Write Around Tampa

The Westin Tampa

7627 W Courtney Campbell Causeway

Tampa

My final hotel of the season as well as my last posting of Write Around Tampa for the year, and I chose the hotel where my Tampa experience began for me over fifteen years ago when I first visited. My friend and I got lost on our way to the 275 and ended up going over the Courtney Campbell and I was awestruck. The water, the palm trees, the Tampa skyline in the distance, the Westin. At the time I was staying in a Hampton Inn and I murmured, “Oh, how I’d love to stay there.” Fast forward ten months and I indeed was staying at the Westin with my family for my birthday, preparing to come back in sixth months as an official resident of Tampa. The 3C has always had an air of divinity for me and I get teary eyed and overwhelmed every time I crest that hill coming off the 589. For me, as a writer, it doesn’t get any better. But how would another writer fare? I’ve got a clue.

Quality and pricing of food and drink:

There’s a lobby restaurant, open for breakfast, which I missed. But fear not, there’s also a Starbucks, with slightly higher prices than you’d experience at a stand-alone. But as I’m flush with the Starbucks gift cards, I made out just fine.

Are there enough outlets?

Yes, right by the tables outside the Starbucks.

How’s the wifi?

Three different choices. If you want the free one you’ll have to join the Marriott family and become a Bonvoy member. I am one, so up and running. If you don’t want to, you’ll have to deal without wifi.

Will my muse come out?

Indeed she will. The aroma of the lobby upon entering is like a fresh outdoor shower in a Pantene commercial shot in a garden. There’s a pleasant view of the water, light guest traffic, just enough stimulation to lull you into a fictional setting of your choosing.

How long can I park it?

Let me put it this way: when I drove up the valet approached and asked how he could help me. I said, “I have a question,” and he said, “I’ve got the answer.” I asked him if there was someplace I could park if I just wanted to have a look at the lobby and perhaps a coffee in the Starbucks. He said absolutely, directed me where to go, told me I didn’t have to pay and to stay as long as I liked. That right there is the beauty of this city and the magic of Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Final rating: 5 out of 5 laptops

Rachel Remick’s fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in various magazines, among them Rosebud, Bluestem, Brushfire, and ellipsis . . . literature and art. A frequent contributor to women’s magazine Sasee, her writing has also been published in several volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. She lives in Tampa, Florida and wants to wish you all the happiness of the holiday season.