Tampa info

[TerryP]

Hey guys. I'm Canadian and not often in the US, but will be in Tampa for a weekend later this month. Can anyone give me some advice? I'd like to know where the hot gay clubs are, and also open to any ideas of must-see things to do in the city.

- Terry

[+ jeezopete]

Hi Terry,

The two biggest gay clubs in the Tampa area are STEAM FRIDAYS @HONEYPOT (Friday night only) in Ybor City and G.BAR (Saturday only) also in Ybor City. I haven't been to either in a year or more, but they used to be packed on their respective nights. Lots of young gay men in both, 18 and up I believe. STEAM used to have drag shows, big name entertainers, a few male dancers, loud music & dancing. Haven't heard of any change recently. G.BAR was also full of the young crowd, dancing, entertainers, etc... Here's a link to the current Hotspots magazine with ads for clubs in the area:

 

http://www.hotspotsmagazine.com/current-magazine/current-magazine-central.html

 

Across the bay in St. Pete is Georgie's Alibi, another popular club.

There are also small bars with a few dancers, some with drag shows, leather bars, too in Tampa & St. Pete.

As far as other attractions, what are your interests? Tampa has a Museum of Art, the Florida Aquarium, historic Ybor City, and Busch Gardens. Across the bay are the beautiful Clearwater and St. Pete beaches.

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about.

 

dekim

[TerryP]

Thanks Dekim! That's actually exactly the kind of info that I was looking for (and was having trouble googling).

 

I do actually have one more question. I am bidding for a hotel on Priceline and am not sure what zone I want to stay in. I am not simply looking to be near the clubs but also want to be close to restaurants and shopping, and I don't drive so I want to have access to public transport. As a result, when I travel I almost always bid in the Downtown zone, but Tampa is puzzling me a bit because all the 4* hotels are actually in the zones "Airport South - Westshore" and "Airport West". As soon as I see "airport" in the name, I usually avoid these zones, but now I'm curious. Can anyone clarify for me?

 

Priceline sub-divides Tampa into the following zones:

 

Brandon

Busch Gardens

Tampa Airport North

Tampa Airport South - Westshore

Tampa Airport West

Tampa Downtown

Tampa East - Fairgrounds

Tampa North

Tampa Stadium - Dale Mabry

[+ jeezopete]

Hi TerryP, I'll see if I can help some more. I've never used Priceline,so I checked it out to see the 4* hotels they listed. I've been to several of them: the Renaissance is very nice & is located next to a high end mall (International Plaza) with some fine dining choices nearby; the Grand Hyatt is located right on the bay, very nice with 2 excellent restaurants (special note, the Hyatt has rooms called "casitas" which are a cluster of cottage-style rooms separate from the main hotel, in a tropical landscaped area; I really enjoyed staying there); the Intercontinental is located right on a main street, also near a mall (Westshore Mall). The Westshore area does have other nice hotels as does downtown. The clubs I mentioned earlier are in Ybor City which is on the east side of Tampa, just east of where 275 and I-4 intersect.

If I can offer any more help, let me know on here or through email. I hope you enjoy your trip.