Holiday Inn Waterpark Resort Review

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We are just back from a six night stay at this resort and I wanted to share our experience.

Overall, this is a great resort for a budget Disney trip. The two bedroom suite offered the perfect layout for our family of four. The kids loved the bunk beds, the master king bed was very comfortable, and we all appreciated the three televisions (one in the bunk bed room, one in the master, and one in the living room).

Pros:

The pool area is fabulous. The main pool is heated and the water felt great. Pool was clean and lifeguards were plentiful and very attentive. Music was fun. Pool games were comparable to those at Disney. Waterpark area was fun for kids. It was crowded, but that was great for the kids because they made a lot of friends. There is an adult pool area for those over 18, but we did not go because of having two kids. Pool hours were very convenient. 9-8 for the waterpark, 9-10 for the main pool. My girls spent four days, about two hours each time, at the pool, and they thought it was one of the best parts of the trip.

The two bedroom layout is very nice and provided lots of space for all of us. Much better than an ordinary hotel room. There is no door on the bunk bed area, but we prefer that. We can feel close to the kids while they still have their own space.

The room decor is modern and lovely.

Parking is plentiful and convenient to the rooms.

Beds are comfortable.

The location is super convenient to Disney. We visited several Disney resorts while we were there (POR, POFQ, OKW, AKL, GF, Poly, and CR) and it was so easy to get to all of them. Four miles door to door to POFQ. Less than eight miles to CR. No major traffic between Disney and this resort.

Resort employees were friendly and helpful.

Refrigerator in room was great and kept everything so cold. We kept milk and creamer all week.

Microwave worked well and was convenient to use.

Keurig style coffee maker in room. Coffee and cups were replenished daily (as opposed to some reviews).

Food available onsite.

Cons:

There were some sugar ants near the sink in the kitchenette. We called and they quickly came to spray some non-toxic window cleaner on them. They explained that they could not spray anything toxic because of guests. I understand that. Unfortunately, it is hard to keep ants away when there are so many people in the rooms with food. The ants stayed with us all week. We just kept our food away from the sink area. We saw no ants on the table where we kept our food.

Food options are somewhat limited. There is a table service restaurant we did not use, a sandwich shop we did not use (only open during lunch hours) and a pizza/hamburger quick service we used a couple of times. Hamburgers were not good at all and they refused to give us lettuce or tomato when we bought the family burger deal. I asked if I could pay additional for lettuce and tomato and was told "that would defeat the purpose." (?????????) The pizza was quite good and was expensive. Food is Disney price equivalent. We did purchase some fresh fruit and carrot and celery sticks in the little store which was nice since it was hard to find healthy meals available in the quick service.

Parking fees. I hate parking fees. They usually charge resort fees, also, so be sure to check that out before you book. Some are surprised by them. Our resort fees were waived as part of our package.

Check in and check out seemed to be a confusing process for the employees. There were only three families in front of me for check in, but it still took fifteen minutes. By the time we were checked in, there were at least six more families waiting behind us. There should be a more streamlined check in process. On the last day I called to make sure I had no additional charges. I was on the phone for fifteen minutes waiting for them to check if I had a balance. Something like that should take about 30 seconds. Not fifteen minutes. They either have a very confusing billing system that their employees have difficulty figuring out, or they have not trained their employees very well on the system.

Driving to SeaWorld and Universal can be a major hassle. They are only 6-8 miles away, but there is a bear of a left turn we have to make where the light is green for about 5 seconds. Traffic is terrible between this hotel and SeaWorld/Universal. It took us about half an hour each time to drive to SeaWorld/Aquatica in the morning. I would not stay here if my primary goal was to visit one of these parks.

Shuttle times to SeaWorld/Universal are not great, and you have to book ahead of time. The shuttles fill up quickly, so if you want to use them, be sure to book a couple of days in advance. We never used the shuttles because the one day we really wanted to use the shuttle was already booked, and the other days did not fit our time schedule.


Overall we found this resort to be a great family resort if you are staying on a budget, you want more space than a typical hotel room, you want a fun pool area, and you want convenience to Disney.

 

[HopperFan]

We are just back from a six night stay at this resort and I wanted to share our experience.

