Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG
A budget-friendly Tampa hotel with bay views, complimentary breakfast, and a free Busch Gardens shuttle.
The verdict
Pick a traveller type to re-weight the scores and re-rank the rooms around what you actually care about.
This budget-friendly property sits on the water with a sparkling pool and a tropical setting near the USF campus. Guests appreciate conveniences like the complimentary breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and a five-minute shuttle to Busch Gardens. However, multiple visitors report severe housekeeping and maintenance issues, including dirty rooms that smelled like a sewer and unhelpful management. 53
Every line below traces back to something a traveler actually wrote — open a line to read the original sentence and follow it to the source.
What travelers noticed
- Guests agree that the complimentary breakfast provides a solid start with a large selection of teas, coffee, and multiple food choices. 3
- Reviewers consistently appreciate the outdoor area featuring a sparkling pool with tranquil views of the bay. 3
- Visitors also value convenient perks such as free Wi-Fi and a five-minute shuttle to Busch Gardens. 5
The catch
- Guests are divided on room cleanliness: some found the fixtures, rugs, and windows spotless, while others were assigned dirty rooms that smelled like a sewer. 3
- Service reports also conflict, ranging from praise for prompt telephone requests for extra blankets to complaints about an unhelpful manager during room disputes. 7
Who it's for
- — Busch Gardens and USF visitors
- — Pre-cruise stays on a budget
- — Travelers wanting a pool with bay views
Skip it if
- — Travelers sensitive to sewer smells or dirty linens
- — Families expecting children to stay free of charge
- — Guests seeking vibrant nightlife nearby
Seen on camera
2 moments · 1 video · Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG
Each moment is pulled at the second a cited reviewer said the words. Play it here, or open the original video at that timestamp.
“Imagine arriving in the vibrant city of Tampa and stepping into a retreat that feels just like a home away from home. Th…”
youtube.com0:32“Plus, you get free Wi-Fi to stay connected and a delicious breakfast to kick start your morning adventures.”
youtube.com1:58Frames are citations: each one links to its second in the source video, attributed to the creator who filmed it. Nothing here is supplied by the hotel. Creators who want a moment removed can ask and we take it down.
How to book
Score breakdown
How the 80/100 is built, category by category — each one with the strongest thing travelers actually said, and the source it came from.
Bathroom
85Nothing quotable yet on this one — the score leans on the rest of the coverage.
Food
92Location
91Nothing quotable yet on this one — the score leans on the rest of the coverage.
Room
83Service
86- “And telephone service is the best I called them for an extra blanket and they ga ve me immediately.” 7
- “The driver was dressed in black pants, white shirt and tie. He opened the van door for the passengers and lead them into the lobby then handled all of the luggage. He conducted himself in a very top notch professional manner.” 3
Bed & Sleep
83Nothing quotable yet on this one — the score leans on the rest of the coverage.
Value
82- “For the price it appears to be more than a great deal, especially when you add in the free airport and port transportation along with the free breakfast.” 3
- “You are not going to get lots of nightlife and excitment in this area but you will get a nice/relaxing hotel at a great price that is directly on the water with a tranquil tropical setting.” 3
Where it is, how to reach it
Details checked 2026-09-10
Where it sits
Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG and the 38 other hotels we cover in Tampa. Hover a marker for the hotel; click to open it.
Stay value
How this property reads against the hotels we cover alongside it. Measured on review evidence, not on a nightly rate.
On par with what $ usually buys
Scores 2 points below the modest median of 82, across 404 hotels in the same bracket. In Tampa it sits 4 points below the local median of 84.
- This hotel
- 80
- Bracket median
- 82
- Index median
- 86
Based on 404 comparable hotels.
Which room to ask for
What reviewers say about where to sleep inside this building — by room number where one is named, and otherwise by floor, wing, aspect and position. Every line opens onto the quotes behind it.
No reviewer has yet described a room, floor or aspect specifically enough to act on at this property. Room intelligence appears here the moment they do.
Where travelers agree — and don’t
The topics reviewers split on most. A wide bar means your experience depends on which room you get — or whose opinion you trust.
View the 23 things travelers said behind this verdict▾
Quotes run exactly as travelers wrote them — spelling and all. We trim for length, never for tidiness.
