Best Marriott near Disney?

[winterwhite]

Please report back on this. We like Springhill Suites. I think it is a very good moderate chain. Comfortable rooms with plenty of space. Good breakfast.

I totally agree that you usually get more for your money at the moderate end of the spectrum without all of the stupid add on fees which are always on top of higher prices to begin with. It has never made sense to me. I'd much rather pay less and get more.

We checked in yesterday.

I will say that the room design is a little funky. The bathroom has a sliding door and is directly across from the beds where you would expect the TV to be. This is weird when someone uses the bathroom at night. That said the beds are comfy and the staff has been super helpful. Rooms brand new and super clean and I had the pool to myself today at about 2pm.

They also just opened a pool bar with entrees, pizza, etc and a pretty decent menu. We haven't tried it.

Breakfast was very robust for a hotel breakfast. They even had my husband's Kashi cereal he likes. Scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, make your own waffle, lots of baked goods, tons of yogurt and fruit.

The hotel is right at the end of Western way about 1/4 mile from the Western gate. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the ttc and 10 to Epcot today.

It's a category 4 and I think it's a good value for that. My husband loves the Disney hotels and riding buses everywhere (I loathe that and I think the Disney hotels are meh) so he is not so hot on it. I would use points for it again since you can also do cash + points so I used points to get the weekend nights and paid cash for the (much cheaper) Thurs night.

 

[disneysteve]

I will say that the room design is a little funky. The bathroom has a sliding door and is directly across from the beds where you would expect the TV to be.

That's how all SpringHills are. The TV is typically on the dresser located between the sleeping area and the living room so that it can be seen from the beds or the sofa.

 

[winterwhite]

That's how all SpringHills are. The TV is typically on the dresser located between the sleeping area and the living room so that it can be seen from the beds or the sofa.

The springhill at the Marriott village isn't laid out like that - and this is the first one I have been to with a translucent bathroom door which makes the light in the middle of the night a bit of a problem.

Admittedly I usually stay at the courtyard brand.

 

[disneysteve]

The springhill at the Marriott village isn't laid out like that - and this is the first one I have been to with a translucent bathroom door which makes the light in the middle of the night a bit of a problem.

Sorry, I misunderstood you. I didn't realize they had a sliding translucent door. We stayed at a Residence Inn in San Diego that had that. It is rather annoying if you want to turn the light on at night (which we generally don't do but occasionally it's necessary).

Other than the door, was the room layout the same as other Springhill Suite locations? Everyone we've been in had the sink and bathroom opposite the beds and the TV on the dresser going toward the living room and kitchenette area.

 

[winterwhite]

The layout itself is but the bathroom is oriented the long way and is quite narrow, it really is a bit of a funky design. The bathroom has a sliding door and there is a desk area with a solid wall that is right across from the tv. Nice hotel but a strange room design.

 

[TraceyPoppins]

We've stayed at the World Center twice and loved everything about it. We found it convenient to the parks and Disney Springs. The pool is gorgeous, the staff were helpful and the valet service was wonderful, especially considering we were there Easter week!

 

[happy2012]

We are likely planning to use our Marriott reward points for our next Disney vacation. We've only ever stayed onsite, so I'm not very familiar with local offsite hotels. Just by doing a quick search on their site, it looks like there are quite a few Marriott branded hotels that are pretty close to Disney, but wondering if anyone has any feedback or recommendations to help guide us in the right direction? Not sure if some are better than others!

Thanks!

I can highly recommend Marriott Grande Vista. We have stayed twice, once for one night before our DW package,once for a week. Beautiful accommodations, endless pool options,very good restaurant. We had a balcony room overlooking the golf course,a lake & the pool. It is a GREAT place for vacation. MGV was similar to a Disney moderate resort. But the "theme" would be "Florida" haha!!! I think Lakeshore Reserve is even nicer than MGV but I'd stay @ either if the rates are good!!! I do prefer WDW property for the perks but like I said MGV is an excellent choice!!!!!!

 

[happy2012]

I will also say SpringHill Suites in LBV has a really great,free & surprisingly healthy breakfast. Parking isn't free though. Location to restaurants & Disney Springs is good!

 

[mmeeccee]

We love Marriott Harbour Lake. It's at the Sea World exit but surprisingly easy to get to from Disney since you just take I-4. We like the option of having a full kitchen and multiple rooms. They have studio type rooms and also 1-2 maybe 3 bedroom villas.

