TAMPA, Fla.
The massive renovation of the Floridan Hotel in downtown Tampa is nearly done. The historic hotel that's been under reconstruction for several years now stands with all its rooms completed, a lobby ready for a final floor polish and its bar nearly ready for crates of liquor for an opening party. The hotel's massive kitchen has all its equipment and stands ready to feed upwards of 1,500 hotel and banquet guests.
But the downtown hotel now awaits a huge shipment of furniture for each room and the final inspections and permits for plumbing, electrical and food service.
The hotel had to take 426 small rooms in the original layout and break them up into 195 larger, standard rooms, 15 suites and 3 penthouses. The smallest room now stands about five yards by nine yards – about the size of many New York hotel rooms. A two-room suite spans about eight by 15 yards, and includes a sitting area.
So when will the property open for guests? The hotel owners won't commit to a date yet, and the hotel isn't on the list of available spots for the RNC convention in August next year.
