Sea World....where do you stay?

[caroline1851]

Just back from Disney with DS13 now on to planning a trip with just DD9...
I was thinking Sea World/Aquatica, etc.

Need to learn everything.

Where is a good place to stay? Do they offer shuttles? Do i need to rent a car?

Probaly should, right?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

What kind of amenities do you want in your hotel? What is your budget?

If sticking to a SeaWorld parks only vacation (any combination of Seaworld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens), I would definitely stick with one of the 7 onsite hotels of Seaworld. They give some GREAT benefits, like free Quick Queue (front of the line!). You can see that list here:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/official-partners/

Booking a vacation package through SW can be an excellent deal as well. Packages come with the following perks:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/benefits/

The official onsite hotels all offer complimentary scheduled transportation (even to Busch Gardens) to registered guests, though a rental car would offer you more flexibility (especially if you want to do some offsite dining). With a car, though, you will be paying for parking at each park when you visit.

We had a very good experience at the Residence Inn Seaworld at Christmas 2012. We liked that they offered spacious rooms (with separate bedrooms, too, if desired), in-suite kitchenettes, a full hot and cold breakfast buffet, free internet, free parking, a large outdoor sport court (basketball, etc.), a BIG hot tub, and a zero entry pool.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

I second Gina's comment about the Residence Inn. I just got back and spent one night there. The location is great, the rooms are spacious, it is nice to have a small kitchen in the room, the complimentary breakfast was a great way to start the day, but my favorite thing about the place was the bed...probably the most comfortable bed I've slept on.

The rest of my trip I spent one week in a 2 bedroom condo at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Sea World (or HGVCSW if you have to abbreviate things). The resort was beautiful, the condo was recently updated and very nicely done (I would put it up against the top tier resorts' condos in the Orlando area), and the location couldn't be beat - across the street from Sea World, around the corner from Discovery Cove and a 2 or 3 minute drive from Aquatica. I can't sing their praises enough.

 

[momto2js]

We like the Residence Inn and the Spring Hill Suites. Both are good choices. As far as the car the trip from the airport is the thing. It may be cheaper to rent a small car just to get to and from the airport. The Spring hill Suites has a few restaurants in the parking lot so you could have a few choices for food with out a car.

 

[JaxDad]

We generally stay at Marriott properties, and there are lots of options all around SeaWorld. We've stayed at three over the last few years.

The Residence Inn is very good for all the reasons already listed, particularly the fact that it is a partner hotel AND they have free breakfast. It is very reasonably priced for what you get.

The Renaissance is higher priced and a very nice hotel. It is also a partner hotel. It is across the street from the SeaWorld parking lot and easy walking distance. It has nice amenities. I have not been since they upgraded the pool area for kids but I have heard it's nice. It also has some onsite restaurants, although they can be pricey. Look for package deals to make this a decent value. We once stayed there on some package that I think included SW tickets, breakfasts, valet parking, and maybe other stuff.

Harbour Lake (Marriott Vacation Club) is not a partner hotel, but it has a resort feeling with a great pool area and LOTS of activities for the kids. It has an onsite restaurant that is decent, plus you can get larger accomodations up to 2-bedroom (and maybe even 3-bedroom, but Im not sure).

I hope this helps. If you havent done so already, you should look at TripAdvisor too.

 

[luvdisdogs]

We stayed at the Renaissance and loved it! It is across the parking lot from SeaWorld. They do have shuttles that go also.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

I second Gina's comment about the Residence Inn. I just got back and spent one night there. The location is great, the rooms are spacious, it is nice to have a small kitchen in the room, the complimentary breakfast was a great way to start the day, but my favorite thing about the place was the bed...probably the most comfortable bed I've slept on.

The rest of my trip I spent one week in a 2 bedroom condo at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Sea World (or HGVCSW if you have to abbreviate things). The resort was beautiful, the condo was recently updated and very nicely done (I would put it up against the top tier resorts' condos in the Orlando area), and the location couldn't be beat - across the street from Sea World, around the corner from Discovery Cove and a 2 or 3 minute drive from Aquatica. I can't sing their praises enough.

Hi, It sounds like you had a nice stay HGVCSW. I remember you said you were going the end of May. It sounds like you had a much better experience there than we did. Curious for future reference, if you were to stay near SW again, would you choose HGVCSW again or the Residence Inn or another resort? Thanks!

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

Tinkerbellmagic, we were there the week of Memorial Day. Where y'all there at the same time? We had a wonderful time, couldn't have asked for more (without feeling totally greedy). I want to do a trip report but returned to a buzzsaw at work when I got back and *almost* have it under control. I hate to hear your experience wasn't all that great.

