help please! days suiets at old town

[stahshee]

ok we are on an even tighter budget. i had to cancel the condo because we have to rent a car that will cost anothor 500 plus( we have no car insure) so i had to find a hotel that will sleep all of us(6) for a budget price with transportation. I do not need the best but i need a place to sleep and swim please tell me something good about this place. I AM STRESSED

 

[digskat]

I stayed there many years ago with my parents and it was fine. There were 7 of us. Could I suggest the place we stayed in Nov. They include a full breakfast buffet and a light meal Mon-Thurs. It's Homewood Suites Kissimmee. You can check it out on www.tripadvisor.com. It may cost a little more than the Days suites at Oldtown but it is quiet clean and they have enough room to sleep six. It also has a kitchenette. We got it for $800 canadian for a week and it's very close to Disney actually closer than Days suites. We saved a bunch on food. We ate large breakfast at the hotel and took fresh fruit and muffins to eat in the park. Hope this helps and good luck. Homewood Suites is considered a 3 star but it is a five in my books. Kathy ps it has transportation to Disney (shuttle) we did not use . I think the schedule look fine except for AK the bus did not leave til 11:00 am

 

[BonnieA]

I've stayed at Days Suites a few times. It is a basic motel but it does have the extra room. I think it's fine just to sleep in but many will probably not agree. Don't have much use for it now that I have discovered condo's for almost the same price.

When are you going and how much are you paying? You may get some better suggestions from people on this board.

 

[dtauer]

Yes, please let us know the time period and price and I'm sure someone will be able to help you out with other suggestions.

There are some who have had good experiences at the various Days Inn locations near WDW. However, over the last couple of years I've been reading the DIS boards, this chain probably has the worst reputation of any.

I don't have any personal experience with Days Inn (I've been scared away) but I think with some searching you will find that the bad comments far outweigh the good.

You may also want to post on the transportation board for some help on your car rental. Depending on when you are going, $500 is way too much for a rental. During spring break this year we got a full size (which would hold 6) at National for $128 including taxes with an Entertainment card discount. If you can save some on rental, hopefully you can upgrade the hotel some.

 

[Harmony]

We stayed there one night (before our package started the next day). Thank God we only stayed there the one night. It's horrible! It was filthy! Because of that experience, I now dish out the extra cash and spend the night before our package starts at Disney.

I honestly can't say enough about this Days Inn. Stay anywhere but there! Anywhere! Seriously...it was awful. Maybe...but I doubt it...maybe they cleaned up their act but again...I doubt it.

I called the customer service line when we got back and they didn't care. (you could tell) That was the last time we have stayed at a Days Inn...anywhere! No more Days Inn for us!

Seriously...stay somewhere else.

 

[stahshee]

i can not afford more than 800 tops. we are going aug 29-sept 7 and need free transportation to universal and disney

 

[Mary Anne]

It's horrible! It was filthy!

I couldn't have said it better. No way would we ever stay there again. Do they give free transportation to Disney now? I don't remember that when we were there. Also no way would I let my kids anywhere near that filthy pool. Also they are going to charge you for pots and pans. At least they did when we were there. The pull out couch in the living room had dirty sheets on it. We didn't stay more then one night. There are far better places to stay at for $800.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have only driven by Old Towne, and have not stopped. That being said I have heard some bad things about that area. I would be hesitant to stay there.

For what it is worth, I would at least call CRO and tell them your situation. The CMs should be well versed on all Good Neighbor Hotels.

 

[tmli]

This place is terrible...I mean really awful. Have you weighed out the cost of staying on site and not renting the car. You could always rent a car just for the day to go to Universal....The alamo/national car care center is on property and they offer free shuttle. Or as an option try the good neighbor hotels, you would have bus service to disney but again would need a way to get to Universal. $500 for a rental is high...but because you need the insurance and probably a van it is unavoidable. If staying onsite, disney provides transportation to and from airport.

Last option try www.closesttodisney.com we rented a 3 bdrm condo from them before for only $65/nt...also have 2 bedroom for a little less. Windsor Palms was great and had a pretty good pool. Very close to everything.

I have had to take more than one trip on a tight budget. It can be done. Good Luck.

 

[pth]

There is no way I would stay there. It's filthy, run down and its not so safe after dark, even with Old Town nearby.

 

[DianeV]

I dont know if this would work because of your transportation issue but if you can use a 1 bedroom I can probably get you something through RCI Extra Vacations..the 2 bedrooms I saw were all a little over $800 but there were many1 bedrooms for less...

