Hotel on International Drive needed - any advice welcome

[Shrek & Donkey]

Hi there

This will be my first trip to Orlando, and I can't wait - it looks so exciting!

I will be going with my partner, 2 friends and their little girl, who will be 2 at the time. We are looking to go in October 06.

We want to stay in a hotel on International Drive and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any hotels, which offer good value for money whilst being clean and tidy.

We were looking at the Clarion but others have advised that this is not so central as I initially thought.

Quality Inn Plaza and Quality Inn International are the main ones sold by most of the travel companies - does anyone know of any others?

Thanks in advance - a very excited disney virgin! xx

 

[scojos]

hello,
we stayed at the radisson barcelo in04 opposite the mercado. it was well placed the staff were friendly and the pool and pool bar were ace.
However I found on site services expensive so we just went to golden corral haha!!
wouldn t particularly recommend the hotel, but that part of i drive is well equiped with restaurants and everything you could possibly need, dont know if this helps
tracy

 

[JohnnySharp2]

It depends on how much you want to pay really, I have stayed at both QI's and they are very much budget hotels in a busier area of I-drive.

For better hotels I can recommennd 2 at south I-drive, a much nicer area, the Rosen Center and Rosen Plaza (formerly the Clarion), but as I say they are more expensive.

 

[Shrek & Donkey]

Thank you for your replies, its so hard picking a suitable hotel, and there seems to be added pressure on me, as I'm arranging the holiday for everyone, so if something isnt right, then I'll feel bad!

Obviously, we would like a best price as we can reasonably get. All we really want is a clean and tidy hotel, not too bothered about the facilities as we don't really plan to be in our rooms an awful lot - as there is so much that we want to see and do. As long as it is not dirty then all of us will be happy.

The location is really the only thing, that is kind of important. Having never been to Orlando, I don't know that it will be like. Basically, at night we plan to have dinner and have a couple of drinks. We therefore want to be somewhere where we can easily walk to the restaurants and pubs without the need to take the car. We will also have a 2 and a half year old toddler with us, so somewhere where she can easily be walked back to the hotel, is what we are looking for.

I assume that International Drive is one long road, with hotels, bars and restaurants spread along it - am I right?

I got the impression that the clarion was not a great location for what we need it for, hence me asking about further hotels that may suit the requirements. I hope this helps.

 

[wilma-bride]

For location, I would go for either Quality Inn International or Holiday Inn International. Both are clean and reasonably priced. Personally, although the Holiday Inn was a higher 'V' rsating with Virgin Holidays, we preferred QII. But I know others who have stayed at both and preferred HI. It's all subjective. In my opinion, however, you can't go far wrong with either of these.

 

[Red-Snapper]

I personally would stay more to the South end of I-Drive say from around the Mercado down. Further on up and itcan get a bit tacky for some people.

You are right - there are restaurants etc the whole way down cover every pocket and type of food.

More or less generally the higher North up I Drive you go the cheaper it gets.

Each to their own though and I know some people prefer the Norther end above the Sandlake junction

 

[Shrek & Donkey]

Thanks for your reply - I will have a look at both of these hotels and see what price I can come up with.
Once again, thans very much

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I drive is ideal if you do not have a car, there are restaurants within walking distance wherever you choose to stay.

There are parts where there are a few too many tacky discount stores which is why I prefer the south side.
You will have no problem getting a budget hotel that will suit your needs, we have stayed on I drive a few times over the years, hence my recommendation for the Rosen Center, it was mainly for our son's needs that we started staying in private villas.

If you have to stay at the busier end , the HI I drive may be your best option, we stayed there many years ago and would much prefer it to one of the QI's.

 

[Miffy2003]

I assume that International Drive is one long road, with hotels, bars and restaurants spread along it - am I right?

.

That's exactly right, and it is a very long road! Miles and miles of it

 

[maureen4200040]

I've stayed at the Quality Inn International & Plaza, and also the
Rosen Centre. For cheap and cheerful go to one of the Quality Inn hotels. If you require a bit more comfort choose the Rosen Centre.

I personally would choose the Rosen Centre everytime as I like to be spoiled.
As its your first time in Orlando, you will be out most of the day at the parks and only coming back to sleep. So you may be better off sticking to one of the quality inn hotels.

Maureen4200040

 

[kevin harrison]

If I stay on I-drive again, I would stay at the Rosen Centre or Plaza also. Maybe a bit more expensive but very nice hotels. The hotels are mainly buisness based, which meant during the day the pools were empty.

The Plaza is also straight opposite the Pointe Orlando, which is getting a revamp as we speak, with the opening of a couple of new restuarants also. It also has a Muvico 21 cinema as well as numerous other places to eat.

You would be just crossing the road at night and with no car would be perfect. It's maybe just me, but stray too far up I-Drive and it gets busier and noisier and hence the hotels get cheaper.

