Cypress Point or Comfort Suites Maingate East

[DisWDWMay]

Help me decide!!! I've spent all morning reading through the posts on this forum and the two value hotels/resorts that stand out are Comfort Suites Maingate East and Cypress Pointe. We will be a family of 6, on a budget (so can't afford Disney resorts since budget resorts would require we book two rooms). Prices should be ~ the same.

Here's the pros and cons as I see it..

CSME
Pros:
Free Breakfast!!
Maid service!
Shuttles (is it really a pro? Has anyone used it? What hours do they run?).
Free internet/local phone calls.

Cons:
Less space then CP (How big are the rooms? Will they be comfortable for 6?).
No slides in pools.
No stove (so will need to eat out every day, except breakfast)

CP:
Pros:
Lots of space
Kitchen(should save us money)
Looks like a better pool.
No intrusion by maids.

Cons:
No shuttle.
Will have to clean ourselves. (How do we get fresh towels?)
Distance?
Internet/local phones charged.


I've already booked CSME but I could cancel it at any time. Please, any feedback would be helpful. I really want to make sure I made the right choice.

 

[dawgsgirl]

Hi--
We have stayed twice at Cypress Pointe. I don't know about Comfort Suites. We love the room we have at Cypress Pointe. I have always read that if you stay off-site you should have a car and not depend on the shuttles. CP is very close to DTD. No trouble at all to drive to the parks. We do not use the kitchen to cook, but have our usual cereal for breakfast and make sandwiches. We like not having maid service. There is really not much cleaning that needs to be done. There is a washer/dryer in the condos, which is a HUGE plus! You just wash towels if you need them clean! I would chose CP over a motel room any day. Good luck in your choice. I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

ditto

I had friends stay at CPGV and there is no comparison to a hotel room, even a suites hotel.

Will you have a car though? I don't think I would stay off-site without one.

When are you going??

 

[Sandyincanada]

Cypress Pointe for me too. Your alot better off with a car then relying on shuttles, it also gives you alot more freedom and restaurant choices as well as being able to hit Winn-Dixie to get staples. During our 10 day stay, our towels were changed twice and they did a full cleaning once. I like no maid service, you can leave your stuff out and not worry about it.

I have a full review here:

Cypress Point Review

and pictures here:

Cypress Pointe Pictures

 

[DisWDWMay]

Thanks all for your replys. Yes, we will be driving up there, but I have 2 toddlers (2,3) and two older kids (9,10), so we're thinking it might be best to head back to the hotel in the early afternoon to give us a break. However, there might be some days where the two older kids would want to stay at the parks or we may have to take the toddlers back to the hotel early. In that case it would be a shuttle would be helpful (depending, of course, on the schedule).

No shuttle means we (meaning the older kids) have to follow the toddlers schedule which may put a damper on their fun.

 

[Sumac]

I have stayed at both. I would definitely go for Cypress Pointe with 6 people. Comfort Suites is great, but 6 in one of their 'suites' would really be a stretch. It is really like a big hotel room, with a few kitchen conveniences (mini-fridge, small microwave). It works out great for our family of 4 when we add a couple of days before checking into a timeshare elsewhere.

If you can get it - go for Cypress Pointe. You will be happy with all of the space. We enjoyed our week there in December.

 

[CdnMom2]

Comfort Suites is like a large hotel room. Truly if the prices were close -- & please tell me your rate! -- I also would pick Cypress Pointe and as you know we're already also booked at CSMGE. (I did hear back from them on their Low-Rate Guarantee by the next morning).

Cypress Pointe will give you more space & some privacy for Mom & Dad or from sleeping wee ones for any noisier ones.
It will be easier feeding your family with the full Kitchen. Minifridge & smaller MW is hard even to take the easy MW meal-route as the large ones don't fit. We liked the location for Comfort Suites so that we can eat out at some of the other chain restaurants nearby on the eves we may not be at WDW. This Mom does not want to cook this vacation. We may also be changing this plan in the future, but those are some things we've considering when deciding.

Also consider whether you'll be using/needing the free local calls/internet that the Comfort Suites has, but not Cypress Pointe?
Your own laundry is a nice thing to have with your numbers & ages too! Not that this Mom wants to do any of that on vacation either, but I sure did end up seeing the hotel's laundry a couple times on our last visit.

It'll be a great trip either way!

 

[DisWDWMay]

CdnMom2, I got ~$65 for CMSE through their rate guarantee for the first week of June (using hotelmartusa as the foil), while hotelkingdom shows $73 for a two-bedroom at Cypress Pointe.

