Until recently the Hyde Park Village district in Tampa had plenty of shopping, dining and entertainment but no place for visitors to stay overnight.
That changed late last year with the arrival of Palihouse, opened by Palisociety, a California-based operator of boutique hotels.
The 36-room Palihouse Hyde Park Village sits on Swann Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in the area. It occupies the second floor of a white-brick, two-story block that has retail on the ground floor and once had offices upstairs.
At the center of the hotel is a dark-oak-paneled staircase leading up to a residential style lobby and bar area. It is flanked by wings of rooms accessed from a wide, dimly lit corridor decorated with sofas and artwork.
The street entrance of the hotel in the Hyde Park Village section of Tampa. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
I stayed for a night recently, curious about this social club-style hotel in my favorite Tampa neighborhood.
The Palisociety concept involves small hotels tailored to their surroundings that are comfortable and chic without being over the top. The name comes from Palisades Development, the real estate company run by CEO Avi Brosh. The collection includes Palihouses, Palihotels and Le Petit Palis.
Nearly all are on the West Coast, including six in Los Angeles. Brosh opened an outpost in Miami Beach in 2019, but Pali no longer runs the hotel. The Hyde Park Village location is the company's second try in Florida.
Brosh cares deeply about design. My suite at Palihouse was painted a cool green, offset by beige and white wallpaper and curtains. A set of dark plantation shutters covered the street-facing windows, keeping the room free of glare.
Custom furniture appointed the room, and an upholstered headboard added style to the bed. The sleeping area could be curtained off from the rest of the room, which contained a sofa, a round dining table and a long bar area with top-shelf spirits, exotic glassware and a Smeg minifridge stocked with mixers.
Silverware was stored in a purple ceramic owl. A retro push-button phone connects to the front desk, housekeeping and the lobby bar.
The bathroom, separated by a pocket door, was outfitted with an oversize sink and antique-style brass faucet, a step-in shower with a rainfall showerhead and a handsomely tiled floor.
A room at Palihouse Hyde Park Village features green and beige decor and plantation shutters. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
Friendly, easygoing vibe
Down the hall from my suite was the lounge, which was filled with furniture curated to look like your living room -- although I'd say much busier: I never saw the area devoid of people. During the day, some were using the lobby as a workspace, others for small business meetings.
Palihouse runs a themed happy hour every day and has light bites to keep people coming. I arrived for Tampa Tequila Tuesday and took advantage of the $7 margaritas. Custom cocktails include a Hyde Park Gimlet (gin, lime, apricot, cinnamon) and the House Spritz (Aperol, amaro angeleno, passion fruit, bubbles).
A nearby restaurant, On Swann, provides room service for hotel guests.
My greeting at the front desk on arrival was welcoming, and while this is not a high-service hotel, the interactions with staff I had, from bartenders to housekeepers, were warm and reassuring. I got directions to parking behind the building, which isn't abundant but on the Tuesday I visited was adequate for the guests on hand.
The bar area in a room at the hotel, which was opened by Palisociety last year. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
A stroll in Hyde Park Village
The six-block Hyde Park Village, a 40-year-old outdoor mall, has chain stores like Pottery Barn and Lululemon and boutiques as well as a variety of independent restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
Boston-based WS Development was the developer of the hotel alongside Palisociety. WS owns the property as well as Hyde Park Village, the commercial anchor of Tampa's Hyde Park area, whose brick streets are lined with hundred-year-old oaks and handsome bungalows of similar vintage.
A five-block stroll takes visitors to the Bayshore Boulevard promenade, a balustraded, 4.5-mile walkway along Tampa Bay used by bicyclists, roller-skaters, e-scooter riders and joggers. It claims to be the longest continuous pedestrian walkway in the world, with the northern end connecting to the downtown Tampa business district.
Rates for a weekend stay at Palihouse in October start at $305 per night.