Opinions About The Doubletree Club Lake Buena Vista

[CDizney]

Hi! Looking for reviews/opinions about the Doubletree Club LBV around the corner from Downtown Disney.

 

[shellybaxter]

I would imagine the moderator will move this to the Orlando board, but I'll answer it here. We hotwired that hotel for a pretty inexpensive price ($34.00 per night??) and were planning to stay for three days. I read some reviews here and other places on the Internet and chose to only stay one night. It wasn't a bad hotel. It was clean enough and well organized, but it just wasn't Disney. We had never stayed offsite and I HATED it. I cried when we arrived. I don't know how to describe it, but it just wasn't right. The rooms were cute, but not special. If all you are looking for is a place to sleep, not an extension of your vacation, I'd say go for it. But if you are looking for a vacation hotel, I wouldn't choose this one. The beds were kind of hard too.

 

[CDizney]

Thanks Shelly!

I've stayed on property many times and off a few and I agree...it's never the exact same but due to monetary reasons I have to this time since I've been down there 5 times this year.

 

[ziggystardust]

I stayed there for a weekend once. I enjoyed it. It was very clean and the rooms were a good size. It was also for a cheap trip. I would stay there again, IF I had a car with me. There bus service wasn't that great and though it is a short walk to Downtown Disney, its not as short as they would like you to think. That was the only downfall, oh and their pool was just a pool. I don't know if you're looking for something spectacular or not.

 

[CDizney]

For this trip, I am doing 6 days Disney and then the Disney cruise so this trip around I am looking to cut costs by staying somewhere cheaper that is clean, comfortable, reasonable, close to Disney, and has an ok atmosphere. I normally stay at the moderates and it is 180 something with the tax this trip. I can get the Doubletree in a renovated room for 53 a night. Even the value resorts at Disney are 100 + tax so the Doubletree is still a big difference over the value resorts. And since I'm going on the cruise I figure I will get my pampering there. I always rent a car when I'm there so getting around for me is not a problem.

I read alot of good things more so than negative about the Doubletree Club so I was hoping to get somemore feedback on it before making the big plunge.

 

[FirstNo]

For this trip, I am doing 6 days Disney and then the Disney cruise so this trip around I am looking to cut costs by staying somewhere cheaper that is clean, comfortable, reasonable, close to Disney, and has an ok atmosphere. I normally stay at the moderates and it is 180 something with the tax this trip. I can get the Doubletree in a renovated room for 53 a night. Even the value resorts at Disney are 100 + tax so the Doubletree is still a big difference over the value resorts. And since I'm going on the cruise I figure I will get my pampering there. I always rent a car when I'm there so getting around for me is not a problem.

I read alot of good things more so than negative about the Doubletree Club so I was hoping to get somemore feedback on it before making the big plunge.

I managed to get a really good rate for my Dad for this place when he was here last month. He said he'd never stay there again. I think the nicest thing to say was that the room was clean (I met up with him to go some place one night and got to see the hotel and room). Dad said he thought the hallway smelled musty and it did, but the room itself was fine. He didn't like that the soundproofing was bad (and Dad is hard of hearing). The elevators took forever and, being on the 2nd floor, taking the stairs were faster. Unfortunately, the stairs by the elevator emptied out into the small pool area instead of inside the building. He said he got an 'attitude' from the check in person. He told them he didn't want the safe (there's a charge). The person he spoke with told him it wasn't a problem and just to let them know at check out. Well, they charged him for it any way and he had to fight to get it taken off. He said he received, at least, 3 calls to his room that weren't for him. When I called for him, forgetting he was now at a Disney hotel, they put me through to his room any way (I mentioned his name AND room number....any good operator would have checked to make sure they matched before connecting). I left a msg and a nice gentleman from NY returned my call because he didn't want me to worry that Dad didn't get the msg (it was at this point I clued in) and this guy told me he'd had at least 7 calls in just the few days he was there and none of them were for him. They weren't impressed, either. I won't even go into the issues I had when I originally made the rsv for Dad, but I'll just say I wouldn't recommend this place to any one. There's construction and the traffic is HORRIBLE both trying to get onto Disney property and back out to your hotel. Truly, find some place else.

