Tall & Urban News

Super Bowl LV visitors to Tampa on 7 February, 2021 won't have a shortage of venues to book while they're in town. Contractors are vigorously putting finishing touches on a half a dozen new and renovated hotels. But one of the most anticipated venues debuted Monday, 21 December, 2020.

Under construction for 2.5 years, the 27-story, US$200 million-plus JW Marriott Tampa Water Street hotel is the centerpiece of Water Street Tampa, the US$3.5 billion development led by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's company Strategic Property Partners and Cascade Investment Group owned by Bill Gates. The development encompasses some of Tampa most prime real estate between the Tampa Convention Center and Port Tampa Bay.

The Water Street property is Marriott’s 100th under the JW Marriott brand. Hotel director of sales and marketing, Christopher Akins, predicts the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street will be the premier venue for international conferences and board meetings, elegant weddings and a home away from home for the rich and famous.

"Combining modern luxury with the sophisticated energy of Tampa's Water Street neighborhood, our hotel is more than just a place to lay your head," Akins said. "Designed to bring guests together, we offer multiple social spaces for cultivating new connections.

The complex includes two Marriott hotels—one renovated, one new construction—with more than 1,200 rooms and 140,000 square feet (13,006 square meters) of event space including 100,000-square-foot (9,290-square-meter) high-tech conference theaters, intimate boardrooms, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces that rival the country's top hotels, and a 30,000-square-foot (2,787-square-meter) ballroom that currently serves as a practice court for the Toronto Raptors, which are playing this season in Tampa Bay due to coronavirus restrictions in Toronto.

A skybridge connects the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street and the Tampa Marriott Water Street.

"Our hotel's 20 redesigned event spaces for up to 2,000 attendees will delight those seeking an ideal venue for business meetings or weddings," Adkins said.

Featuring sleek, mid-century modern decor, the hotel pays homage to its waterside location with nautical motifs, driftwood, and a waterfall in the outdoor portico.

The hotel's exclusive Concierge Lounge has undergone its own transformation with a goal toward further elevating the guest experience. Open to anyone staying in a concierge-level room or suite, guests can work and relax in the newly reimagined space featuring modern décor and contemporary conveniences like complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, continental breakfast and afternoon hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

There is also a four-story atrium lobby lounge with floating art and a skybox that can only be accessed from the third floor.

“With every project we strive to build the best, and it’s extremely rewarding to see properties we have spent years working on recognized as achieving just that - the best on-site amenities and accommodations,” said Dan Whiteman, vice chairman of Coastal Construction Group, the Florida-based general contractor constructing the first phase of Water Street Tampa. “With Water Street Tampa, we strive to achieve more of the same, by building two world-class hotels that will help deliver a memorable experience for every guest.”

Guests can choose from 519 spacious 400-square-foot rooms to lay their heads at night as well as 1,190-square-foot suites and a 2,230-square-foot presidents suite with a terrace, bar and meeting space.

Rooms have panoramic views of downtown Tampa and the waterfront, some with glass-walled showers and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning and temporary home of the Toronto Raptors.

A rooftop pool also overlooks Amalie Arena.

Eventually, the JW Marriott will be joined by another hotel, the Edition, located on the other side of Amalie Arena. Created in partnership with hotelier Ian Schrager, the Edition aims to be Tampa Bay’s first five-star hotel when it opens in late 2021. The tower’s 37 luxury residences are now on sale starting at $2 million.

The hotel hosted a small private opening ceremony on Monday, which will be followed by a grand opening ceremony, possibly in March 2021.

For more on this story, go to Yahoo News.