Family Friendly Vacations at Adventure Island Water Park

July 9, 2017 5:38 pm

Looking for a great way to spend your family vacation in Tampa? Adventure Island Water Park is a local favorite and a great way to keep cool over the summer!
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Glazer Children’s Museum  

June 23, 2017 4:50 pm

If you’re staying with us here at the Westshore Grand with some kiddos in tow, you’ll be glad to know there’s a really wonderful learning institution within easy reach of our Tampa Bay luxury Starwood Tribute Portfolio hotel.

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Best Beaches in Tampa, FL

June 20, 2017 4:49 pm

As a guest of ours at the Westshore Grand, you’re auspiciously situated for some really world-class beachgoing. Tampa Bay, after all, boasts a vast waterfront, from the estuarine shores of our “front-yard” waterway here at the hotel, Old Tampa Bay, to the aquamarine seacoast along the Gulf of Mexico.

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Tampa Bay Bucanneers on HBO’s Hard Knocks

May 12, 2017 2:52 pm

Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will soon have an exciting opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes peek at the team’s 2017 season.
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Upcoming Events at Tropicana Field

2:46 pm

Our very own Major League Baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, are busily underway with their 2017 season, and as always here at the Westshore Grand we’re rooting for them on the road and during their homestands just a hop, skip, and a jump away over at Tropicana Field. (Don’t worry: We show fans of rival teams and diehard Rays followers alike the very same warm hospitality here at our hotel.)
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Sunset Music Festival in Tampa, FL

April 17, 2017 1:15 pm

Tampa, Florida boasts an impressive annual lineup of music festivals: concert celebrations that collectively encompass a wide range of genres and that take advantage of Tampa Bay’s lovely year-round weather. From Gasparilla Music Festival to Conga Caliente, Tampa turns out to be terrifically tuneful territory. (OK, we’ll lay off the alliteration from here on out.)
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Tampa Bay Margarita Festival

April 13, 2017 1:14 pm

One of the defining flavors of Tampa Bay and the Sunshine State in general would have to be that of a well-made margarita. Nothing says you’re on vacation in a subtropical paradise than a sip of this sometimes-slushy tequila concoction.
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Lowry Park Zoo in Downtown Tampa, FL

March 21, 2017 3:37 pm

Here at the Westshore Grand, we’re proud to provide our guests such easy access to Tampa Bay’s finest attractions. And one of the shining stars among the metro area’s family-friendly destinations is unquestionably the Lowry Park Zoo, situated less than a half-hour from our doorstep.

Housing better than 1,300 animals and welcoming more than one million visitors every year, the zoo is one of the most popular in the Southeast. Whether you’ve got a gaggle of kids in tow or not, it’s always an utterly fascinating—and inspiring—place to visit.

From the Down Under Outback to the South American Rainforest

The earliest roots of the Lowry Park Zoo date back all the way to the 1930s, but the modern institution, run by the non-profit Lowry Park Zoo Association, opened in 1988. Amid its luxuriant, tropically accented grounds, you’ll find spacious and naturalistic exhibits featuring animals—many of them endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species—that hail from far corners of the globe that have similar climates to ours.

It makes for a wonderful menagerie: koalas, kookaburras, rock wallabies, and emus from Australia; orangutans, tigers, one-horned rhinos, and Komodo dragons from Asia; mandrills, giraffes, cheetahs, and meerkats from Africa; Cuban tree frogs, golden lion tamarins, and Orinoco crocodiles from the Neotropics—and many, many more critters.

Sunshine State Species

Florida’s rich native wildlife comes well represented, too: from bald eagles to American alligators, gopher tortoises to sandhill cranes, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes to black bears, Atlantic stingrays to Florida panthers.

The One-of-a-Kind Lowry Park Zoo Manatee Hospital

And one of the true highlights of the zoo is the David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Hospital, where you can get an up-close look at the zoo’s worthy work rehabilitating wounded, ill, and orphaned Florida manatees. It’s not hard to spot these gentle marine mammals in the wild around

Tampa Bay, but you’ll get to enjoy unique underwater perspectives at the Lowry Zoo, and via the Manatee Hospital learn more about the many threats these “sea cows” face in the wild—from boat collisions to red tides.

Other Lowry Park Zoo Attractions

Behind-the-scenes tours and hands-on animal encounters get you even closer to the Lowry Park Zoo’s residents. And besides all the birds and beasts, the zoo includes many playgrounds, rides, and interactive displays for the younger crowd, and hosts regular special exhibits and events: from sunset shindigs and holiday galas to food festivals.

Don’t miss the globe-spanning animal roster and all-around gardened loveliness of the Lowry Park Zoo—and choose the Westshore Grand for your convenient hotel accommodations!

Dining Options in Tampa, FL

March 15, 2017 3:33 pm

You’ve got no shortage of outstanding restaurants at your disposal in Tampa, Florida. When you stay with us here at the Westshore Grand, though, you can avail yourself of some of the very best without even stepping foot off our property!
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2017 Florida Strawberry Festival

February 21, 2017 3:25 pm

If March is just around the corner—and it is—that means it’s nearly time for one of the Sunshine State’s best-known and best-loved annual events: the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City!
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