clarion maingate

[wendell78]

Hi
I am planning a quick trip to Disney/Orlando in october. I have never stayed anywhere but on grounds, but this is a real budget trip. We got rates at Clarion Maingate for 30.00 a night. Anyone know this hotel Anything you can tell me is great. Thanks

wendell

 

[Belle5]

Sorry, but we did not really enjoy our stay there. We won it on a bid through PL and ended up leaving early and paying rack rate at another hotel for two nights before we were scheduled to move there. We, of course, lost the prepaid money we paid on PL for the Clarion. If you at all plan on swimming you should know that the pool is very pathetic. If you are very unspoiled and have minimal expectations it is not actually a horrible hotel. I just think you can do better.

 

[KLAIT]

A friend and I stayed here in December through a Priceline Bid of $29.00.

I will first say that this place is definately not the Ritz, but I didn't expect it to be....

We spent most days at the parks from open to close and did not spend too much time at the hotel.

For us, the place was fine....the rooms were clean and people were friendly. The room had 2 double beds and a sleeper sofa (although the layout was weird). There is a restaurant on site (we did not use) and a pool bar with snacks. We bought an order of chicken strips to share and they were really good and got a lot for the money.

The pool was very small. I don't imagine that my kids would be happy with it if there were a lot of people around....but in December, there was no one using it.

 

[sln88]

$30? I am looking for a low cost hotel for Oct too

 

[wendell78]

How reliable is the shuttle servivce the Clarion provides? Also, since I have never stayed off property, how does all the parking stuff work at the parks? Is it a pain?
Thanks
Wendell

 

[KLAIT]

We never used the shuttle and didn't know they had one. Sorry, not much help there.

As far as parking at the parks, I don't think it is a big deal. I have stayed both on and off site......while you pay to park, I like that when I want to leave, I can just go and not have to wait for the bus to pick me up and then have to deal with a lot of people and all the stops...but that is me....I know there are others who love the Disney transportation system.

There were times when we made it back to our offsite hotel quicker than we did with waiting for the bus and making the stops. ALthoug I do not think that you can beat a hotel on the monorial line if transportation is what you are concerned about.

I guess it is a matter of preference.