This gilded age grand hotel is overflowing with beautiful antiques art and Tampa history. There are videos and self guided tour. Incredible gem in grand setting.

We haven’t yet been inside but the territory is so chill in along with the Tampa University territory. Really nice place to walk around - lots of trees that give you a little bit of shade protecting you from sun. I am impressed with the architecture, will be back there soon!

Awesome architectural masterpiece of the Tampa area, still standing, still serving the larger community! Impressive ornate design and lots of interesting regional history and original artifacts. I find it amazing that, for such an old building, it still houses so many offices and classrooms, and that each level feels so solid underfoot. This really was a surprising stop for us!

Loved all the historic pieces in each room. Theres plenty to read about and cute shirt movies throughout

I had a blast attending the Christmas Victorian Stroll! The hotel was decorated beautifully and the staff was so knowledgeable! There was so much to look at and even interactive areas that gave video and sound to the experience. I felt like I learned so much! Since Ive been, Ive wanted to learn more about Tampas rich history and it has all stemmed from my visit to the museum! This experience was worth every penny and I cant wait to go back!Also, be sure to go to the museum gift shop. It has incredible, beautiful merchandise from scarves to books to ornaments. You can even go shopping there without buying admission to the museum!

This beautiful museum in a former palatial hotel and as we learned during the self-guided tour - the backdrop in the City of Tampa’s logo. The building’s history is amazing. There are many examples of the lavish furnishings that adorned the hotel in its original days. There is much information about Henry B. Plant and his holdings, as well and specific history of the site and the hotel. The building is mostly used as the University of Tampa’s offices, except for the museum. A beautiful Otis elevator, that is believed to be the oldest operational one in existence, is off the lobby. There is limited free parking on the street closest to the entrance (with a pass from the museum ) or in the parking garage.

This is a really wonderful museum with a great staff and really immersive exhibits. Unlike another reviewer I found it to be totally self toured, but with a nice little audio device to give more info at some places. I would budget about an hour average, but could go more or less depends on how you do museums.It really captures a window into the time. And is easily worth a visit but if you dont make it to the museum itself please at least walk around the hotel and the grounds.This is still today as it was then one of the most unique buildings and all the Tampa.

Small but very educational and interesting. You can read and learn a lot about the history of Tampa. Dont forget to stroll through the beautiful garden by the river!

Located in the University of Tampa, the museum was former Plant Hotel. Wonderful to step back in time to learn how Florida was developed by railroad baron Henry Plant in the late 1800s. There is an informative video on the history of the hotel which gives you a nice insight into life in Tampa over 100 years ago.Parking available in front of the Museum and in the university parking garage. They also have a lovely gift shop.

We had a great time! We went at Christmas time and toured the Victorian Christmas Stroll, decorations, viewed the exhibits, and visited the gift shop. My favorite out of all of those though was the actual building it is in, its gorgeous. It used to be the Tampa Hotel and was built right on the water by Henry Plant. If you like old buildings from historic periods this is a must-see. Lots of history here.

Gorgeous building, lots of history to take in, there were antiques and a used book sale on the veranda that I wish I could have checked out. I was on a field trip with school kids, mixed age, and the tour guide did a wonderful job. I would love to go back and take the audio self guided tour. Absolutely gorgeous building. If you can catch a parking space out front, thats great, but if not, you have to park in the garage quite a walk away.

Such an interesting slice of Tampa history. The audio tour allowed the many different personalities of our group to go at their own pace.

Nice place to see a little bit of Tampa history for a good half hour. You can do the tour for around 7 to 12 bucks depending on what she or if you are a student. It is amazing to see how nice and calm it is during the summer.

I visited the museum today and I enjoyed it very much. Plenty of Tampa history is enclosed within those walls and even Churchill stayed in the hotel . I have to say it is a must when you visit Tampa to also visit the museum. Do not miss it

Loved this amazing gem tucked away on campus! Its a must see!

Oh my, just beautiful! Even more so decorated for Christmas! Highly recommend a visit! Merry Christmas to all!

I thought this museum was informative and it was beautifully decorated for Christmas. However the price is a bit steep for what it shows.

One of the best museums in Tampa. A great place to discover Floridas early history and maybe even see a ghost if you are lucky. The Christmas and Halloween events are also fun.

Great museum and collection. Also Todd at the front desk was great!

