Honest Review of The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa (with photos)

I recently stayed at The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa in Tampa Bay, Florida.

My husband and I were going to the WWE Royal Rumble show, and since most of the hotels in St.Pete were booked, we stayed in the Tampa Bay area. We were looking at the downtown area but noticed some hotels by the Bay.

Who doesn’t like being by beautiful waters?

The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa stood out to us because of how affordable it was for a 4-night stay, and it looked nice! I looked at the hotel’s reviews on Tripadvisor, and the reviews were mixed. There were some good and bad, but I knew I could get the full picture once I got there.

So, let’s get into it!

Location (9 out of 10)

The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa is a 7-minute drive from the airport. Therefore, it didn’t take long for us to reach our hotel, even with the traffic. On the way to the hotel, you get a beautiful view of the beautiful water. If you are trying to go to downtown Tampa, it’s a 13-17 minute drive. Once you reach the hotel, you are surrounded by other hotels, a children’s Hospital, a few restaurants, and the beautiful Bay.

First Impression (7 out of 10)

The Hotel Lobby was simple yet well-decorated. It had a small concession area by the check-in area that honestly didn’t stay fully stocked.

The Bistro sits to your left right before you walk to the Bay area. The outside Area had chairs and seating areas to soak up the sun.

It was gorgeous yet simple. Also, if you need to use the microwave, it is across from the Bistro. Once we made it to our floor, the smell of weed and cigarettes instantly hit us. There were stains on the carpet in the hallway, and the inside of the elevator was not the biggest. I would rank the impression better if it weren’t for the overwhelming smells.

View of the Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa From the Parking Lot

Rooms ( 6 out of 10)

We got the Standard Room with a City View. I HIGHLY recommend you get the waterfront view if you can! Waking up to the beautiful sunset of the Bay is worth it. With the City View, we got a view of the Parking lot and the children’s Hospital.

The Room itself was pretty standard. I saw many people complain about the rooms not being cleaned, and I can say our Room was clean. The refrigerator in the Room was pretty spacious for all the food I brought.

One of the bedside lamps wasn’t working, but all the other lights worked. When using the toilet, I had to hold down the handle for a while for the toilet to flush correctly. The shower was smaller than what I am used to, and it did take a little longer for our shower water to drain, but overall, the bathroom was fine.

Each Room comes with a patio area for you to sit down. The only issue with the Area was opening and closing the sliding door. I had to use some muscle strength to open and close it. Struggling, locking the sliding door back, I left it unlocked. However, I wasn’t concerned about someone breaking into our Room through the patio door.

The bed was so comfortable, and we slept great! We did not get woken up or were disturbed at night. I will advise you to bring a Firestick, PlayStation, etc. because the Room’s TVs aren’t smart. You know, just in case you want to watch Netflix or something. I couldn’t hear my neighbors in their Room, but I could hear people in the hallway.

Staff (10 out of 10)

The staff at the front desk was super friendly, and getting our room key was by far the fastest I have seen at all of my hotel stays. The Staff at the Bistro was excellent and quick with my order, and the staff at the bar of the WTR Grill was super nice. Everyone I ran into was super helpful.

Food and Drink (8 out of 10)

As I mentioned, The hotel has a bistro and the WTR Grill.

Bistro

The Bistro is open from 8 am to 2 pm and full of breakfast sandwiches, coffee, drinks, alcoholic drinks, and quick lunches. I got a hot chocolate twice and a chocolate cake from there. It was delicious, and they even asked if I wanted caramel sauce and whipped cream on my cake. I’m not going to turn that down! The line can get long, so try to get there as soon as possible.

WTR Grill

I did not get any food from there, even though they had different meal selections. I got an alcoholic drink, and even though it was good, it was also spicy. Well, at least the drink I got was. It wasn’t packed at the grill. As a matter of fact, there was no one sitting at the tables. Everyone was at the bar, and it wasn’t packed either. I don’t remember anyone getting any food while I was sitting at the bar.

Whisky Joe’s

This is not on the hotel property, but a less than 10-minute walk from the hotel. I recommend visiting this restaurant. You can sit inside, by the water, or on the beach! They have a sandy area where you can play cornhole (beanbag toss), enjoy bonfires, and they have music performers on the beach. It was a great experience. The food there was excellent. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the gumbo, but it was only because I am from Louisiana, so we are pretty critical of our gumbo, haha.

One issue I experienced at this location was when I came to pick up my to-go order, the worker at the counter looked at me and then turned her back to me. Instead of speaking when we walked in, it was just a quick stare, and they went back to talking to each other. They handed me my to-go order a minute later and told me to have a good day. I also did come at a not-so-busy time, and no customers were coming in besides us.

Would I still recommend this place to others? Yes!

Amenities (8 out of 10)

Dogs are allowed here. You can also access their bikes for your use since the bike rental fee is included in your resort fee.

I did not experience their pool, but I will say I did not see anyone at the pools the entire time I was there. It looked like a ghost town over there. However, I went in January, and the weather was in the 70s, so I wasn’t surprised.

The gym was small but had everything needed for a quick workout. It even had a mini fridge full of water and towels to wipe your sweat.

Would I Go Back Here?

Personally, I would NOT go back here.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience, but smelling weed coming into my Room and the Room being outdated was a turn-off for me. I would recommend this hotel if you want something simple and budget-friendly. Better yet, I would recommend getting a suite room. The best part of the hotel was the beautiful views of the Bay.