Has anyone stayed at the Sheraton Safari recently?

[stefnik]

I bid and got this hotel on Priceline but the reviews are mixed. I get the impression that as long as I am not expecting a lot, it's ok. What did you think?

Thanks,
Stephanie

 

[dclokc]

I wont say recently, but my family and I stayed there in August of 09. I read the reviews too and it kinda freaked me out. First of all, I would join the Starwoods Rewards program and let them know that when you check in that you are a member. I did that and it worked pretty well.

We stayed 4 nights, had a Safari Suite and had no problems. Actually, we enjoyed it so much, we are going back in June for another 5 nights. You arent in the room enough in my opinion to make a difference. Yes, it does need a facelift, its a older hotel, but no hotel is perfect. In my opinion, for what you pay for it, it is worth it. If you wanted something nicer, you will pay dearly for it.

 

[stefnik]

Thanks! I feel better now. I guess as long as I am aware it's older, I should be fine. And I will check out the starwood membership

 

[jpeppers]

Pool is great, bar and happy hour are great! Location is awaesome!

 

[Goofy_Dad_24]

There were a couple other threads on here about this, so if you search you can find them. We have stayed here multiple times and never had any problems.

 

[dclokc]

On a second note... I just read where the Safari was robbed and shots were fired...but it also said that there have been quite a few hotel robberies lately. I did some further checking, if you are going or wanting to stay in one of their Safari Suites, you can get just as good of a deal if not better at the Fountains resort or at the Vistana Villages.

 

[stefnik]

That's sounds awful! I guess I'll just have to hope it's all better when I get there. I can't get a refund unfortunately but if it's bad, I'll just leave.

 

[codimouse]

how was your stay stefnik?
we booked and will be staying in a Safari Suite. We are Starwood Preferred Guest members and got a good Winter Stay rate.

 

[stefnik]

Funny you should ask! We are here right now! We are enjoying our stay here. My kids love the pool especially the python slide. It's not the newest hotel but it has everything we need. It's clean and fairly quiet even on a Friday night.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[codimouse]

Thanks!! I had a reservation for Caribe Royale and Safari.
I chose Safari after 2 pleasant phone calls to them I made
with several questions each.
Caribe just sounded annoyed to answer questions so we cancelled that ressie and stuck with Safari.

 

[Venusleo1]

I stayed one night at the Sheraton Safari this past Friday. I booked one nights stay as I was planning on meeting up with a friend in Downtown Disney and then moving over to Royal Pacific at Universal Saturday. I am a 27 year old single professional female and I was traveling solo.

It was an okay room but it was great for what I paid for it. Priceline for $50.
The room was very large and it had a small balcony with two plastic patio chairs and a plastic little table. The bed was comfy the room was clean but it was dated. It had a huge closet with a safe, ironing board, and iron. It had a large armour (sp) with deep drawers and this is where the TV was located. Also it had a nice sized table with two chairs just to the side. A telephone was located here as well as on the nighstand between the two beds along with a simple but decent clock/alarm clock. There was also a hairdryer that was on the sink counter (duel sinks) along with some toiletries, bar soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner. The towels were great too, they were plush and decent sized. Not like the lame towels at Disney All Stars.

Check in went great took me about 5 minutes to check in I was in building one on the 6th floor close to the elevators. I arrived at 9pm. Parking was easy I found a spot close to the main enterance which is where the elevator was to get to my room.

The lobby area was nice, they had a tank with a couple of little aligators in it which the kids and adults both were checking out. Also in the lobby was a concierge's desk where two staff members where available to help you book tickets and transportation. The front desk staff was very nice asked me if I needed transportation to the parks as they wanted me to get on a list (I had my own vehicle so this wasnt necessary) but thought I'd pass that info on to all of you.