Overall, this is a great resort for a budget Disney trip. The two bedroom suite offered the perfect layout for our family of four. The kids loved the bunk beds, the master king bed was very comfortable, and we all appreciated the three televisions (one in the bunk bed room, one in the master, and one in the living room).

Pros:

The pool area is fabulous. The main pool is heated and the water felt great. Pool was clean and lifeguards were plentiful and very attentive. Music was fun. Pool games were comparable to those at Disney. Waterpark area was fun for kids. It was crowded, but that was great for the kids because they made a lot of friends. There is an adult pool area for those over 18, but we did not go because of having two kids. Pool hours were very convenient. 9-8 for the waterpark, 9-10 for the main pool. My girls spent four days, about two hours each time, at the pool, and they thought it was one of the best parts of the trip.

The two bedroom layout is very nice and provided lots of space for all of us. Much better than an ordinary hotel room. There is no door on the bunk bed area, but we prefer that. We can feel close to the kids while they still have their own space.

The room decor is modern and lovely.

Parking is plentiful and convenient to the rooms.

Beds are comfortable.

The location is super convenient to Disney. We visited several Disney resorts while we were there (POR, POFQ, OKW, AKL, GF, Poly, and CR) and it was so easy to get to all of them. Four miles door to door to POFQ. Less than eight miles to CR. No major traffic between Disney and this resort.

Resort employees were friendly and helpful.

Refrigerator in room was great and kept everything so cold. We kept milk and creamer all week.

Microwave worked well and was convenient to use.

Keurig style coffee maker in room. Coffee and cups were replenished daily (as opposed to some reviews).

Food available onsite.

Cons:

There were some sugar ants near the sink in the kitchenette. We called and they quickly came to spray some non-toxic window cleaner on them. They explained that they could not spray anything toxic because of guests. I understand that. Unfortunately, it is hard to keep ants away when there are so many people in the rooms with food. The ants stayed with us all week. We just kept our food away from the sink area. We saw no ants on the table where we kept our food.

Food options are somewhat limited. There is a table service restaurant we did not use, a sandwich shop we did not use (only open during lunch hours) and a pizza/hamburger quick service we used a couple of times. Hamburgers were not good at all and they refused to give us lettuce or tomato when we bought the family burger deal. I asked if I could pay additional for lettuce and tomato and was told "that would defeat the purpose." (?????????) The pizza was quite good and was expensive. Food is Disney price equivalent. We did purchase some fresh fruit and carrot and celery sticks in the little store which was nice since it was hard to find healthy meals available in the quick service.

Parking fees. I hate parking fees. They usually charge resort fees, also, so be sure to check that out before you book. Some are surprised by them. Our resort fees were waived as part of our package.

Check in and check out seemed to be a confusing process for the employees. There were only three families in front of me for check in, but it still took fifteen minutes. By the time we were checked in, there were at least six more families waiting behind us. There should be a more streamlined check in process. On the last day I called to make sure I had no additional charges. I was on the phone for fifteen minutes waiting for them to check if I had a balance. Something like that should take about 30 seconds. Not fifteen minutes. They either have a very confusing billing system that their employees have difficulty figuring out, or they have not trained their employees very well on the system.

Driving to SeaWorld and Universal can be a major hassle. They are only 6-8 miles away, but there is a bear of a left turn we have to make where the light is green for about 5 seconds. Traffic is terrible between this hotel and SeaWorld/Universal. It took us about half an hour each time to drive to SeaWorld/Aquatica in the morning. I would not stay here if my primary goal was to visit one of these parks.

Shuttle times to SeaWorld/Universal are not great, and you have to book ahead of time. The shuttles fill up quickly, so if you want to use them, be sure to book a couple of days in advance. We never used the shuttles because the one day we really wanted to use the shuttle was already booked, and the other days did not fit our time schedule.


Overall we found this resort to be a great family resort if you are staying on a budget, you want more space than a typical hotel room, you want a fun pool area, and you want convenience to Disney.

Thanks for the update on the new version of the resort! We were looking at a couple nights in May but missed the good deal with resort fee waived. Hard to pay that when we have no resort time planned but I like the room setup.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Thanks for the update on the new version of the resort! We were looking at a couple nights in May but missed the good deal with resort fee waived. Hard to pay that when we have no resort time planned but I like the room setup.

