Best Western Downtown Disney

[vhoffman]

We are going to WDW !2/07/03. I've found what I consider to be a great rate--$49 night.. at the Best Western Downtown Disney. The usual rate for this hotel at this time of year is $90-$130 night. Even with a AAA discount the best that came up was $79 night.

However, I worry that the hotel will be "worth the price". Has anyone stayed there recently with good/bad experiences they'd be willing to share? I understand the hotel recently underwent a renovation. The pictures on the website look appealing, but they are only going to share the best parts. Mary Waring gave it a mediorce review, but the last time she visited it was before the renovations.

Is this a "nice" hotel? One that you feel good walking into? Are the rooms clean, comfortable? I've read so many reviews of other hotels with slime, mildew, etc. that it gives one cause to wonder. What are the restaurants like there? Specifically, how expensive are they? Our last visit to WDW we stayed at the Polynesian for $299 night, and that was value season! That was only the beginning of the drain on our pocketbook. Food was outrageous! I paid $6 for an apple and small carton of milk at their snack bar. The room was nice (at Polynesian), but not worth $299. The main reason we paid so much was to be on the monorail. How convenient is the transportation from downtown Disney hotels, specifically the Best Western? I realize I'm paying less and can't compare the Best Western to the Polynesian, but what I'm looking for is a nice, clean, comfortable room with some sort of upscale feel to it--I don't want to feel like I'm in a Motel 6. I just want a nice place that doesn't cost a fortune to eat and is reasonably convenient to attractions. Is this hotel within waliking distance to DD or would it be necessary to use their shuttle? If one could just walk to DD it would be easy to connect to Disney transportation. Being on the monorail wasn't all that convenient since we had to use the bus system to several attractions anyways.

Well, I have some time to change my mind so please share any experiences with this hotel.

Thanks!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Last time I stayed there was July 2002. They were in the middle of the renovations. The room I had wasn't renovated yet..... the lobby was done & it was very nice. They were working on the elevators & rooms while I was there. I like this hotel..... I like the staff & the location. My room was clean & I had no problems.....yes it was old...needed to be updated...but it was clean

 

[MouseLover]

Where did you find that GREAT rate?

We are considering DD hotels for our March trip. We are hoping to get Entertainment rate at Grosvenor (although reviews are pretty poor) or Hotel Royal Plaza.
If I could get BW at that rate though, I'd book now.

 

[vhoffman]

I found the $49 night rate for BW at dreamsunlimitedtravel.com. I just stumbled across their website and found that rate. However, they're not offering that rate now. They currently offer the BW for $79 night. They seem to have a lot of other good rates, though, and I'd just keep checking back.

BTW, they didn't ask for any deposit up front. Just have to pay upon checkout at the hotel. Their cancellation policy is 7 days prior to the reservation, or they bill your credit card one night's stay plus tax. That's better than paying trip cancellation insurance. It sounds like a reputable agency, like I said, I just happened across it. Do bear in mind that hotels are hurting now (at disney and elsewhere) so keep trying--you really are in the driver's seat. Good luck!

 

[vhoffman]

I just looked at their website--they're currently offering the Grosvner for $59 night. Don't know all the particulars, but you might want to check them out.

BTW, I AM NOT affiliated with them in any way--like I said, just happened to find their website. However, this is the last I'll post about them least it appears I'm working for them. Good luck!

 

[cinamin27]

I stayed in August of last year. here's my review I wrote on biddingfortravel.com:

priceline bid accepted at $26. stayed 8/3/02 to 8/4/02. The a/c was quite noisy & the shower temperature was touchy. But here's the kicker, when we first checked into the room (front desk allowed us to check in at 11:30am by the way) my daughter (age 9) used the restroom and when she flushed the toilet, the handle completely broke off. I called front desk & they had some one there w/in 10 minutes to fix, I asked him to quiet the a/c & he did alittle.

The NBC station did not work although it was listed on their channel line up. The sink was cracked (but not leaking) & the faucet was extremely hard to turn off, had to slowly turn it just the right way (something must have been stripped inside). I stayed on the 6th floor & the room didnt really cool using the auto fan on the a/c but turned it to hi fan & it cooled quite well but I had it set at 68.5 degrees to get it to cool (this was after hours of having it on 70 auto fan).

The carpet was in good shape & vaccuumed. The bed linnens and towels were clean and in good shape. The beds seemed to still be in good shape but were not firm. Part of the popcorn textured ceiling was peeling near the sprinklers. Alot of the ceiling tiles in the hallway were stained (causing me to think the pipes must leak from time to time, not good for people with sensitive allergies) Room was much bigger than AllStars rooms and had a cute little balcony with a small table & 2 chairs.

A small digital microwave was on the dresser (not sure this is in all rooms as no one was seemed to mention it). A coffee pot on the vanity. There was a liter size bottled water near the ice bucket but look out because it was $6 for the bottle!

The restaurant inside the hotel served a hot/cold breakfast buffet (with Mickey shaped waffels, pancakes, grits, scrambeled eggs, toast, bagels, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, muffins, cereal & more) was only $4.99 for adults and $1.99 for kids & the kids included regular or chocolate milk. I did not eat as the items on the buffet are not something my (Atkins) diet allow (didnt want to pay 5 bux for just bacon, don't like sausage) but they allowed just my daughter to eat for the $2! This was a bargain since it included her milk even though she only ate a bagel & a couple slices of bacon.

I would definately stay here again at the $26 price but no way at full price (at least not before rooms are refurbished). All in all I was pleased with my bargain bid acceptance for a DTD hotel.

 

[bigsis1970]

I was just surfing around the dreams site and for our April vacation dates for 2004 I found they have a $69 ( plus tax and resort fee ) . I am booking now.. ( date checked were 4/17 - actually that night is $129 - to 4/25 ) and now to check on air fare ! (YIKES ) hope this helps some people Michelle