Holiday Inn-in Walt Disney World

[Amy23]

Has anyone stayed here before? Please tell me about it. Also, are there any other hotels that would be close to Disney and offer the continuous bus services like they do from the Disney resorts.

 

[1SickPupe]

My family stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Orlando about 3 years ago, and I give it about 2 stars out of 4.
The staff was very helpful, but it was the guests who made the experience disappointing.
They offered free breakfast, and dinner at the time for children under a certain age, and this brought in the large, and extended families. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but it was edible. The bus service was adequate, but you missed many of the late activities, and parades due to bus schedules. The drivers made a point of mentioning that tips were welcome. The pool was closed more than half the time due to children defileing it with their waste, and even when it was clean it looked quite filthy. I know this can happen at the best resorts, but I believe that there was a higher than average amount of people who were extremely inconsiderate.
I have not had any of these problems at any of the WDW resorts!
For my money the best deal is a moderate priced resort on the WDW grounds. You can't beat the service, and transportation.

 

[Straitlover]

Let me point out that the Holiday Inn Express is not the one the OP is talking about. The one she is talking about is the old Courtyard by Marriott.

I have not stayed there but have read lots about it here. Busses run every 30 minutes or so, I believe. Whether or not it is a good idea to stay would depend on what you're paying. For awhile, you could get that hotel on Hotwire for around $35/night.

If you search for CbM here or on the Orlando hotesl board, you will find lots of threads about it.

 

[ChristmasElf]

The Holiday Inn at DD (used to be Courtyard) is very nice. The service is good and the rooms are clean. The bus service is very timely as well.

Elf

 

[vhoffman]

We stayed there for six nights Jan, 2004, so my opinions are timely. We got a rate of $35 per night from Hotwire, however, I don't think you could get that rate now. I would go back for anything under $69. Overall, the hotel is adequate. We were quite pleased upon check in. The staff was courteous and efficient. They had fresh baked cookies, coffee and juice available in the lobby, which helped take the edge off after a long day of flying. WE had requested a king and sleeper sofa,which they didn't have available. However, they offered us two roll away cots at no extra charge. At no point did I feel we were treated differently beccause we had a Hotwire, discounted rate. The hotel has two sections--the tower, or main part, and a seperate, six story building behind the tower. That's where we were placed (the six-story building). The elevator was dingy, and the hallways could have used some sprucing up, but ok. The room itself was huge--plenty of room for 2 double beds, 2 rollaway cots, and a small fridge with floor space left over. The closets were also very large, great for a six day stay. There's also two sink areas-one in the bathroom and one outside it. Upon arrival we found the in room safe didn't work, but they sent someone up right away to fix it. It just needed a new battery. The room was your basic hotel type room, with a balcony with a view of the pool. We were satisfied with the room until day two, when my son started coughing. We were horrified to discover that the ac filter was flithy! Also, the air vent into the room was caked with dust. The recessed light fixtures in the bathroom had a rim of grime around them about 1/2 inch thick. We called and requested another room, which they didn't have. However, they did send up four people almost immediately who did a thorough cleaning job. However, we felt it never should have gotten that dirty in the first place. Well, the next night, we thought the ac was broken since no cold air came out, just the fan. When we called they ssaid they had turned off the ac to that part of the building since they didn't think anyone would want ac due to the cool weather. Well, it was still close in the room without the ac. They then transferred us to another room in the tower, which had working ac. Why they would think people in the tower wanted ac but not in the other building is beyond me. Well, the tower room was very nice, but smaller than the other room and we could only fit one roll away cot in there, but that was ok since the tower room had queen sized beds. I never used the pool, so can't comment on that. We never used the buses, either, although they seemed to make regular runs and were the "nice" type buses. The restaurant was lacking in atmosphere, however, we felt the food and service to be above average. The kids eat free option saved us a bundle. We had a very nice dinner for four for about $30. Breakfast for four came to under $20. Parking is free, local calls 50 cents. They don't charge you for the coffee packets in your room. Some hotels charge $3.50 each! Also, there's a Dollar Rent a Car desk in the hotel, making it very convenient to rent a car. We didn't have to walk miles to get from our car to our room. Although I was dismayed at the condition of the ac system in the first building, overall, the room was comfortable and clean. This is not a luxury hotel. If you're looking for something economical and conveniently located that won't cost you an arm and leg and nickel and dime you to death, I would stay here. Just don't pay more than $69 per night and you'll feel you got your money's worth.

 

[vhoffman]

Oh, also, you might want to request a tower room instead of the other building (whatever its called). The "other" building is older and not as well maintained. Or at least ask to see the room first before accepting it and check out the ac filters and vents.

 

[rosiecorolla]

Hi, we just returned from 5 nights at DD Holiday Inn. It was just fine. Not fancy, but clean and convenient. Service was very good. We asked for and received at no charge a room on the 11th floor and could see nightly fireworks from your balcony. Bus service was excellent. I would definitely stay again.

Rosie

 

[HappyLawyer]

well before going to the GF we are at the howard johnson enchanted resort, they offer comp shuttles to disney, universal and seaworld, they have an ice cream social each night for the kids, they have themed rooms, movie nights on sat and sun. some rooms have fridge and microwave so that sounded great to me

 

[tink2dw]

this is for the Holiday Inn Family Suites in, 1 mile from WDW gates, borrowed from the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board
by
pm914


We just got back from HIFS and we'd definitely recommend it! As a matter of fact, we had stayed at the Caribbean Beach in 1999 and we definitely prefer the conveniences and perks of the HIFS. Little things like shelves in the bathroom, two blow dryers, make-up table, light up mirror, coffee-maker, fridge, micro, iron, free breakfasts, $3 refillable soda mugs, etc., etc..
While it was nice to stay on-site, we found the Caribbean exceedingly difficult to navigate and the room felt cramped (and we only had 2 kids at the time). It's a shame that Disney doesn't have any halfway affordable rooms that accomodate families.
If you have kids, I'd ask for a room in the East Court (the "kid's side of the resort") with either a pool view or a view of the little lagoon with the light-up display.
Enjoy your stay and let us know what you think!

 

[jgates]

Actually we preferred our wing room to the tower room due to a/c problems at that time!!! (8/00). I would stay there again for a cheap price or if that was all we could afford, but I am afraid I have now been spoiled for on-property. To be honest, I would prefer HI Family Suites or one of the Marriott Village Lake BV properties if off-site.