Hey Friends!
Just got back yesterday from Buena Vista Palace...ya'll are going to kill me...I FORGOT my camera!
I am SO sorry, I really wanted to post pics for you guys, so I'll do my best here. Go ahead and grab your coffee, snack or whatever else you need because It'll probably be pretty long and, no doubt, too much information
We were only booked for one night, Saturday Night, so we started by going to the theme parks for the day, expecting to check in near the stated time (4 PM) but, long story short, we had a terrible morning that just successively got worse and worse
so we ended up cutting our day after just a few hours and going to the hotel at 11:30ish to get something to eat. We figured we would eat first before attempting to check in to burn off some time, not to mention we left home at 7 without breakfast and were ready to eat and relax.
We parked in self-parking and entered the hotel through the meeting rooms...which was a HUGE mistake. The way the hotel is laid out, you have to go through the meeting hallsways, up an escalator, down the hall to the elevator, back DOWN the elevator and back through the hall to get to the cafe and restaurant (Watercress). Also, they are actually not done with the remodel so many areas of the hotel are boarded up with work going on behind the walls. They are definately trying to hide the work but there is no way to avoid that things are somewhat of a mess in a few of the public areas.
We decided to sit down in the restaurant because it was huge, well staffed and DEAD. We got a table immediately and saw only five other tables, mostly done with their meals.
We were hot, tired, mad and hungry and waited for someone to come to our table. And waited. And waited. And waited. And finally walked out.
Normally we are fairly patient, but for 10-15 minutes we watched restaurant staff walk past us like we were invisible, never even acknowledging we were there, water, nothing. Not a good start to lunch after an already horrible morning.
We made our way back up to the front desk and got in line to check in. Even though there was only one person in front of us, it took about 15 minutes in line for our turn - I will give the hotel the benefit of the doubt and figure the people at the desk must have had issues to deal with because they were moving about as fast a molassass.
That said, they checked us in immediately (a little after noon) which was VERY early and had no problem with it. THANK YOU!!!!
We now had to find our way to the island suites...across the way from the pool area...so back down the elevator and down the hall. I'm sure for most people it would have been a breeze, but because at that point we were so frazzled, we had a very hard time finding our room. The layout is very confusing the first time you go there and the construction makes it even more difficult.
We
finally located our room, which was HUGE. I suspect they are still working on the rooms too, because although it was nice and big, the chairs in the room were outdoor chairs and not comfortable. There were also no pictures on the walls, so although everything looked new and very modern, it was very bare in appearance.
There is a refrigerator, microwave, sink area and coffeepot in the main living area in addition to a table, four chairs, couch and leather ottoman-type table. Nice flat screen TV's, 1/2 bath next to the entrance door and a patio off the main area.
The bedroom is also huge - couch, 2 queen beds, closet (with robes), sink area seperate from the bathroom and a bathroom with both tub/shower and seperate shower
confused: but nice). Also another private balcony from the bedroom.
The rooms were clean except for some potato chips stuck to the bottom of one of the comforters; other than that it looked good.
The pool area is older, not updated yet, but maintained fairly well; service around the pool is nice though with people coming around to spray you with sunscreen, pool bar and snack bar, complementary towels, magazines and fruit. NO shower by the pool though...ick on that! The chairs have nice comfy cushions so if you like your pool time you are in business.
We did give the food at the hotel another try, both by the pool and that night in the Outback restaurant (not the chain) and both were fine...Outback was actually very good. Not excellent (we're pretty picky) but very good. Nice ambiance, too.
The good thing about the Island Suites area is even though it's about a 1/2 mile from self-parking (NO, I'm not joking on that) is that it is literally steps from Downtown Disney. NO kidding...it looks farther away but it's just immediately across the road.
Checkout was simple, only a phone call away. If you are fine with the printed statement they put under your door, you don't need to do anything else except call the front desk - which is great when you are trying to run out the door to get to the parks at open.
Overall, I'd give the hotel 3.75 stars. When the construction is finished that might change; they are working towards being a luxury property but there's still some things to be addressed before I give them that, IMO.
I would stay there again based on the location to DTD, the fact that my hubby smokes and we need a balcony for that since Disney banned it, the room is HUGE and it's near a decent pool area and the available amenities are pretty good - room service, spa, food, etc. If you are in Orlando for a longer stay and need lots of room, I don't think you will find a place as large, as new (rooms) and as clean for the price.
On the negative side, the food is way overpriced even for Orlando ($18 for burger fries and drink
), the layout is confusing especially considering how big this place is, the construction is not finished and self-parking is a killer. I know I keep harping on the parking thing but you will know WHY if you stay there - it really is too far away.
SPECIAL COMMENTS RE: SMOKING/NON-SMOKING
- The balcony is nice because if you are a smoker or non-smoker, the person next to you will not bother you because of the way it's set up. You are completely walled off AND at an angle so in addition to being 100% private from the other rooms near you, I did not see any way that smoke would be a problem for anyone. The issue of smoking was not addressed by the hotel in outdoor areas and I saw many people smoking in the pool area, balconies, etc. Inside is no smoking (and I didn't see any going on) but outdoor, at this point, doesn't seem to be off-limits.
Anyway, sorry this was so long and sorry I don't have pics but if you have anything specific you want to know I'll be glad and try to answer.
Thanks for reading!
On the website it sounds really nice, but I can't find any pictures or info on those particular rooms. From what I read, I'm thinking that these suites are not in the main building/tower, but on the side buildings. 
Any info you can gather would be great!
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