curved wall that separates a queen bed from a bunk bed. The kid area was small -- it has just enough room for the bed, a small tv and dresser and floor space to turn around -- but was a novelty and gave our daughter a space of her own. When we stayed an upscale resort in June, she wanted to know where "her" room was!
The room was clean and quiet. We did not use any of the amenities other than the restaurant which was average -- what I would expect from a Holiday Inn restaurant. The pool looked nice but we only stayed one night and did not use it. It was in a marginal area of town, but I did see security patrolling the parking lot when we left at 5:30 AM to head to the race.
Miserable hotel,staff,location
by A TripAdvisor Member
On arrival at what seems like a supermarket car park your welcome gets no better. This hotel is only suitable for a buisness traveler for one night,its too far from any life .we where told a taxi would cost 10 dollars which ended up 20 to the don ceasar hotel .We checked out the next day and continued our holiday at our expense as we were on a package tour.
A miserable hotel with miserable staff not the beautiful American welcome we were used to.
The pictures are deceiving.
by TripAdvisor Member ruthy1
The only good thing about this "motel" are the comfortable beds, nice soft pillows and maid service. Upon arriving we passed a gross smelly dumpster to our small room, not a welcoming site. The beach shore was covered with "old" dirty dried out seaweed. Hello, the hurricane season is over, its February and the beach should be clean!! No excuse for the dirty beach. It does NOT look like the Holiday Inn Photo, quite the opposite, we were very disappointed in the lack of beach care. The restaurant was very dark and dreary, but the waitresses were nice. We checked out a day early, never to return. I'll never go by hotel photos again. We spent our entire vacation off the premises. Never again Holiday Inn!!!! You just lost a customer.
Ok for the money. Close to Nice Beaches. Very Old Property.
by TripAdvisor Member MikeFromOhio
This is an interesting property. It does have some nice things about it that make it appealing for the money spent. The outdoor swimming pools are very nice and clean. The hotel has nicely maintained grounds and is attractive. There is a nice Tiki Bar and the lobby is attractive as well. The restaurant has good food.
The rooms are very old! My room required me to slam the door 2 or 3 times just to get the door closed. The hot water in my room ran completely out after about 10 minutes of shower time and took an hour to recharge. The Toilet flushed very slow. The mattress was so old I am surprised I didn't see a George Washington slept here sign in the room.
The rooms were however clean for the most part.
The configuration of the property is that of a motel. The property is also independently managed from Holiday Inns. A sign in the lobby states that it is an independent location and not to contact Holiday Inns if you have a problem.
If you are going for some sunshine and have a little patience its Ok for the money spent. I would go back to this location but only because of the price.
I would rate it a C+
by TripAdvisor Member ColoradoSprings2006
Mixed reviews about staff and cleanliness. We had requested a bay view room ahead of time and found that although the view was beautiful, the room was too small for four people.
We asked to be upgraded to a 2-floor suite and due to our platinum holiday inn status, we were immediately accomodated. The second room, although it had no view, was far better. The downstairs area had a pull-out queen size sofa bed, table and chairs, and kitchenette.
The upstairs had two queen beds and the bathroom. Only drawback to the layout was the tiny spiral staircase, which was not easy to navigate and would be difficult for very large or elderly folks.
The front-desk staff was very friendly and helpful.
The people that clean the rooms are slackers, though. On our third morning, I tracked down the housekeeping staff to complain that our room had not been cleaned in two days and was told that two people were responsible for cleaning, one upstairs and one downstairs.
When I said I was heading to the front desk to complain, the maid ran back to our room and really cleaned it. Where she had previously only emptied trash, restocked towels and half-heartedly pulled up the comforters, when she returned after threat of complaint she wiped the sinks, vacuumed the room, and cleaned the first floor room she claimed was assigned to someone else.
The restaurant was adequate but not spectacular, pretty much what you would expect from an average hotel.
We would return again but only using holiday inn reward points.
Just ok stay
by TripAdvisor Member tahiti98
We have stayed here before and probably will in the future because it is close to family we have in St. Petersburg. But the property leaves things to be desired. First of all, I booked a marina or bay view since that was the only choice for AAA discount. The room was $150. I was hoping to get a bay view, since I had the marina view before and it was terrible. When I checked in the girl said all she had was marina view. I then asked for a courtyard view since they are nicer. The other man working behind the counter arrogantly piped up that the hotel was sold out and that marina was all they had. I had just gone on their website that morning and saw quite a few rooms available. I was just about to say something when the girl found a room for me with a courtyard view.
The rooms are average, although showing age. The pools are warm, and there is a pool more for children, leaving the other one nice for adults.
As I said, will be staying again in the future, but hopefully for a cheaper rate.
Some people are never happy
by A TripAdvisor Member
Wife and I spent a week there June 1-8th and found the Holiday Inn to be very nice. No, it is not the Ritz, but it is very family frendly and comfortable. The grounds are beatiful and the pools clean and warm. The rooms are clean, very nice. We were close enougth to visit the Beaches, only 15 minutes away, but far away enought to stay out of rat race along the coast. This Holiday Inn is on the Bay so I took advantage of some fishing on their property, had a ball. Will we retunn, yes without question. Staff made our visit very enjoyable.
THE DISGUSTING SMELL
by TripAdvisor Member goalie472
is not only outside of the hotel, but has permeated into the rooms.
I agree with other reviewers that the website advertising this hotel is very deceiving -- it's nothing more than a cheap motel on a disgusting swamp.
I expect a certain amount of "grime" on beachfromt hotels, but the amount at this hotel is unacceptable, and it's not even on the beach!!
The location is horrible, and it is also in an unsafe part of town, according to acquaintances in the city.
I am rating it as one star only because 0 star is not an option.
Do yourself and your faimly a big favor and stay somewhere else!
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