Five Star Digs in Tampa

With the glitzy opening of the Edition hotel, Tampa can now boast five-star luxury.

The Tampa Edition hotel, which aims to become the first five-star hotel in the area, will have a soft opening, according to the company's announcement. While reservations for hotel rooms and restaurant tables will be accepted beginning on September 20, the grand opening will take place in October.

The 26-story, 172-room Marriott hotel is at 500 Channelside Drive on Water Street, Tampa. The hotel was designed in collaboration with New York hospitality industry veteran Ian Schrager.

The concept of plants from Ian Schrager

Ian Schrager believed that the first five-star hotel needed plants. There was a "forest" of ferns and fronds of different sizes and shapes carpeting the foyer with dozens of planters and containers.

Moreover, thus Schrager obtained plants. Because the plants at the new Edition hotel on Water Street, which recently hosted its eagerly anticipated grand opening, may end up being the feature that some visitors remember most of all.

For others, it might be the canary-yellow felt-topped, custom-made pool table made of marble. Alternatively, perhaps the magenta-reflected orb protracted from the wall by the check-in. Alternatively, the rooftop lounge with a pool is surrounded by Japanese blueberry trees and bougainvillea.

The Edition will undoubtedly cause responses.

With rooms starting in the mid-to-high hundreds, the lavish, ultra-chic hotel is priced similarly to places you could find in New York, Paris, or Miami rather than Tampa.

Schrager describes the entire Edition experience as. It serves as the icing for the Water Street phase, a $3.5 billion downtown project from Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates's Cascade Investment. There was, therefore, little benefit to skimping on the opening.

In response to a question on why Tampa, Schrager replied during a videoconference from New York: He described the city as a waterfront "boom town" that he compared to Stockholm, with more to offer visitors than even seasoned travelers are aware of.

It is unclear how people will experience the Edition. Most people will not stay there and could even never enter. Fraser expressed his hope that residents will at least try the pizza at the Edition's more relaxed Market across the lobby or Lilac, its hallmark Greek-Mediterranean restaurant.

In a statement, Schrager, a co-founder of New York's storied Studio 54, said he would refer to it as urban growth as opposed to urban renewal and that it serves as a blueprint for how cities would change and develop in the future. They are overjoyed to be part of it, despite the overwhelming scope of it.

Details regarding the culinary program by Michelin-starred chef John Fraser by Schrager's crew were also disclosed.

Five restaurants will be overseen by the New York chef at the Edition:

• Lilac, a Greek-Mediterranean restaurant
• Market at Edition, an indoor-outdoor Italian trattoria
• Azure at Edition, a ninth-floor Mediterranean eatery
• two lobby and poolside bars.

In addition, the Arts Club will serve beverages and light fare and act as a small performance venue. Punch Room, an expensive second-floor cocktail bar, is also present.