Orlando vs Tampa Nightlife (Miami, St. Petersburg: best city, school, camper)

[InterestingArm3750]

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

Conversely I don't think there's anything in downtown Orlando that compares to downtown St. Pete.

Agreed, but I’ll keep saying this: there’s nothing in Tampa Bay that compares to CityWalk and Disney Springs. Just to be able to have that in the back pocket is a huge win for Orlando.

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

First of all you have Beach Drive, which is packed for several blocks with high end restaurants, breweries, gastropubs, bars... All these places are lined up against Strob park, which is against the backdrop of Tampa Bay and the new Pier... This area almost has a European feel to it. -

European feel…? Wow, disagree 100% on that. I will say Orlando doesn’t have a Beach Drive in downtown. Park Ave in Winter Park is more or less where one would go for upscale nightlife. International Drive too. The upside of St. Pete being such a compact city is a central downtown where everything is located.

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

Then there's the Pier, which itself has multiple bars, restaurants and other eateries; not to mention incredible views of the city and the bay.
Then there's 1st Ave North, which is lined for a couple blocks with bars, clubs and eateries... Then there's 1st Ave south, also lined with the same...

Then there's Central Avenue, which includes dozens of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, breweries, shops...etc.. Roughly 3 miles of Central Ave is an entertainment district. From the intersection of Central and Beach to about a block or so before route 19.

Let’s pump the brakes on The Pier. It’s not really a nightlife destination like it used to be. I’ve been at least 10 times and it has 1 restaurant upstairs and another small one downstairs. So I disagree about “multiple bars and eateries.” I will say the views are pretty nice and will be even better once St. Pete continue to develop its skyline.

As far as bars, clubs, and eateries in downtown St. Pete, the same can be said about Orange Ave, Magnolia, and Thornton Park downtown in Orlando, as well as all the little side streets that have bars and clubs. Again, downtown is St. Pete’s center, while Orlando has a bunch of districts throughout the city that have their own versions of nightlife, like College Park, Ivanhoe, Oviedo on the Park, I Drive, to name a few. It would be nice if they were all combined in downtown though.

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

Downtown St. Pete is a heavy hitter. I agree that downtown Tampa alone cannot compete with downtown Orlando. Ybor city is fun, gets really packed...kind of a seedy element there like Orange Avenue...but it's simply not on the level of Orlando.
There is more to Tampa than Ybor city though. You also have a small nightlife district in Hyde Park, you have Armature Works and the Riverwalk which leads to Channelside... Both areas aren't bad, but not super exciting.

Not much disagreement here. But since when do Armature Works, Riverwalk, and Channelside count as nightlife?? Lol as far as Tampa nightlife, I’d also check out Soho for classy nightlife. Ybor is trashy imo, but I also think Orange Ave and the bars on Central are trashy too.

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

But you have to consider that you have all these areas plus downtown St. Pete, plus Clearwater Beach, Madeira Beach, St. Pete Beach, Dunedin...etc.. And another plus for Tampa bay is that last call is 3 am, not 2 am like Orlando..

When you consider the entire metro, Tampa Bay is better.. If you're just comparing Tampa proper to Orlando proper, then Orlando is better...

You sound like you haven’t been to metro Orlando’s other cities that also have nightlife. If you’re going to list all of those, then you’ve opened it up to list all of Orlando’s districts. I’ll list them again, including some other ones you may not have heard of: Downtown, I Drive, Park Ave, College Park, Ivanhoe, Oviedo on the Park, Lake Nona, downtown Sanford, University, not to mention CityWalk and Disney Springs. There’s probably some I’m forgetting because I haven’t gone to the club in what feels like years, but Orlando is definitely not short on nightlife.

I’m still taking Orlando, if for nothing than the sheer amount of options.

[InterestingArm3750]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Yeah Downtown St-Pete is a beast of its own... I don't think anything in Florida as a whole compares, and that includes Miami. Maybe Miami Beach, but even then, Miami Beach has a touristy and pretentious vibe that St-Pete doesn't.

Miami Beach is muucchhhh better lol it has a tourist vibe because it’s literally a worldwide draw. People from all over the planet come to take it in. St. Pete isn’t that kind of draw, at least not yet. But the more Marc talks it up, the more people will visit, then live, and then turn it into the next Miami. It’s already beginning to happen More and more people are moving to St. Pete, and in the first half of this year, it’s seen much more crime and murders than it did all of last year. I was reading an article in the TBT that said St. Pete’s murder count is the highest it’s been since 2007, and that’s with a full 5 months left in the rest of the year.