I checked in went and parked my car and went up to my room. It was facing the parking lot area overlooking the Pizza Hut right next door. It was a little dated but it was clean and no bad odors and it was really big. I was in my room unpacking and settling in and the family next door's little kid started screaming and crying and it sounded as if they were in my room. I did have a connecting room which I dont know made for a difference in noise or not but wow was that loud and very annoying. Also, I could hear every word the parents were saying so even normal conversation went right through the walls. I decided to head down to the bar for a bite as I had just spent the last 3 hours driving up from South Florida and my original plans of meeting a friend in Downtown Disney fell through (which was the only reason I booked a hotel in that area or else I would have done two nights at Royal Pacific, so that kinda peeved me off but that has nothing to do with the review ...) The bar was very quiet, quite dead, not what I would expect for a Friday night. The bartender was great I ordered a spicy chicken sandwich and a beer. As soon as I got settled in I opened up my magazine and looked in my purse and couldnt find my Iphone. I told the bartender I think I left my phone in my room and asked him if he wanted me to leave a credit card with him as I had to leave the bar and run back upstairs, he didnt want me to leave anything he was very nice about it. I ran upstairs and started searching my room. I had read a post on here about a solo traveler who had her Ipod taken from her roomat this hotel and I was automatically thinking it was stolen because I couldnt find it anywhere. I started to have a minor panic attack as that Iphone is my life and my only connection with family members phone numbers ect in case of an emergency. I searched all over and couldnt find it so I called down to the front desk and they had a security guard come up. He was very nice he was calling my # from his phone and had his flashlight out looking under the bed and saying nice things to me to calm me down. He was very sypathetic and seemed as if he really cared alot. He decided to call down to the bar to see if maybe it was lost there, low and behold it was. I had placed my magazine on top of my phone and didnt realize it so when i went into my purse and couldnt find it I automaticaly went into panic mode. I know it's sooo silly I felt like a complete jerk but I was so thankful and he really was so great about the whole thing.

So I go back down to the bar with my head burried... lol. I had a great sandwich and I honestly didnt think it was overly expensive it was $9.00 which I found comperable to if I had gone out to Friday's or some other chain restaurant. My bill for a sandwich and two beers was less then $15.00.

I walked out to the pool area and now its about 10pm and there were still many families out enjoying the pool. The slide was closed but I think it was due to the time of night it was. The pool area looked nice, not lavish by any means but for kids it seemed good.

I go back up to my room and get ready to settle in for the night, by this point the screaming child had I guess fallen asleep because I didnt hear any noise from the room next to me. As I am laying in bed and flicking through the chanels the remote stops working. I called down to the front desk yet again and told them and they said they would send someone right up. An engineer came up with a new remote and he came into my room to make sure it worked properly. He was also VERY nice. Everyone there must have to take nice pills or something cause these people were just so friendly. Okay so back to bed and a couple of minutes later remote stops working again. I called down to the front desk and they appologize profusely and say they will send engineering back up. He comes back up with a new remote but also a couple of cables. He fixes the TV as it wasnt a remote issue and we chat about a movie that was on which we both couldnt figure out what it was. The TV worked fine after that and I got a good nights sleep.

Shower in the morning was hot but the shower head was really low on the wall. I'm only 5'6 and I couldnt stand right under it because it touched my head and I had to actually duck to get right under it, I had to stand away from it and lean my head back to get it under the water, kinda annoying. I checked out at 9am and it took less then a minute. They had left a bill for me under my door. The guy at the front desk asked me if everything was correct and I just handed him my key and I was on my way to Universal. Also in the lobby they had a cart with all kinds of different coffee and bagles muffins fruit ect. if you just wanted to grab something quickly. I had seen a Dunkin Donuts litteraly right across the street so I headed there instead.

Overall I guess it was a good stay. The staff is great, the place is a little outdated but I would stay there again if I just wanted an inexpensive hotel room.

Likes: The staff, the food at the bar, the staff, the size of the room, the bed was comfortable. Easy room and parking access.

Dislikes: Kinda dated, TV not working, shower head being too low, thin walls.

 

[jpeppers]

I have to agree about the great Bar staff. Last year we stayed there on the 1st night of our trip and then on the last night 6 days later. On our last night I walked up to the Bar and without saying a word had my Beer of choice sitting in front of me.......I was shocked he remembered me and very impressed.

 

[deckhook]

yep great bar staff, was there two years ago and stayed 14 nights had a ball, location was the best yet great to get about everthing was an easy drive away. hotel i would say would be a bit dated.... is not a problem... pool very nice spent alot of time there. went back last year too spend time with friends and yes the barman remembered me too always very helpfull and always went that little extra like all the staff did... will be back again this year too.... you will not be dissapointed have a great holiday.