DOUBLETREE (downtown Disney area) Question

[jabryan]

We are planning a trip to Disney late May, early June 2006.

We are considering staying at the Doubletree Suites. Can anyone tell me about it? Do you recommend it or not? Any other tips about this hotel or things that I should know about? I am new at this and this will be my first trip with my daughter and her 2 children. Is there a good room you could recommend?

Also how is the transportation to the theme parks?

Thanks in advance!

 

[AMaloy314]

We stayed here in Sept 2004 with a Mousesavers rate of $79 per night plus free continental breakfast.

Staff was WONDERFUL! After checking in, my husband was greeted everyday by name with a smile by the check in staff. Housekeeping did a fantastic job and restaurant staff was very friendly. Even the timeshare person stationed in the lounge gave my two small boys little beach balls to play with although we told her that we were in no way interested in listening to her spiel. She didn't push it at all and was totally understanding, but still nice.

Room size was great. When we went, my boys were 3 and 4. We had to come back in the afternoons for naps, so the separate bedroom was perfect for us. The kitchette was helpful when we wanted a quick snack before heading back to the parks and for keeping soft drinks in the refrigerator. It saved us a bunch in drink prices alone.

Everything was clean and tidy, but was well worn. There were places in the hallway where the carpet was worn and frayed. In the room, wall paper was starting to come unstuck in a couple of places. The ceilings had that thick stucco type stuff on the ceiling that really dated the look, too. There was a slight musty smell, but it went away quickly after we turned the airconditioner up.

I can't comment on the transportation since we had a rental car. I can tell you that even in Sept, I wouldn't have wanted to walk to DTD. It was a good distance and was still HOT outside.

The pool was on the small side, but did have a children's pool, which the boys loved. There was never anyone else in the pool in the evenings when we went and the pool bar thing was always closed which was never a problem for us.

There is a aviary in the lobby that the boys enjoyed looking at every time we walked past and they have a very nice gift shop in the lobby with tons of Disney stuff. (surprise!)

For the price we paid, we thought it was a great deal. BUT, there was a lack of Disney magic. If that doesn't matter to you, I say go for it.

For us, I am back to planning another trip in Feb 2007 and trying to justify paying that much for Disney magic. We'd really like to stay on property since there is nothing like it. But, if we could get that kind of deal again, I think we would be right back at Doubletree DTD.

Hope this helps you. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

A

 

[we3disneygo]

I think they have done a remodel since last year?? have fun.

 

[jabryan]

Thanks so much for your responses! I appreciate it.

 

[ottawamom]

We stayed at the Doubletree last May(2005). They had remodelled a lot of the rooms and upgraded the beds and bedding. Service was great, the rooms large and comfortable. The bus transportation runs every 30 minutes. Ask about the schedule at the hotel and you can work your itinerary around that. Most trips were 15-20 min to get to the parks. Having a breakfast included (see Mousesavers.com) was a great bonus. The prices have increased slightly since the previous poster but I think its still worth it. If you want to stay onsite have you considered the Port Orleans resort. With a AAA or CAA discount you're looking at about the same amount of money per night. Good luck.

 

[ccw]

Just back from WDW where we stayed for 3 nights at OKW on our DVC points but stayed first night at Doubletree Suites to save weekend points. It was my DH, me and three teenage boys. Second time I have stayed here and I was VERY pleased. The bedding was brand new and probably the most comfortable mattressses I have ever slept on! We have had a car both times we stayed here so I do not know about bus service personally but have heard it is pretty reliable to parks. Oh, by the way, we also requested a rollaway so each of the boys could have a bed. That, too, was reported to be comfy and the suites are plenty big enough to add the rollaway. Highly recommend, esp. for a big family!!! We used Hilton Honors points for the stay so our price was REALLY great...free!!!!

 

[BedKnobbery2]

CCW, was there a charge for the rollaway? I was planning on bringing an air bed (same issue--teen boys are NOT interested in sharing beds!!) but might get a rollaway instead if the price is right.

 

[lovevacations]

We are staying here May 30-June 1st using Hilton honor points. In 2001 we stayed at the Marriott (I think it is something else now) and used the bus service and had no problems. They stop at most of the hotels on that strip but it was still fine. My then 2 year old told everyone her favorite thing about WDW was riding that bus!!!

 

[rejobako]

I don't know if they addressed this during remodeling, but when we stayed there in 2001 the door between the living/bedroom areas was slatted. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a separate room to put your children down to sleep if the door doesn't block out any noise. Otherwise we liked the place and location -- the cookies are always a plus.

 

[lovevacations]

I forgot about Doubletree cookies!!! Those yummy cookies are reason enought to stay there!!

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

Go to Mousesavers.com and Mary has a good rate there. I had us booked to stay there in September until they rolled out free dining. I saved $300 and got an extra night with our dining paid for (but I had several big meals with the characters planned, so I knew how much we were already planning to spend before the big announcement). We would definitely stay here in the future. If you get the Mousesavers' email, there was a GREAT rate this past February.

 

[HopperFan]

And we will be going back ! Room was newly remodeled, bedding was great, lots of room, they brought an extra dining chair as we were five, breakfast (free through Mousesavers) was the best we ever had included with a room, staff was great.....

Two rooms with doors that shut between. Was great to have two tvs going and allowed napping, fridge and micro a plus, large pool area and a hop to DTD.

Room request - I absolutely would request a WDW view room. At night you can see the fireworks at MK and it would avoid a view of the highway you would get on backside of resort.

 

[ccw]

CCW, was there a charge for the rollaway? I was planning on bringing an air bed (same issue--teen boys are NOT interested in sharing beds!!) but might get a rollaway instead if the price is right.

Sorry to just now be getting back to this question...there was NOT a charge for the rollaway but it was on an "as available" basis. We had an Aero bed in the car just in case we needed it, but the rollaway was already in our room when we opened the door! Our son in one double bed, us in the other, one teen boy on the sleeper sofa, and the 3rd teen boy on the rollaway. Worked great!