 

[Monykalyn]

LOVE the Marriott properties. Very jealous of those who have gotten to stay at Lakeshore. We loved loved Grande Vista. We stayed at Sabal Palms last year - I do like the second bedroom setup more than GV. Plus the World Center pools are awesome. The Lanai at Sabal was bigger and overall the unit was bigger as well. But the bathroom at Sabal has a bit of a funky layout and is very bright even at night. Harbour lake was great for when there was just 4 of us and the girls were smaller. We've enjoyed Imperial Palms in the past but it is getting harder to find that with a timeshare exchange.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

We’ve done Disney every way possible (value, mod, deluxe, camping, off site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek) and this last trip we tried staying for free using DH’s Marriott points. We stayed at the almost-brand new Marriott Towneplace Suites at Flamingo Crossing, which has a sister resort, Spring Hills Suites.


So, I’ll start with the positive (there’s a lot!):

- Our room was a decent size and all 5 of us slept comfortable. We really liked having a full-ish size fridge (we bring snacks and drinks into the parks)

- The free breakfast was more than adequate (IF you got there in the first half hour… after that it was a mad house with long lines). There was enough there to keep us satisfied until mid-morning, and we usually grabbed an apple or banana to go.

- We didn’t hear any noise from our neighbors

- SUPER close to Disney. I LOVED driving under the Welcome to Disney World arch every morning

- Also close to lots of places to eat from fast food to chains like Olive Garden.

- The pool area was awesome. The pool is huge, it has a zero entry side with little water fountains, there is ample seating around it including couches, there’s a spot with 3 gass grills for guests to use and a hot tub. They also have towels poolside.

- The staff was friendly

- No resort fee

- No parking fee


Now the not so good:

- Housekeeping wasn’t great. I tipped $5 the first two days in a row and even though I left a note we never got more than 2 shampoos and 2 conditioners (there were 4 females in the room). It was annoying to call down to housekeeping and wait for the stuff to arrive before we could all get showered.

- Breakfast was a mad house after the initial 30 mins. They have 3 awesome Mickey waffle makers, but the line was REALLY long… it didn’t help that each person was making at least 3 waffles and they take 2 mins each to make.

Overall we really liked the place and would consider staying there on a future trip when we drive down.

 

[dioxide45]

The only problem with booking a Marriott timeshare, especially one of those with only 2BR units is that you ahve to pay two 5000 point per night upgrades. MR points for a unit is only good for a studio. So if you want to stay somewhere that only has 2BR units, you have to pay once to upgrade to a 1BR then again to upgrade to a 2BR. Also, the upgrade certificates are not free for the fifth night like the base night is. A 2BR on MR points could get quite costly. Depending on the time of year you travel, 2BR units at some of the Marriott properties rent for as little as $500.

 

[olliesmom]

Thanks for all the feedback!!

I think for the point value, we will probably end up giving the new Flamingo Crossing location a try! Glad to hear there is no resort fee, no parking fee and breakfast included-- that's a free value. If buy enough points for one night, we will be able to stay for 4 nights on points and get a 5th free.

For anyone who has stayed at the new Townplace Suites, do you have any photos you might be able to share? I'm especially interested in the pool area!

Thanks!!

 

[winterwhite]

Thanks for all the feedback!!

I think for the point value, we will probably end up giving the new Flamingo Crossing location a try! Glad to hear there is no resort fee, no parking fee and breakfast included-- that's a free value. If buy enough points for one night, we will be able to stay for 4 nights on points and get a 5th free.

For anyone who has stayed at the new Townplace Suites, do you have any photos you might be able to share? I'm especially interested in the pool area!

Thanks!!

I don't think I have a picture but the pool is a U shape from zero entry to max 5ft depth, with two deeper areas and a shallow area in the middle. It's a very large pool for such an "economy" hotel. The pool bar is also quite nice and the drinks were strong. The water temp was on the warmer side, which was nice, and there were tons of chairs and couches in the shade.

Protip, grab some of the oatmeal toppings from the breakfast bar and put them in your mickey waffle. I made my husband chocolate chip pecan mickey waffles every morning we got to breakfast around 7ish every day and didn't wait long for anything on the springhill side. I doubt they're checking room keys and yours will say elite member anyway so if the line is long you can always bounce across the pool area to the other hotel and see if that line is better.

Ample parking available. We overall liked it and will probably do towneplace next time just because of the funky springhill room layout.