Help! Family of eight! Where to stay?

[harvey]

Dh will be attending Lotusphere end of January, so the fam is taggin' along....me and the 6 kiddos.

We have a reservation at the DoubleTree Suites, and they said we could have eight in the room so long as the last two can fit in porta cribs.....well, one will (18mo) but it'll be a stretch for the other one (3 1/2). So we're considering other options.

The company will pay up to $220 per night. We want to be a close as possible to DW as dh will need to catch a Lotusphere bus each day from one of the hotels on the property.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Simba0319]

We booked a 2 bedroom suite at the Sheraton's Vistana Villages through Hotel Kingdom.com. Room is very big and price was very reasonable!! You should check it out!!. We are a group of 8 and there is definitely enough room!!

HTH!!

 

[harvey]

Is this a time share resort? I'm reading about Vistana and other 'resorts' on the board, but I'm not sure about what's what?

We're looking at HIFS and Caribe Royal. I have kids that range from 16 down to 18 mo. HIFS looks great for the kids, but the Caribe looks nice to mama and papa, lol.

Is there a website to see the Vistanas?

thanks!

 

[undertheradar]

Is it possible to book connecting suites?

 

[Lisa P.]

Here are some websites, for timeshare resort properties very close to Disney (even a bit closer than HIFS):

Sunterra, which offers Sunterra Cypress Point in Lake Buena Vista, about a mile or so from Downtown Disney. Some of their condos offer 3BRs and sleep 8 or more in regular beds and sleeper sofas (plus portacrib as needed).

Starwood, which offers Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages. Click on the Resorts link and choose the resort you want to see. The S.V. "Resort" is closest (near Lake Buena Vista, about a half mile further than Cypress Point), the S.V. Villages is further away, even than Caribe Royale, but brand new.

Silver Lake Resort, which is in Kissimmee, perhaps a mile or so from Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

These are all nice properties with plenty of space for a large family and lovely pool areas. They include king MBR suites w/jacuzzi tubs, at least 2 BRs, at least 2 baths, full kitchens, dining/living rooms, inroom washer/dryer, The S.V. Resort is the largest of them and offers the most variety of resort activities, especially for the teens. With all of them, your DH would do well to use a car to get to his Disney destination each day, perhaps a taxi on returns.

If you must stay onsite (for the transport), connecting rooms at the All Stars or at a DD hotel (on Hotel Plaza Blvd.) are probably the only option that includes transportation to Disney property for free and will sleep 8 people for your price range. Sometimes they do run good specials and January is usually pretty good for discounts. HTH.

 

[luckytso]

Cindy,

Have you considered renting points at Disney Vacation Club's Rent/Trade Board to get a 2-br unit at Old Key West resort. If you were checking in on 1/26 (Sun) for 5 nights, it would take 22 points each night.

The going rate is $10 per point. You may get someone who will rent them to you at $9 per point.

This is less than what the company will reimburse because there is no additional sales tax.

You can try to rent from someone who has more postings on the board and make sure you use the search function to check the person out.

You can also ask for references. I have never stayed at OKW, but many people rave about it saying how spacious it is with a full kitchen, washer & dryer and all that.

Good luck!!!

 

[karenvicki]

Have you thought about renting a home? We just got back today from renting a 4 bdrm house in Kissimmee for 8 of us (2 families traveling together). It cost around $100/nt with all the comforts of home and a private pool/jacuzzi and laundry facilities. The owners at this particular home even had a high chair!
Check out vrbo.com for all kind of rentals.

 

[Simba0319]

The website for the Vistana Villages and Vistana Resort is www.sheraton.com. You can get a lot of info from www.hotelkingdom.com.

The Vistana Villages is a timeshare resort but they rent out rooms if they are not filled up. The prices to rent from Sheraton direct were more expensive than Hotel Kingdom. The HK price was definitely in your price range.

HTH

Emily