 

[dtauer]

How about something similar to the Buena Vista Suites? They are at a great location, and sleep 6.

It looks like if you book through Mousesavers, you can get a free breakfast and the room rate is $89. For 9 nights it would be right at about $800, assuming your 6 is 2 adults and 4 kids. Not a full kitchen but you do get a fridge, coffee maker and microwave. So if you had planned on cooking many meals during the week as part of your budget this won't work.

The website mentions a free shuttle to Disney, don't know about Universal.

We've never stayed there, but I've trusted Mary at Mousesavers information and suggestions for years.

 

[Tiger Fan]

We’ve stayed at a condo at Old Towne and we just did not like the area at all. Some people like to go there for the car shows, but we just found the place to be a little less than we liked neighborhood wise.

I just did a little research on what my timeshare company (RCI) has for it’s inventory for Extra Vacations (Diane mentioned this in an above post) and here’s what I could get. I don’t know if this will help, but I don’t mind at all if it will. I could not get your exact check-in date of August 29, but found many 2 bedrooms for checking in on either the 27 or 28 if that will help, here’s what I found.

All are 2 bedrooms or sleep at least 6 total and 2 privately, and most have full kitchens.
8/27 check-in: at a price of $494.99 for the entire week
Florida Vacation Villas
Lifetime of Vacations at Grand Lake
High Point World Resort
Club Sevilla

8/28 check-in: at $494.99/week
Orbit One
Villas at Summer Bay Resort

Check-in on 8/28 but a price of $816.49 (slightly over your price, but a great place)
Silver Lake Resort

Check-in on 8/27 but a price of $816.49
Celebration World Resort

Feel free to PM me if you think any of this would work for you. I’m pretty sure if I book online then I can get the exchange certificate for free (or it used to be $45). Maybe someone else could use this if you can’t. Good luck and hopefully I can help make some magic.

Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[stahshee]

ok i am really scard off from this place it gives me the creaps im going to try again wish me luck. how abot ecno lodge main gate?

 

[girlrea]

I've stayed at Days Suites for the last 5 years. Last year the bus shuttle was TERRIBLE!. We never made it to the park by opening and to get back to the hotel at closing it was nearly impossible. We ended up riding cabs. In the long run I didn't save. This year we are staying on Disney Property for the first time.

 

[Lewisc]

ok i am really scard off from this place it gives me the creaps im going to try again wish me luck. how abot ecno lodge main gate?

Days Inn, Knights Inn and Econolodge are all barely 1* properties. Properties like those have horrible shuttle buses.

You really need to rent a car or pay more for your accomodations. Without a car I'd look at the Doubletree in DTD. People who stay at offsite hotels inevitably give back some of their savings when they wind up needing taxis. I DON'T THINK YOU CAN get anything decent (clean and safe) within your budget unless you can get a rental car.

You might want to either shorten your trip or at least skip Universal. An extra day on your Disney pass costs next to nothing. You'll save on your Universal ticket and transportation.

You'd save if you stayed on-site and could use ME but you'd need 2 rooms.

 

[Local_Girl]

stahshee...

Here are a couple of other suggestions for you. I just checked Hotelkingdom.com for your dates and the Comfort Suites Disney Maingate came up with availability at a total of $643.10 plus tax (assuming you plan to check out on Sept. 7). I think I've read good things about this hotel here on the DIS; they also have free shuttles to both WDW and Universal and free breakfast. The description also mentions 2 queens in the room with a full size sofa bed, so it should sleep your group comfortably.

Also, you might consider Skyauction. Check in days for the weekly stays are usually Fri/Sat/Sun though. But I saw availability at Orbit One for a 2-bdrm villa for check in on Aug. 28 on the Ready, Set, Go auctions. There are several threads here about Skyauction...but the RSG auctions typically go for about $50-60 (used to anyway, haven't followed them recently), and after adding the required fees, the total is generally under $300 for 7 nights. If your dates are set, you may have to pick up a couple of nights somewhere else...also, don't know about shuttles, etc.

Curious, why do you need shuttles if you're planning to rent a car?

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[DianeV]

I think she said that due to not having insurance the car rental rate was too high? At least that is how I read it?

 

[dtauer]

I'm also confused by the original post. It sounds like they have to get the car and that's why they couldn't keep the condo. But then why is the shuttle necessary?

Stahshee, can you help clarify?

 

[Leanne1972]

OMG this is the hotel I am staying at next week!