Holiday Inn Maingate East - Review

[catwho]

Having been forced (financially) to stay off site this year we decided to take up an offer for $69 a night at HIMGE in a KidSuite. The room was an OK size, but still a tad cramped for our family of 5. I've yet though to find a hotel that has ample space to put all your stuff like you want it (table space). The room did not have that "clean" feeling. It felt old and musty. Years of "minimal cleaning" There was a "brown streak" on the bathroom door that was there the day we checked in. It stayed there the entire time until *I* cleaned it off the door (from the disgust in looking at it.) Our sheets were changed daily and the children's toys were arranged on the bed, but no further special care.

The pool was over chlorinated to the point where you just couldn't stay in it for long. We only swam one night because of the high chlorine content and how badly it irritated everyone's eyes and skin.

We did have the breakfast buffet (free for kids) two mornings, but we felt that it was over priced for what was offered. The food was good, but the meal still cost us $25 even though the kids ate free (drinks were not free for either children or adults - couldn't figure that out.) We were asked both mornings if we had any vouchers for breakfast so perhaps there is a voucher program or some travel agencies provide vouchers for breakfast. We didn't have any but saw quite a few people who did have them. Maybe something to check into.

All in all it met the sleep and shower (although that was less than desirable as I like a strong shower and this was like taking a shower in the rain) portions and we did get in one swim. I'm not sure it was worth the $69 a night, but it was a room and it did have clean sheets and towels.

I'm looking forward to October when I get to stay at AKL! No more off-site for me!

 

[bigsis1970]

Thanks soo much for your reveiw... I did cancel my ressie there last week after a month of e-mail and calling them trying to get some help with Hopper passes they were offering by staying there... I am very very !! glad I cancelled now..

How was the rest of the trip . do you have a trip report yet? Michelle

 

[catwho]

Trip Report? I'm supposed to write up a Trip Report as well? LOL!!! OYvay!! I'll work on it. I'm still not recovered (maybe something to do with doing 8 days at Disney coming home and 3 days later leaving for a weekend of Girl Scout Camping!)

 

[bigsis1970]

Hee Hee, Have fun with the girls !!!! Just wondering how the food and parks were .. Michelle

 

[catwho]

The food at HIMGE was "ok" your standard pancakes, reconstituted scrambled eggs, fruit, cereal, bacon, and grits (yay for the grits) WE didn't eat there otherwise. We had one meal out at Sonny's (decent barbeque), another meal at KFC and another dinner at Pizza Hut (both within walking distance of the hotel)

We did not use the "free shuttle" but did look at the shuttle schedule. I would NOT use the shuttle. There was ONE service each day to each of the parks and ONE return time from MK, AK, and MGM and 2 return times from Epcot (7:30 and 9:55) If you missed the shuttle it was up to you to get back to the hotel, they would not resend the shuttle.

As for the parks, well, um, we had apparently a bad attitude LOL!! We are used to going to WDW during the winter, before spring break. We were there for the 1st week of Canadian Spring break (Hey all you Ontarians!) and so we felt the crowds were large. I've been in the summer and seen them larger, but when you have a 4 yo who does not wait well, 30 minutes for a ride can seem like a lifetime and 45 minutes is undoable! Thank goodness for FP and ChildSwap (and thank goodness that they call it child Swap instead of Baby swap, since "I am NOT a BABY!") We are used to nearly walk on rides on most all attractions. We never did get to do Peter Pan because the wait was 45-90 minutes and the FP's were "sold out" by 11 am!!! Unbelievable!!

I can't wait until next January when we go back to our "regularly scheduled vacation."

 

[disney91]

Just back from HIME and it turned out better than I expected. Through Dreamsunlimited we got a $99 rate which included breakfast for 2 free. We had the 2 room suite with 2 families staying together. There are 2 double/queen beds in the bedroom with a door and a small kitchen area and living space with a pull down wall bed and a sofa bed in the other room. There was plenty of room for all 9 of us. Yes I said 9. The 2 room suites looked like they had recently been remodeled with new paint, carpet, shower/tub etc. We had friends in a regular size room in a different building, and it was not quite as new looking.

If you're looking for a large suite on a budget try this one through Dreams. We were very satisfied.

 

[Vinnie The Pooh]

We stayed one night here two years ago because our arrival date at CBR (the day before a rate change) would have put us at a higher rate for the whole week. The room and surronding were not nice at all. We saw cigarette butts on the grounds and the room was old and worn. The Sheets were also very worn and seemed to barely fit the bed. We were located in a room facing the pool and there were people out there being very loud until well after midnight. I am so glad we were there for just one night. Their web site made it look really nice (of course) and we really fell for that. The lobby was very nice though, maybe we should have slept there..LOL.
We have made reservations for HIFS for October and if it weren't for all of the positive feedback about that hotel on this site I would not have booked there based on my Holiday Inn Maingate experience.