anyone know about the sheridan safari or hojo maingate west in orlando?

[sr1745]

if anyone has stayed at either the sheridan safari resort or howard johnson maingate west in orlando? i have no experience with these hotels and i am unsure as to which is better, or if both are of equal value. trip is going to be in early june, and will need to accommodate six young women. any info will be appreciated. thanks!

 

[baileybrad]

Sheraton Safari...a friend of mine at work has stayed there twice with family and they enjoyed it...they refuse to pay Disney prices. It has a really nice pool area and I remember him mentioning that the room they had was over-sized. He called the hotel directly and got a pretty decent rate. It is fairly convenient to DD and the Marketplace area. Don't know anything about the other one. If I am off base about the name not being Sheridan then I apologize in advance....as many hotels that are in the area, there very well another "Safari" hotel.

 

[deena]

I stayed at the Howard Johnson Maingate West last August of 2000 and had an excellent stay. The room was spacious, clean, and in mint condition; housekeeping was great everyday (we stayed 8 nights). They do in fact have 'connecting rooms' available there so your party will not have to be separated during vacation and can stay together; also had cable t.v. with Disney info. channel.

We paid $52 a night but the last time I checked their website they were running a $40 a night special for certain summer dates. The atmosphere is very relaxing, quiet, and family-oriented; they have a restaurant, tennis courts, a gift shop, and an outdoor covered pool that is heated. In case you don't want to drive to Disney, they do offer shuttle bus service there.

It was very reliable, we used it one day to travel to Epcot instead of driving. I believe it is around 4 miles to the maingate and when we drove to the parks it was like a 10min. trek. Also, up the road there are many shops, various restaurants, a Publix grocery store, and super walmart store within your reach.

I hope this helps; if I can answer any specific questions for you about my stay/hotel just let me know by posting and I'll do my best to answer them.

I hope you enjoy!

 

[sr1745]

thank you both for your responses (and yes, baileybrad--it is sheraton, not sheridan)! i just found out that we already are booked for the sheraton, so i hope it will work out nicely. do you remember, bb, your coworker mentioning any restaurants, shops, grocery stores, etc. nearby?

 

[baileybrad]

from just driving in the area of the SS, this property is very near the Crossroads shopping area that has the following restaurant/eating establishments...Jungle Jim's (similar to a Bennigans), Fridays, Red Lobster, UNO's Pizzera, Taco Bell, Pebbles (a local restaurant, nice atomsphere, there are other shops in there and a Goodings grocery that is very expensive.

 

[sr1745]

you are just full of info. your recollection works well for me; thanks again for all of your help. God bless.