Mojomanny
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2000
- Messages
- 308
(edited from my longer DCL vs. RCCL comparison)
Holiday Inn Family Suites
I am writing this having just woken up from my first nights sleep at Holiday Inn Family Suites (HIFS) . All I can say is WOW. This place is terrific. Now some details.
Leonard (our driver) arranged a bellman to grab the bags and we went to check in. A small line to check in which moved quickly. The only comment I would have is that the queue area is too tight (i.e. not enough room between the stanchions and the counter) and makes for a tough traffic flow.
To the left was a childrens check in area so my son went over to check himself in. He signed in and got a good bag with kids stuff (crayons etc) and a couple of game room tokens. Next to the kids check in was some clown (oh, alright, a real clown) who was doing face painting. Now I a sure you have seen face painting before at a school or church fair, a carnival or somewhere. Let me tell you that you have not seen face painting like this. It was the most detailed and most beautiful face painting I have ever seen! The kids looked awesome and on top of that, the face painting was free. There was only a tip jar next to the clown.
I finished our check in and we headed to the room. All I can tell you is WOW. Our room (king suite with a Hot Air Balloon theme) faces one of the pool areas (more on that later).
The outer door opens to a room (12x18) which has a sleep sofa, an easy chair, a tv, safe, small breakfast table with three chairs, refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, sink, two line telephone and some storage cabinets.
Off the main room is a kids room (9x12) with bunk beds, a tv, telephone and nintendo 64. Each bunk has its own light on the side and its own speaker with adjustable volume so one kid can watch tv and the other can go to sleep. There is also a small table with a couple of chairs. The largest wall of the room is a photo-mural of hot air balloons which was obviously taken from an aloft hot air balloon. Similar pictures cover the small outers walls near the doorways of the two bedrooms. The theme was nicely done and in no way overbearing, meaning we did not have hot air balloon comforters, pillow cases, lamp shades, rugs .) It was a really nice addition to the room.
The main bedroom (12x18) has a king bed, a built in dresser, a two line telephone, a closet with floor to ceiling mirror, a vanity/make-up table with large mirror, magnifying make-up mirror, blow dryer and chair, two nightstands with lamps, TV/VCR and a ceiling fan.
Video rentals ($5) and video games ($5 or 2/$7.50) are available in the lobby.
The bathroom (7x9) (Oh, all measurements are estimated by my pacing and are stated in feet) has the usual tub, toilet and sink. The tub does have one of those pull out clotheslines. There are several wire shelves recessed into one of the walls as well as a country shelf full of face cloths and hand towels. There is a large mirror was well as a magnifying mirror and blow dryer.
Some of the nice things about how the room was made-up. The toilet paper was folded over and a hand made smiley sticker places to make it look nice. The end of paper towels by the main room sink were folded accordion style and fanned out like a peacocks tail. These are the details which impress me. Also the room was extremely well cleaned.
We called for our bags and they were there within 5 minutes. Rather than unpack we used the various tables and chairs to hold our suitcases.
Local calls are 75 cents and toll-free calls are free.
My son wanted to go swimming so we went down only to find out our pool was closed due to fecal contamination. It was scheduled to re-open in a ½ hour. I hated to see the pool closed but respect the decision to close it. This is something beyond the hotels control and can only commend them for being proactive and responsible about it. They do have a policy that anyone under 4 must wear swim pants and even provide a coupon in English and Spanish to save $4 off them at the hotel store. More aware parents are the only way to prevent this. Apparently is happens somewhat regularly because they have pre-made signs explaining it.
I will give more on the entire pool area when we explore it more today.
We did not want a big meal so we opted for the A&W / Pizza hut in the lobby and got pretty predictable food. Prices were reasonable and food was ok. There were a couple of other choices which we will discuss as we get to them.
In the evening the hotels activities center around the restaurant/lobby area. By this I mean that the area is flowing with activities. In fact it was over flowing. There was a caricaturist (fee) who did very nice work. A balloon artist (fee) who was unlike any balloon artist I have ever seen. Instead of the birthday party magician dog and giraffe, this artist made rainbows (4 long), bugs bunny, mickey mouse and all kinds of incredible renderings. The face painter (free) was also there as was a person making artful renderings (fee) of your name suitable for putting on your bedroom door.
