The Hotel Zamora

We were recommended the restaurant in the hotel Azura Coastal kitchen but what a disaster. We went on a Thursday and it wasn’t very busy. We were seated and then waited a while to order a drink and my wine sat on the bar for 10 mins. After ordering we then waited 60 mins and asked a couple of times where our starter was, the waiter said he didn’t know. We then asked again and he said it would be about 25 mins but he could just bring our main and starters as they were ready. At that point, after being so hungry we gave up and walked out. What a terrible experience we had. No apology from the waiter, he just shrugged his shoulders when I told him we were leaving. Won’t be going again.

We stayed at the Hotel Zamora for a girls weekend. It is located right on the bay, and directly across the street from the beach. It is a quick 15 min drive to downtown St Pete, where there are lots of restaurants, bars and shops. It is obvious that the area directly around the hotel is recovering from the hurricanes, but appears the hotel is working hard to get back to full operation. The rooms are clean, chic, and comfortable. my favorite was that our room also had an air purifier. It provided awesome white noise for me, who requires background noise for a good nights sleep. The beds were comfortable. Shower amenities were great, and I loved that they had pump hand soap instead of a tiny bar. (Hey, it’s the little things!) There were no drawers to unpack into, but there was a shelf in the armoire to store your suitcase. The pool area is beautiful,although there were no towels when we went down there the first day. After asking at the front desk, some were brought down shortly. The bar at the pool was not open, although I am not sure of that was related to staffing or something else. We were easily able to order a beverage in the restaurant and bring it to the pool in a plastic container. The rooftop bar was open for us, and we enjoyed a glass of champagne up there. There are a few couches and tables to relax at, but there is a large open area as well. (Assuming it’s space kept for weddings?). Overall, this was a really nice boutique hotel. A few quirks to work out, but I would not hesitate to stay here again. The staff was friendly and accommodating, and I loved being right on the beach.

While the room and building itself were very nice (appeared freshly renovated), the amentities are not available as advertised and customer service is poor. When we complained the first night we were there about the rooftop bar being unavailable as well as no pool bar (no beach umbrellas and only one bike they knew for sure worked), they said they would refund our resort fees for both days we were staying there. We reminded them again the night before we checked out and were promised it would be done. I made a number of phone calls to the hotel two days after we checked out, only to never speak to the manager. I even called back two times exactly when I was told to call back to speak to her and she was either unavailable or not there. The last time I called I was very direct about who I could talk to about resolving this. The woman who answered apparently spoke to the manager who said she was going to refund the charges and send me a receipt by email. Another two days go by, and nothing-no refund and no email. I called back today, and again she is unavailable. I held off on writing this review because I wanted to give them a chance to make it right. They failed to do that. My advice is not waste your money on this hotel!

The hotel was under massive renovation and very hectic. Room was not clean, bathroom was loaded with hair everywhere. I told the front desk, showed pictures and all that was said is I’ll let management know and send someone to clean it. No contact from the management, the staff who came to clean wiped it with a towel, no water and blamed everyone but the cleaning crew! For the price you pay, I would expect much cleaner and attentive staff. Never an apology or what can we do to make this right!! The pool staff and restaurant staff were amazing! I would not stay here again!