Well organized permanent exhibit...Gasparilla exhibit was smaller than expected. Handicapped parking was confusing and not very convenient to entrance and lacked signage to direct patrons to entrance.. Devices for self-guided tour were informative and easy to use. Staff members were helpful. Permanent exhibit well done...Temporary exhibit was disappointing...Logistics of getting a H/C space (there are only 2) and from there to admission desk were confusing.

Christmas at the Henry Plant Museum is a magical experience and filled with wonder and fun. Did you find the Christmas Mouse?

It’s too bad that places like this loose their real intention; however it’s better for it to be a university than have it decayed or lost to a fire. If they would have kept a few rooms to rent I would love to stay there as a hotel. The person that said it was overpriced obviously focused on the items displayed in the museum but can’t appreciate the care that goes into an structure like that. Loved it!

This place has beautiful architecture and furnishings. The self-guided tour is very interesting and educational. The staff members are friendly and knowledgeable.

Visited here at Christmastime. Absolutely beautiful - they do such a phenomenal job decorating the rooms. Get the audio guide for the full experience. Learning about Henry Plant was great. The docents were so friendly and helpful and pleasant.

Lovely museum and beautifully decorated for the “Victorian Stroll”. The audio costs $2 extra but a must in my opinion if you really want to learn about the history. An added novelty is that they hid mice in most of the rooms, which were fun to try and spot.

Amazing gem in Tampa! Be sure to check out their monthly free nights where you can get a nice historic tour of a former famous hotel.

Its okay. Nothing super exciting or cool to look at. The museum is also part of the classrooms for university of tampa students. I guess its cool if you like looking at how the extremely wealthy people lived back in the day..

I visited the meseum, i enjoyed it very much more of history. when you visit the museum do not miss it!

Throughly enjoyed the museum. My husband and son enjoyed it as well. After reading others reviews, I was afraid that parking might be an issue, but we found on-street parking right in front of the entrance. Well worth the time.

A bit to much in the rooms, small museum.One isle.The building is nicer than the museum.

Hidden on the campus of UT, the museum is a really cool historical building! Great customer service and parking isnt too bad.

Very cool museum and loved walking around the grounds outside, gorgeous grandfather oak trees

Beautiful unique architecture. Interesting museum to learn about Tampa and Florida history.

Great history about Tampa Hotel and area

Nice little museum. Plan to spend about an hour. Great collections.

If you like architecture and history, you will like this museum. Its small. They took everything from the garden and upstairs and put it in the rooms on the museum half of the building. The woodwork, furniture, history, windows, etc. are amazing. The setup was a bit different than I have seen in other older building museums but they did what they could with the space provided. The narrative in each room was good but headsets would be more comfortable than a handheld device. The outside of the building and the school portion of the building are also amazing. They were in the middle of decorating for Christmas so some areas are currently not accessible and theres boxes and ladders to navigate. Seems like the Christmas decor might be a bit overkill, but we didnt see it completed. Enjoy!

The Christmas holiday decorations are so charming. The staff and volunteers were so friendly and pleasant. It was like getting in a time machine in more ways than one. Also enough info for a history buff. Will bring my family next time they visit Tampa.

Fun place to wander around.... the museum, the old hotel and grounds. Very beautiful. For all ages.

I have not been to the Museum in many years My sister and I decided to go and find the statue dogs in the park .It had been relocated closer to the Museum.We took a photo by the dogs.And reminised of days gone by when mom took us to watch the Gadparilla Boat Flotilla,from the banks of the Hillsborough River.

Such a well set out museum. Takes about 2 hours to go thru. Everyone in Tampa bay should go. Very reasonable

Thoroughly disappointed in my experience at the plant museum. Throughout my entire visit there was not a single plant to be seen. I thought I would have see exotic plants from all over the world, but instead it was just old stuff that nobody cares about. This is false advertising and I am reporting this to the better business bureau.

Really loved it. Learn so much about Tampas economical growth.

Liked looking at the history of Florida pioneers. Eye opening especially reading the Booker T Washington stayed at the hotel during the time of Americas shameful exclusion of black people in public places

Very cool place. Very cool Christmas experience. You will step back in time.

Loved this place! The only improvement would be to move the movie to a larger area! What a jewel to Tampa.

