The WALDORF ASTORIA ORLANDO and HILTON BONNET CREEK Information Thread

[ckergald]

I'm pretty sure I saw them there.

Yes I've used them there and they sell them also.

 

[minniebeth]

Has anyone who booked this resort (Hilton BC) on Hilton Honors points stayed recently?
I was reading through the thread and a while ago it seemed as if you booked on points, there was no resort fee. Now, it's saying there is a resort fee still if using points. Have they changed that?

Also, are the breakfast coupons just for Gold Members?

If anyone has any information about that, I would appreciate it! Thank you!

 

[Laineysmom]

Has anyone who booked this resort (Hilton BC) on Hilton Honors points stayed recently? I was reading through the thread and a while ago it seemed as if you booked on points, there was no resort fee. Now, it's saying there is a resort fee still if using points. Have they changed that? Also, are the breakfast coupons just for Gold Members? If anyone has any information about that, I would appreciate it! Thank you!

I have not stayed at this resort so I cannot comment on your first question. If your are referring to the breakfast coupon Gold Level Members get, when I stayed Hilton Brand Hotels, they gave a coupon for ever registered guest I the room. I would definitely confirm this with the hotel ahead of time though because I'm sure their breakfasts are quite expensive. I stayed at the Hilton at Universal in CA with my points (gold level at the time) and my BFF and I both got the coupons for the continental breakfast ($10 if paying oop) and then upgraded to the full for $10.

 

[ryansstitch]

Has anyone who booked this resort (Hilton BC) on Hilton Honors points stayed recently? I was reading through the thread and a while ago it seemed as if you booked on points, there was no resort fee. Now, it's saying there is a resort fee still if using points. Have they changed that? Also, are the breakfast coupons just for Gold Members? If anyone has any information about that, I would appreciate it! Thank you!

I hope this is not the case (referring to the resort fee issue). What a way to thank you for loyalty! My res was on points in October. No resort fee, but that was 8 months ago.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Yikes! I called the hotel. Parking is charged per day add in that we will be paying a resort fee plus fee to park one day at Disney. It ended up cheaper to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I am bummed we are not staying here but I am excited to stay at the Akl for the first time.

This is why I changed my reservation last summer to a Disney deluxe. Disney offered a discount and by the time I added the rental car , parking fees as both Disney and HBC , gas and the $22 resort fee it broke even so we stayed at a monorail resort.

 

[minniebeth]

I have not stayed at this resort so I cannot comment on your first question. If your are referring to the breakfast coupon Gold Level Members get, when I stayed Hilton Brand Hotels, they gave a coupon for ever registered guest I the room. I would definitely confirm this with the hotel ahead of time though because I'm sure their breakfasts are quite expensive. I stayed at the Hilton at Universal in CA with my points (gold level at the time) and my BFF and I both got the coupons for the continental breakfast ($10 if paying oop) and then upgraded to the full for $10.

Thanks! We will make sure we ask about it when we check in. We were going to go to breakfast offsite, but will stay put to use them.

I hope this is not the case (referring to the resort fee issue). What a way to thank you for loyalty! My res was on points in October. No resort fee, but that was 8 months ago.

I called and asked~ it lists the resort fee on my reservation, but actually is covered when using points. You still have to pay for parking which I understand. (I guess ) This beats Marriott, where we *have* been charged the resort fee in addition to points. (and parking!)

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

It's been too long since I've been on the boards so I'm not sure if you still have the questions. I stayed at HBC as recently as Memorial weekend on points and also got breakfast coupons. I've done this several times here in the past. I've never been charged a resort fee with points except when I opted to try the standby upgrade. As soon as you pay any money for the room (like the upgrade), they add on the resort fee.

As for breakfast, each coupon is good for the continental buffet breakfast or you can pay $6 to upgrade to the full, hot buffet. Kids still eat free so DH and I used the coupons and the 2 kids ate free. Of course, we paid a tip but definitely worth it.

Mostly we prefer to use the coupons at the quick service spot, Muse, and take our food to some relaxing lounge chairs at the pool! They allow you to get any two items for one coupon. I use it for the priciest items in our purchase such as breakfast sandwiches or lattes and pay out of pocket for some whole fruit. And we use the free water we get for being gold level and I like the coffee in the room just fine. We also get a king sized donut to split for one of the items rather than one regular sized donut. Sometimes they give us the allotted two breakfast coupons per night and sometimes they give us four per night (4 people in the room) - but that's not typical.

 

[shoppgirl]

Hi- does anyone know if we can bring noodles to the lazy river pool at the hilton?

We even brought our own inner tubes for the lazy river! Staff at the pool house even offered to blow them up for us.

 

[jm106]

I see little recent action on this post but thought I would try-
We will be at WBC for half of the week and second half at HBC the weekof July 4th.
Where could we go to see WDW fireworks? Since we are off site, I wont plan for a good ADR during those times. We wont be visiting parks. TIA

 

[Steve9926]

Hi,

We are coming over from Australia in October to be at WDW for the week leading up to Halloween.

