By Steve Huettel, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Consider the best hotels in the land and brands like Four Seasons and Ritz-Carton come to mind. Maybe a boutique property such as the Tides on Miami's South Beach.
And, of course, the Comfort Suites beside the Florida State Fairgrounds. No, really.
The popular travel site TripAdvisor released its annual Travelers' Choice Awards of hotels as reviewed by members Thursday. There at No. 13 on the list of top U.S. hotels — between Portland's RiverPlace Hotel and the Tides — sat the year-old east Tampa property with the bargain basement name.
"One of the great things about the Travelers' Choice Awards is they're not necessarily the most opulent hotels," said Amelie Hurst, spokeswoman for TripAdvisor. "It's hotels that offer remarkable service, great quality and good value."
TripAdvisor uses an algorithm to rank each property based on reviews ...