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4.5
#41 of 89 hotels in Clearwater
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The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel is the ornament of Florida's Feather Sound and the perfect backdrop for wonderful things to come. Our boutique hotel showcases 123 guest rooms and suites, a signature lobby bar and restaurant, a dazzling rooftop bar overlooking Tampa Bay, a resort-style pool, a fitness center and 7,340 square feet of event space, including a ballroom and conference rooms. The Karol Hotel is centrally located in Clearwater, Florida, near St. Petersburg and Tampa. We're just off the coast of the Bay, 15 minutes from the Westshore District and a short drive from both the St. Pete-Clearwater and Tampa International Airports. Carillon Park, home to Raymond James Financial and Franklin Templeton Investments, lies across from the hotel.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
77 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Rooms are sleek, beds are comfortable, bathrooms are large with floor to ceiling marble type tile, double showerhead, privacy area for the toilet. Large closet. double nightstands with built in USB charging. Average bar and snacks in the room, prices are inline for a boutique hotel. Review the restaurant menu BEFORE heading to the dining area. Downside for me was the "trendy" in room coffee pot. I like coffee, not expresso or frothy- which is what this "coffee" maker brews. My "bay view" room was very disappointing. Staff was very friendly. Area at the hotel property has a bank, pizza, Mediterranean, Mexican, nail salon, and Starbucks.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were happy to find out this property would open the week before our visit to attend a softball tournament Feb 13-16. It is a beautiful hotel. We enjoyed the back story of how the hotel developer named it after his wife. All the staff were very helpful. We had dinner once and breakfast two times during our stay. The food was excellent. There seemed to be some confusion on how to handle the breakfast credit for Bonvoy elite guests but that’s probably a minor detail since it has just opened. We had drinks and appetizers in the cozy lobby bar. A larger appetizer menu with more traditional pub choices would be helpful because we were given the regular dinner menu to order from. We didn’t use the pool but it isn’t a large resort style pool. The beds were comfortable. There is a very small fridge in the room. Bathroom is spacious with roomy shower with separate handheld sprayer. Our room was not cleaned the first day but that is probably because we didn’t realize we hadn’t pushed the button next to the door that lights up the service room or privacy indicator in the hall. Rooftop bar had not opened yet during our stay. We hope to stay here again when we are back in the area.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is the best hotel in this area. All updated and gorgeous boutique style. Beds were so comfortable and even the toiletries (shampoo/conditioner/body wash) are good quality and not cheap like you are use to using in hotels. Would highly recommend this place. We stayed at Hyatt in Sarasota the night before and it was outdated and nasty. Can’t beat this hotel!
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Date of stay: February 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Adam Duffey, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 15 Mar 2021
aimeelynn1981, Thank you for your review and for praising us as the "best hotel in the area!" We are thrilled you loved our boutique style and comfy beds. Thank you again for choosing The Karol, and we hope to host you again soon!
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I was excited to stay at the Karol hotel while on business in Clearwater. Understanding that it is a brand new hotel, it’s expected that there are some speed bumps
The hotel itself is beautiful. It’s a very clean, contemporary look and feel with a touch of art deco.
As a Marriott Bonvoy member, I’ve never had an issue checking in a couple hours early at a Marriott property. While trying to check in around 12:45 in the afternoon I was told that there were no rooms available. I asked for an ETA and they said to expect up to several hours. I asked her to look again and then the other lady at the front desk suddenly found a room. So, let’s just chalk that up to a brand new front desk person.
I have two concerns specific to the room. The lack of outlets at the desk. I ended up plugging in about 4 feet away and moving my laptop to the edge of the desk to charge. I have this great little coffee machine in my room, but no coffee or tea to use with it. Also where the minibar snacks should live, came empty.
Now, back to the good. The food and drink at this hotel are amazing. We hosted a group of 10 people for dinner at the hotel restaurant tonight and everyone thoroughly enjoyed everything. The dishes are plated beautifully and tasted delicious.
I hear that the rooftop bar will be opening in a few weeks. I will definitely give this hotel another chance the next time I am back in Clearwater.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The food is highly unimpressive. The room service is delivered with plastic cutlery in a take out container. I ordered a chicken dinner one night and the ravioli were so hard they were not edible whatsoever. My plastic fork broke, and I spent the next 10 minutes trying to find it in the sauce so that I would not choke! I had a late flight my last day and was told that complementary checkout ended at 12:30 PM, but that I would be able to pay $25 an hour in order to stay longer. Nobody told me that the cut off time was 4 PM and when I checked out at 8 PM,I was charged for another night. I did not know this until checking my bank account the next day. Had I been informed that 4 PM was the absolute latest check out time, I would have headed to the airport and had dinner there. Probably would’ve been better than the food they serve at this hotel! When I spoke to the manager, she made me feel like I was lying and trying to pull something on them! She actually kept speaking over me! Horrendous! Customer Service is completely subpar. I will never return to this hotel! Ever! Do yourself a favor and go to the Hilton!
