Hotel HELP PLEASE!!!!!

[BarryCF]

Okay Everyone....I can't stand waiting until Dec. I'm GOING in Sept and back in Jan or Feb. My question....

www.hotelkingdom.com has REALLY good rates for Masters Inn MG and Clarion MG. I'm booking one of these hotels tonight. Are they decent hotels? From photos I've seen they both look nice enough. I'm looking for clean, comfy, and safe. They both have free shuttles to WDW and shuttles for a fee to US/IOA. I MAY rent a car but I'm not sure yet. This HAS to be a cheap trip. Any opinions? Thanks!!!!

Cheers

 

[PhotobearSam]

How good is the rate?

We stayed at Magic Castle for $33 a night for a suite and had a free breakfast and I have pictures I could send to you. We had a microwave and a fridge too.

If the deal at the ones you mentionned is better, please let me know.

I don't have info on the hotels you asked about, sorry.

www.magicorlando.com

The normal rooms are cheaper. We stayed at the one 3.5 miles from Disney. Hope this helps

 

[BarryCF]

The rate at Magic Castle at $33 a nt is 295.68 with tax. The Masters Inn is $247.97 and Clarion is $298.37. Both hotels are stay 2 nights get 1 free so I'm only paying for 6 nts. $36.90 for MI and $44.90 for Clarion. I've stayed in Clarions before and they've all been nice hotels so I'm leaning that way. How is the shuttle at MC? I don't want to rent a car. I drive enough at home, so the shuttle is an important part of the package. Thanks for the info.

Cheers

 

[PhotobearSam]

Sorry, we didn't use the shuttle because we drove down from Canada and love to have a car all the time...

Good rates you got there...

 

[alde]

Now it's tru that every now and then a very good "too good to be true" deal comes along .. as in the Coutyard in DD .. there was this "100 years of Disney" 20 per night promotional rate which is all but sold out by now. But aside from deals like this .. I subscribe to the old addage .. you get what you pay for ..

I wouldn't stay in a $33 a night hotel if you paid me .. Now is that to say it's a dump .. perhaps not .. but odds are it is ....
Is that to imply that some hotels aren't over priced?? Sure they are .. but again you have to ask yourself ....

"you get what you pay for" ...

 

[PhotobearSam]

Oh I assure you it was no dump!

We would not have stayed there unless it was clean and safe.

The hotel was suggested by sammi from the Canadian boards and a lot of people on this site have stayed there and liked it.

It was clean, safe and fit our budget. Sure we would have liked to stay at an on-site property or a luxury hotel but for people on a budget, this place did the trick.

If you would like to see the pictures, I can send them to you. It clearly shows that it was a nice place even at the great price. (it was an internet price)

I take offense to being told I stayed in a dump. I did not and if I had i wouldn't recommend it to others here on the boards.

I have standards. People on a budget need info as much as others. There are great places at reasonable prices just like there are dumps that charge over a hundred a night.

The original post asked for help to plan a budget trip....the comments made were no help but they seemed intended to discourage anyone trying to do it on a budget.

Not nice.

 

[tink2dw]

I would never ever stay at an All Stars Ever again!! It was too tiny,broken,and had sopping wet carpets,that would Not dry!! I found no themeing in the room either.

To me,I'll either stay offsite and save the $104 All Stars cost last Mar.2001,or I will choose a place that is Heavly themed onsite. Now,that I know about codes I can get a Moderate for the same $89. I'd pay to stay offsite at my favorite hotel which IS themed!!

It is all in what fits each persons needs!

 

[Robinrs]

alde and PhotobearSam:

I know what alde's talking about, the idea of a $33 a night hotel gives me the heebie jeebies....

but amazingly the Magic Castle has somehow seemed to beat that generalization, and many people on these boards can attest to it.

You have to admit, though, it is the exception to the rule. Most low pay hotels are low class hotels and you usually DO get what you pay for.

Thank goodness there are options like the Magic Castle!

 

[alde]

Thanks robinrs!

I certainly did not intend to denegrate the Magic Castle or photobearsam's choice in recommending this hotel in spite of it's rather low cost. Let me say this again .. there are always going to be exceptions to the rule. I just generally tend to go with the rules rather then the exceptions. I've gotten screwed enough times staying at "budget" hotels to know that site unseen .. if the price is low and they are claining to give you "everything" under the sun .. there's a good reason for it .. Again .. I apologize to photobearsam ..

I chose to stay at Sprnghill Suites in the Marriot Village at Little Lake Bryan .. It's a relativly new hotel (completed last year) and is going to run me around $90 a night .. I've never benn to orlando .. never seen this place beyond pictures (which mean nothing to me) and have gotten a few 'thumbs up" on the property .. and even with that .. it's all relative. I've read reviews on travelocity where 5 different people revied the same hotel and I'm amazed how completly different were the opinions from "this place is a hell hole - I'll never stay here again" to "We had a wonderful time .. loved the place - would highly recommend it" ..

Go figure ..

 

[nwdisgal]

Alde - Marriott's new RI near Sea World has a special on rooms for $89 a night for their one bedroom. I recently wrote a review on this. It might be larger than the Spring Hill Suites, depending on when you are staying. I think the $89 rate only runs until September 7.

As a general comment, I think sometimes there can be exceptions to the rule, when a smaller property (i.e family owned) charges lower prices, but keeps their properties up to keep a loyale,repeat clientale - the Magic Castle might be one of those.

 

[disneymom3]

I just returned from a trip that had my nerves racked before we got there! I won a $35 a night bid on priceline for Renaisance Worldgate and was very worried it would live up to it's price. (Or down!) I was very pleasantly surprised. The room was perfectly clean, the pools were nice, staff was very curteous and from what I heard the shuttle was very efficient--we had a car.

Aslo had a fridge which saved us even more money as we could have juice, milk etc in the room!

I will say though that I was quite nervous and if the cheap airfare hadn't enticed me in the first place, probably wouldn't have even chanced the budget trip. We are usually lucky enough to trade in a timeshare week at an RCI resort.

I thinkit is great that we have the chance on these boards to share opinions and let people know what to expect. (Problem for me was, I had read one really bad review before we left!)

 

[FoodLover]

Well, I hate to jump into this controversy, but after reading about the Magic Castle here on the DIS boards I decided to visit it during my most recent trip (mid-May 2002).

No offense to anyone, but I personally would not stay there. Everyone has different needs and standards, but there is no WAY I would give that hotel a glowing review. It's not in a nice area, it is quite a long distance from Disney on Highway 192 (notorious for bad traffic) and it is a motel-style (exterior corridors) older lodging. I strongly feel that "you get what you pay for" applies in this instance.

Actually, you can find much nicer hotels with far more amenities and that are much more centrally located through Priceline -- in the same price range.

Clearly my opinion will not be popular with some folks here. However, I felt I should share it so that all points of view are represented.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[brownii]

We stayed at Magic Castle on 192 for one night and I don't want to stay there again. I saw lots of vacancy signs on nicer hotels for about the same price, but we had already paid for the night before we arrived.

 

[Mom2Tig]

Are there ANY cheaper motel/hotels-what ever-that are nice?? I am on a really tight budget but want a safe and clean place at least..... there are so many areas and hotels--I am getting really confused already!

 

[Barrett Nichols]

"Marriott's new RI near Sea World has a special on rooms for $89 a night for their one bedroom."
What is RI?
Tks,