The center of this area is also one of the dining rooms and the area is separated with ropes and stanchions (think bank teller or movie line). It was a bit crowded but manageable. Just a bit too much going on.
They had a free magic show which was quite good. Kids coming on stage got rewarded with tokens for the game room. The show was an hour. Following the show was an hours worth of free bingo with the prizes being the much coveted tokens. From 9 to 11 there was karaoke which we did not stay for. It was nice the hotel has planned all the activities and they were well done.
Saturday morning I woke up around 7 and spent an hour or so working on the comments and notes above. Son woke at 8 and he woke up my wife. Despite warnings head to the free buffet breakfast before 9 or face the consequences of long lines, we waited until 10. The entire restaurant area is transformed into the buffet which explains why the area was so crowded last night.
The area is essentially divided into 3 areas, the dinner buffet (main area), the Golden Caboose (nicer dining) and the area where we had the magic and bingo the night before. The areas are all adjoining and open to each other. There are numerous cereal, beverage (milk, juice, coffee) and toaster stations (English muffins, bagels, toast, muffins) in each area.
There is one main buffet which is two sided with room in the middle for the staff to replenish. There is a nice but simple selection of a yogurt, various fresh fruits, some canned fruit, jello, biscuits and gravy, plain scrambled eggs, French toast, potato puffs, diced up ham and liquid cheese sauce (presumably the last two are to put on the eggs?). There is a server at the end of the buffet portioning out bacon. I am guessing the menu changes a bit each day so I will let you know what we get different tomorrow.
The food was good. Certainly not 5 star but about what I would expect. We ate what we wanted and were happy. Despite being a Saturday of school vacation / Presidents week, there were no lines.
After breakfast we took a short but nice train ride on the property. Its really a nicely decorated electric tractor pulling wagons looking line train cars. The theme is very well done down to the driver in traditional engineers attire.
We then headed to the pool and had a lot of fun. The pool at our end of the property is designed so wheel chairs can roll in. There are numerous water features including water bubbling from the floor, kid powered water cannons, a water flower with water cascading over the edge, water fountains shooting across the pool and more. The water was warm and nice. The pool was not too crowded and fun.
The pool area also houses a miniature golf course, two ping pong tables, two shuffle board courts and two hot tubs. There is also a nice play area for younger kid.
We took a walk to the West Side pool area. The pool on that side is a simple lap pool without the play areas other than shuffle board and ping pong. There are also two hot tubs on that side.
We had dinner in the Club Car. Wife and son had the buffet while I chose the Valentines special of Prime Rib. The buffet was reasonable in selection (soup, salads and then hot foods) but quality was along the line of a Super Buffet or Old Kitchen Buffet. By this I mean it was passable but nothing special. Fridays is a Seafood buffet and Saturdays is a steak buffet. I was unimpressed with the dinner buffet and chose off the menu.
There is a separate kids buffet with hot dogs, burgers, pasta and meatballs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, french fries and cherry cobbler. This is a nice touch and was a hit with my son.
The prime rib was a questionable choice. The medium piece I ordered turned into well done when it arrived. It was quickly replaced with a more passable piece. The key lime pie lacked the pucker power I expected (could it be a New Englander has a different expectation of key lime pie?) I would rate the dinner restaurant a generous C-. We will probably eat there again next week when we stay at the hotel on our way home, but I might choose somewhere else if we had a car.
After another Magic Show and Bingo we called it a night.
A couple of comments about the hotel .
I heard a person on their cell phone describe it as neat and incredible. I would agree.
Before the Magic Show tonight, Jerry (the magician) noticed people had moved tables and were blocking a doorway which would be used as an emergency exit. He went and asked them to move so they no longer blocked the exit. I think in this post 9/11 and Rhode Island fire (100 dead) this was a smart and admirable move to protect his guests. Kudos to him for it and the hotel for training their staff so well.
Expect big changes over the next year. It will be changing the theme from trains to Nickelodeon. They are spending 20 million to redo the place in a Nick theme (hope there are Nick at Night rooms!) The family pool will be redone with slides and more like a water park. Hard to believe they need to change this place. I hope Nickelodeon is paying them to become the Nickelodeon Suites since there is no reason for this hotel to change one bit (expect dinner). It has been a great experience and we look forward to next weeks one night stay. We will be coming back.
