JW Marriott Tampa Water Street To Open Monday Ahead Of Super Bowl
TAMPA, FL — Super Bowl LV visitors to Tampa Feb. 7 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 will debut Monday.
Under construction for 2 1/2 years, the 27-story, $200 million-plus JW Marriott Tampa Water Street hotel is the centerpiece of Water Street Tampa, the $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 foot of event space including 100,000-square-foot high-tech conference theaters, intimate boardrooms, indoor and outdoor wedding spaces that rival the country's top hotels, and a 30,000-square-foot 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 sky bridge 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.
Health and wellness is a priority with 35 guest rooms featuring Stay WellTM technology will air purification, aromatherapy, circadian mood lighting and vitamin-infused showers to optimize the guests' physical and emotional well-being when traveling, Adkins said.
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.
Marriott veteran and executive chef, Joseph Pankrath, oversees the hotel's Anchor and Brine, featuring farm- and ocean-to-table American fare with indoor and outdoor seating.
With a refined-yet-approachable coastal-driven menu and beautifully styled raw bar, the waterfront restaurant offer locals and diners alike a unique indoor-outdoor experience. The outdoor terrace features bright décor that echoes the natural elements of the waterfront and connects diners directly to the iconic Tampa Riverwalk. Visitors can relax on the comfortable lounge-style seating next to chic glass fire pits while enjoying the sparkling views of the water and the Florida sunset.
Six, the recently remodeled poolside bar and grille, is a modern bistro located six floors up, overlooking Garrison Channel. Sip chilled cocktails in a private cabana, mingle in the afternoon breeze, or enjoy freshly made sandwiches and salads before exploring the sights and sounds of the city.
The complex also includes Garrison Tavern; a vibrant gastropub inside Tampa Marriott Water Street, featuring 20 flat-screen TVs, two video walls, 24 brews on tap, including a collaboration with Coppertail Brewing Co. on the Garrison Tavern Kölsch, and interactive Topgolf Swing Suites including two bays with Topgolf games, 60 PGA tournament courses and various games like zombie dodgeball.
The Garrison Tavern's menu comes from critically acclaimed Denver chef Richard Sandoval with dishes crafted by Executive Chef Julie Miller including tacos, barbacoa nachos and burgers and fresh cuts from Garrison Tavern's in-house butcher.
The full bar serves specialty cocktails like a seasonal lemon shandy, hibiscus margaritas and a Garrison Daly made up of vodka, orange blossom tea mix, lemon juice and garnished with a dehydrated orange peel and edible flower.
Garrison Tavern was dreamt up by Richard Sandoval, a critically acclaimed chef out of Denver, CO.
The restaurant also offers patio seating along Florida Ave. with flatscreen televisions.
and Chef Sandoval's contemporary comfort foods made from the freshest ingredients.
The hotel also includes a 65-seat Starbucks.
Another restaurant is in the works for the hotel’s rooftop on the 27th floor. Adkins said it is expected to open in late 2021 or early 2022.
The hotel’s spa features a lounge, retail boutique and 10 treatment suites. The company will ell $55 day packages for locals to come and use the facilities and pool.
The state-of-the-art fitness center is open 24/7 and features cardio equipment, weight machines and spinning bikes that take exercisers to global destinations.
“This is probably going to be a four-star or -diamond,” said Adkins. “This will be higher — and much higher, in many ways — than the Marriott. It moves us into another league in the business world. There are not many hotels in Florida where you can say, ‘I have 800 people that need to come in, and I need 800 rooms or 1,000 rooms in one night.’ This puts us in competition with big hotels in San Diego, Nashville, Austin, those other destinations where, historically, Tampa couldn’t accommodate that.”
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 will host a small private opening ceremony on Monday followed by a grand opening ceremony, possibly in March.
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This article originally appeared on the Tampa Patch