I agree that the resort fee is a lot, even when you do use the resort amenities.With resort fee and parking fee, you are looking at an additional $40 a night or so. With that, you could do a Disney value and get EMH (if you don't need the extra sleeping space, kitchenette, and televisions offered at this resort).

 

[Sabathamk]

We just booked this with the mousesavers discount for 5 nights. The resort rate is insane. We don't have that here in Canada. They put all the service fees and stuff in automatically, and it says on the mousesavers site that the parking is free for mousesavers guests, so I'm really hoping we get that. With the dollar where it is for us, we wanted a nice place for a portion of our stay (nicer than your basic Travelodge), and the waterpark was a plus.

Thanks for writing up this review. We will likely be buying food elsewhere by the sounds of things. It kind of sounds stressful, actually. Are there any restaurants nearby that aren't too pricey? We saw a Walmart, but it would be nice if there was a restaurant option.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We just booked this with the mousesavers discount for 5 nights. The resort rate is insane. We don't have that here in Canada. They put all the service fees and stuff in automatically, and it says on the mousesavers site that the parking is free for mousesavers guests, so I'm really hoping we get that. With the dollar where it is for us, we wanted a nice place for a portion of our stay (nicer than your basic Travelodge), and the waterpark was a plus.

Thanks for writing up this review. We will likely be buying food elsewhere by the sounds of things. It kind of sounds stressful, actually. Are there any restaurants nearby that aren't too pricey? We saw a Walmart, but it would be nice if there was a restaurant option.

Personally, I love the restaurants at Disney, and they are very close and easy to get to. We drove to POFQ, which has a nice quickservice, and right next to that is POR, which has both a quickservice restaurant with lots of food variety and a great dining area with Mickey cartoons for the kids, and a table service restaurant. You don't have to get on I-4 or any terribly crowded roads, either, to get to the Disney restaurants. POFQ was four miles, door to door, and it took less than ten minutes to get there. Disney Springs is also very close, and there is a huge variety of restaurants there (though you have to deal with the hassle of parking). But you can go to any of the Disney resorts for their quick service or table service restaurants. We did POFQ quickservice, Kona, California Grill, and Old Key West quick service.

You might also want to check out Celebration. We drove over there one afternoon, and there are several restaurants there (although parking seemed to be challenging in the town area).

The food at the resort is not terrible (well, okay, their hamburgers are terrible), and it is convenient to have food right there. But if you have time, I would go to a Disney quickservice. The prices are similar, but the quality is much better at Disney.

I hope you have a wonderful stay.

 

[BigredNole]

We stayed there when it was Nick Hotel. We thought the kids would have a blast with 4 families. The times the kids had fun, it was great. However, because of the clientele it drew in when we were there, there were drunks by 10AM. They would push kids out of the way, knock them down, and completely obnoxious. By noon, you didn't even want to be at the resort. It wasn't everyone, but the 15-20 that were ruined for the other 100s that were there.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We stayed there when it was Nick Hotel. We thought the kids would have a blast with 4 families. The times the kids had fun, it was great. However, because of the clientele it drew in when we were there, there were drunks by 10AM. They would push kids out of the way, knock them down, and completely obnoxious. By noon, you didn't even want to be at the resort. It wasn't everyone, but the 15-20 that were ruined for the other 100s that were there.

Maybe that was a particularly bad group that was staying there. We didn't see any of that. Just a lot of families having fun. Even met a couple of very nice ladies to chat with while we watched our kids.

Were kids allowed at the other pool area? There is now a separation of pool areas. One pool area is for kids and families and the other (which you can't even see from the kids pool area) is only for those 18 and older. That may help separate those who want to drink from those who are there to be with family.

 

[Ali]

We stayed there for 4 days last week and never used the pools once - the main pool "waterpark" kids pool was so filled with people it seemed dangerous and not fun. The adult pool looked good to me with 2 people sitting in chairs but I had my son with me. We had the mouse savers rate and we paid the room rate and tax only when we arrived. Check in was horrible and took and hour, and we still didn't have a room at 5. We went to DS for dinner and were told we'd get a text with a room number. At 9:30 I called to see if we had a room and the front desk person said "I think you do"

The shower had a large amount of black mold. The kitchenette was fine. Bed was comfy. Kids bunkbed room seemed stuffy.

