Best offsite hotel, central to everything?

[Cindy B]

Ok, we (family of four, 2 adults, 2 kids 4/7) are set to visit in either last two weeks of August or two weeks in November.

Since there is no early entry anymore, we are kicking around the idea of an centrally located, close to everything, but affordable offsite alternative.

WE have stayed at the all-stars since 1999. WE don't need anything fancy per se, but a suite would be IDEAL, but could manage with anything. We would love to see a breakfast included...

Our rates in the past have been 79/75/49 a night, all at the All Stars. We would love to stay in that price range, would consider higher if the accomodations are wonderful. Our budget right now is based on a 79/74 rate...

WE are going to go to WDW and Universal Sea World, so it could be close to everything.

We will have a car as well, so shuttle service to the parks would be an optional perk.

Any ideas?

How about priceline? What are some success stories?

Thanks..

 

[hercamore]

Hi Cindy,

Many people on this board staye at and have positive reviews of the LBV area near downtown disney. Suites are Buena Vista Suites, Holiday Inn Family Suites, Hawthorn Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Summerfield Suites and my favorite, the Marrriott Residence Inn LBV.

More upscale is the Vistana Resort and Vistana Villages Most of these hotels are listed on www.hotelkingdom.com or their invidual websites sometimes list more specials.

Most l br suite units at these hotels can be had under $l00 and some considerably less than that price. Most have free breakfast.
Vistana and VV are goiing to be higher priced and do not have bkfst included.

If you are willing to split your vacation between two hotels, I highly recommend staying at the Hard Rock or the new Royal Pacific on Universal property for a few nights. The FOTL benefits are a godsend to families with little ones (ESPECIALLY) in August. HRH can be had for under $l40 for a standard room with ent. card, and RP is having some grand opening specials. RP opens in July, I believe.

We stayed at the Marriott Residence inn last August in a 2 spacious 2 br unit thru www.quikbook.com for $l05 per night. The l br units are $95. with bkfst.

Other questions, ask away.

 

[OrlandoInfo]

All the Lake Buena Vista hotels are great.

Location wise, it is a nice area for walking around. Lots of restaurants nearby. Best of all, it is at the main entrance to downtown disney, so the attractions are fairly convenient.

Quality of hotels in this area tend to be better. Many are new, and the older ones are very well maintained because they can afford to upkeep.

Prices tend to be somewhat higher then other areas, but deals can be found. Read this board and you will find a lot.

My personal favorite in this area is the Country Inn & Suites. You mentioned that you have young kids. Check out their Kid Suites. It is a suite with a King size bed, and a partitioned area for the kids. There is a bunk bed, play area and they even had one of those Nintendo game machines. There is also a microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker in the room. It is great. I know their rates are currently around $59 for the Kid Suites. That rate also includes the transfers to and from the Disney park, and a nice breakfast buffet in the morning. A nice touch at all Country Inns is they have fresh baked cookies in the evening. When I stayed at the Country Inn LBV they had very decicious white chocolate cookies with macadamia nuts!

They do have their own site with details and rates (http://www.countryinnlbv.com). There you should find more info. As always, be sure to look around and as a lot of questions on this board. There are many experienced travelers like heracmore above who really know the ins and outs of Orlando accommodations!

Cheers!

 

[dreamer]

I suggest checking at www.skyauction.com for condo's that might work for the time you plan to visit orlando. We really got a great deal and have heard of lots of lucky travelers!

 

[singitalto]

Another good site is www.valuetrips.com. I reserved the Country Inn & Suites at Calypso Cay( the kidsuite) for $54 night in Sept. (Just called the hotel- asked for the rate with the code on the website) They have other good deals.

Oh there is also www.avistahotels.com they have some good rates too.
Also there was a Comfort Inn ,www.comfortinnorlando.com there kidsuites were $45 when I was going.

Hope these sites help!

 

[Margie J]

This location is great if you are visiting both the WDW and USF areas. The road itself is quiet, hotels well kept and prices are good.

Plenty of suite hotels are available along Palm Parkway including Sierra Suites and Homewood Suites.

 

[Cindy B]

Thanks for all the replies..

Yes, I am aware of the perks of on site at Universal, but even with the entertainment card, it was $117/ basically twice of what an All Star room rate was...

And when we were there, last week of August, we only saw three people use a room key to go in... all the rides were walk on!

Its nice, but not in the budget.

Country Inn does look really nice, any other opinions on it?

 

[Fayge]

Just returned from Country Inn Lake Buena Vista and I was very pleased. I had a king suite with a separate bedroom. The carpet was a bit run down but overall it was a clean comfortable room. Also, the suite is only a little bigger than a regular room so it might be a little crowded with 4 people in the room. From the diagram I saw of the kidsuite, it has a small king bedroom and the kid's room, but no other living space. The breakfast was great, as were the nighttime snacks. The pool was small with no theming. It was only 10 minutes to the parks, and I'd definitely stay there again!