My family and I have come here around Christmas for the past 4 years. We love the Victorian holiday display and atmosphere during that time of year. The carolers are fantastic too. Great holiday tradition!

Beautiful architecture and exhibit. We didn’t know what to expect but we’re very pleasantly surprised. I recommend the audio tour which is new and only $2 per person.

Thought this place was really cool. Youll love it if you like old architecture and furniture styles. It really showed how rich this Henry plant really was. I cant believe the entire building was decked out like it was in the museum. It was a little small section of the entire building but you can kind of look around since its part of the university. Could have spent hours checking out the building itself, but was under the weather a bit (ugh) would love to come back again! Such a cool building! You can get a great history of the building as a well as Tampa and it can even tie in to Ybor City a bit if you check out the museum there too. Would definitely recommend it!

Great experience I really enjoyed learning about this Hotel.

Cool little spot. Blue Star museum.

Its a wonderful piece of Tampas history. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The first Friday of every month from 5-7 p.m. the museum is free with a guided tour. They have live music. This month they featured a jazz trio. They had lemon water and a variety of cheese and crackers, mixed fresh fruit to enjoy while listening to the music on the front veranda. The hotel was innovative, (having electric lights and an elevator) unique, lavish decorations. A must see.

This is a beautifully maintained piece of history! Back to the luxurious days when the building was the Grand Bay Hotel. Rooms are decorated with original pieces and placed as they were when guests were in residence. Very interesting to learn about the impact this man (Henry Plant) had on the state of Florida. Lovely gift shop with unique items. Admission is free with a N.A.R.M. membership.

Christmas Stroll at Henry Plant Museum 2018. A must for the holidays.

Nice place to visit and learn about Tampa history, a lot of interesting things to see in there.

Excellent place to learn about Tampa history. The items this place has are from Europe late 1800s. The Russian exhibition was awesome. Never seen such a dinner set. Just for the monarchs.

Its a cool places and I think you should check it out

An architectural, historic and institutional treasure

Henry Plant was to West Florida what Henry Flagler was to east Florida and the keys. Plant developed hotels and railroad travel in the Tampa and West Florida region. The Tampa Bay Hotel was a phenomenal feat that put this part of Florida on the map. Currently you can visit the museum and learn about Plant and his impact. The building is now part of the University of Tampa and holds many beautiful artifacts from an earlier time. Parking was not a problem today, we found a free space. Admission to the museum is $10 adult; $7 seniors.

I really love this place, beautiful architecture!

Such a great place to visit

Fresh air and good work out for the morning

Beautiful exhibits! I took my parents here when they were in town and they absolutely loved it.

Loved it. Just being in this antique building was exciting! Lots of photo ops

Amazing history and beautifully preserved rooms and furniture pieces.

I wanted to love this, but didnt . . . the visitation policy is their choice, and it must be accepted. I had a total blast visiting the main building and getting a feel for the history through well-documented views of great photos adorning the walls. Amazing!!To experience the museum, you must be part of a guided tour at a given pace and timing. When Im experiencing the Arts, including this great architecture and its refurb, Im more of a browse and absorb kind of person. I will linger at some things more than others, and go much quicker at some things. This is not allowed here. Sir, you can only be in this entry room. For real?? Oh well, it is what it is. I was even excited to make a purchase from the museum store that Id seen displayed in the main building hallway, but that couldnt happen either. Bummer.Definitely go see this magnificent main building, but I cant personally recommend the museum.

Beautiful building and nice park with great views for photos!! Highly recommended!!

Amazingly beautiful ! I can’t find the words to describe Henry B. Plant Museum . A very rich history...

Good atmosphere and nice walk for the morning.

Architecturally, the former hotel this museum is located in, is a Victorian confection. The museum is interesting as it shows what a stay at the hotel would have been like at the turn of the century. Nice gift shop which includes historical information on early Tampa. Check their calendar i attended a lovely, intimate classical guitar concert and a performance which featured an actor portraying one of the many notable, historical guests who stayed at the hotel.

Good atmosphere and nice walk for the morning but now allowed to make noise

Worth checking out

Great day trip, thats not too tiring. The museum is small but full of interesting history and facts. I will warn everyone...THE PARKING SITUATION NEEDS IMMEDIATE HELP! Make sure you take note of where you park. Especially in the garage. Watch which door you enter the museum too. One door is marked with a female statue and one is marked with a male statue. This will save you alot of frustration, when leaving.