Holiday Inn Family Suites
I am writing this having just woken up from my first nights sleep at Holiday Inn Family Suites (HIFS) . All I can say is WOW. This place is terrific. Now some details.
Leonard (our driver) arranged a bellman to grab the bags and we went to check in. A small line to check in which moved quickly. The only comment I would have is that the queue area is too tight (i.e. not enough room between the stanchions and the counter) and makes for a tough traffic flow.
To the left was a childrens check in area so my son went over to check himself in. He signed in and got a good bag with kids stuff (crayons etc) and a couple of game room tokens. Next to the kids check in was some clown (oh, alright, a real clown) who was doing face painting. Now I a sure you have seen face painting before at a school or church fair, a carnival or somewhere. Let me tell you that you have not seen face painting like this. It was the most detailed and most beautiful face painting I have ever seen! The kids looked awesome and on top of that, the face painting was free. There was only a tip jar next to the clown.
I finished our check in and we headed to the room. All I can tell you is WOW. Our room (king suite with a Hot Air Balloon theme) faces one of the pool areas (more on that later).
The outer door opens to a room (12x18) which has a sleep sofa, an easy chair, a tv, safe, small breakfast table with three chairs, refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, sink, two line telephone and some storage cabinets.
Off the main room is a kids room (9x12) with bunk beds, a tv, telephone and nintendo 64. Each bunk has its own light on the side and its own speaker with adjustable volume so one kid can watch tv and the other can go to sleep. There is also a small table with a couple of chairs. The largest wall of the room is a photo-mural of hot air balloons which was obviously taken from an aloft hot air balloon. Similar pictures cover the small outers walls near the doorways of the two bedrooms. The theme was nicely done and in no way overbearing, meaning we did not have hot air balloon comforters, pillow cases, lamp shades, rugs .) It was a really nice addition to the room.
The main bedroom (12x18) has a king bed, a built in dresser, a two line telephone, a closet with floor to ceiling mirror, a vanity/make-up table with large mirror, magnifying make-up mirror, blow dryer and chair, two nightstands with lamps, TV/VCR and a ceiling fan.
Video rentals ($5) and video games ($5 or 2/$7.50) are available in the lobby.
The bathroom (7x9) (Oh, all measurements are estimated by my pacing and are stated in feet) has the usual tub, toilet and sink. The tub does have one of those pull out clotheslines. There are several wire shelves recessed into one of the walls as well as a country shelf full of face cloths and hand towels. There is a large mirror was well as a magnifying mirror and blow dryer.
Some of the nice things about how the room was made-up. The toilet paper was folded over and a hand made smiley sticker places to make it look nice. The end of paper towels by the main room sink were folded accordion style and fanned out like a peacocks tail. These are the details which impress me. Also the room was extremely well cleaned.
We called for our bags and they were there within 5 minutes. Rather than unpack we used the various tables and chairs to hold our suitcases.
Local calls are 75 cents and toll-free calls are free.
My son wanted to go swimming so we went down only to find out our pool was closed due to fecal contamination. It was scheduled to re-open in a ½ hour. I hated to see the pool closed but respect the decision to close it. This is something beyond the hotels control and can only commend them for being proactive and responsible about it. They do have a policy that anyone under 4 must wear swim pants and even provide a coupon in English and Spanish to save $4 off them at the hotel store. More aware parents are the only way to prevent this. Apparently is happens somewhat regularly because they have pre-made signs explaining it.
I will give more on the entire pool area when we explore it more today.
We did not want a big meal so we opted for the A&W / Pizza hut in the lobby and got pretty predictable food. Prices were reasonable and food was ok. There were a couple of other choices which we will discuss as we get to them.
In the evening the hotels activities center around the restaurant/lobby area. By this I mean that the area is flowing with activities. In fact it was over flowing. There was a caricaturist (fee) who did very nice work. A balloon artist (fee) who was unlike any balloon artist I have ever seen. Instead of the birthday party magician dog and giraffe, this artist made rainbows (4 long), bugs bunny, mickey mouse and all kinds of incredible renderings. The face painter (free) was also there as was a person making artful renderings (fee) of your name suitable for putting on your bedroom door.
