Curious how others do it..

[C.Ann]

When it comes to deciding on accomodations, how do you make that decision?

Do you start looking at prices and say, "Oh - okay.. That sounds pretty good.."

Or - do you start out by saying, "I have X amount of dollars to spend on lodging.." - and then look and look until you find something that fits in that range?

Just curious...

 

[daannzzz]

I do not have an unlimited budget and the budget changes from trip to trip. I usually choose my hotel (almost always a split Disney resort stay) based on numerous parameters.
Where have I not stayed yet?
Where do I want to stay again?
What are the prices.
What is the likelyhood of me getting a discount?
Who is going on the trip?
It can get complicated as I juggle all the info and sometimes certain places are just obvious choices and sometimes something may come up where a good price is in the offering and I snag it. I usually do my first night in Orlando via Priceline. Sometimes I will choose an off site place for the first night just because I want to try it out.

 

[strawberryblonde]

Now that I have had a few trips onsite, I am ready to save some big $ and try offsite. No need to be at the parks morn till night for our next trip. If you can swing it for your first trip, I would stay onsite. After that, whatever mood you are in.....

 

[Local_Girl]

Budget is our biggest consideration, and we get plenty of "disney magic" visiting the parks so we don't need to stay onsite. However, we really don't want to stay in scary fleabag motels...so I read these boards really faithfully--especially this Orlando Hotels board--to find the best deals. It was here that I found out about the Armed Forces Vacation Club (AFVC) that DH is eligible for because he's retired AF. Through the AFVC we got a 2 bdrm condo at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club last Nov. for 7 nights, $249 total. I also found out about SkyAuction here and we have a week booked for $251 total at Orange Lake in Dec. It's hard to find even a low budget motel for $35 per night, never mind a great 2 bdrm condo, unless you try Priceline.

Anyway, my success in finding great accomodations has been to pay close attention to this board!! I read reviews of hotels and motels and see what deals others have found. I was determined to find the best deal for our family for the lowest price.

Thank you fellow DISers!

 

[kilee]

I definetly look for something cheap but with a good review. I mean s$20.00 a night isn't worth it for a bug/mold infested dump. However, we are so busy during the day that we really are only in the room to sleep. So as long as the room is modern and clean we are pretty happy. It helps if it has a nice pool area too. I also scour for hours on end all the discount sites and have found some decent hotel rooms for $20.00 a night. I too have a budget for the overall trip and I don't want the room to eat up a large percentage of it. I want more to dine at the nice places at Disney and to buy more souviners, and to spend that extra day at the parks.
We have yet to stay onsite because of cost. If we stayed on site, we'd only be able to go once every 18-24 months. Right now we are averaging a trip every 6-10 months instead. I feel we soak up plenty of magic during the day anyhow. I will get a trip in onsite, at least for a few nights just so I can say I did it.

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

We usually go to Priceline for our hotel stays. I've gotten the Renaissance World Gate twice for $35 a night. We've stayed at Disney hotels a few years ago but now we try to find something nice at a reasonable price offsite. Priceline almost always gives you that. My first consideration is good reviews then price. You can't go wrong if you read these boards. They have tons of information and good advice.

 

[dturner]

I find the best deal at the time I'm planning to go. Right now, Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Disney for $20.03/night, $111.70/5 days can't beat that.

Last year, Fall Fantasy Package at All Star Sports - Disney magic at an affordable price leaves more money for souveniors.

 

[Steve P]

I think a hierarchy of questions is good, like this.
(non priceline since you're choosing a specific hotel))

1st: on site or offsite?
next: if onsite, value moderate, or deluxe?
if offisite what 'class' of property (resort, 4*, 3* etc)

then make a short list of a few hotels, choose what matters most (amenities, location, etc) and weigh in the cost. If you want the
most hotel for the least price definitely go priceline and leave the choice to them. Personally I think it's more important to sell yourself on the hotel first, rather than basing a decision on how much discount off rack rate they're giving

 

[NomadFamily]

I, first, look at who is going since I often bring extended family of friends of my children. This will dictate the size/space needed. Then, I consider my budget. I usually end up "finding" more money for the room than I originally planned. i.e. if I say I am only going to spend $120 nt, I will probably be willing to spend $150/nt by the time I am done (lots of weird rationale going on in my head). Then I start looking for REALLY great deals. Let's say that I find a slightly discounted room that normally runs $160 and I can get it for $119..okay...not a great deal...but something. But, then if I find a room that normally runs for $280 and I can get it for $150, I'll pay the extra $30 a night and go for the better "deal" (over the $119 room) IF I really like the resort/room. I think we struck gold on this trip by getting into the 3 bed/3bath at Cypress Point for $86nt (tax incl). I haven't paid less than $100 a night for a standard hotel room in ages....let alone an 1800+ sq ft condo. As far as I asm concerned, THAT is part of the magic

So, I guess the "deal" rules for me. But, I need a nice place and the $20 rooms wouldn't do it for me. Neither would the All Star rooms at Disney.....no offense to anyone who likes them, I just need space (could be that I am clinically claustrophobic).

