Tahitian Beach Resort — Hotel in Treasure Island

POSITIVE The resort was in a great location between the Gulf beach and intracoastal waters. Within walking distance of Waffle House, Publix, shopping and other beachside bars and restaurants. Walking and biking distance to the Sand Ovations sand sculptures festival. With a full kitchen as well as food and beverages available right at the resort you never really have to leave unless you wanted to. The beach was big and beautiful with a nice little walk to the water. We really loved the walking and bike path along the beach and availability of all the resort amenities on property. The resort staff was very friendly, nice and accommodating. We stayed in a Jr. King Suite Ocean Front (rm 217). The resort is an older FL style, two floor motel, but was newly renovated. The room was mostly clean (except the gray tiled floors that looked clean but our socks got filthy). Rooms were nicely decorated with modern decor and had a full kitchen. We had a balcony overlooking the beach that had beautiful sunsets. We watched some amazing sunsets every night. It was a very relaxing and conveniently located. We stayed the week after Thanksgiving and they thoughtfully gifted us a cute postcard and Christmas ornament with "Gary" the resort mascot parrot placed on the bed for our arrival. The resort was decorated for the Christmas holiday and had Christmas music playing in the common areas that was nice to listen to by the gas firepits. Free parking was also a plus. Trolly is also available at the resort to take you all up and down Gulf Blvd. for a small fee.

NEGATIVE Our biggest issue was the room smell. It smelled very musty and moldy. There was no visible mold but when searching for the source of the moldy smell I noticed under the bed mattress the square bed frame area was dirty and a bit musty looking. I suggest they need to clean better under the beds and air that area out frequently. We stayed six nights and slept with the windows open the first three nights because of the smell. It was fall so the temperature was milder to allow that. We also purchased some Febreeze car vent deoderizers and placed them on the room air/heating vents to help with the musty smell. It smelled like a wet moldy mop most of the time. On the third night we had to move rooms because of a plumbing issue after taking a shower (with a slow drain) the toilet backed up and water flooded the bathroom, closet area and started running into the kitchen  and bedroom. Thankfully none of our belongings except shoes were on the closet floor. Our suitcases had wheels and thankfully the water didn't get that deep. The staff were very apologetic and worked quickly to help us move to another room but they had to shut the water off to the entire building to repair the leak. We were there during the slow season and ourselves and two other guests had to be moved immediately to a different building. They "comped" us a couple drinks and pizza slices for our inconvenience. We were moved to a larger nicer room on the beach end of the poolside building that had a beautiful ocean and pool view. (Rm 204). That room did not smell as musty but it still had a bit of musty oder too. The second night in that room got very cold into the 40's and so we tried to turn on some heat. The room air conditioner in that room had no heat. They immediately brought us another AC/heater  unit. Unfortunately the replaced unit was blowing out moldy smelling air, so again, we had to deal with that noxious moldy smelling oder the remaining two days of our stay. My suggestions are they should deep clean and air out under the beds, replace all AC/ heater units or clean all the unit filters and replace all the plumbing in the older buildings or demolish and build newer buildings at the...

VERY SHADY !!!!! Read this carefully before moving foward! reservation on room 152 for March 10 2024 We are professional musician and this room was rented by the bride on our behalf. So we arrived at the Tahitian early since we had to go the the city pavilion to install our stock for the wedding. The room was not ready.... AAAANNNNDDD it was "impossible" to have the room before 4PM (wedding is at 5). But the "15 yrs old type" clerk told us I will call you As soon as the room is ready. Fair enough ... so we went near by to spend some time.... We cannot leave our truck with all our equipment unattended so it was a brief pit stop... of course.. no call no nothing. We took a chance to return to the Tahitian... and the lady told us... "I called you you did not answer" It was indeed a lie... But she told us that the room was finally ready but we have to pay A ESTATE FEE of 20$ extra to take possession of the room .... heuuuu wut ?? This room was supposed to be paid IN FULL ...

So we said... ohhh you want to steal us money? Ok no problem young lady, reimburse us we will go elsewhere where they conduct their business honestly without shady business and hidden fees.

Nothing to do the youngster wants her cut and ... again, we are kind of in the obligation to take the room since the bride paid for it annnnnnndddd NO REIMBURSEMENT (even if this fee come as blindside as illegally without any mention whatsoever!) So we paid the stupid fee.... we have to go get dress for the wedding and get our stuff installed... so ...

