Getting very very nervous about hotel....help

[SCOTTandJEAN]

I know I asked before, and was answered. BUT.......we are staying at the Doubletree Hotel at Entrance to Universal and I am becoming a wreck reading all these very negative reviews. Somebody please, please tell me the truth here. I heard that on those reviews, a lot of times it's other hotels trying to give them a bad name. I'm staying in a King Room facing Universal.....anyone?

 

[Runey]

Sorry I'm no help to you... My wife and I are staying there this August as well... You are probably talking about the reviews on TripAdvisor... I've found them to be very inaccurate... Almost every review seems to be either done by the hotel owner or one of their competitors... I try to ignore the ones that sound to good to be true or so awful it's unbelievable...

Anyway you will probably be spending so little time in your room that it won't matter so much... As long as it's clean...

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, and me

 

[Fan2CSkr]

I usually read Trip Advisor, between the lines sometimes. I did just have a look at some reviews on yahoo for your property. Here is you would like to read.http://travel.yahoo.com/p-reviews-358341-prod-hotel-action-read-ratings_and_reviews

If you are nervous and worried with this hotel what is the alternative?

 

[Runey]

Thanks for that Fan2CSkr... One bad review out of all that is re-assuring... I'm pretty sure the DoubleTree is the closest, but I believe there is a Holiday Inn practically next door... The Holiday Inn also has had bad reviews, but is apparently under new management and improving...

If I get there and it's really bad I'll simply pack up and walk to nearest available option... I'm sure it won't be that bad though... Sometimes people complain in the wrong fashion and hence forth get bad service, perhaps as a kind of punishment

 

[damo]

The complaints looked geared more toward bad service than bad rooms. Unless you plan to spend a ton of time at the hotel and you got a good price, I wouldn't worry.

If you read the reviews on Universal Studios from tripadvisor, you probably wouldn't want to go there either!

 

[robvia]

Agree, I've been on here for a few years, and people haven't really complained about the Double Tree. They have complained about the Holiday Inn, and they've since heard the complaints, and are trying to do better.

I'd suggest you try to check in early, and check everything in your room the moment you walk in. That way, if something is wrong, you can request another room.

 

[goofie4goofy]

One thing I do know is to take TripAdvisor reports with a grain of salt. My DH and I travel a lot. I always read the TA reports and so far none have been accurate. I don't know why this is.

For example, last year we went to Naples and stayed at LaPlaya. The trip reports on TA about the hotel were horrible, at $700+ per night I was a little nervous to say the least. When we got there I found none of the recent reports to be true...not one.

There are 2 travel sites I trust-one is the Dis, the other is www.fodors.com on the travel talk forum. They are extremely accurate.

I would not worry, if you haven't read anything negative here, there most likely isn't anything to complain about.

 

[Motherfletcher]

I have a gift cerficate for 2 nights at La Playa. I didn't realize that the rates were so high.
There was someone on the Dis fussing about Doubletree and how they would never stay off-site again. Do a Dis search.

 

[goofie4goofy]

I have a gift cerficate for 2 nights at La Playa. I didn't realize that the rates were so high.
There was someone on the Dis fussing about Doubletree and how they would never stay off-site again. Do a Dis search.

It depends on what room and what tower you stay in. A pool view room is a lot less than a beach front room with a balcony. The rooms are beautiful, and the hotel itself is directly on the beach (unlike the Ritz). Be careful as they tack on a lot of fees that are not part of the per night rate, which adds up to about $30 per day. They do mention this in the "fine print".

Every sunset there is a ceremony on the beach. Someone rings the sunset bell and everyone gathers with a cocktail to watch the amazing sunset.

We loved the food but found it very expensive.. For example shrimp were $5 per piece. They were the normal sized shrimp, nothing special. That pretty much sets the tone of the prices. The food is excllent, and the indoor/outdoor dining just beautiful. We ate in different restaurants in the area too, loved the Turtle Club.

We love the Gulf coast of Fla....we almost never go to Orlando without going there. This year, we are (finially) going back to South Seas Captiva...just re-opened!

Sorry to ramble on, I know you are from Naples, but we just it there.

