I stayed at the 915 Stay Alfred on Franklin Street in downtown Tampa. I needed to be near the Bayshore area and the Harbor Island hotels were busy with Gasparilla runners. The 915 is a bit off the main drag, but having Osteria downstairs helps bring people to the area.
The facility is fabulous! The security is tight, the workout center and pool can't be beat and the rooms have everything you need. The rooms are contemporary, well equipped, and extremely clean. The rooms have full kitchens, washer and dryer, a queen bed and a sofa-sleeper.
The air system is a bit of a pain because mine was set for a steamy 76 degrees. The whole week has to be programmed to make any changes. There is not an override to adjust the temperature immediately (at least as far as I could find). This was not fun at 3 am my first night there. Make sure to program upon arrival.
I could not get either television to work. They would scan channels and say that none were found. I could not get the menu to show up to confirm that it was set on HDTV or cable on the one in the bedroom. It was set appropriately on the one in the living room but it still did the cannel scan with the same results. Any instruction to use the TVs would be helpful as they are different than any boxes I have seen. In defense of Stay Alfred, they offered to send a local rep over to solve the issue. However, I did not have time to stay around and wait for someone to come. TV not a huge deal. It would have been nice late night though.
Neither the TVs nor the air systems were deal breakers for me. However, there is one thing (sadly) that might keep me from being a regular visitor. I am in Tampa every couple of months and need to be able to come in and out multiple times each day. The parking options are awful! You on park on the street for two hours maximum at a high hourly cost. However, I only found street parking two times in four days/nights. The small number of spots in a 1/2 mile radius are always taken. It is pure fortune to get one. For a female at night it is not very secure to park away from the block. I was approached by men twice when I parked on the street. That made me a bit uncomfortable. There is a parking deck at the property where you pay an hourly rate. However, those spaces are scarce as well because there are many visitors to the building and the Osteria restaurant. There are some lots near by but no in and out parking. Unless you want to cook each meal or go to Osteria for any meals, chances are you will use your car.
Stay Alfred would be the perfect place to stay if they worked out some option for 24 hour in and out parking at the property. It seems like that would be doable because there is reserved parking for permanent residents. Would there not be spaces for the apartments owned by Stay Alfred?