Small museum but really interesting! They give audio phone at the entrance. Learning about Henry Plant is learning about Tampa development! Completely worth the price. Free parking.

Wonderful place near the peaceful park

Very nice and colorful Christmas Display from yesteryear.

This is part of Tampa history. Even though its quite small - they have it nicely set out in separate rooms. Of course this is also part of the amazing UT campus. Highly recommended for a very interesting hour or two wandering through the rooms.

Located at the University of Tampa. Beautiful campus commonly used for picture taking for special events. Prom, weddings, etc

Fun and educational. They hold many events throughout the month. Highly recommend for a nice afternoon close to downtown Tampa. Plus, its located in the gorgeous historic Tampa Bay Hotel

Nice place! The building’s history is amazing.

I went on a free admission day, so I probably enjoyed it more than I would if Id paid the regular admission price. Its much smaller than it seems from the outside; most of the building is now part of the college, not the historical museum. Consequently, the museum is one lets say 40-yard hallway with rooms on either side that have antiquities and information on this really cool guy who seems to be the chief catalyst behind Tampa becoming a tourist hotspot. He was a visionary, and seeing the artifacts of his legacy is a treat, but I did feel cramped in the space (so much that I had to walk away from the tour because of a bout of claustrophobia), and I left wanting so much more. If you go in knowing how small the actual museum is beforehand, though, youll probably enjoy it more than I did. Outside, I really enjoyed the live music (on the front porch for the event), the flora, and the beautiful architecture. Close by, theres also a statue of JFK thats a nice photo spot. Finally, the gift shop buyer is a genius, and the gift shop employees are SO nice! I wish the shop had been three times the size, but then again, I wish the whole attraction had been three times the size.

It was an interesting experience learning about major historical figure that had a major influence on Tampas history, and seeing on how life was conducted during that period of time.overall I was very content with this experience.

I really do not get this... or I get something wrong here, is this museum or mosque? Outside panoramic views with all those Islamic marks looks that is some type of a Islamic center or mosque. I probably miss understood concept.

Terrific Victorian Christmas display in every room. Will go back fir different displays.

Beautifully decorated for Christmas! Staff very helpful.

Amazingly knowledgable staff! A very interesting stop right in the heart or downtown Tampa. Well worth the visit and small fee to keep this piece of history alive!

I expected a little more. The pictures on the site definitely does it justice but its just small. A few rooms crammed with stuff. The room with plant stands was weird and chaotic. I think there is a lot of potential here though.

A must see if you have the time. Takes about an hour.

We recently visited the Plant Museum when it was decorated in all of its Christmas finery. The rooms had beautiful decor as well as hidden toy mice which were fun to try to locate. A Barbershop Quartet performed Christmas selections as we toured the rooms of the museum. At the end of our visit we were even provided with a little cookie and some cider! We enjoyed our Christmas tour.

Really cool museum on University of Tampa grounds. Used to be a very extravagant hotel, was donated to Tampa Univ back in the 30s and turned into campus rooms. Very immaculate building. One side is free to tours at your liesure, the other is 10 dollars for a museum tour. Very nice place.

Very beautiful place. I like it a lot.

Great Place to chill

A great look at a historical Tampa spot and an influential contributor to our community, Henry Plant. Nicely curated, informative and interesting. The grounds are definitely a Kodak opportunity.

Beautiful place but beware: there is no parking anywhere. Either you need a permit for the outside lot or the six spaces in front are taken. There is a campus parking garage but every level is for either staff, faculty, or students. I was afraid to park anywhere.Its worth it if and once you get in.

Love this place! The history, truly a top Tampa landmark. Just walk the halls and be amazed.

Lovely small museum in one wing of the old Tampa Hotel. Beautiful grounds, beautiful furnishings and beautiful architecture. Great gift shop. On the campus of the University of Tampa

Great experience into a Gilded Age grand hôtel!

Love the grounds and history.

The architecture of that entire building is a stunning mixture or styles and glimpsing into the past, especially during Christmastime, has alwaus been enjoyable. The people are also very friendly and helpful.

WOW, just WOW! Got here at about 11:00 am and its now 2:18 pm. Really just walked through a a decent pace reading about everything. Information overload. So much to take in. Highly recommend the museum.

Nice historical place,