 

[Mymatisse]

I would imagine the moderator will move this to the Orlando board, but I'll answer it here. We hotwired that hotel for a pretty inexpensive price ($34.00 per night??) and were planning to stay for three days. I read some reviews here and other places on the Internet and chose to only stay one night. It wasn't a bad hotel. It was clean enough and well organized, but it just wasn't Disney. We had never stayed offsite and I HATED it. I cried when we arrived. I don't know how to describe it, but it just wasn't right. The rooms were cute, but not special. If all you are looking for is a place to sleep, not an extension of your vacation, I'd say go for it. But if you are looking for a vacation hotel, I wouldn't choose this one. The beds were kind of hard too.

Just wondering if you really "Cried" or was that just a figure of speach? I think I would maybe cry if there were like roaches or rats or something.. but the beds being hard and the rooms being "not special enough?" That sounds like your expectations were really high.

 

[CDizney]

Wow! Sorry to hear that your dad's experience was that bad. That is the worst rating of that place that I have read to date.

 

[shellybaxter]

Just wondering if you really "Cried" or was that just a figure of speach? I think I would maybe cry if there were like roaches or rats or something.. but the beds being hard and the rooms being "not special enough?" That sounds like your expectations were really high.

I really did cry. I wasn't about my expectations, it was about the way the hotel "felt". I didn't get to go to Disneyworld until I was in my early 30s. It is so far from where I live and my family just didn't travel when I was young. I always dreamed of going, but never thought I would. So my first trip was REALLY magical. I LOVED the way Disney felt. Like I was in this no hassle, no worry, special place. My second trip was just as amazing. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and brought my niece. Since we don't have children, this was like our first "family" trip. Very Cool.

Before our third trip (the one where we were staying at the LBV Doubletree) my work had been really hard (financial trouble - I had to lay off people - it stunk) and my husband's work had just gone through a major reorganization where we didn't know from day to day if he would have a job, have to move accross the country, or get to stay where he was. Very Stressful. Even though all those things had been taken care of (my business got back on track and DH got a promotion and stayed put) I was REALLY in NEED of a special magical no stress vacation. When I got to the hotel and it just felt so wrong, I panicked (I do have a panic disorder) and thought my special, magical, stress free, wonderful vacation which I so very needed wasn't going to be any of those things.

So yes, I cried. I learned my lesson, no more off site hotels for me. Even when our plane gets in at night (like this one did). I can't say the hotel is bad, but it gave me a really bad feeling and I didn't like it.

Shelly

 

[DJT]

My sister and I have stayed at this hotel twice: February 2004 and February 2005. We wouldn't have stayed in '05 if we had had a bad experience in '04. It was clean and we had no problems with staff. At checkout I told them we didn't use the safe and they took the charge off with no problem. I even asked if they would print out our SW boarding passes and they let me use their computer to print them myself. I joined the Hilton Honors program and this year we got the 7th floor with the sweet dreams beds. The rooms were clean and the beds were very comfortable. We had no problems whatsoever. We would definitely stay there again, especially with a $53 rate. I believe one year our rate was $42 (Hotwire) and one year it was about $55 (HotelmartUSA).

 

[Buttercup Roberts]

Hi,

I stayed here for one night, several years ago, for free with Hilton HHonors points, and was pleasantly suprised.

There's an Au Bon Pain downstairs for breakfast (yummy!!!) and the room was cute and clean, with a seperate area for my son with a bunk bed I think.

The location couldn't be beat, you could go into Downtown Disney or down 535 to the back way to the Magic Kingdom, and there's tons of cheap places to eat right there, including our new favorite, Steak 'n Shake!