HIFS vs. Country Inn Calypso way

[kotagg]

Can anyone who has stayed at both comment on the reasons to stay at one or the other. I have stayed at HIFS several times, but never at Country Inns.

Thanks.

 

[LISALISA36]

I would also like to know the answer to that.
HIFS was my first choice untill I found country inn & suites.
And I decided on country inn.
I can't wait to hear the response.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

I just stayed at HIFS and LOVED it. We stayed at the Country Suites once in Jacksonville and didn't have the same amout of room. The bedroom and sitting area are only seperated by a partition that is only part way accross the room. We did not have any seperate areas like we did at HIFS. I don't know how the one is in Orlando.

 

[bigsis1970]

and we loved this hotel... the Pool is huge and has a zero entry - which my son loved - and they have the FREE breakfast buffet, FREE shuttles to the Parks, kids Eat FREE at certain times during the day and the rooms are the best - kids have bunks in one room and i had a bedroom w/ a door and 2 queens , a Kitchenette ( micro, fridge, sink ) table 3 chairs sleeper sofa ,chair, safe, large bathroom , good housekeeping , nice laundry room.... HUM am i selling you yet..
I was also just on the HIFS website ( www.hifamilysuites.com ) and plugged in my dates 11/29 to 12/07 and got a rate of 105.30 11/29-11/30 and 88.40 12/01-12/07 !!! that is an awesome rate..!!! i am seriously thinking i may change my ressie to include a few nights here!! hope this helps Michelle

 

[kotagg]

Just returned from the Country Inn and Suites.

Country Inn vs. HIFS

HIFS definitely has more room. Per my information 500 square feet at HIFS vs. 350 square feet at Country Inn. You will certainly notice this if you have stayed at HIFS.

Our kidsuite at Country Inn was on the fourth floor. The kid suite itself is non-smoking, but the fourth floor is a smoking floor with an ashtray at the elevator. The kid suite had a noticeable cigarette odor. The room was clean, but that odor just lingers.

I live in south Florida, and have my own pool. so the pool area really wasn't a concern for me. The laundry room situation was also not a concern of mine.

The kids bedroom at Country Inn does not have a door or curtain, like the one at HIFS, so unless your children are sound sleepers, you will have to turn off all the lights and tv. The beds are more elevated and have a ladder that must be climbed in order to get in them. My 2 1/2 year old fell once getting out of bed(never a concern at HIFS).

The refrigerator at Country Inn is smaller than HIFS and we were only able to fit 4 small refreezeable ice packs in the freezer. Too small for our needs.

The breakfast selection at Country Inn is not nearly as expansive as at HIFS, and seeing the timeshare salesmen making pitches at other tables is definitely an irritating experience. If you have paid for your hotel room, you should not be subject to the harassment of the timeshare salesmen.

Just keep reminding yourself that you have paid only about $64 a night vs. over $100 at HIFS, and this might make things better. Personally, to have the extra room, a curtain on the kids bedroom, a door on the master bedroom, safer kids beds, a better breakfast, closer location to the parks, no timeshare salesmen, no cigarette odor, a larger refrigerator, better theming, and more kids activities is well worth the extra $ the HIFS commands.

Country Inn does have free cookies in the lobby all day long.

 

[kotagg]

Thought I would post this email that I received regarding this thread.
Enjoy.