- “Reply Share capn-crunch419 • 7mo ago yeah my boyfriend & i just are talking about making the switch to another brand. we had issues with an IHG overcharging our card back in december and that took almost 2 months to resolve and even then our bank resolved it not IHG.” 6
- “Rocky Point Holiday Inn is a very nice clean hotel and if we ever cruise out of Tampa again we would probably stay there again.” 2
- “I then ventured into the lobby and asked the desk clerk if I could take a quick look at the hotel as I was coming with a small group in Oct and wanted to give some feedback. He was very nice and told me to roam around and take a look.” 3
- “The driver was dressed in black pants, white shirt and tie. He opened the van door for the passengers and lead them into the lobby then handled all of the luggage. He conducted himself in a very top notch professional manner.” 3
- “id also just like to reiterate i did ask for clean sheets in the first 3 rooms which the manager refused to give us until the 5th room.” 6
- “And telephone service is the best I called them for an extra blanket and they ga ve me immediately.” 7
- “At this point, we want to talk to the manager. He has not come to help the front desk employee or help us resolve the issue. Instead, he tells us that "we clearly have no intentions on being happy here".” 6
- “id also just like to reiterate i did ask for clean sheets in the first 3 rooms which the manager refused to give us until the 5th room. i wouldn't have gone to 6 rooms to begin with had we just been given clean sheets.” 6
- “One of my favorite things about this spot is how they focus on the little details that make a stay seamless. You get flexible check-in starting at 3:00 p.m. and while check-out is at 11:00 a.m., the service is so attentive you'll feel pampered the whole time.” 1
- “i also really just didn't expect the rooms to be so dirty every time. i get mistakes but that many rooms is crazy.” 6
- “Budget-friendly with solid amenities, though it's a motel-style property rather than full-service hotel.” 5
- “The cleaning boy behavior is very good But the worst thing is if you forget to take a card from your room , you cannot open the door and you cannot open the lift you stuck on your floor otherwise you can call the reception floor by telephone.” 7
- “You are not going to get lots of nightlife and excitment in this area but you will get a nice/relaxing hotel at a great price that is directly on the water with a tranquil tropical setting.” 3
- “Now, just a quick heads-up for the families out there, the hotel does have a specific policy where children are not free of charge and additional fees might apply.” 1
- “The money saved by booking through Priceline can be used for taxis, which are much more convenient than free shuttles. I hate packing into those shuttles like sardines.” 3
- “For the price it appears to be more than a great deal, especially when you add in the free airport and port transportation along with the free breakfast.” 3
- “And i like their breakfast . There are too many items that you want you can take and eat as your choice.” 7
- “Plus, you get free Wi-Fi to stay connected and a delicious breakfast to kick start your morning adventures.” On camera11:58
- “I visited late afternoon so the food was put away but I did see a very large selection of Earl Grey and many other nice teas, along with an area for coffee and a variety of regular and flavored creamers.” 3
- “Im Hilton diamond and marriott plat. They've all went down in quality. Fairfield with 15 year old furniture. Hamptons that haven't been renovated in 20 years. Very little consistency.” 6
- “Second room we were given, same thing. The room also smelled like a sewer.” 6
- “First room we checked in there were probably 15-20 hairs all over the bed.” 6
- “To end, I would say that this would be a good choice for a pre-cruise hotel. It is only one of few in the Tampa area that is on the water and has a great view of the bay and a tropical feel.” 3
What we still don't know
What we can’t tell you yet, said plainly. These close as we read more coverage of this hotel.
- No reviewer has named an individual room number here yet.
- Nothing reliable said about room types.
- Nothing reliable said about floor level.
- Nothing reliable said about building or wing.
- Nothing reliable said about which side it faces.
- Nothing reliable said about view.
- Nothing reliable said about position on the floor.
- Food rests on 3 sources — too thin to rely on.
Ask about Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG
Answered only from the coverage cited on this page. If nobody has written about your question, it will say so rather than guess.
How much we read
Deep coverage · 49/100We read 7 sources for this property, and pulled 29 traveler insights worth knowing. Last checked 2026-09-11.
Watch this hotel
We keep reading Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG. Tell us when you're staying and we'll follow it until then — you'll hear from us only when the verdict is rewritten, the score moves, or new reviews land. No daily mail, and the watch closes itself after your stay.
Sources
Everything quoted on this page, grouped by traveler insights, outlets, and video & podcast. Counts beside each group show everything we’ve read of that kind; no one kind can carry the score on its own.
5 of 5 summary lines above are traced to specific quotes. The rest summarise the read as a whole rather than any single document.
View all 7 cited sources▾
Everything quoted on this page.
- 6Having a horrible experience at Holiday Inn Express in ...reddit.comForum thread2026-02-08Recent8 quotes used
“Reply Share capn-crunch419 • 7mo ago yeah my boyfriend & i just are talking about making the switch to another brand. we had issues with an IHG overcharging our card back in december and that took almost 2 months to reso…”
Read originalreddit.com - 7Holiday Inn hotel 🏨 Reviewlocalguidesconnect.comReview site2025-02-17Recent4 quotes used
“And i like their breakfast . There are too many items that you want you can take and eat as your choice.”
Read originallocalguidesconnect.com - 3TAMPA - Holiday-Inn Rocky-Point - Florida Departuresboards.cruisecritic.comReview site2010-01-06Ageing10 quotes used
“I then ventured into the lobby and asked the desk clerk if I could take a quick look at the hotel as I was coming with a small group in Oct and wanted to give some feedback. He was very nice and told me to roam around an…”
Read originalboards.cruisecritic.com - 2Tampa/Rocky Point Holiday Inn Mini Reviewboards.cruisecritic.comReview site2005-04-10Ageing1 quote used
“Rocky Point Holiday Inn is a very nice clean hotel and if we ever cruise out of Tampa again we would probably stay there again.”
Read originalboards.cruisecritic.com - 1Holiday Inn Tampa North By IHG | Tampa (FL), United Statesyoutube.comVideoDate not statedListened for quotes only4 quotes used
“Now, just a quick heads-up for the families out there, the hotel does have a specific policy where children are not free of charge and additional fees might apply.”
Read originalyoutube.com - 4Holiday Inn - Tampa North By Ihgholidaynorthihg.hoteltampa.netReview siteDate not statedRead originalholidaynorthihg.hoteltampa.net
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