Residence Inn at Seaworld Review

[Poly-Anna]

Just back from a 5 night stay at the Residence Inn at Seaworld. Overall a very good hotel for families that need extra space. We had booked a one bedroom suite for $514 for 5 nights that included length of stay passes to Seaworld for myself, my husband and 5 year old son. The suite included two very comfortable queen beds, large closet and dresser, a full bath (one vanity sink outside toilet/shower), living room with pull-out couch, chair and table with 4 chairs, kitchen that included a full size refridge, dishwasher, 2 burner stove and sink plus utensils and dishes. There is no inroom safe however, but you can use a safe deposit box at the front desk.

The pool is moderate size - no water slide, but it does have zero entry for little ones with plenty of towels available and chairs. It does get crowded on weekends in the afternoon. There is also a poolside bar that serves limited food and a Pizza Hut express, plus a very small playground area and a basketball court. There is also a very small game room for the kids and small exercise room and laundry room. The continental breakfast served is standard fare - bagels, danish, cold cereal, with scrambled eggs and sometimes ham or sausage, also coffee, juice and beverages. Nothing memorable, but it serves it's purpose. Parking is also free.

Housekeeping service is excellent. Room was always cleaned to my expectations (which are high) and they always left extra towels if I requested them. The suite could use a renovation, as some of the furniture did show some wear, however the room was always cleaned daily very well. I actually commend the housekeeping staff for their efforts because some of the rooms that we walked by looked like they had been trashed by guests staying there. Why some people feel the need to live like animals is beyond me. Some rooms would have taken hours to clean. Housekeeping again was excellent!

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give the RI a 3. Only because we continually compared it to the Doubletree Suites at DTD and it fell short slightly on all counts. The two hotels are similar in size, layout and services, however the DTS was just a level higher (a 4) in all areas. Even though the DTS now charges for parking ($8 per day), it provides good bus service to the Disney parks which is a great plus.

Would we return to the Residence Inn at Seaworld, probably not only because we visit Seaworld only every few years and prefer hotels more accessible to Disney or Universal. However the Residence Inn was a good hotel for the money and more.

[Magalex]

Thanks for the great review! In Nov. 2010we are planning a trip involving all 3 big parks(Sea World, Universal & MK/Epcot) and we are staying off-site. My 3 choices for Hotels 1) Doubletree DTD 2) Embassy Suites LBV 3) R.I. Sea World. It is a bummer that many of the off-site hotels are charging for parking.

[Poly-Anna]

It's such a tough decision - there are so many really good hotels in Orlando! Of the 3, we do prefer the Doubletree. However my only recommendation regarding visiting Universal, is that I would stay (even if it's for just a couple of nights) at a Universal hotel. The front of the line access is worth every penny. We've stayed twice at Portofino Bay and it's one of our favorite hotels (next to the Yacht and Beach Club). The Hard Rock and Royal Pacific are both awesome also, and you can pool hop to all three resorts.

Good luck with your decision.

[4disneyfreakazoids]

Thanks for your review! Leaving in a week & staying with another couple! We won't be bringing our kids but the other couple got the suite for free! We're hoping to upgrade! Glad to know they're clean & spacious!