Because of the check in issues, not having a room until late at night, and the pool situation we cancelled our reservation for there this weekend and are staying at bonnett creek instead.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We stayed there for 4 days last week and never used the pools once - the main pool "waterpark" kids pool was so filled with people it seemed dangerous and not fun. The adult pool looked good to me with 2 people sitting in chairs but I had my son with me. We had the mouse savers rate and we paid the room rate and tax only when we arrived. Check in was horrible and took and hour, and we still didn't have a room at 5. We went to DS for dinner and were told we'd get a text with a room number. At 9:30 I called to see if we had a room and the front desk person said "I think you do"

The shower had a large amount of black mold. The kitchenette was fine. Bed was comfy. Kids bunkbed room seemed stuffy.

Because of the check in issues, not having a room until late at night, and the pool situation we cancelled our reservation for there this weekend and are staying at bonnett creek instead.

Sorry you had a bad experience. The reviews seem to be all over the place. Some have really negative experiences, like you did, and some have good ones. May be a hit or miss kind of place. The pool was definitely crowded, but not unsafely so. I was able to watch my kids and feel safe, and I am a bit of a helicopter parent. The lifeguards were plentiful and were really attentive, but you are right that when too many are in the pool, it may be impossible for the lifeguards to see if there is an issue.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We stayed there several years ago back in the Nick days. It was just for the weekend after a week at BLT so honestly, it would never live up to that! But I have to agree with the drunks and extremely slow service in the lobby.

It took us nearly an hour to check-in with only families in front of us. Our room was very dated, sticky carpeted floor, and the a/c didn't work. They tried to fix it but it never did cool down.

The pool area was a little scary. At the time my 2 oldest were 5 and 6 and would have been trampled by the older kids if I hadn't been there. There seem to be little adult supervision of some of these older kids. And then by mid afternoon, it was almost as though some of the adults were as bad as the kids- too much alcohol in the mix. My husband said the servers were "very attentive" to the adults purchasing alcohol (I was pregnant and in the pool so no clue!) and were always there with another drink so perhaps that just fueled the problem.

Hopefully with a new name and such they have renovated the rooms...but it sounds like there might still be some issues.

We vowed to never go back.

 

[derekw]

We are just back from a six night stay at this resort and I wanted to share our experience.

Overall we found this resort to be a great family resort if you are staying on a budget, you want more space than a typical hotel room, you want a fun pool area, and you want convenience to Disney.

