When I first arrived at St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport in January, I already knew where I wanted to stay.
Before my trip, I had read the Tampa Tribune on line seeking a rental unit for under $500 a month (Good luck). What I found was worth the money, but more than I could afford.
The Howard Johnson Express on South Dale Mabry is everything I needed, and the weather was gorgeous that first night - 70 degrees and a clear, starlit sky compared to the frozen tundra of Cleveland, OH. Unfortunately, I misread the ad and it wasn't $500 a month.
This particular hotel is situated within a mile of a multi-screen movie theater, bicycle shop and several churches. It is also the closest to MacDill Air Force Base at two miles away. Also two miles away is a 9-mile walkway that runs parallel to Bayshore Boulevard. At the shopping plaza where the movie theater is located, you can catch a bus that will carry you across the Gandy Bridge to Pinellas County. (That is something else. Parallel to the Gandy Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that cyclists and walkers can use to cross the bay!).
Back to the hotel. This is a wonderful place with king size beds, microwave/refrigerator, hairdryer, coffeepot, iron/ironing board and safe in every room. There are family, jacuzzi and kitchenette suites, a large fitness room, outdoor pool (it's Florida) and complimentary breakfast with free newspaper. The service there is impeccable. I was able to keep my 18-speed road bicycle outside and it was never stolen. On my last day, the desk clerk called a cab at my request that arrived within five minutes!
North of the hotel are a library, fire station, Publix, Raymond James Station, Tampa International Airport. Busch Gardens is about 13 miles to the northeast, downtown Tampa is five miles away and Ybor City is six miles.
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