Holiday Inn Express versus POP Century

[dissy_dee]

Holiday Inn Express Lake Buena Vista or POP Century.

Trying to figure out which one to book. I can get about the same rate at either one with differnt discounts avaliable to me.

There will be Me, my girl friend, two older teens and one child. Looking at POP Century for the on site transportation as we will want to do different things at differnt times.

The Holiday Inn does offer a free continential breakfast though and the rooms are bigger. I will be booking two rooms. Also we would have a refrigerater and microwave in this room so probably cheaper for food cost.

Can anyone share their experience with the Holiday Inn.

 

[momadis66]

Hey Dissy Dee...we stayed at a Holiday Inn but the one on Palm Parkway...awesome!!!! The rooms were huge...2 queen beds and we even had a rollaway in there with PLENTY and I do mean plenty of space. Comfortable beds and spotless rooms..bathrooms were great also. Frig and coffee maker in rooms as well as hair dryers. Frig was a decent size...there are 5 of us and we had more than enough space. Free breakfast was great...great assortment of food and always fresh. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. Pool was good too...not too big but had a cool waterslide into a waterfall. I know its not the one you are looking to stay at but my experience with Holiday Inn was awesome. Good Luck with your trip and have fun

 

[dissy_dee]

Thanks for your reply and that is actually the one I am looking at. It is called Holiday Inn Express Lake Buena Vista and is located on Palm Parkway.

Do you have any pictures of the rooms you could share?
Did you use the shuttle bus to and from the park?

Any other information you want to share I would love to hear it.

 

[Brian Noble]

If you will not have a car, I'd stay at POP. You can't really do offsite well without a car, and the rental cost plus gas and parking are likely to push you over the top, price-wise.

 

[spiceycat]

agreed with Brian - if you don't have a car - stay onsite.

Pop is nice! stayed there often (soon to be 6 times)

with offsite you also have to get your own transportation to the hotel.

onsite Disney does it with DME.

besides with teens you want them to be able to come and go as they please (well I would). at 14 years old a teen can ride the WDW buses without an adult.

so you won't have to heard 'I didn't want to come to THIS park'...and other things...

also the Holiday Inn Express (which is the one at Palms Parkway) was getting pretty bad reviews.

here are the reviews from tripadvisor

the last review is part of the problems that were having.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Express_Lake_Buena_Vista-Orlando_Florida.html

 

[dseth]

Also - factor in that $11 a day to park....my vote on site at Pop!

 

[SnowWtch]

My vote would be POP since you'll want to come and go at different times. The food court's prices are pretty reasonable and there are a lot of choices. We usually bring a little cooler and pack some stuff in it for breakfast.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

agreed with Brian - if you don't have a car - stay onsite.

Pop is nice! stayed there often (soon to be 6 times)

with offsite you also have to get your own transportation to the hotel.

onsite Disney does it with DME.

besides with teens you want them to be able to come and go as they please (well I would). at 14 years old a teen can ride the WDW buses without an adult.

so you won't have to heard 'I didn't want to come to THIS park'...and other things...

also the Holiday Inn Express (which is the one at Palms Parkway) was getting pretty bad reviews.

here are the reviews from tripadvisor

the last review is part of the problems that were having.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Express_Lake_Buena_Vista-Orlando_Florida.html

Most of the reviews appeared to be positive, mainly talking about how great of a value the hotel was

 

[momadis66]

I don't know what you are talking about either ...the reviews are overall good and I just came back from there and found the hotel awesome. Very clean and great value for your money...I am a bit confused.

 

[Adadmin]

I'm not an expert by any means , but w/ 5 folks wouldn't you need two rooms at the Pop vs 1 at the H.I.

JUst asking b/c I'm budgeting for our upcoming trip and 1 room at a decent H.I. vs 2 rooms at the Pop would win out in my book

 

[spiceycat]

Most of the reviews appeared to be positive, mainly talking about how great of a value the hotel was

they are now - but not to long ago - all of the reviews looked like the bottom one - service was awfully.

glad to see that they have improved.