You must know that this motel is all over the place... many little motel that they buy and painted in coral color. So you have to take your car, go elsewhere, accross the 4 way street... the "15 years old style" clerk is unable to give decent indication ... so... we found it by ourself.

So we receive a wonderfull "parking pass of the paradise" with our room number on it. Room 152. "Very important" to put that because they enforce their parking spots etc... (yeah right) fair enough. When we enter in the room, even if at first sight it seems clean... their is mold mostly everywhere, cleaning is approximative but hey... we know the drill... Little motel, touristic place so.... "why doing better since it will be rented anyway."

So we went to the wedding, unpacked our stuff, perform the wedding re-packed our stuff and get ready to go back to the room of the theft.

So guess what... yep... you got it right... No parking and all the lot is packed with no "parking pass of the paradise". Ahhhh ok... so.... we've got our car full of stuff.... unable to park.

Went to the office and another clerk explane us that "it is treasure Island parking is always a challenge... you may find parking around the motel somewhere" ... Trying to explane that we must be close to our room since we must unload half of our stock to bring it into the room to keep it secure" ... Nothing we can do ... "yeah but the cars in the parking lot don't have the "Parking pass of paradise" .... yeah but we cannot enforce this by ourselfe....

So yeah .... you got it right... down the road the "suggestion" was to simply leave (again without any reimbursement) .

So they robbed the bride for the room ... they robbed us for their "estate fee" ... we never sleep there... no nothing....

They are the worst species of mankind. PURE EVIL and...

**2022 UPDATE: We had stayed again in 2019 and now this year they are under new ownership and the complex has transformed into a much more family oriented facility with games, items available for kids and the newly acquired units on the other side with a pool that has a shallow end. It's really quiet and tranquil over there with a nice bay front view and hammocks in the shade. There were a number of families at the hotel and our granddaughter made friends she happily played with every day.

Now the Efficiency rooms poolside have just a microwave, coffee maker and little fridge with no freezer section. No utensils or paper towels so go to Publix and be prepared. We made do just fine with microwaving most things and using the grill. Bring your own charcoal. Next time we will specifically ask for a room that was more like what we had before so it's easier to cook something. Still have super friendly staff and everything is kept clean and orderly. We actually like this place more now than before and we were happy then so will be back again for sure. Quiet, friendly, clean and family oriented. Great place.

2018: The management kindly worked with us after extreme weather delayed our flights two days to arrive. We still had our very nice, clean poolside room with a pretty view of the beach/ocean for the balcony. The motel is clearly one of the original and classic beachfront properties with some recent updates, but it had honey charm the new high rise properties lack. (Pink tile - classic!!) Our efficiency kitchenette room had almost everything needed, cooktop, fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and cooking/eating utensils - but no knives to prepare food or eat a steak and no cutting board. Oh well. Obviously guests need to provide condiments and spices with their groceries. Everything is clean, housekeeping is friendly and prompt. The Tahitian provides beach towels for guests to use The pool or go to the beach. The pool is clean and not loaded with kids - it gets deep quickly so parents need to be vigilant. There's a kiddie pool available for really little ones. A large patio area is in front with tables, a barbeque, shuffleboard and access to the beachfront promenade. The beach is wide to the waterfront but its a pretty palm tree walk and you're there - no crossing streets to get to the beach. Vendors rent cabanas and umbrella/chair sets for about $30 a day. What was really nice is that the beach was not nearly as crowded out in front here as it was further down to either side. Dolfins were swimming out in clear view and that was cool. Location of this property is decent - Publix grocery store about a mile or so down the street, a waffle house down the street and a few other eating establishments within walking distance. The Tahitian has a "sister" establishment down the beach promanade that has live outdoor entertainment and free wine/cheese events we were also given vouchers for. We used ride services to go to Clearwater and a few other places and found Lyft cheaper than Uber and the drivers spoke Engish. We rented a car for a few days to go to Johns Pass and Busch Gardens and always came back to a spotless room thanks to housekeeping. Parking is limited so can be challenging when full. This is a nice, clean and reasonably priced resort on the beach. I would recommend and...