> Saw your post on the disboards, I was trying to log on to post my
review
> of CI&S but was unsuccessful. I never had posted before, but I just
got
> back from Orlando (05/03-05/13) and I wanted to give my review, since
the
> boards were so helpful to me in planning my trip.
> I had a standard room for my first 7 nights at the entertainment rate
of
> 39.50 per night. I loved it there. If you plan on spending a lot of
time
> at the parks, then this place is perfect. I would definitely go
back.
> Super easy to drive to WDW, took us less than 8 minutes each day. I
would
> not get the kid's suite, though. It was no suite. I asked to see one
just
> to see what I was missing out on, and it was pretty cramped. It had
the
> same microwave and refrigerator that I had, but in the area where one
> double bed was, they walled it in and put two little raised beds with
> drawers underneath. I had my 5 years lay on one of these beds, and
he
> barely fit (44inches tall). He also said "ouch Mom" and then I felt
the
> mattress, and it was just a little foam pad about 2 inches thick, not
a
> mattress. It had a separate TV, but the video games still had the
same
> charge as the other rooms, not free.
> I would get two standards, adjoining rooms instead. They said they
had
> about 6 on each floor. Then you would have 4 double beds, 2 fridges,
and
> two microwaves and two bathrooms. maybe you could even negotiate a
lower
> rate than the 39.50 per night) or another post mentioned Runaway Bay
just
> across the street with kitchen, bedrooms, etc. That also looked
really
> nice.
> The pool wasn't huge, but it certainly was family oriented, ample for
lots
> of people, and was warm most nights (about 82 degrees). The second
pool
> just opened the third night we were there. When I complained about
the
> times it seemed chillier, the fix-it-guy for the hotel said that
people
> had broken into the gated area where the controls were and tried to
mess
> with them, and he was working on it.
> The breakfast at Country Inn was great too. Biscuits and gravy
(gravy hot
> in a crock pot), frozen waffles and french toast that you put into a
> conveyor belt type toaster, three kinds of cereal (first three days
it was
> only raisin bran, but then they brought out f. loops, corn flakes and
> frosted flakes too), doughnuts, bagels, muffins, toast, flavored
creamers
> for coffee plus 1/2 & 1/2 (not the powdered stuff) and bananas and
apples.
> They had about three workers behind the food area, so it was always
> replenished. My only complaint was that it was extremely busy, so
eat
> early if you can. Opens at 7:00. There were too many people
wandering
> around, probably thinking about space mountain, that got in my way!
> Ice machines are on the 3, 5 and 7 floor, and I faxed a room request
about
> one week before my stay requesting my room to overlook the pool and
> grounds, be near but not next to an ice machine, and I was totally
> accommodated. We brought empty wide-mouth drinking bottles(gatorade
and
> powerade bottles) and filled them with ice in the morning, put them
in a
> little cooler bag that fit about 4 bottles, plus we all carried
bottles
> with us and we were good to go. Didn't take them back with us,
souvenir
> room!)
> We also stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel for 2 nights at a rate of
$150
> per night to take advantage of the front of the line access at
Universal
> and IOA. It was really nice, but it wasn't THAT much nicer than the
> Country Inn.
> We never heard any noise from the pool area, and the grounds are
pretty.
> Saw lots of time share presentations happening to other people, but
was
> never asked, or approached by anybody about a presentation.
>
> Finally, I let you in on a secret that I discovered that I was dying
to
> share on the disboards, but I can't get logged on.
> My secret is that I stayed cool down there in the 95 degree heat by
these
> little bandanas that I bought from Super Wal-Mart in the sporting
good
> section. They have these little gel beads in them, and you soak them
for
> 5 minutes in cold water and they swell, and you where them around
your
> neck. I soaked them in ice water and carried them to the parks in a
> plastic bag, and then brought them out when we started to feel the
heat.
> I didn't see anybody wearing these things, and had people asking me
about
> them all day. My last day, I gave them away because I didn't feel
like
> taking these moist things home. They were $2.88 each and they only
lasted
> about three days each, but they were worth it. I bought two for each
> family member, and that worked perfect. They are called "Aqua Cool"
The
> Reusable Body Cooler
> Don't be discouraged by the lady that couldn't do her laundry at 10
pm,
> never heard of such a crazy thing, doing laundry while on vacation.
I
> would if I could take it in the hot tub with me!
>
> Iowa Girl

 

[cottontail]

Big Sis: I can't seem to get the 88.40 for Dec 1 for 5 nights. What discount did you put in and what type of room?

Deb.

 

[Fauster]

I checked out the $88.40 rate on their website and called HIFS to request the new rate. The HIFS representative explained to me that this rate is for a 21 night (3 week) stay and is non-cancellable. They also have rates in the $90 range for shorter non-cancellable reservations.

My current reservation for 12/7 - 12/14 is $102 / night, which is the standard 7 night cancellable rate. No matter, I'm still going to keep checking for any reduced rates before I leave. I hope this helps.

 

[chucknrita]

Cottontail,
The $88.40 rate is available on the HIFS website for your dates. It's a "21-day advance purchase," not a 21-day required stay!

 

[singitalto]

Funny, I got the same exact email about Country Inn and Suites.

I have stayed at HIFS and plan to stay at CI&S. The price difference is the thing that can make or break your decision. I know HIFS is about $100 night, CI&S is $54 night- kidsuite(I booked real early, prices have gone up a little). That is a big difference!!! I think you can't expect a deluxe hotel when you are paying $54 night. I expect a clean room and the other things the hotel promises, A room (kidsuite) with big bed and 2 twins and a tv in each area, fridge(even if its small) microwave, coffee maker, a hair dryer and iron if available, a pool with a slide(even if it is a small slide-- it beats a pool with NO slide) Breakfast -a free breakfast is better than no breakfast. I can be happy with that. This ables me to stay 6 nights at CI&S and then move to HRH(more of a deluxe hotel) 3 nights and still keep it affordable, thus enabling me to get AP's so I can come back 3-4 times in the year!!!