Help with hotels in Orlando

[KAMommy]

I need help from recent cruisers. We are coming in to Orlando two days before the cruise so that we can catch Star Wars Weekends on Saturday before we sail. Because it is Memorial Day weekend, on-park prices are just too high for one day. When we cruised two years ago, I pricelined a hotel at the airport following tricks learned here and got a wonderful hotel room. Does anyone have any hints? Any place you stayed recently in the area that was reasonable but CLEAN - clean is really important! I am especially interested if the priceline at the airport can still get you that really nice hotel!

Thanks!

 

[flyrandy]

Go to tripadvisor.com, enter the appropriate search info and you'll get honest reviews from people who've stayed in each hotel. Chose your price range and location, read the reviews, chose your hotel

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

We got a great price at the Animal Kingdom Lodge one year. Loved it there. I think Disney discounts sometimes because it's farther out from the parks than other Disney hotels. We just paid for a non savannah view room and got upgraded on check in. Was a very nice place to stay. Disney will now transfer you from the airport to their hotel.

 

[rejobako]

To get a quick display of available hotels in the area, just do a search for your dates on expedia or travelocity, then as flyrandy suggested, tripadvisor is a great place to find reviews for hotels by actual guests as well as Frommers, etc.

From my own experience, I don't have any knowledge of airport-area hotels. In and around the Disney area, if you want a "resort" experience, I'd go with the Marriott World Center or the Hyatt Grand Cypress (both of these will probably be expensive on that weekend, however.) If you'd prefer a kitchen and separate bedrooms, I cannot be too enthusiastic with recommending that you rent at Marriott's Grande Vista timeshare resort (near SeaWorld). We're owners there, and we love the place because we can spread out; they also rent by the day, and the place is big enough that you can find good deals on rooms sometimes.

If you want to be close to Disney but on a tighter budget, I would suggest almost any of the hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd -- technically Disney property but non-Disney hotels. We've stayed at the Courtyard, Hilton, and Royal Plaza there; we had no problems in any of them with cleanliness, etc.

One hidden gem, in my opinion, is the Buena Vista Suites, which often doesn't even show up on Expedia/Travelocity because it's not affiliated with any chain. You get the benefits of a suite with a separate bedroom, you're very close to Disney (just across I-4 in Lake Buena Vista), and they're always running a $99 special, which sometimes includes a buffet breakfast.

Good luck.