 

[momadis66]

I have to agree with Adadmin....the one room is definitely a better bet. Especially since I have been at both and the room at HI is huge and very nice. As far as paying for the parking...no biggie..you definitely make that up with an awesome FREE breakfast before you leave HI!

 

[dissy_dee]

Thanks for everyones input.

I am still trying to decide what to do. Has anyone used the shuttle service from HI? I would much rather not to have to drive and park. We probably will be driving to Orlando but would rather use the hotel shuttle.

Also does anyone know about whether they charge extra for the wireless internet in the room?

 

[JSweetman]

Sorry, no pix, but I stayed at the HIE Lake Buena in May -- I was at a conference at Coronado but couldn't get the office to pay for on-site.

I happen to like HIEs overall, and this one was a good example. The room was clean and the breakfast had everything we usually see (eggs -- hard boiled & scrambled, bacon, waffles, biscuits, breads, muffins, yogurt, cereal, juices). There was a buslod of kids eating with me one morning but there was plenty of rrom and the staff kept things stocked. The pool was smaller than at an on-site resort, but it had a slide and rock waterfall, making it a step up from some off-site pools. The drive to the world each morning was easy. There is an abundance of restaurants nearby.

Wireless network access is free and worked very well in the room and lobby/breakfast area. There's a pc in the lobby you can use if you don't want to bring your own.

The exterior looks a little worn, and the nearby shopping center has some vacant stores, giving it a less-than-luxury feel. But if you're looking for a nice room at a good rate not too far from the DIS, this one should work.

 

[JSweetman]

Wireless network access is free and worked very well in the room and the lobby, breakfast area.

 

[katallo]

I agree. Hotel was very clean and roomy. Overall, we had a great experience.

Sorry, no pix, but I stayed at the HIE Lake Buena in May -- I was at a conference at Coronado but couldn't get the office to pay for on-site.

I happen to like HIEs overall, and this one was a good example. The room was clean and the breakfast had everything we usually see (eggs -- hard boiled & scrambled, bacon, waffles, biscuits, breads, muffins, yogurt, cereal, juices). There was a buslod of kids eating with me one morning but there was plenty of rrom and the staff kept things stocked. The pool was smaller than at an on-site resort, but it had a slide and rock waterfall, making it a step up from some off-site pools. The drive to the world each morning was easy. There is an abundance of restaurants nearby.

Wireless network access is free and worked very well in the room and lobby/breakfast area. There's a pc in the lobby you can use if you don't want to bring your own.

The exterior looks a little worn, and the nearby shopping center has some vacant stores, giving it a less-than-luxury feel. But if you're looking for a nice room at a good rate not too far from the DIS, this one should work.

 

[dissy_dee]

So does anyone know about the shuttle service?

 

[hercamore]

H E website says they bus you to Epcot, and you take Disney transportation from there.

I'm guessing your teens will definitely like Pop better than a HE , which is geared more for business travelers.


herc

 

[HopperFan]

My input would be....if you are going to let your teens be on their own going to parks etc, I would pick POP in a heartbeat. They will be able to go to the parks, DTD, etc all on their own and as a parent I would not worry about them using Disney transportation. POP is a fun resort for any age and I think they would enjoy it.

If I were offsite (and I do it often) my teens would not be allowed to use a shuttle without me and would not be permitted to venture off on their own beyond the hotel pool or arcade.

 

[rdevine10]

I saw there are 5 in your party. Pop only allows a max of 4 and one child under 3 in a room, so Im not sure that would work in your case? For 5 (all over the age of 3), you would need to stay in a moderate level resort- or get 2 rooms at a value resort.

That being said, we have stayed at Pop and love it. Enjoyed it as much as the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we have stayed off site and loved that as well. With 5 in my party, I would be most tempted at looking at renting a condo/townhouse, with SO much more space for a similar cost.

HTH!