The Best Places to Drink and Stay in Tampa

Roman & Williams brought their loft-luxe aesthetic to a 26-story tower in Tampa's Water Street district, and the result is an EDITION hotel that feels less like a Gulf Coast newcomer and more like a confident transplant from somewhere with stronger opinions about lobby design. Seven dining and drinking venues include some built for live performance, with menus overseen by John Fraser. A rooftop pool, a full-service spa, and a Forbes Four Star round out the picture.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame views of Tampa Bay and Amalie Arena from every room in this 27-story hotel, which anchors the Water Street mixed-use development downtown. It's a full-service JW Marriott: modern and warm without tipping into excess, with a spa, resort-style pools, a rooftop bar that climbs high enough to see most of Tampa, and dining options ranging from a street-level window to a proper American bistro beside the pool.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. Esquire The Best Bars in America

Every one of the 192 rooms comes with a private balcony facing the Gulf, which sets the tone for what kind of resort this is. The 16-story tower sits on the quieter southern end of Clearwater Beach, where the foot traffic thins out and the sand feels like it belongs to the guests. Inside, the mood is hushed and polished, a deliberate step away from the louder stretch of beach to the north. A rooftop restaurant, a spa, and a pool round things out.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Sitting inside an open-air shopping village just across the river from downtown Tampa, this Palisociety boutique hotel brings the brand's California-by-way-of-Europe sensibility to the Gulf Coast without it feeling out of place. Hyde Park is a quietly upscale residential pocket, and the hotel fits the neighborhood, colorful and eclectic without trying too hard. It holds a Michelin Key.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key

Exposed brick salvaged from whatever stood here before sits in the suites alongside walkout balconies over 7th Avenue, and that tension between old and new is the whole point of this boutique hotel. It sits in Ybor City, Tampa's old tobacco-and-immigrant district, and leans into that history hard, with local artisans handling the décor. Flor Fina handles bistro dining; Café Quiquiriqui handles guava pastelitos at a more forgiving hour.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Water on three sides puts Tampa Bay practically inside the room at this boutique hotel on Rocky Point. The interiors lean modernist and minimal, which sounds cold until you see how well it plays against the view. There's an outdoor pool, a ninth-floor fitness center, and Rox Rooftop Bar sits higher than anything else in town, if you need a reason to skip the gym.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar