Been at HIFS recently? (UPDATE)

[RKC]

We are booked in here Oct. 3-11. I was just on their web site and read some awful reviews . Talking about very rude employees, poor housekeeping, rashes and illness r/t the swimming pool, and , in one instance, a RAT .
I've been looking forward to our stay, but now am quite nervous. Has anyone stayed there recently (last month or 2), and can either confirm or deny these reviews??? Please tell me I'm not ruining our vacation by staying here!!!

TIA - Rachael

 

[taylor1293]

Do a search on this board and you will find plenty of reviews for HIFS. About 90% of them are positive. As with any hotel, you will find negative experiences.

I tend to ignore reviews on certain other boards because just anyone can place any review and you can't respond to them or question them about it. As for their message board, it seems to be the same few people who are going around posting the same info over and over in different threads. I'm guessing a disgruntled employee maybe?

We have stayed there twice (the second time at the end of this May).

The only rude employee we encountered was during the first stay, it was the first person we spoke to at the front desk. NOT a good impression. But from that point out, everyone was very pleasant and helpful.

The rooms were very clean and we had no problems with housekeeping.

My 2 yr old DD got sick after going to Blizzard Beach last summer. But, am I 100% positive it was from BB? Nope, I just assume it was. She could have picked it up from one of the million things she touched during our vacation. What I am saying, is unless those people tested the water themselves, and know it wasn't properly treated, they have no way of knowing what did or didn't make them sick.

You will love HIFS. Stop worrying and start looking forward to a fantastic vacation!

Teresa

 

[MrsMud]

Wow! We are staying there Oct 4 - 12. It will be our second time staying at HIFS. We we were there in early Dec '01, and we LOVED it! I find it hard to believe it has changed that much since our stay. Anyway, I went tot the website to read the reviews, but I couldn't find them. What is it under?

 

[GJM]

RKC- we are going in Sept. 18-27, when reading about the hotel it sounded great my, DS is 3 and I figure he will love it. Most of the reviews I read were good, most people complaing about the breakfast, but that's not a big concern for us. Then I started to read the reviews on their web page and started to panic, especially about people getting sick, that's the last thing I want on vacation. Overall just everything bad everyone was posting was starting to worry me. I did a post about a month ago on this board, and the replies I received were pretty positive. I was looking into changing my hotel, but I decided to stick with HIFS, I got the entertainment rate of $73 which is great. Hope everthing turns out OK! I'll let you know.

MrsMud- When you go to their site, the reviews are under Reservations/Interactive, then Public Forum.

 

[RKC]

Thanks guys!! I have a done search on this board and found mostly positive reviews. That's why I picked this place, well, that and the 73$/nt. EB rate . I'm really looking forward to this, but those reviews really freaked me!! Thanks for the encouragement .

MrsMud; maybe we'll see you there!! We'll have lime green somewhere. In fact my DD(4)'s swimsuit is lime green, as are my swim shorts!!!

 

[jjpounds]

Sorry but, could someone tell me what HIFS is? Thanks!

 

[Lorix2]

HIFS stands for Holiday Inn Family Suites

 

[momm2four]

Taylor, I must say amen to your reasoning. I have always wondered when people say "My son got sick from swimming in such and such's pool", how do they know that the pool is where they picked up the bug. It could have been a doorknob, a ride, a video game, anything you touch could have germs on it.

Anyway, back to the OP's question. My family went in October 2002 and were very, very pleased (and $73 is a steal) We paid $99 and that was with my mom getting the S.Citizen's rate. The pool area is unbeatable in my opinion, my children and DH loved playing with the stationery water toys.

I never encountered any rude employees (even when my 2.5 year old knocked over a room divider in the restaurant, boy was my face red).

We are going back in Oct. 2005, and I would definitely stay there again, but I really would like to stay onsite if possible just to compare the offsite/onsite aspect of the whole thing. (If my cheap little self will let me, lol)

I truly think you can relax about HIFS. The only problem I had the entire week was that the toilet wouldn't flush and the came right over and fixed it. For that price, a free breakfast, the close proximity to WDW and the amenities they offer, it can't be beat.

Have fun!
Lori P.

 

[C.Ann]

I just went and read the comments and it sounds like there are an awful lot of similar complaints for the 2003 time-frame.. Would be a shame if this place has really gone down hill because it sounds so fun for the kids!

I have reservations there (Entertainment rate of $73 a night) for Dec. 3rd to the 16th but due to a change in our flights and length of stay, I will be cancelling it within the next day or so..

If anyone tried to get those dates and couldn't, PM me and I'll tell you when I'm making the call so you can call shortly thereafter and grab the Kidssuite!

 

[funhouse8]

We stayed here in 2001, my kids were disappointed we won't be staying here this trip. It was a new hotel and the staff was wonderful, I'm also having trouble believing it changed that much.

 

[heart4dis]

$73 ? For what size family/party or does it matter? We have a family of 6. If I get the Entertainment book, can I get that rate for 6 people? I have a reservation for a Kingsize Kidsuite right now for $109/night. I've had the reservation since September 2002 for Dec. 2003!

 

[vellamint]

I don't believe they are accepting Entertainment Book reservations right now........that might change in future but for now I wouldnt cancel anything hoping for a cheaper entertainment rate.

 

[jcemom]

RKC - now you have me worried as well! Thanks a lot!

Just kidding, though I am a bit concerned as I was planning to stay here as well. I guess I'll just "keep my eye on it" and see what other opinions are posted here. Hopefully we can find some who have stayed this summer.

 

[jcemom]

I just emailed HIFS with my concerns. I'm curious to see if/when I receive a response, and what they have to say...I'll post it.

 

[mainewmn]

I am very curious what HIFS will say about those comments.

I also have reservation there for December 12-19 and all tough very happy with the rate of $73 a night, I’m unwilling to place my family in a hotel where their health may be affected or the quality of our vacation may be diminished.

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by mainewmn
I am very curious what HIFS will say about those comments.

I also have reservation there for December 12-19 and all tough very happy with the rate of $73 a night, I’m unwilling to place my family in a hotel where their health may be affected or the quality of our vacation may be diminished.

That's exactly how I feel! I haven't heard anything yet...

 

[KittenLittle]

I am interested in the response,also.
Let us know when you can.....

 

[RKC]

I just got off the phone with the nicest lady!! I called to ask to change my room theme, so I decided to ask her about some of the complaints on the web site. She was dumfounded. She said she never heard any of these things, "and I've certainly never seen any rats around here, and I'm here every day!!!"
She asked where I had seen these reports and said she was going to check them out herself. She also told me that the hotel randomly sends out surveys to guests and their scores are consistantly in the 90% range.
Now I realize she could have been blowing smoke up my
, but she seemed very genuine. She also told me that Nickalodean is putting up BIG money to redecorate a bunch of the suites in Nick themes, i.e. Spongebob, Rugrats, etc. I don't think Nick would be putting money in a place that's getting rundown.
So............ I feel much better abuot my stay, and will be happy to post when we return for those of you going after us.


-Rachael

 

[KittenLittle]

Thanks RKC!
Keep us posted on what you hear,jcemom!
Has anyone been to HIFS recently-maybe in the last month or so??
Tell us all about it!

 

[jcemom]

Still no reply for me...