As for HGVCSW, I strongly recommend it. But with the standard caveat of if the price tag works for you. For me, I used my RCI timeshare to transfer into the resort so it didn't cost me much. I also never scouted around to see how much it would have cost for a 2 bedroom condo if we were to come out of pocket for it. I paid the rack rate for our Saturday night stay at the Residence Inn (right at $200 for a 2 bedroom unit), but I suspect with some planning you could do better on the price than I did.

HGVCSW's location (directly across the street from SW) is better than Residence Inn's (2 blocks away), their pools are much bigger and better, the condo itself was much nicer (we lucked into getting a condo that was updated within the past year), the grounds are much nicer....it is just nicer across the board. While HGVCSW is a resort, Residence Inn is a nice hotel. I don't know how fair it is to compare the two.

As for other resorts, I put HGVCSW right on par with Vistana and Orange Lake (although Orange Lake is a HUGE resort with a golf course). But if you are making a trip out of Discovery Cove, Sea World and Aquatica, I would prefer strongly prefer HGVCSW because of its location and perks you get at SeaWorld.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to fire away.

 

[Syndrome]

Thanks for all the input here ................
We are staying at HGVCSW in August . After looking for a "villa" type of resort that was very close to SW , had the great SW perks, and would fit all of comfortably (used to Disney DVC !) , the HGVCSW seemed like the best choice. I think we got a pretty good rate for a 3 day weekend in August (Thursday - Sunday) and with the AAA rate , it was about $224. per night for a 2 bdrm villa with the 2 queens (in the second bdrm) option . It should fit all 6 of us easily, and be close enough for our Discovery Cove, Sea World and Aquatica adventures .
Early entry and front of the line access at SW is a nice perk ! Just wondering about the shows at SW, and if there are any perks for those ?

Is it a reasonable walking distance to the SW main entrance , so we can avoid the SW parking fees ?

Feeling good about our decision after reading this .............thanks !

 

[Kenny1113]

I have been happy with Marriott resorts and have stayed at the residence inn.
Another option not mentioned here is the double tree. It's ok, but it is across the street and I think 5 min walk and the offer dive inn movies.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

Thanks for all the input here ................
We are staying at HGVCSW in August . After looking for a "villa" type of resort that was very close to SW , had the great SW perks, and would fit all of comfortably (used to Disney DVC !) , the HGVCSW seemed like the best choice. I think we got a pretty good rate for a 3 day weekend in August (Thursday - Sunday) and with the AAA rate , it was about $224. per night for a 2 bdrm villa with the 2 queens (in the second bdrm) option . It should fit all 6 of us easily, and be close enough for our Discovery Cove, Sea World and Aquatica adventures .
Early entry and front of the line access at SW is a nice perk ! Just wondering about the shows at SW, and if there are any perks for those ?

Is it a reasonable walking distance to the SW main entrance , so we can avoid the SW parking fees ?

Feeling good about our decision after reading this .............thanks !

I just went the last week of May and had a 2 bedroom unit (reserved through RCI using my timeshare if that makes a difference). I was supposed to get two queens in the second bedroom, but the unit I got was 1 bedroom unit with an adjoining lock-off unit with a king bed and a kitchenette. It ended up being fine for us because we had 3 adults (myself, wife and mother-in-law) and our 3 kids. But if we had had 3 sets of adult couples, then one couple would have been on the pull-out sofa. So I suggest you call a few days before arrival to confirm you have 2 queens in the 2nd bedroom.

As for walking to SW, you could do it. Would probably take about 20 minutes to get from the condo to the front gate of the park. To me, it wasn't worth it and we got the 2 week parking pass for $30 available to us with our Discovery Cove tickets. I don't think there were any perks for the shows (at least I didn't find any), just the single-use quick qeue for the rides and 10% off on food & merchandise.

 

[NavyDad]

I have been reading this thread so instead of starting a new thread I thought I could ask some questions here...

We are planning a Spring Break split stay between Sea World and Universal. 4 days at each the first week in April. The first 4 days we want to visit Sea World, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and possibly Bush Gardens.

I want to stay "on-site" for the best perks possible. It looks like from the link above that some parks are "official" Sea World parks and some are "partners". I am a little confused as to the difference. Do both categories get the same perks? My biggest priorities would be early entry and the free front of the line pass.

For our family of 5 the Residence Inn seems to fit our needs and budget the best but I am open to anything right now. Is there any perks that we cannot get at Residence that is available at the other hotels?

It looks like there is a shuttle to the three local Sea World parks. Does the shuttle also run to Bush Gardens? If so how convenient is it?

I wanted to clarify the free express passes: I see that they are one time use. Does that mean that they can only be used for 1 day or just 1 time per ride? Basically I am wondering if we go to Sea World a second day can we get the express passes for 2 separate days?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have been reading this thread so instead of starting a new thread I thought I could ask some questions here...

We are planning a Spring Break split stay between Sea World and Universal. 4 days at each the first week in April. The first 4 days we want to visit Sea World, Aquatica, Discovery Cove and possibly Bush Gardens.

