The Midtown Area of Tampa didn’t exist when I lived there last decade, and it’s a great addition to the city, the kind of mixed-use living and commercial development that’s thankfully coming back in style. Along with its Aloft twin, it shares a building with, The Element Tampa Midtown Hotel offers guests rooms with a kitchenette and nice hotel amenities, but also places to get groceries or go out to eat without ever getting in a car.
Located less than 10 minutes from Tampa International Airport and close to where the Tampa Bay Bucs play football, this Element by Westin property is in a shiny new development where you can shop at Whole Foods, REI, or Sephora. You’ve got a half-dozen dining options besides what’s on site, from casual (Ben & Jerry’s, Shake Shack) to full sit-down restaurants serving several cuisine options.
You could go a week here without needing to get in a vehicle, which is uncommon in the USA. That’s probably one of the main draws for residents of the surrounding high-rise apartment buildings.
Facilities at Element Tampa Midtown
This ability to stay put is helped by the elements built into the Element Hotel brand, including extensive common workspaces flooded with natural light, plenty of electrical outlets, and fast Wi-Fi. Once you’re done answering emails and preparing presentations, there are more casual lounging areas. There’s no lobby bar down here like there is in the neighboring Aloft, but you can grab something from the mini convenience store behind reception.
Breakfast is included in an area off to the side of this, and there’s plenty of room for everyone in the morning. There’s a well-equipped gym for working out when you go down to the lowest level.
Both the lobby area and the gym offer places to hydrate, but that’s not where it ends in this wellness-focused chain. Every room has filtered water coming out of the kitchen tap, with a glass bottle there to fill, which keeps a lot of throwaway single-use plastic bottles out of landfills.
This Element property shares the building with an Aloft property, both part of the dizzying array of brands under the Marriott umbrella. If you’re not sure how to tell these two apart, the two lobbies definitely make it clear. While the Aloft lobby is filled with funky modern art, a pool table, a bar, and cubby booths fit for smooching, the Element side is bright, minimalist, and ready for your collaboration meeting with laptops open.
The two hotels also share a swimming pool, which is probably fine when occupancy is low, but would be trouble on a football game weekend. It’s nice enough and is perched on the seventh floor, but it’s not much bigger than a typical motel pool and has fewer than 20 lounge chairs. We assume the nearby bar is open when it does get busy, though: it wasn’t during the day when I was there on a Monday.
Sal y Mar Restaurant With a View
The Aloft and Element share not just the pool, but the main restaurant and bar as well, a rooftop place called Sal y Mar. You don’t really get a city or skyline view here unless it’s a clear day and you’re standing at one of two specific outdoor tables that sees downtown past the Aloft. You’re just not all that high up here. The restaurant is flooded with light while the sun is up though and it has a nice outdoor area that’s popular for cocktail hour gatherings, especially private parties.
The two of us had dinner here, enjoying a cocktail and some nice dishes while the sun went down and the mood changed as the lights came on. There’s a strong emphasis on seafood since we’re on the coast here, close to the Gulf of Mexico, but there are other options if that’s not your thing.
There are a dozen signature cocktails and spritzes, plus a good range of wines by the glass and by the bottle that span many different styles. The beer list was clearly an afterthought for the chef since Tampa has 70+ breweries and only one of them shows up among the macrobrews on the menu, but at least it’s a good one: Jai Alai.
Appetizers and main dishes both gravitate toward the decadent side, so assume dinner here will be a treat and not a night of playing it safe. Ingredients like bacon, remoulade, chorizo, and pork belly enhance the seafood, steaks, and risotto. We enjoyed the crab and shrimp fritters, a grilled fish, and the scallop dish pictured here.
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Rooms at Element by Westin in Tampa
These Element by Westin Tampa rooms are kind of a cross between a normal hotel room and an extended-stay one, with a basic kitchen setup that includes a microwave, fridge, coffee maker, sink, and some dishes. Plus some real glasses, not just plastic or paper cups.
The views are nothing to get excited about here, but the windows do let in plenty of natural light when you want it, and the blackout curtains are there when you’re ready to snooze. The lighting is good, and there are plenty of places to charge up your gadgets.
I think we had the standard room category, nothing extra. It had a nice desk with an ergonomic chair, a chair with an ottoman and a reading lamp, and a decent-sized closet with a luggage rack inside.
The Earth-friendly aspects of this brand go beyond just refillable toiletries in the shower. The carpet tiles are made from recycled fishing nets, and the mattresses are constructed from non-toxic materials. You can drink the filtered tap water, as mentioned, and you won’t find plastic mugs, throwaway coffee cups, or capsules in the rooms.
Booking a Stay
This is a brand within a brand, part of Westin when it was under the Starwood umbrella, and now one of the many brands that are hard to tell apart from Marriott. This one is meant to be calm, wellness-focused, and a place to get business done with the people you need to get it done with. You can earn or use Marriott Bonvoy points here, and if you have status, you’ll get the perks that come with that.
If you are running around to business meetings and do need a car, valet parking is available for a fee, as is help getting your luggage up to the lobby and room. It would be easier to just get an Uber, Lyft, or taxi ride from the airport, though, and then do the same when you need to go back there or to nearby places in Tampa. Nothing is too far from this location if it’s in the downtown Tampa vicinity.
Rates start at $199 at Tampa Element Midtown, and the upgrade fees are quite reasonable for a larger room with a full kitchen or a junior suite with more furniture. See more information at the official Marriott website and book there or through one of the online travel agency sites.
Check rates for Element Tampa Midtown online at Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda.com, or Hotels.com.
