Hawthorne Suites - newbie here

[MI-Parrothead]

Hello! This is my first post here!

We are bringing our twin 5 year olds for their first Orlando experience in November....very excited! We chose the time to avoid the largest crowds.

We are not going to stay onsite. Debating between one/two bedroom hotel suite or villa or townhome.

Found Hawthorne Suites and the price is really cheap - but is it "too good to be true"? We don't need the most luxurious resort, but we don't want to stay in a dump either.

Do any of you have experience with Hawthorne? I've visited tripadvisor but you all seem so knowledgeable and helpful that it seems more personal here.

Thanks! Lots more questions to come!! jody

 

[trishamo3]

Jody,

Welcome!! I also am fairly new here too. We( myself, husband and 3 kids 14,12,9) will be going in about a month from now. We have only ever stayed offsite, much more affordable and more room to spread out. Less crowded pools and the places we choose to stay offer free continental breakfast, which is great to start off a full day at the parks.

We are staying at the Hawthorn Suites in Lake Buena Vista, this will be our first time there. We have stayed at Homewood Suites( now known as Extended Stay), also Lake Buena Vista in 2004, but we have decided to try another place. We have researched Hawthorn on Expedia, Tripadvisor also and haven't found any reason not to give them a try. We have found that it takes less then 15 minutes to get to most parks. We got a AAA rate of $80.00 a night.

I hope this helps, and I will post a report after our trip to let everyone know how happy we were with them.

Trisha

 

[zigzagzerr]

We stayed at the Hawthorn Suites in Lake Buena Vista a couple of years ago (maybe summer 2004? I think so). We thought it was a great hotel for not much money -- lots of space, full kitchen, free breakfast, and very close to Downtown Disney.

Hope this helps, guys! Have a great trip!!

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

Hi and welcome to the boards

You have the right idea looking for something bigger than a hotel room with 2 little ones - I've done it and wouldn't again. Also November will be a great time for their first trip

Personally I like the extra room a condo or townhome gives (but then I am biased ) and you also get the little extras and know exactly which home you are staying in if you rent direct from the owner. It really comes down to budget and personal preference

Whatever you decide you will have such a great time. Your kids faces when the enter Disney will be priceless

Tracey

 

[Lisa BC]

Yep,

I'm totally biased. We used to stay onsite, but now we love the idea of our own private pool and multiple bathrooms.

We can avoid large crowds at the resort pool. It is so much easier to keep an eye on the little ones in your own private pool. Most of the pools homes come with a nice selection of pool toys and floaties. It is also nice to have the pool right out your back door. You can do laundry or get dinner started while the kids swim & you can have your eye on them the whole time.

With five year olds, I suspect you'll want to take afternoon breaks or make it an early evening anyways.... so you might as well enjoy your accommodations as much as the parks. You can rent pretty darn close to Disney in Windsor Hills, Indian Creek, Emerald Island... and others. All are nice neighborhoods within a 5-15 minute drive to the parks. There's a great website that you might consider while doing research: www.AllStarVacationHomes.com This is a management company that has a really good reputation. At least you can get a feel for what is available. You will pay a premium by renting from the management company, rather than renting from an owner.

If you don't mind driving an extra 10-15 minutes you can stay out towards Champions Gate / Davenport area in neighborhoods like Highlands or Westhaven for $600 - $750 per week including taxes. That's like a hotel room rate of $75 - 95 per night (figuring a 13% room tax).

Here's one that we were considering:
http://www.vrbo.com/82538


Have fun doing the research. Decide on a budget first, then decide if you want your own private pool (thus needing a townhome or a villa), then decide how far are you willing to drive to the parks. Those things will help you narrow down your list properties significantly. (You can easily spend $1000 - 1500 a week on a house too, if you decide to splurge and want one with the special themed bedrooms really close to the parks.)

Good luck choosing!

Lisa

 

[crazelion]

I have stay Hawthorne Suites on Canada Avenue last year and it was good. The room was clean and the free breakfast was good. The location was excellent and easy access to WDW and US. The pool was clean. There is plenty of restaurants in walking distance and driving distance.

 

[MommyTo5]

We haven't stayed at the Hawthorn Suites (near SeaWorld) since 1/2001, but I remember it being quite nice and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again if the price was right. The free hot breakfast was great!

 

[Tink2312]

We stayed at Hawthorne LBV at Easter 05. We thought the accommodations were spacious and clean, the breakfast was good - some variety and plenty of it and the area had plenty of restaurants to eat at and was about a 5 minute drive from DTD. Another plus was the social "hour" where between 5-7pm mon-thurs, there were free fountain drinks and wine/beer and nachos/ hotdogs/ burgers etc. This was fantastic to come in to after a day at the parks!
Our only complaints were that the pool was on the small side and the shuttle to the parks was unreliable. However for the price, I don't think there's better and we've decided to stay here for the first week of our holiday in November