The Tampa EDITION

Tampa's glamorous waterfront address

★★★★★📍 Water Street, downtown Tampa$$$$

Water Street, developed by Strategic Property Partners (the partnership of Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment), was one of the largest private urban developments in the country when it began, and the EDITION was its centerpiece hotel, opening in the autumn of 2022. The 26-story tower puts the hotel in the lower nine floors, with 172 rooms and suites, and private residences above. Ian Schrager's ISC Design Studio led the design with Roman and Williams among the collaborators, using texture, hundreds of plants and soft lighting so the lobby feels more like a private club than a hotel. The restaurants were conceived by New York chef John Fraser and built to draw locals as much as guests: Lilac, the prix-fixe Mediterranean dining room with a small chef's counter; the all-day Market at EDITION; Azure, the ninth-floor rooftop restaurant; the Punch Room, an Old Hollywood lounge with a West Indies-leaning cocktail list; and the Arts Club, with its mirrored-ball cabaret room.

Room craft: rooms are bright and minimal, with floor-to-ceiling windows. Be realistic about views: the hotel sits a block inland on Channelside Drive and the arena blocks part of the outlook, so ask for a higher floor and expect water glimpses rather than full bay panoramas. Suites add a separate living area, and the eighth-floor penthouse is the splurge. Book Lilac well in advance, especially on weekends. The ninth-floor pool club, with cabanas and a DJ on busy days, is for hotel guests and residents only, so reserve a lounger or cabana in peak months. The spa on level two is compact, with six treatment rooms.

Practicals: 500 Channelside Dr., Water Street Tampa; about 15 minutes from Tampa International Airport and around 45 minutes to the Gulf beaches. Parking is valet only, rates are the highest in the city, and the public spaces draw sightseers taking photos, so the lobby can feel busy. Pets up to 25 pounds are welcome with a fee. How it compares: the Tampa Marriott Water Street on this site is a block away with a waterfront position, bigger meeting-hotel scale and lower rates; the EDITION is the choice for design, dining and nightlife. Fit: couples, food lovers and city-first travelers with beach day trips in mind.