Spend The Night In A Grand Old Courthouse At This Historic Florida Hotel

It's not every day you roll up on a hotel that looks like a functioning courthouse — with the words "United States of America" etched in stone above three-story Corinthian columns. The theme parks of Central Florida have no shortage of novelty hotels, of course, but despite its 9-mile proximity to Busch Gardens, Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse, exists outside the resort bubble. Its distinctive architecture (Renaissance Revival with Greek influences) speaks to its former use as a government building in the city of Tampa. The building, completed in 1905, was originally a post office and customs house before it became a federal courthouse.

When it entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the courthouse was recognized as the "oldest significant building in Tampa" and "a focal point of downtown." It closed in 1998, and the building sat empty for over a decade, with the city acquiring it for $1 in 2003 and then paying a disproportionate $100,000 a year just for air conditioning to prevent mold growth. It seemed destined to waste taxpayer money until Le Méridien, an upscale chain under the Marriott banner, finally took over in 2014 and converted the courthouse into a 130-room boutique hotel.

Today, at Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse, you'll find hotel staff members stationed at a onetime judicial bench, which now sits lower to the floor as a concierge desk. Some guest rooms, which were once holding cells and judges' chambers, now command swimming pool views. The courtrooms have been turned into event spaces like a restaurant and ballroom, but as you walk the marble and oak interior, you might sometimes forget you're even in a hotel.

In a video tour of Le Méridien Tampa, posted on the city's YouTube channel, one judge recalled how you weren't allowed to bring your phone in the building back when it was a courthouse. Another judge recalled seeing marshals with machine guns on the roof one morning as she arrived for a court case involving an accused drug trafficker who had been extradited to the U.S. from South America. This is also where Charlie Wall, the infamous "dean of Tampa's underworld," testified against organized crime in 1950, with his subsequent murder fueling legends that his ghost now haunts the hotel.

Since it's in the business of hospitality and not haunted history or true crime, the atmosphere at Le Méridien Tampa is a little less colorful, but more welcoming, these days. As a guest of the hotel, you won't need to check your phone at the door. Wi-Fi is available in every room, and it's complimentary for Marriott Bonvoy members, who can earn points toward free hotel nights by staying here. If you're a traveler extraditing yourself to Florida from out of state, Samantha Brown's favorite U.S. airport, its award-winning bathrooms, and its giant flamingo art installation (known as Phoebe) are only seven miles away.

In the YouTube tour, photographic artist Amy Martz, whose collection, "Tampa Discovery Moments," is featured throughout the courthouse hotel, praised its equally "art-focused" nature. Another amenity of the hotel is the Unlock Art pass you'll find in each guest room, granting you free admission to the Tampa Museum of Art just a few blocks away. After you dine at the hotel's restaurant, Sal Rosa, you'll be within walking distance of several other historic landmarks in the neighboring Downtown River Arts district.

In late 2023, Sal Rosa replaced Bizou Brasserie, the original restaurant on the second floor of Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse. The following year, Sal Rosa showed up in the alt-weekly, Creative Loafing, as both a readers' pick and a staff pick for their annual Best of the Bay awards, highlighting local favorites in the Tampa area. Readers named it the "best hotel restaurant" in town, while the staff awarded it the "best meal under oath," in a nod to the building's courthouse history. The restaurant itself puts that history on display with a hostess stand and seating area that used to be a witness stand and juror's bench, respectively.

The menu at Sal Rosa, per the restaurant's website, offers "classic Latin cuisine with a modern American twist," which means you can dine on everything from huevos rancheros to biscuits and gravy. If you prefer your orange juice spiked with sparkling wine, the restaurant offers $25 bottomless mimosas with weekend brunch. Afterward, you can walk off your meal on the adjacent Zack Street, where bronze medallions on the pavement spotlight the city's cultural heritage, including its old blues music scene and its resident movie palace, the Tampa Theatre.

The theater's glowing marquee, which is right around the corner from Le Méridien Tampa, continues to beckon audience members with both Oscar-nominated films and live shows. In addition, the hotel is only half a mile from the Tampa Riverwalk, where you can take in the downtown skyline and a wealth of waterfront attractions, such as the Florida Aquarium. A 10-minute Uber ride will transport you from this unique courthouse hotel to Ybor City: once the world's cigar capital, still one of Tampa's oldest and most interesting neighborhoods.