Econolodge Maingate

[Jinny]

Has anyone stayed at this hotel which is on the 192 in Kissimmee? We are hoping to go during the school holidays next Easter 2004 which is one of the most expensive times of the year!
The cheapest quote we could get from Holiday Hypermarket was this hotel, which looks quite basic but seems to be in a pretty good location. We are not too bothered as last time we spent hardly any time in our hotel!

Thanks for any advice you can give.


Jinny

 

[jwhiting]

Hi Jinny,
We stayed there in 1999 when it was called Wynfield Inn, one of two, the other being on International Drive.

I believe it has changed its name again in the 2004 Virgin brochure but I can't for the live of me remember what it is now.

The hotel is basic, but clean and as you point out in a pretty good location with WDW just 10mins away. Obviously Universal/Sea World are further afield, but still within an easy 30mins or so.

One major plus point was the free drinks/bakery items served each day in the lobby, a nice touch and very welcoming with a day at a Theme Park ahead of you.

Many of the named restaurants are within easy walking distance, Ruby Tuesday is literally a minutes walk, and was always good value. TGI's and my favourite Orlando restaurant Darryl's are just up the road.

Don't expect the best looking hotel in Orlando, but at a cheap price you could do a lot lot worse....!!!!

Have fun

Julian

 

[Scottish_Maleficent]

Jinny

I believe there are several econolodges on the 192 - 4 in total

We have stayed at one at Maingate - Econolodge Hawaiian, and we were not impressed by the hotel, but the location was good - it has Ponderosa, Denny's, McD's all within walking distance and only a few minuted drive into wdw - I think the distance is about 1 mile. It is the one west of the Junction with I4 - the rest are all east of it

hotel itself was in need of a bit of upgrading - and I felt housekeeping was not up to standard. But we survived!!!!


Cath

 

[kipper]

We also stayed at the Econolodge Hawaian and on arrival the first night we were informed that they did not have any rooms that night and put us up in another hotel dawn the road and returned the next day.we were given a room on the ground floor and on entering the room it smelt very damp.I went and complained and they sent housekeeping to spray some Fabreze all around.It still did not mask the smell so they left the whole bottle.After 2 more days and still the smell they moved us to a room on the second floor which was far better.I wish we could have stayed at the first hotel it was a lot better.Still the hotel was only a place to sleep ands we still enjoyed the holiday.

 

[Jinny]

Thanks for all your replies everyone. We are still undecided, due to various complications with dates!

Julian, I noticed that you had also stayed at the Rodeway Inn. This was another option we were given. What did you think of it? I thought it looked OK from the brochure and in a good location.

Thanks again for your help.

Jinny

 

[tim june and sam]

Stayed at Econoldge, just after renamed from Wynfield in early Fall-2001, just after 9-11.

Hotel was very quiet, but proved clean and functional. Staff friendly, but a bit thin on the ground.

Given number of emty rooms, we were disappointed that we were given a tired room on an outside corner of one block, well away from reception and not poolside. Did experience a bit of road noise too.

Complimentary coffee and juice from reception was welcome, but pastries were a bit limp - not a patch on what you could get from the Perkins takeaway counter just across 192.

On plus side, 192-facilites were all close (all the regular names) and we found a back road through residential area to 535 that took us quickly up to Downtown Disney and Premium Outlets.

On balance, a good budget buy, but would press for a special request of a refurbished room, preferably poolside to make the most of your $$'s.

 

[Timmie Boy]

We stayed in the same econolodge as Tim, June & Sam through Virgin. We were given the damp smelling room too! I got that changed straight away, moved to another room which was slightly better. Aren't those air con units noisy though! After staying at the Gatwick Hilton prior to flight, the econolodge was a bit of a let down, but it all made up for it for the fantastic location:
kissimmee old town which is great for night time entertainment, varied selection of eating places and close to all the Disney parks, including the backroad which we only really discovered towards the end of our holiday.
Would recommend (after the initial shock of arrival) as a cheap option. Those morning do-nuts and free coffee were just superb!
We had pool facing room in August 2002.