The Don Vicente De Ybor Historic Inn

The space at the Don Vicente Inn was pretty, and the food was good, but the service was very poor. We worked with Tessa Shiver, the co-owner, and it usually took her about a week to return calls or emails. She and her staff were disorganized, and at times Tessa seemed frazzled when we asked to change the menu or timeline. I wouldn't recommend this venue unless they hired staff with better communication and organization skills.

The hotel itself is beautiful, with so much history, and our room was clean and roomy. Cheryl and Damien made us feel like family with the kindness they showed us. We left feeling we'd made friends and would absolutely come back.

If you enjoy old architecture and a place with real character, this hotel is a good fit. The owner has captured its history beautifully, and everything matched the website description. The staff were lovely, breakfast was fresh, and our room was spotless. Just know you won't find modern extras like automatic doors, 55" LCD TVs, or self-flushing toilets here. My one change would be a colder room setting, since the thermostat wouldn't go lower. We'd stay again.

We had to find somewhere else to sleep after driving three hours to Ybor because our New Year's Eve booking had never been entered. We'd called with our card details and email address, but only found out too late that there was no confirmation and we weren't in the system at all. After checking we'd called the right place, my husband spoke with Ray and Sheryl at the front desk. He was hoping for a comp or at least something in writing to confirm we wouldn't be charged if the booking had gone in under the wrong date. Ray's response was, "It's your word against mine." While this was going on, another guest came down to report that her TV kept switching on by itself. We visit Ybor often, but this was our first time dealing with the Don Vicente, and we won't stay there again.