 

[Motherfletcher]

Sorry, I'll have to take DW there for our Anniversary in June. Should be their off season and we might get an upgrade. Our favorite place to eat in north Naples is Flaco's, a Mexican restaurant, on US 41. I got my BIL two nights at the Registry too and they canceled their trip. We'll have to stay there as well. We live about a mile and a half from the beach and haven't been there in months?

 

[Jason71]

Visited the Double Tree last Summer while friends were staying there. Room was very clean, and a decent size. Only problem was with the slow elevators.

 

[ColUK]

Stayed at this hotel over 10 times in the last 5 years, first when it was the Radisson. My main reason for staying there is the ability to walk to Universal. I have always found the hotel excellent. Rooms have been clean and large (come to England if you want to see a small hotel room and pay $160 per night!) they have improved considerably now the hotel has been getting refurbished the last couple of years.
Plus points
Location, the walk to Universal is about a mile and a bit.
I ride - for those who dont drive. I usually get a car for the last few days of the holiday as I am always in Universal at the beginning so pointless having a car.
Price - always got the hotel at about £40 per night ($75)
Breakfast staff - some of the friendliest staff I have met in the US. Price for buffet breakfast is about $10 including tax and gratuity I think.
Rooms - big, new ones very good beds, corner rooms are slightly bigger in length. I would recommend a high floor, if the hotel is busy the elevators can be very busy and the lower you are the less chance you have of getting in one when it arrives.

Negative
Reception - seems to have improved the last couple of years but still can be very slow. I put this down to there being no conceirge on site which means people ask the reception which slows things down.
Elevators - if the place is busy then this can be a problem. Cant say I have really let it get to me though.
Refurbishment - last October they were still refurbing and this did mean some noise (during the day) and also builders walking around. But if you are going to be in the hotel during the day I think you need to consider a different holiday!

General points
Sometimes this hotel is used by conferences and can be very busy, I have stayed there a handful of times when it was full of school parties. I must say that they have always been well behaved, sometimes noisy but hey thats what you expect! My only complaint was once a few rooms on my floor were occupied by about 20 teenage girls who insisted on visiting each other early morning and using the metal door lock to stop the door shutting. This meant doors banging from about 7am onwards. Although they may have complained about me coming back from pleasure island at 3am... oops my door slipped
Join the Hilton priority club, its free and you get a free newspaper each day and also the parking ($5 per day otherwise although I dont know of anyone who paid)

All in all I think its a great hotel and will be there again in December this year.

 

[chainsawwolf]

And just to throw a bit of useless trivia into this discussion. Back in the 70s, Carl Wallenda did a high wire walk between the two towers.

 

[jcapizzi]

Stayed their last fall and will be staying there again this fall. They were doing some construction then but it's probably finished by now. All the rooms were being refurbished. We liked it here. It was clean and roomy and we found housekeeping very good and the staff friendly and helpful. The warm chocolate chip cookies you get when checking in are very good too. Enjoy your stay.

 

[Runey]

Thanks everyone for the positive reviews, especially ColUK, that was an excellent review... Definately put my mind at rest

 

[SCOTTandJEAN]

Thank all of you very very much. I feel so much better now. Tripadvisor scared me so bad. I am now very ready for vacation and have no worries on my mind. God bless all of you.

 

[Robinrs]

Wow, I had no idea that the Radisson is now the Doubletree. That was the very first hotel I stayed at in Orlando!!

We had a friend who was a travel agent set us up as close as possible to Universal. Back then in 1999 there were no onsite hotels so the Radissson was the closest and the classiest. I went with my son, his best friend and her mother. We LOVED this hotel and to this day use it as a beacon of light from wherever we are to know we're where we're supposed to be.

I remember being there the day they found John Kennedy Jr's body. We were waiting for the launch from Cape Kennedy which we would've been able to see from our room and it just seemed so ironic...

But I digress....

I read the reports on the Tripadvisor and I can't believe it's gone down that much. It's location is awesome so if nothing else you can enjoy that!

Glad you feel better about your trip....

Robinrs

 

[ToyStoryMom_inRI]

My family (3 adults and 1 child) stayed at the Doubletree at the entrance to Universal last March and it was perfectly fine. Other than our annual Disney/Universal trips, we are always "resort" types and even with our high standards, we were happy with this hotel. The rooms were clean and fairly spacious and the property was clean and well-kept. The only negative I have was the painfully long wait at the on-site take out restaurant! UGH, that was the worst!