It's a Redington Beach hotel people rave about. In fact, the last three reviews on Trip Advisor call it: "the perfect fit for us;" a "great hotel;" and an "excellent vacation spot."
But there's no way to know how many people chose not to book their stay at Hotel Isis in Redington Shores simply because of the name, so the hotel made a big change.
A quick search on Facebook will show you that this hotel used to be fodder for jokes. One person even says "I'll find a Holiday Inn."
But if you can't judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a hotel by its name.
"We're going home tomorrow, but I wish we'd have got it for longer!" Linda Bates is enjoying a girls' trip at the hotel. She lives in Wesley Chapel, but wanted a few days on the beach. She's glad the name was finally changed. "I was seeing Hotel Isis for a long time and I'm like ... that's not right."
Rhonda Simpson has been coming here for years from Michigan. The name didn't scare her away, but she thinks the hotel made the right move. "Yeah, it's good. I'd recommended it to some people up north and they said 'oh, that name' and I'm like, 'ahhh' ... so yeah I think it's good."
Manager Karrie Gilson says they never really noticed any backlash, but felt the change needed to happen.
"We decided it was a probably a good idea from what was going on ... out of respect."
Gilson says the people who stay here love it for it's smaller, boutique atmosphere and once they stay, they almost always come back. "This kind of makes people feel at home, comfy."
The name was only recently changed, but for the past 15 or 20 years, this has been Hotel Isis originally named after the Egyptian goddess of health, marriage and wisdom.
The new name, Hotel Sol, has a simpler meaning.
"It means sun and we're right here in sunny Florida, so we decided that was a really good name."
And Gilson made it a point to say nothing else has changed at this hidden beachfront gem.