We stayed here a few weeks ago (April 5-9) about same dates as AtlantaDisneyDreamer for four nights with kids ranging from 9 to 18. Biggest reason for choosing this resort was using my IHG points to cover our stay and the size of the room/beds. We checked in late (just before 1am) after driving 14 hours and they did not have our reserved room available (2 bedroom w/ the bunks). So they had to put us in two 1 bedrooms for that night. It was inconvenient and it took awhile for them to free up our reserved room the next day. I had to make multiple calls to front desk and even go down there a few times but we finally got settled in. Because of the issue the hotel offered to refund back my points for that night so that was fair compensation for the inconveniences. The staff throughout the resort was VERY friendly (front desk, pool area, housekeeping). The rooms (upgraded recently) were very nicely appointed with great bedding, 3 LCDs TVs and good sofa bed. Lamps even had USB charging ports. We really enjoyed the pool areas and my younger kids loved the waterpark which had some decent water slides and water playground features. My older kids liked the basketball hoop area. Great life guarding and the days we were there it wasn't packed...but most of the lounge chairs were taken by lunchtime. The adult pool and hot tub (no one under 18) were great to relax when we had some down time. The resort has a decent food court with grill/pizza (pizza was good), a Starbucks and small restaurant. I'd agree the burgers weren't the greatest from the grill. The buffet breakfast at their restaurant was good, well stocked with decent variety esp fruit. On-site arcade had mostly ticket fare games to earn prizes but a few video games and one pinball. They have a 3D theater and laser maze both of which looked fun but we didn't end up doing either during our stay. For longer stays the all-access pass ($20 unlimited 3D movies/laser maze) seemed like a great deal. They also had a small gift shop/convenience store.
We were strictly visiting Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios this trip and had our own car so we made four trips up I4. Traffic wasn't that bad (though we only went 1 day rope drop; the other 3 more mid-afternoon to closing)....key is to take that 2nd Universal exit going north (75A I think) and not that first exit/left turn that leads to Turkey Lake Rd. We did go to Disney Springs one day and that was very convenient. However traffic was really bad going south(?) near DS with all the road construction going on there.
Overall I'd agree with AtlantaDisneyDreamer that it is a great family resort on a budget with very nice rooms and pool area. IHG has done a pretty good job with the Nickelodeon Suites makeover though I could see there being some inconveniences with big crowds at front desk and other services (ie the week following ours right before Easter). The overall layout/feel of the resort and food court are in line with a big Value Disney hotel like the All Stars. The rooms and pool areas more like a Moderate. Disney gets the nod on hotel theming though.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We stayed here a few weeks ago (April 5-9) about same dates as AtlantaDisneyDreamer for four nights with kids ranging from 9 to 18. Biggest reason for choosing this resort was using my IHG points to cover our stay and the size of the room/beds. We checked in late (just before 1am) after driving 14 hours and they did not have our reserved room available (2 bedroom w/ the bunks). So they had to put us in two 1 bedrooms for that night. It was inconvenient and it took awhile for them to free up our reserved room the next day. I had to make multiple calls to front desk and even go down there a few times but we finally got settled in. Because of the issue the hotel offered to refund back my points for that night so that was fair compensation for the inconveniences. The staff throughout the resort was VERY friendly (front desk, pool area, housekeeping). The rooms (upgraded recently) were very nicely appointed with great bedding, 3 LCDs TVs and good sofa bed. Lamps even had USB charging ports. We really enjoyed the pool areas and my younger kids loved the waterpark which had some decent water slides and water playground features. My older kids liked the basketball hoop area. Great life guarding and the days we were there it wasn't packed...but most of the lounge chairs were taken by lunchtime. The adult pool and hot tub (no one under 18) were great to relax when we had some down time. The resort has a decent food court with grill/pizza (pizza was good), a Starbucks and small restaurant. I'd agree the burgers weren't the greatest from the grill. The buffet breakfast at their restaurant was good, well stocked with decent variety esp fruit. On-site arcade had mostly ticket fare games to earn prizes but a few video games and one pinball. They have a 3D theater and laser maze both of which looked fun but we didn't end up doing either during our stay. For longer stays the all-access pass ($20 unlimited 3D movies/laser maze) seemed like a great deal. They also had a small gift shop/convenience store.
We were strictly visiting Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios this trip and had our own car so we made four trips up I4. Traffic wasn't that bad (though we only went 1 day rope drop; the other 3 more mid-afternoon to closing)....key is to take that 2nd Universal exit going north (75A I think) and not that first exit/left turn that leads to Turkey Lake Rd. We did go to Disney Springs one day and that was very convenient. However traffic was really bad going south(?) near DS with all the road construction going on there.
Overall I'd agree with AtlantaDisneyDreamer that it is a great family resort on a budget with very nice rooms and pool area. IHG has done a pretty good job with the Nickelodeon Suites makeover though I could see there being some inconveniences with big crowds at front desk and other services (ie the week following ours right before Easter). The overall layout/feel of the resort and food court are in line with a big Value Disney hotel like the All Stars. The rooms and pool areas more like a Moderate. Disney gets the nod on hotel theming though.

I am glad you enjoyed your stay there. I agree that the layout and outside design feels a lot like a Disney value, but the rooms are certainly much nicer than a Disney value- and they sleep more people.

 

[derekw]

I am glad you enjoyed your stay there. I agree that the layout and outside design feels a lot like a Disney value, but the rooms are certainly much nicer than a Disney value- and they sleep more people.

I agree. That is why I mentioned the rooms and the pool area feel more like a Disney Moderate hotel (though Moderates typically sleep 4; a few 5 some w/ suites sleep 6 I think). At HI Suites-Waterpark you get a lot for your $$.