Help, should I bail on the HI Sunspree?

[N'vergone]

Booked into the HI Sunspree for Feb break 2002, DH, 2DD (7 & 8) DS 11 & me. Have read many differing opinons on Sunspree. Some reports on Mouseplanet say it is old & not well cared for. I have a rate of $124.00 per night for kidsuite, is the HIFS better? Or should I forget about the kidsuite thing & Holiday Inns altogether? I like the idea of a suite thing because w/ 3 kids we need a little more room than the usual motel room.

Thanks for the help,

Karen

 

[supercarrie]

I would go to the HIFS. Everyone on these boards as well as MousePlanet seem to rave about how wonderful it is. The HIFS is pretty new, whereas the Sunspree is older. I have not stayed at either, but we debated between the two and decided on the HIFS Kidsuites. We checked out their website, HI Family Suites and that made our decision.

 

[Robinrs]

I say go fo the HIFS. The HIFS is a much newer, much nicer property and since you're paying a premium price, you should go for a premium hotel. I would only suggest the Sunspree if the price was so low it would be worth it.

 

[MikeP]

We stayed at the Sunspree twice, once in '95 then again in 2000. It was OK in '95, and at that time they were remodeling (adding kids suites), we figured in 2000 it would be even nicer than it was in 95. I can't really decided if the hotel was much worse in 2000 or if our level of expection had increased, but we were really disappointed by our room on our 2000 trip. I said before it wasn't a "ruin the trip" kinda bad it was just kinda run down, food service was very poor and the kids suites were disappointing with their partial partition walls. If you had both TV or kids were playing a game on TV it was distracting. I have heard lots of good things about HIFS, and this year we stayed at the COurtyard right next door to the Sunspree. I think Lake Buena Vista is a great area and very convenient.

 

[melk]

My sister was in the same predicament in September. We read some bad things on this board about Sunspree, where she was booked. As the trip got closer she started to panic and switched to HIFS, which gave her the same rate as Sunspree. They ended up loving HIFS, had no regrets about switching over at the last minute. A workmate of my husband's did stay at Sunspree about a year ago and was happy with it. But if it were me, I think I would try for HIFS, for the simple reason that people rave about it.

 

[hercamore]

There are many other options besides the sunspree and HIFS for suites: Embasssy Suites LBV, Country Inn and Suites, Buena VistaSuites, Doubltree suites, Hawthorn suites, Residence Inn LBV. All are in Lake Buena Vista.

 

[stlrod]

We stayed there 5 years ago and had an absolutely awful experience. Back then, I vowed to never stay there again and to try to disuade others from doing so. Although my feeleings have been tempered over the years, I cannot recommend it.

 

[LKS]

I have stayed at both - go with HIFS by all means.

 

[Gemm01]

I don't know what dates you will be there but HIFS has a "family values package" for $115 a night through Feb. 9. Look at http://www.mousesavers.com/offsite.html for more information on the extension of this offer.

http://www.hifamilysuites.com/famvalues.htm

 

[N'vergone]

Hi guys,
thanks for all the opinons. Have bailed on Sunspree, in fact have bailed on my whole trip booked through AAA. Got a 2 bedroom villa @ Vistana Resort for $125.00 per night in prime Feb break season. Booked through Hotel Kingdom, when i 1st booked they said I would receive comfirmation with in 24 hours, when i did not hear from them sent an email asking to please advise. Received a phone call from them within 15 minutes w/ confirmation #, only when I confirmed my price of $125.00 per she said it was booking for $198.00 per, told her to check site and there it was for $125.00 per, she reissued the confirmation @ the lower rate and had it both emailed & faxed to me within the hour. This was on Friday, today(monday) Rebecca just called to ask me if everythink was ok, and to make sure I received my confirmation #. Would have no hesitation to book through them again. Called Vistana to be sure ressies were there, and requested a villa near the pool, no problem!

Life is Good!

Karen

 

[MommyLisa]

Hello,If I were you I would stay at homewood or candlewood,or use priceline.I would not pay that much for a room like that. I stayed at the swan for that

 

[Lucky'sMom]

I also suggest that you look into Vistana Villages on the HotelKingdom.com website. We got a great rate of $79.90 for a 2 bedrm villa from Jan 22-31. While I don't think your rate would be this low, I bet it's still a good rate. I also have stayed at HIFS and loved it, although with 3 kids your kids ages, I think it might be a little cramped. I think Sunspree needs some revamping before it will be one of the best options again. The Residence Inn LBV also looked nice if you can get a good rate. Good luck!

 

[N'vergone]

Lucky's Mom & Mommy Lisa,

Hi, thanks for your posts. Maybe it's my geography(New York) but i don't think $125.00 per night is a bad price for prime Feb Break season. This for a 2 bedroom villa w/ full kitchen, w/d & all the resort amenities. As I stated in previous post this was booked through Hotel Kingdom. I pay more for a basic 2 dbl bed room w/ roll away for a place on the ocean in August! I have not been able to find a better price w/ comparable facilities any where during those dates(2/13-21/02). I was also told by Disney that the only place they could accomadate a family of five is PO, which sounds very cramped. If you have any tips would love to hear them.


Karen

PS: Forgot to tell you this, My sister & her family are @ HIFS now, she called me to tell me NOT to stay there as hotel seems to be affected by cuts on staff.. Room is crawling w/ ants, Nitendo & boombox had no cables to plug them in. Remotes for TVs missing, room safe not working and pool area is not cleaned everyday. look for her report w/ she gets back as she(ttbells) was very upset w/ accomadations. This being our first trip to Disney I'm willing to pay a little more to make sure accomadations are acceptable.

 

[mareed]

Just had to chime in to say that I just got back from staying at the HIFS 11-9 to 11-19 and while it was my first visit there, so I had nothing to compare it to, we loved the place! We did have a few burned out light bulbs, but maintenance was there to replace them within 15 minutes of my phone call to the front desk. Our room safe worked, we had all the necessary cords & remotes, and no ants in our room. We also swam a few days and never noticed anything dirty around the pool. Just goes to show that 2 people can stay at the same resort at the same time and have very different experiences...