Sapphire Lounge

Located inside the Floridian Palace historic hotel in downtown Tampa. This hotel bar serves food! We started with drinks and our server seemed to be running the whole place from bar to tables and back. At first it wasn't noticeable because there were only about 2 tables when we arrived but as the night progressed and the bar got busier, we had to wait for extended amounts of time for her to return to our table. We shared the truffle tots as an appetizer and they were delicious and perfect fried. I got the chicken Cesar wrap for my meal. Overall it was good, nothing special and honestly it was pretty bizarre to have croutons in a wrap. The fries were good but nothing beat those tots. We had a credit fromThe hotel to dine and our waitress once she learned this got immediately defensive and basically told us in many ways that we were lying and couldn't use the credit. After much back & forth with her she finally got in touch with management and changed her tune when she returned to our table to tell us she was mistaken and it was taken care of. Definitely not appropriate customer service at all on her part. We paid the reminder of our checks, tipped on the total minus our credit and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

We dropped by here on our way from Fly Bar & Restaurant. We were surprised how desolate and quiet the place was on Friday night, but maybe that is a good thing for a relaxed and attentive service. We met one of the nicest, knowledgeable bartender there. He recommended grilled octopus for shared appetizer, and that right there...was special. Not gammy or chewy at all! And it didn't have weird fishy smell like I expected Octopus to have. I really am a fan of this dish. Unfortunately I think I forgot to take a picture of it. The lounge itself is very classic and traditional, sort of the old school vibe the whole Floridan hotel is going for so they go hand in hand. We'd like to be back for a friendly, attentive, and chill service next time if we are sick of loud environments and ambiance.

The Floridian Hotel is a landmark in downtown Tampa. Ornate furnishings, antique design. The lobby looks like a scene from The Titanic! The 19 floor hotel is magnificent. Rooms have old style writing desks! Sapphire Lounge is open to the public. Nice meet & greet crowd."A must stay"in downtown Tampa

The Sapphire Lounge is open on Friday and Saturday nights only. For a bar that's open only two nights, you'd think the Sapphire Lounge would have a more professional bartender.We went to the Sapphire Lounge after attending a Saturday night wedding at the Floridan Hotel. Management was aware that an after party was planned, moving from the ballroom to the lounge.The bartender on duty was more concerned about serving the 4 or 5 regular barflies than the patrons that were there just for an evening nightcap. Seemed like the bartender was incapable of handing any more than 4 or 5 patrons a night. When the bartender was critized for his inattentiveness, he yelled insults toward at least one of the members of our party. Then one of the barflies came to the bartender's defense stating "I've been sitting here for 4 hours, he's a great bartender". Maybe the barfly didn't have the best judgment after sitting on the same bar stool for 4 hours!Management did ask one of the barflies to settle his tab and leave and then brought in another bartender. We certainly didn't want to stay after witnessing the bartender's unprofessionalism. We won't be going back the Sapphire Lounge when there are so many other options in Downtown Tampa.

Made plans to meet a friend at the Sapphire Lounge at the Floridan Palace Hotel on a Friday night, early. We wanted a quiet, relaxed environment where we could catch up with each other without having to shout over a noisy environment. The Lounge wasn't open when we arrived, so we went to the hotel's lobby bar and made ourselves comfortable. The bar itself (mahogany?) was gorgeous, the bartender was friendly and welcoming, the appetizers delicious (we had tzatziki, goat cheese, hummus, pita chips, and an assortment of veggies), and our drinks were top notch.I was dressed casually but did not feel unwelcome. My friend looked like a million dollars in her "little black dress" (she always does!) and was also right at home. The decor is a luxurious, nostalgic 20's decor but again, everyone was quite welcoming, despite my casual attire--from the Guest Service Agent at the lobby front desk to our bartender Marilyn.The bathroom was very clean and lovely too. If you spend over 5 hours at the bar, you're going to know what the facilities look like too!We peeked into the Sapphire Lounge as we were leaving and were very surprised to see only one couple in the room. At 9:30 on a Friday night?The only thing I can believe is that locals are unaware of this quiet, lovely (1920s decor) treasure hidden downtown.Sorry I don't have any photos to share--I always prefer to enjoy the moment rather than constantly waving my phone around, capturing every detail.

I really like this place. My hubby has a way of finding places that he can smoke a cigar while I can enjoy a cocktail and not suffocate. This is a place he enjoyed. No food but not surprising, a wide array of beverage options.

Was there last night for less than 15mins with my wife. An unruly male patron who was making degrading comments towards women is the reason we left. When we escalated the patron's inappropriate behavior to both the patron and the bartender, the bartender told us to "deal with it as he's a good paying regular" we took great exception that the bartender also condoned the patron's behavior (and clearly was aware of it) so we left on sheer principal. Degrading women is not acceptable under any circumstance and I'm surprised at the reaction of the bartender. I will say the manager who was away from the action did approach us in a professional manner talk to us on the way out and she did truly seem to care and take our concern seriously... however in short I dont think we'll be going back.

Great food and drinks. Nice atmosphere . Decor was out of the 1920's. Bartenders are very friendly.

I came here on Saturday night while I was in the area... I walked in and felt like I stepped into the 1920's. The decor is very elegant and it had beautiful mini chandeliers everywhere. They also play Sinatra and like music which is not only a nice change from top 40, it adds a little extra to the entire experience. The bartender was courteous, had a vast knowledge of classic cocktails and Martinis, and was in period correct bartender attire. The only thing I was surprised by was that it wasn't busier. As they are only open Friday and Saturday, I know a lot of the weekday travelers staying at Hotel Florida miss out :(.... If you are in the area on the weekend, it is definitely worth checking out.

I'm reviewing only what I experienced, which was just the two bars. When we go back for dinner I will update my review. We walked into this hidden treasure after dinner somewhere else and on a friend's recommendation and were instantly impressed. The decor was very well done, and with the chandelier's, furniture, and other appointments the feeling of the 1920's was still felt. The staff was extremely friendly everywhere we went. The bars were so nice with big, comfy chairs. The drinks were delicious as well. The only complaint I have is that the Sapphire Room bar didn't make my vodka gimlet correctly and I had to ask for simple syrup to add to the drink. But in the end that didn't matter at all.The man who played the live music was great. He took all of our requests and played them immediately. There weren't many people there, so he was willing to play what we enjoyed.We want to go back for dinner. The restaurant looked beautiful. I also hope I'll be able to attend a wedding there one day. The ballroom is beautiful. I felt like we had stepped foot onto the Titanic while we were there. It was very well done.