The center of this area is also one of the dining rooms and the area is separated with ropes and stanchions (think bank teller or movie line). It was a bit crowded but manageable. Just a bit too much going on.
They had a free magic show which was quite good. Kids coming on stage got rewarded with tokens for the game room. The show was an hour. Following the show was an hours worth of free bingo with the prizes being the much coveted tokens. From 9 to 11 there was karaoke which we did not stay for. It was nice the hotel has planned all the activities and they were well done.
Saturday morning I woke up around 7 and spent an hour or so working on the comments and notes above. Son woke at 8 and he woke up my wife. Despite warnings head to the free buffet breakfast before 9 or face the consequences of long lines, we waited until 10. The entire restaurant area is transformed into the buffet which explains why the area was so crowded last night.
The area is essentially divided into 3 areas, the dinner buffet (main area), the Golden Caboose (nicer dining) and the area where we had the magic and bingo the night before. The areas are all adjoining and open to each other. There are numerous cereal, beverage (milk, juice, coffee) and toaster stations (English muffins, bagels, toast, muffins) in each area.
There is one main buffet which is two sided with room in the middle for the staff to replenish. There is a nice but simple selection of a yogurt, various fresh fruits, some canned fruit, jello, biscuits and gravy, plain scrambled eggs, French toast, potato puffs, diced up ham and liquid cheese sauce (presumably the last two are to put on the eggs?). There is a server at the end of the buffet portioning out bacon. I am guessing the menu changes a bit each day so I will let you know what we get different tomorrow.
The food was good. Certainly not 5 star but about what I would expect. We ate what we wanted and were happy. Despite being a Saturday of school vacation / Presidents week, there were no lines.
After breakfast we took a short but nice train ride on the property. Its really a nicely decorated electric tractor pulling wagons looking line train cars. The theme is very well done down to the driver in traditional engineers attire.
We then headed to the pool and had a lot of fun. The pool at our end of the property is designed so wheel chairs can roll in. There are numerous water features including water bubbling from the floor, kid powered water cannons, a water flower with water cascading over the edge, water fountains shooting across the pool and more. The water was warm and nice. The pool was not too crowded and fun.
The pool area also houses a miniature golf course, two ping pong tables, two shuffle board courts and two hot tubs. There is also a nice play area for younger kid.
We took a walk to the West Side pool area. The pool on that side is a simple lap pool without the play areas other than shuffle board and ping pong. There are also two hot tubs on that side.
We had dinner in the Club Car. Wife and son had the buffet while I chose the Valentines special of Prime Rib. The buffet was reasonable in selection (soup, salads and then hot foods) but quality was along the line of a Super Buffet or Old Kitchen Buffet. By this I mean it was passable but nothing special. Fridays is a Seafood buffet and Saturdays is a steak buffet. I was unimpressed with the dinner buffet and chose off the menu.
There is a separate kids buffet with hot dogs, burgers, pasta and meatballs, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, french fries and cherry cobbler. This is a nice touch and was a hit with my son.
The prime rib was a questionable choice. The medium piece I ordered turned into well done when it arrived. It was quickly replaced with a more passable piece. The key lime pie lacked the pucker power I expected (could it be a New Englander has a different expectation of key lime pie?) I would rate the dinner restaurant a generous C-. We will probably eat there again next week when we stay at the hotel on our way home, but I might choose somewhere else if we had a car.
After another Magic Show and Bingo we called it a night.
A couple of comments about the hotel .
I heard a person on their cell phone describe it as neat and incredible. I would agree.
Before the Magic Show tonight, Jerry (the magician) noticed people had moved tables and were blocking a doorway which would be used as an emergency exit. He went and asked them to move so they no longer blocked the exit. I think in this post 9/11 and Rhode Island fire (100 dead) this was a smart and admirable move to protect his guests. Kudos to him for it and the hotel for training their staff so well.
Expect big changes over the next year. It will be changing the theme from trains to Nickelodeon. They are spending 20 million to redo the place in a Nick theme (hope there are Nick at Night rooms!) The family pool will be redone with slides and more like a water park. Hard to believe they need to change this place. I hope Nickelodeon is paying them to become the Nickelodeon Suites since there is no reason for this hotel to change one bit (expect dinner). It has been a great experience and we look forward to next weeks one night stay. We will be coming back.