 

[BostonMouse]

Originally posted by NomadFamily
So, I guess the "deal" rules for me. But, I need a nice place and the $20 rooms wouldn't do it for me. Neither would the All Star rooms at Disney.....no offense to anyone who likes them, I just need space (could be that I am clinically claustrophobic). [/B]

Same with me. I'd be much happier spending $150 for a $300 room than spending $125 for a $200 room as long as I'm getting more for the $150/room.

 

[undertheradar]

We don't do the auction thing, as knowing exactly where the hotel is matters. We set our budget and factor rental car, meals,admission and travel(air or car). We prefer offsite due to space and "normally" lower cost. Our budget allows for some dinners out, but we prefer to have a kitchen and do breakfast and most dinners in our lodging. Trip budgets are killer when factoring in all of those resort area meals. If it is an extended stay, we look for lodging that has a w/d so that we can hang at the pool while doing chores.

 

[gingernick]

We made the mistake of letting the kids look through the brochures & ended up with a kidsuite at Holiday Inn Sunspree LBV. Cue I want the spaceship room, no I want the Fairytale castle! (me & the wife). Oh well, as long as they have a great time eh!

 

[disneysteve]

My answer is pretty similar to others. First, we look at who is going. Do we want just a room, a 1-br suite, a 2-br suite, or a house? At this point, just a room is generally not a choice - we've been spoiled by the inexpensive suites available in the area. So then its a question of who has the best rate. For our next trip in November, I'll check rates for Days Suites, Quality Suites, Homewood Suites, Residence Inn and maybe a couple of others. Chances are we'll end up at Days Suites because their rates in Nov. are pretty tough to beat - $39.95 last year.

I agree with familyoffive regarding PL. I don't want PL to decide where I stay - I want to be the one making the choice. Plus I don't think they offer suite accomodations on the auction. I also want to be guaranteed a non-smoking room.

Our budget is pretty flexible. We can afford the pricier places but choose not to. To us, finding the best deal is almost a sport. I can't believe how much some people are willing to spend for a hotel room - one person on these boards recently reported paying $650/nite for the GF! We can stay at Days Suites for <B>2 weeks</B> for less than that. But to each his own. We'd rather have the money to spend on a few nice meals, souvenirs (we are Disneyana collectors), and return trips.

Steve

 

[BarryHom]

I just hit Priceline for most of my hotel stays. Sometimes you get some bad ones, but most of the hotels are good. It used to be that I spent a lot of time finding hotels, but I didn't stay in the room too long. I just reverse it now and just have Priceline pick them.

 

[taylor1293]

I pick the resort I am interested in first, and then try and fit it into my budget, lol!

I can stay at a regular hotel on any travel trips we take. But when we go to Florida, I want to make sure the place I am staying at has something "different" to offer.

Teresa

 

[ILUVDXL]

All I do is look and see were a Radisson is. Since DH is an employee we get great discounts.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by taylor1293
I can stay at a regular hotel on any travel trips we take. But when we go to Florida, I want to make sure the place I am staying at has something "different" to offer.

Teresa

That's interesting, Teresa, because we feel just the opposite. When we travel elsewhere, we often spend more time in the hotel so we may go for nicer accomodations, pool, restaurant, etc. However, when we go to Florida, we spend almost every waking moment on the go in the parks, Downtown Disney, hotel-hopping, etc. We are much less picky about our hotel because we eat breakfast there and sleep there and not much else. We don't want to spend a lot of money for a fancy or themed hotel that we will hardly ever see.

Steve

 

[taylor1293]

Hi Steve,

Isn't it interesting how families have different preferences!?!

I agree that if you don't spend much time at the hotel it's a waste to go for the higher priced themed acommodations. With 2 younger children we tend to spend quite a bit of time at the hotel, so it is worth it for us.

We usually stay at nice hotels when we are traveling outside of Disney, but they are mostly plain ordinary hotels. With boring pools (in comparision to Disney), and basic ammenities.

Teresa