Seminole Hard Rock Hotel - Tampa

Last week, we took a trip to Tampa and stayed a few nights at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel.  If you couldn't guess, it's a Rock 'n' roll themed hotel with a casino, and of course, a Hard Rock Cafe located within the property.  

The Hard Rock is currently undergoing some work due to an expansion, starting with the arrival process, the parking area was blocked off in some sections, and the "resort check in" area was nowhere to be found.  We ended up following the signs for the hotel valet, and handed over the keys for the night.  A quick walk through the casino to the front desk, and we were checked in, our room was ready.

We went up to the room to drop off our bags, and I was pleased with the lavish room and amenities.

Since I was traveling with my whole family, I called down to the front desk and requested a crib for my little one.  They brought one up within a few minutes.  Once settled in, we decided to venture downstairs and grab something to eat.

We chose to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.  It was still pretty early and the restaurant was pretty empty.  Service was a bit slow, but we were told that they were having issues with the water.  The food was great!  

After lunch we explored the rest of the hotel, and ended up in the pool for a few hours. The pool area includes a pool bar, pool side huts (Chickee's), hot tub, and plenty of seating and lounge chairs to catch some ray's.  The pool even has underwater speakers!

While we didn't have time to partake in any of the Spa services, we did walk by it a few times.  The Rock Spa has an extensive menu of options, from a basic manicure, to a musical massage called "Synchronicity".

Once the kids were settled in for the night, we snuck down to the casino. (Don't worry, my oldest is 17 and about to go off to college, they were in good hands). 

The following morning, we headed to Clearwater to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and grabbed a late lunch at the Bahama Breeze on Tampa Bay.  You can read about that experience on my next post.

Over the course of the 2 days we spent in Tampa, at the Hard Rock, I played some video poker, while my husband played some actual poker in one of the casino's poker tournaments.  We both spent a few hours playing roulette.  We didn't walk away winners this time, but I still consider myself lucky to have experienced such a great trip.  Only a short drive from where we live in Central Florida, we will be back soon!

You can see some more pictures from our trip on our facebook post by clicking here