We are looking at staying at HBC.

Can someone give some insight on tours to Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center?

Do any tour companies pick up directly from HBC or do you have to meet at the pre-determined collection points as stated by the tour companies? I have been looking at various sites on the net and it looks like they only pick up at certain places and not individual hotels.

And if you do have to meet at the pre-determined collection points, how do you get there? Do you need to organise a taxi to get there? Are there any which are within walking distance?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[ryansstitch]

By tours do you mean companies that just provide transportation to and from the park? I've called cabs from there, and maybe I arrived at WA via a Mears shuttle once. They just being you to or pick up from the lobby of the hotel you are staying at. In your case that would be the front lobby entrance to HBC.

 

[ryansstitch]

Hi, We are coming over from Australia in October to be at WDW for the week leading up to Halloween. We are looking at staying at HBC. Can someone give some insight on tours to Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center? Do any tour companies pick up directly from HBC or do you have to meet at the pre-determined collection points as stated by the tour companies? I have been looking at various sites on the net and it looks like they only pick up at certain places and not individual hotels. And if you do have to meet at the pre-determined collection points, how do you get there? Do you need to organise a taxi to get there? Are there any which are within walking distance? Any help would be much appreciated.

Sorry, I didn't think through your whole list of questions the first time around. I'm not sure which websites you have seen, but I've had good experiences with Mears, and they always pick up from your hotel. That being said, I would assume that if what you have been reading states there are pick ups in a non hotel location, I would call the companies that offer the service you want and tell them you are staying at HBC, ask them what the easiest way to access their service is for your situation. In fact, maybe just call HBC and tell them what you want to do and see if they can offer suggestions. Not sure if you've ever seen the bonnet creek area in person, but there's not much within the tourist definition of walking distance. Although if you did choose to walk out to the main road, I think there may be bus stops. We have taken buses in orlando before, though not from HBC. The bus is very inexpensive, but unless you are in the mood (and have time) to get to know every other corner in the orlando area, it's not your best option.

If you feel comfortable driving in the US, that's your simplest option to get where you want to go. Whenever we have gone to Kennedy space centre or cocoa beach we drove.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Hi,

We are coming over from Australia in October to be at WDW for the week leading up to Halloween.

We are looking at staying at HBC.

Can someone give some insight on tours to Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center?

Do any tour companies pick up directly from HBC or do you have to meet at the pre-determined collection points as stated by the tour companies? I have been looking at various sites on the net and it looks like they only pick up at certain places and not individual hotels.

And if you do have to meet at the pre-determined collection points, how do you get there? Do you need to organise a taxi to get there? Are there any which are within walking distance?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Not sure what you ended up deciding. While driving is really easy (and rental cars are really cheap in Orlando), HBC does charge for parking. We do rent a car often and stay at HBC but the cost is $16/night + tax (at least it was the last time we were there in March).

The bus in Orlando & Florida is fine, but takes forever. I don't recommend the bus.

Of course, you are arriving next month so you probably have everything set now! Enjoy!

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Just a couple of photos taken from one of the rooms facing the front of the hotel -

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

And some photos of the fabulous pool - note that we brought our own inflatables. You can bring them and the pool attendant will allow you to use their air to blow up your inflatable - just ask at the poolside rental store.

 

[Rags123]

We're considering a stay at the Hilton Bonnett Creek with our two children (7 and 8). I've looked at the Bonnett Creek shuttle schedule. It's pretty easy to estimate how long it takes to get from the hotel to each of the park. How long does the shuttle take from the park back to the hotel (for example, Magic Kingdom to HBC)? I already know that we'd want to drive on our HS day. However, I hate the idea of paying for parking at the hotel and at the parks every day. We'd be using Hilton points (husband has Diamond status) so we'd still be out of pocket less money, but it's something to consider. It irritates my husband when he feels like he's being nickeled and dined, but it helps if I can lay it all out for him ahead of time.

 

[supraman215]

I'm also seeing a $20/night resort fee. But that aside parking at HBC (16) and disney(14?) + car(20) that's $50/day for a car, or $300 for 6 days. These little hidden costs add up.

 

[Rags123]

Well, we'll be using Hilton points and won't have up pay the resort fee, just the parking fee. We'll also have our own car. Otherwise, you're absolutely correct. If we were paying out of pocket for the Hilton, it would potentially be cheaper to stay at a moderate Disney resort. However, my husband has an enormous amount of Hilton points so our stay would be "free" aside from parking. Plus we'd get free breakfast due to his HHonors status.

 

[krisinparis]

Does anyone know what the cab fare is going from HBC to Disney Springs or MK?

 

[BunnieGene]

HBC to MK was around $25 iirc...