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Avoid this hotel at all costs!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jason Perkins, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 22 Mar 2023
Hi Kim C, Thank you for taking the time to complete a review on your previous stay. As an educational tool, I have shared your comments regarding your food and beverage leaders. We also apologize that our late check out policy was not communicated effectively. Should your travels bring you back to the area, please feel free to reach out to our Manager on Duty so that we can better assist in the future. Thanks again for being our guest!
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The rooms are very nice, beds are comfortable and front desk staff pleasant. We had a room right by the elevator and were woken up at 2:00 am hearing everything the people were saying clearly. Then at approximately 8:30am we were treated to a conversation of approximately 15 minutes between a man and a woman and a mans voice coming through the speaker of a phone. We once again heard their entire conversation very clearly. We also asked about breakfast which we were told is served daily and were given a menu to look at. We planned to have breakfast in the restaurant the next day but were given a completely different menu once we arrived which was for Sunday Brunch. There was nothing on that menu that we wanted.
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel on Ulmerton Road in Clearwater is a great place to stay that is quality and unique. I really like the location and views and the overall atmosphere and experience that they provide here. The staff here is very helpful and accommodating to make sure that you have everything that you need for the best stay.
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Date of stay: February 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Adam Duffey, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 4 Mar 2022
EvanGuthrie, We appreciate your kind remarks and we're delighted to hear you had a great stay with us! Thank you for choosing The Karol and we hope you'll visit us again soon!
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Exceptionally clean and bright. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Marble walls in bathroom and generally nice room. Two special features - soft water in the shower. Made showering a treat. Not sure I have ever been in a hotel using soft water. Felt great! Also usually the in-room coffee makers produce lousy coffee. They have LaVazza makers which made great coffee. Stayed 4 nights and every day we asked for half a dozen coffee pods - tasted delicious.
Would definitely return.
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Date of stay: October 2021
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Adam Duffey, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 22 Oct 2021
Y8958YVbruceh, Thank you for choosing The Karol Hotel and for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We're delighted to hear you experienced a great stay, and that you were impressed with our friendly staff and Lavazza espresso machines! We've shared your comments with our team and we hope to host you again in the future!
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This is a beautiful hotel in a great location, the restaurants (there are 3) are fantastic. There is a nice gym and rooms are comfortable. Hotel staff, however lacks in training. While I stayed here for business - they forgot my wake up call, several times a guy in the hallway asked how things are and while I was actually having an issue with meeting rooms reserved for my visit he literally didn’t stop to hear me respond (twice) and just kept walking after he asked the question and second time I tried to tell him in the elevator and he just smiled and left. Gym had no towels. The room offered no bottled water. A business coordinator with my company who helped me setup meetings at this hotel couldn’t get in touch with anyone for a week and finally had to call Marriott, I also left messages prior to try to schedule meeting rooms and no one called back from the actual hotel.
Staff seemed quite preoccupied with owner’s visit who apparently was there at the same time.
I think it will be a state of the art hotel under appropriate management but for now it’s a little rough around the edges. I would love to host more meetings here but hope they can work out the etiquette around handling business guests and what the needs are. I don’t see it as a resort so it would make sense that business clientele would be their first priority?
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from KarolHotelGM, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 11 Mar 2020
Conundrum76, We greatly appreciate your feedback, and you have our apologies for the staff shortcomings you experienced. This is atypical of the service provided by our team, and your comments have been shared and addressed. Business clientele are extremely important to us, and we hope that we have the opportunity to provide you with the world-class service we strive for in the future. With Hospitality, Adam Duffey General Manager
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I HIGHLY recommend this hotel. The environment is upscale, but the vibe is very relaxed. Staff were off the charts pleasant and everything about our room was perfect. Comfortable beds, sheets crisp, fresh air throughout, each room has a doorbell (just a fun touch), and everything was squeaky clean! This hotel is a great addition to the Marriott brand. We will stay here again in the future!
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Date of stay: February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Adam Duffey, General Manager at The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Responded 4 Mar 2022
partiesbyjenniferb, Thank you for choosing to stay at The Karol and we greatly appreciate your feedback! I have shared your comments with our "off the charts" staff, and we're thrilled to hear of your experience. Thank you again and we look forward to taking great care of you during your next visit!
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There are more places to choose from in the Clearwater area.
PRICE RANGE
S$223 - S$329 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesFloridaClearwater
NUMBER OF ROOMS
123
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Are there any historical sites close to The Karol Hotel, St. Petersburg Clearwater, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Philippe Park (13.2 km), Pinellas County Heritage Village (13.7 km), and Church of Scientology Information Center (14.9 km).