So Marc, bring it down a notch, don’t let the secret out

[MarcBetrus]

Originally Posted by InterestingArm3750

Miami Beach is muucchhhh better lol it has a tourist vibe because it’s literally a worldwide draw. People from all over the planet come to take it in. St. Pete isn’t that kind of draw, at least not yet. But the more Marc talks it up, the more people will visit, then live, and then turn it into the next Miami. It’s already beginning to happen More and more people are moving to St. Pete, and in the first half of this year, it’s seen much more crime and murders than it did all of last year. I was reading an article in the TBT that said St. Pete’s murder count is the highest it’s been since 2007, and that’s with a full 5 months left in the rest of the year.

So Marc, bring it down a notch, don’t let the secret out

You're a ball buster...but I have to admit, you're right...lool

It's a double edge sword type of situation; the more venues that open up and the more lively the place becomes, the more fun there is to be had....but unfortunately an ugly element often times comes with that increased popularity.

I don't think DT St. Pete will ever be the draw the South Beach is, but I could certainly see it rivaling a place like Fort Lauderdale.

[Trip Mcnealy]

I will say the Water Street development has been a bit of a let down so far. Granted the worker shortage has stalled and slowed construction- but where are the bottom floor restaurants and retail? It’s just a bunch of boring buildings right now with nothing going on. They should have kept Fergs around at least lol.

[Trip Mcnealy]

Armature is definitely a nightlife spot. Between Armature itself, Oak and Oala, Rocca, the outdoor bar, and the rooftop that is consistently slammed. That draws a ton of people.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Trip Mcnealy

I will say the Water Street development has been a bit of a let down so far. Granted the worker shortage has stalled and slowed construction- but where are the bottom floor restaurants and retail? It’s just a bunch of boring buildings right now with nothing going on. They should have kept Fergs around at least lol.

I'm sure that will come once the buildings are complete.
No way they are going to leave all of that ground level so bare like that. At least, I hope I'm right.

[MarcBetrus]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

I'm sure that will come once the buildings are complete.
No way they are going to leave all of that ground level so bare like that. At least, I hope I'm right.

I hope so too. If they do things right, that place could be really lively.

On another note, I think the Riverwalk has some missed potential as well.

In my opinion, what Riverwalk needs are more bars/restaurants that straddle it, especially the part that runs right through downtown Tampa.

There's that one little bar at Aloft Hotel, but you can't access it from the Riverwalk, you have to walk around the block to get to it.

If that had open access and there were a few other little Tiki bars/restaurants that lined Riverwalk until you got to about Channelside, it would make for a more enjoyable experience....or maybe that's just the alcoholic in me talking...

Downtown Tampa has so much potential, I hope it's realized!

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

I hope so too. If they do things right, that place could be really lively.

On another note, I think the Riverwalk has some missed potential as well.

In my opinion, what Riverwalk needs are more bars/restaurants that straddle it, especially the part that runs right through downtown Tampa.

There's that one little bar at Aloft Hotel, but you can't access it from the Riverwalk, you have to walk around the block to get to it.

If that had open access and there were a few other little Tiki bars/restaurants that lined Riverwalk until you got to about Channelside, it would make for a more fun experience.

Downtown Tampa has so much potential, I hope it's realized!

I used to frequent Channelside and Meridian before I moved to the area, when I'd use Amtrak to get into town (it's walking distance.) A favorite of mine was Maloney's. The area is OKAY, but it could use so much more. Tons of potential going unrealized. That area reminds me of Thornton Park/South Eola in Orlando, but without the street activity, which is odd...

[Trip Mcnealy]

Originally Posted by MarcBetrus

I hope so too. If they do things right, that place could be really lively.

On another note, I think the Riverwalk has some missed potential as well.

In my opinion, what Riverwalk needs are more bars/restaurants that straddle it, especially the part that runs right through downtown Tampa.

There's that one little bar at Aloft Hotel, but you can't access it from the Riverwalk, you have to walk around the block to get to it.

If that had open access and there were a few other little Tiki bars/restaurants that lined Riverwalk until you got to about Channelside, it would make for a more enjoyable experience....or maybe that's just the alcoholic in me talking...

Downtown Tampa has so much potential, I hope it's realized!

Couldnt agree more. It has the potential to be almost like a mini Chicago style riverwalk if done right. There's just not much on the main drag straddling it.

[Arcenal813]

It was kind of funny when the Bolts won the cup, and my angry friends in Canada were posting videos of Canadian news reporters picking on the city for not partying out in the streets... The reporters were standing outside of Amalie... My response was that there is literally NOTHING THERE, other than some cranes and empty blocks. People don't hang out there. They are inside bars scattered throughout the city/metro.
Heck, even the players are hard to see when they finish their games, as they are quick to scamper out, BECAUSE there is nothing there.
But of course, compared to a city like Montreal, where there are TONS of bars and restaurants surrounding their arena, it looks ridiculous to an outsider.

Tampa is a strange place.