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Hotel Class: 
3.5 Stars - 1 Review and 141 Opinions
3705 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
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of people enjoy staying here
142 Opinions
laurenzi1
User Rating
Pro’s:
Location is very convenient to USF & Busch Gardens.
Hotel staff was excellent. (bring some extra $1’s because the staff deserves it)
Complimentary breakfast & happy hour are awesome.
Shuttle service is very flexible and it takes 5 minutes to get to Busch Gardens.
Con’s:
Cannot think of any.
Unique Quality: the shuttle service to Busch Gardens is really awesome.
Embassy Suites Hotel Tampa-USF/Near Busch Gardens Photo: hotel lobby
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Although Tampa has a lot to offer, the main reason most tourist make a trip to the city is to visitBUSH GARDENSRanked as one of the finest Zoos in the US,Bush Gardens offers a turn-of-the-centurt African experience (clean, man-made and well-organized of course).
Okay, so I have no idea what the heck you do here except that it is a big water park and everyone seems to go here all the time. I will eventually make my way there--perhaps the next GWIT this fall.
I haven't been to Busch Gardens in a long time, however for those of you traveling with families, this was the coolest place to be when I was a kid. I had a yearly pass up through middle school and there is a lot of really fun stuff to do there. They have many great roller coasters (Montu is my favorite, it takes you right over a pond of crocodiles) and water rides, and the animals are so much fun to watch. Maybe I'm easily entertained, but I could sit at the gorilla exhibit and watch them for hours on end. There are also hippos, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, crocodiles, flamingos... they've got it all!
Bush Gardens is great for thrill rides and animals, and its somewhere pretty much all locals and tourists go. However, personally, it never held the same magic that Disney World did for me.
Also a word of warning: the area around Bush Gardens is sketchy at best. You may want to book a hotel elsewhere in town.
Bush Gardens is more than just an amusement park it is also quite the zoo so please take time to enjoy the animals. I have had season passes about 5 of the 10 years I've lived in Tampa and still enjoy wondering around the park - even on those days when I don't feel like doing the rides.
My favorites are the various talks the zoo keepers do (will be on the park schedule), the Hippo pool & the gorillas wildlife area.
If you are really into animals there are several back stage tours you can do for a fee. There is even a "zoo keeper for the day" program.
If you are really into animals it is well worth buying a season pass and also visiting Bush Gardens two sister parks in Orlando - Sea World and Discovery Cove (dolphins and snorkeling). If your interested in going to these parks buy the tickets at the same time for a discount.
Link to educational resources on Bush Garden's Animals see below
http://www.swbg-animals.org/animal-info/index.htm
Bush Gardens
Fun adventure at Bush Gardens
Egyptians at Bush Gardens
Hi,
I'm thinking about heading to Florida on a J1 working holiday visa this summer - maybe staying someplace in the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg area and hopefully working in the area from June to September.
Has anybody ever been there before, and if you have, can you give me any advice on how suitable it'd be for a j1 working holiday (nightlife, cost of living [food, drink, transport, seasonal jobs], any info you have at all really).
Appreciate any advice you can give.
Am not too familiar with the rules for J1 visas. Tampa should have decent jobs, and there's also Bush Gardens and other tourist attractions. You could get an idea of what it costs to live there from looking at Craiglist for Tampa: http://tampa.craigslist.org/ ... however, *please note* you do have to be careful checking out the posts. You also need to make sure the place is close to your work - you really do need a car in Tampa! Most are OK, but you cannot assume every poster is honest. Not sure if it would be helpful for you to check w/the local university, University of South Florida http://www.usf.edu/index.asp.
Looks like you'll be coming from Ireland, so do realize you'll be coming in for the hottest, most humid part of the year, and if you get an outside job it could be extremely hot.
Hope your plans materialize favorably!
Nomad
Thanks for your reply.
We're still looking at all our options at the minute - but Tampa definetly sounds like a great place to live in (mainly due to its close proximity to Clearwater and St. Petersburg beaches), although we're still undecided about the weather (it seems to get very, very hot - maybe a little too hot?) and the transportation issue.
Is public transportation really that bad that we'd need to actually buy a car? I would consider buying one, but if there's decent public transport between Tampa and Clearwater/St. Petersburg/surrounding cities, then it'd probably work out better.
Thanks again for your advice so far, and any more advice you or anybody else has is greatly appreciated.
There are also frequent thunderstorms in the summer months and not having a car could be a challenge.
Nomad
the shuttle service to Busch Gardens is really awesome.
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Address: 3705 Spectrum Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States
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