I want to stay "on-site" for the best perks possible. It looks like from the link above that some parks are "official" Sea World parks and some are "partners". I am a little confused as to the difference. Do both categories get the same perks? My biggest priorities would be early entry and the free front of the line pass.

For our family of 5 the Residence Inn seems to fit our needs and budget the best but I am open to anything right now. Is there any perks that we cannot get at Residence that is available at the other hotels?

It looks like there is a shuttle to the three local Sea World parks. Does the shuttle also run to Bush Gardens? If so how convenient is it?

I wanted to clarify the free express passes: I see that they are one time use. Does that mean that they can only be used for 1 day or just 1 time per ride? Basically I am wondering if we go to Sea World a second day can we get the express passes for 2 separate days?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

The "official" hotels of SeaWorld give more perks than the partner hotels. The partners, for example, don't offer free Quick Queue.

The official hotels can be found here: http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/official-partners/ .

The Residence Inn offers the same perks as the other 6 properties listed in the link. We have stayed there before and it was a great value. If you check out the link in my signature to my Christmas 2012 trip, you will find lots of info and pictures of our stay.

A shuttle to BG is offered, but I haven't taken it so I can't comment on its convenience.

Free Quick Queue is offered to all registered guests of the onsite properties for each day of your stay (including check in and check out days), based on availability. They are one time per ride passes, per day. If you go to SW a second day, then you would get a second day of one-time-per-ride QQ (as long as you are still a guest at the hotel).

If you book a package (tickets + hotel), these are the perks you would receive:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/benefits/?from=Top_Nav

 

[kathy884]

If all you need is a comfortable little hotel room, I also love the friendly, clean, and comfortable Hilton Garden Inn property that is right next to the Renaissance Hotel, walking distance to SeaWorld. They have a shuttle too. They are a partner hotel too. The staff is wonderful, the place is spotlessly clean, they gave us a SeaWorld view, I love the little pool area, and sometimes have gotten great deals there. I like their food too.

All the partner hotels/condos are really pretty nice. I love mini SeaWorld trips. Have a great time.

And if you have a car and don't mind a 15/20 minute drive, you can actually stay almost anywhere.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

If all you need is a comfortable little hotel room, I also love the friendly, clean, and comfortable Hilton Garden Inn property that is right next to the Renaissance Hotel, walking distance to SeaWorld. They have a shuttle too. They are a partner hotel too. The staff is wonderful, the place is spotlessly clean, they gave us a SeaWorld view, I love the little pool area, and sometimes have gotten great deals there. I like their food too.

All the partner hotels/condos are really pretty nice. I love mini SeaWorld trips. Have a great time.

And if you have a car and don't mind a 15/20 minute drive, you can actually stay almost anywhere.

I am so glad to hear the great feedback on the HGI SW. We are booked there for two nights in May 2016 (following our week at our timeshare) with plans to visit SW for those few days. We got a great rate....$79 per night for a king room....and worried that the quality of the property might be questionable for such a low price. Good to know you have had positive experiences there!

 

[kathy884]

I am so glad to hear the great feedback on the HGI SW. We are booked there for two nights in May 2016 (following our week at our timeshare) with plans to visit SW for those few days. We got a great rate....$79 per night for a king room....and worried that the quality of the property might be questionable for such a low price. Good to know you have had positive experiences there!

That's a great deal Gina! I think you'll be really happy with the property and location.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

OK so I see a lot of comments about the Residence Inn. What the Fairfield Inn & Suites? DO they have the same Sea World perks? Do I have to book a package to get the free quick passes or can I just reserve the room and purchase tickets separately? I am wanting to do a combination Sea World/ Universal and I am looking for the best deal.

 

[Chelley00]

Another vote for Residence Inn. We stayed there for one night in October. We love Residence Inns anyhow for 2 bedroom 2 bathrooms, plus the kitchen comes in handy. The pool was nice and if anyone cares, the gym was great - very clean. There was all kinds of activities and walking paths.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

OK I just reserved the Residence Inn for the first week of June for $98/night with the AAA rate and I'm going to get the Orlando Flex tickets from undercover tourist I think. Will I still get all the SeaWorld perks buying tickets separately? Anyone have any tricks for getting a better rate at the Residence Inn?

 

[melbrujack]

Is Seaworld Residence Inn one of the hotels that are part of package that allow early entry? I just looked on Seaworld Website and it is not listed.
We are traveling as a group of 9. My parents are taking my family and my brothers family on a 3 day disney cruise.
We would like to try SW, DC and Aquatica for the rest of our stay in Orlando. I thought we would pick a marriott property as I have some points I could use. I like the sound of the Residence Inn better than the World Center.
I am looking for a number to call Sea World, but cannot find one.

Melissa