I also don't want to spend my vacation cooking, which is why the free breakfast is a big plus. I figure it will save us at least $20 a day + fix sandwiches and other cold lunches. This should even out whatever savings slaving over the stove would save me.

And yes, free internet is big plus as DH wants to keep tabs on things back home (yes, I know its a vacation...maybe you can help explain it to him).

But space is a big concern as is laundry. You all have given me alot to think about. Thanks

 

[CdnMom2]

Oh yeah, my vote is Cypress Pointe with the prices that close.
$73-$65 = $8 x 13% txs ~$9.04/day more.
I believe there's a $2.50/day charge with CSMGE for the room safe too (unless you included that already). That's small per person ($1.51) for the added comfort.

I have seen suggestions on these boards before & in Unofficial Guide (I think) for quiet places on-site to take the afternoon break for the toddlers. Are you going to be in the Parks each day of your visit? You could plan wisely for some down-time there. If CPointe is so close take a cab (Disney transportation to DtnDisney first?) on the day the older 2 & parent may wish to stay for a full day through to eve. From what I've been reading about shuttles off-site they'd really eat into your day for any afternoon/dinner breaks. The family driver could always take the parent & younger 2 back to CP & return with older 2 (parking is only paid once I think -- again look into that!). I think with 2 toddlers having the extra private room, the laundry, and the full Kitchen (full-size fridge? great for freezing the juice boxes, 1/2 water bottle) is a big plus. So is the better pool if the older 2 end up back at the hotel because of a toddler melt-down.

I also think I read on here that you can purchase Internet Use for the week at Cypress Pointe & it wasn't outrageous. I think I read that.

The price difference for our time is bigger & we add on the Cdn/US $ exchange to that. We're going to shoehorn the 6 of us into the CSMGE for the week, but we've done it before and our kids will be 8-16yrs -- less likely to aggravate by waking up sleeping toddlers who will be out of sorts for day/night in the same room as all of us. And I may change our plans too. For the amount of food your 2 & 3 year old eat the free breakfast at CSMGE isn't that big for those 2. Some Disney cereal, Pillsbury turn-overs, sausage/bacon/egg, fresh fruit at CP should be great for everyone. That wouldn't cost $20/day. And my 2 & 3 year olds weren't lots of fun to enjoy restaurant dining with along with older kids. Not that they weren't well-behaved as I'm sure yours are too just the whole hassle of the seating, bibs, boosters, kiddie menus, leftovers...Much easier to prepare most (not all -- gotta have some fun, Mom) your dinners in a full Kitchen at your resort. Those mini-fridges fill up very quickly for milk, juice, sandwich fixings, fruit, water bottles for 6 & any dinner stuff.

Well, there's my long-winded input. Neither place is a dive & you're going to be in the Happiest Place on Earth. Have a great trip!

 

[Sandyincanada]

The high speed internet at Cypress was 20.00 a week or around 38.00 for 2. We have often been charged 10.00 a day for high speed in a hotel room so I thought it was very cheap. We don't cook either, other than toast or bagels in the morning, we just really enjoy the extra space and privacy a condo has.

You can also get a 3 bdrm there for around 15.00 more a night.

 

[girlsx2]

I too vote for Cypress Pointe. We have not stayed there yet but from the pictures that were listed in a previous post, there would be no question. We are staying there on our trip to Universal in March. I can't wait!!

 

[cinamin27]

I too vote for Cypress Pointe. We have not stayed there yet but from the pictures that were listed in a previous post, there would be no question. We are staying there on our trip to Universal in March. I can't wait!!


girlsx2 - if you dont know your way around already & havent asked for the 'short cut' directions to Universal from Cypress Point, ask when you get there.

here is my version although I'm not great with road names, better with actually doing the driving as I know my way around & have done this drive quite a few times.

from the CP Entrance, take a left out of the parking lot (right if you are staying at CPGV), then at the stop sign, take a right (going left would take you to Winn Dixie & back onto 535). when you get to Palm Parkway, take a left at the stop sign. Follow that road (which will change names to Turkey Lake Rd), it will run at times parrallel to I4, you will pass a large Time Share community (one of the Westgate communities), a post office, you will also pass a sign for Sea World. When you get to a main intersection for Turkey Lake Rd & Sandlake Rd, just keep going straight & cross over Sandlake. You will then pass a 7/11, then a shopping center with a Big K, keep going about a mile or 2 & you will see an entrance for the Universal Resorts at an intersection that has a red light, turn right (on the left will be a High School), sorry, I dont know the name of this road but I think it may be Universal Blvd. Then keep going till you see the entrance for Universal's parking garage!