The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

I stay at this hotel about 10 nights a year for past few years. The staff is exceptional. That’s why I return. The roof top bar is a great amenity. Carmen has been at the bar for a few years and she is always a pleasure to see and talk to. The food at the bar has finally been upgraded some but had the Caesar chicken salad on my last visit and the chicken was served pre cooked cold and fairly dry. Not what I would expect from a hotel of this caliber. No reason that they can’t cook a thin chicken cutlet to order on the salad but upon further review of the menu in fairness they do list it as “chilled chicken Caesar salad”. It didn’t dawn on me the chicken would be precooked, cold and naturally dry from being cold. The flavor of the salad and dressing was very good but cold chicken destroyed it. Otherwise, a great hotel for the area.

Spent two nights here on a business trip. The hotel is clean and the staff is welcoming and professional. My room, a single king, was quite spacious and well appointed. The bathroom was also quite large. My room was serviced daily. A colleague had a room on the third floor and could here the bar music on one night, but my room was quiet and I didn't even hear my neighbors.

Beautiful view

Karol Hotel has been a favorite weekend getaway spot for last 3 years! Our stay this past weekend was another excellent experience. The entire staff is so courteous and professional. And the attention to every detail that makes it so special. Wr were unexpectedly surprised when soon after check in a Happy Birthday card with vouchers for breakfast were slipped under our door. We are Marriott members but did not mention husband’s upcoming birthday. How they could have been aware? I have no idea but isn’t that what makes a special place remarkable? The breakfast/brunch each morning in the Bistro downstairs was so delicious. A huge shout out to the server Renee who we were fortunate to have both mornings. Despite the place being busy she provided excellent service and was most personable. We also had drinks and appetizers on Friday night in the Elite club downstairs. I don’t recall the bartender’s name but he did a great job, as well. We were sitting over in the back area and when he began to get busy at the bar he had a female staff member come in a couple of times to check on us. That was another example of such attention to detail. In summary, I will share what makes this a great place to stay. Gracious staff. Lovely, quiet rooms. I find their beds to be very comfortable and love their linens. Bascams, which is owned by the same couple, is right down the street. They serve excellent food.

The worst hotel check in I have ever had. The person seemed rather disinterested about it and I had to remind her several times about everything she was supposed to during check in… for example she would forget to give us breakfast cards. She also tried to say that late check out for platinum members would be at 2pm when it’s clearly supposed to be 4pm, if needed. On weekends the brunch is from 8am to 2:30pm, so as far as we know there is no earlier breakfast. The lounge is the strangest Bonvoy lounge I have seen for platinum members. They only have a few drinks in a small fridge, like two cans of Diet Coke and a few other sodas and very small bottles of milk. There is not an option to put a do not disturb sign at the door if you do not want your room serviced. My food at the brunch was rather miserably prepared, tasteless and a small portion. The orange juice was not a real orange juice. I would certainly not stay here again unless I had to for some reason. The rooms are spacious but rather poorly lit up at night. The TV does not move to one side or another if you are trying to watch it from the corner chair.

The front desk staff were very nice and informative. They called the room once we were all checked in just to make sure we had everything we needed. The 9th floor bar was fun and a beautiful view. The surrounding area had many restaurants and the hotel included Lyft rides within 3 miles. The TPA airport was less than 15 minutes too!

Absolutely loved this property. From the excellent front desk customer service and greeting with champagne, great food options for great price, best bar tender (Dillon), to nicest house keeping staff, hands down one of our favorite places!