 

[alisonbestford]

I have to agree about staying down the 'bottom end' of I Drive

We stayed virtually opposite Sea World on our first trip which was, maybe, a little too far down if you want to walk most places but the I Ride trolley, which takes you up and down I Drive, stopped across the road

We were delayed at the end of our trip last year and Virgin put us up, for two nights, at the Rosen Plaza (opposite Pointe Orlando shopping centre)
As Kevin says this seemed to be, primarily, a convention hotel but, although the pools were quiet in the day, I didn't find it particularly 'child friendly' if you have a little one with you
During the day we found business men sitting around the pool with their drinks, getting pretty grumpy at the kids playing in the pool and the restaurant didn't really cater for kids, unless they wanted fancy pizza

I dropped the car off at the Holiday Inn and that looked quite nice

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I have to agree about staying down the 'bottom end' of I Drive

We stayed virtually opposite Sea World on our first trip which was, maybe, a little too far down if you want to walk most places but the I Ride trolley, which takes you up and down I Drive, stopped across the road

We were delayed at the end of our trip last year and Virgin put us up, for two nights, at the Rosen Plaza (opposite Pointe Orlando shopping centre)
As Kevin says this seemed to be, primarily, a convention hotel but, although the pools were quiet in the day, I didn't find it particularly 'child friendly' if you have a little one with you
During the day we found business men sitting around the pool with their drinks, getting pretty grumpy at the kids playing in the pool and the restaurant didn't really cater for kids, unless they wanted fancy pizza

I dropped the car off at the Holiday Inn and that looked quite nice

I agree the Rosen Center is not necessarily a child friendly hotel, although the pool in itself is very nice.
It is a wonderful imposing hotel that you can see from a few miles away.

Have stayed there twice and we did feel a bit odd at times in our shorts and t/shirts and it did seem everyone else was dressed for business meetings etc, however, overall it is a lovely hotel in the best area of I drive, I would still recommend it to anyone.

The Holiday Inn has a great pool area, and we really like this hotel, but it isn't for me ideally located being at the busier (tacky) end of I drive.
They have recently painted the exterior, in a horrible green colour, so you cannot miss it either

 

[momof3disneyholics]

The Staybridge Suites is in a good location on I-drive. It seems to be very popular with the British Tourists. There is a I-Ride Trolley stop right outside and attractions like Titanic and Ripleys are very close too. They serve a hot breakfast and a bar inside the hotel. There is a concierge desk in the lobby that can assist you with ticket sales and travel planning. They have free internet access too. The website is http://www.orlandohotels.staybridge...te+international+drive|-|-9184687202445753213

 

[alisonbestford]

The Staybridge Suites is in a good location on I-drive. ]

A friend of mine stayed here, last year, and couldn't recommend it enough

 

[Soprano]

We stayed at Holiday Inn International last time and are doing so again. I prefer HI to Quality Inn International. Their pools are a little more lush.

I can understand why people say this area is a little "tacky". But we only use the hotel as its very central. Very close to Malls/shops, SeaWorld and Universal Studios is a short walk. LOTS of places to eat and a few bars close by. They are also one of the few hotels who offer free transportation to Disney, which was a great for us as we didn't have a car.

As we have 14 day unlimited Orlando Flex passes, we will be visiting US/IoA and SeaWorld a few times.

I doubt we will stay in the area again, as we want to be a bit more adverturous next time. This is the first time we are driving, so wanted a place which would suit us in the unlikely event driving became too difficult or daunting we could just use hotel and local transport.

We spend barely any time at hotels when on holiday, just a place to sleep and for storage!

 

[Deedee]

We have stayed at the quality inn plaza 6 times and are staying there again in sept. it has everything you need and has always been clean.

 

[daveyoghurt]

I'd recommend the Sheraton World Resort, though make sure you book a tower room. It is in a central location to the theme parks, pretty much exactly half way between Disney and Universal, and has a walkway to Seaworld. It's at the quieter southern end of the I-drive and has several restaurants over the road as well as on-site bars and pizza/deli. If you're not driving, the i-drive trolley stops right outside as do the Lynx buses. If you're lucky, your tower room will overlook the Seaworld firework display at night, or you'll get the view of the I-drive lit up at night. I preferred staying at the southern end to staying at the 'top' end of the drive as I feel that the top end is looking a little tired these days.

 

[maggs]

Homewood Suites for us! It is costing us £58 per night for a suite that sleeps four - kitchen, living room, breakfast buffet, evening managers reception with beer, wine and food. It is No2 in Tripadvisor at the moment and the reviews are amazing. Weve stayed there in 2004 and cant wait to go back!

Maggs

 

[micky]

Only stayed on I drive once at at Holiday Inn near Wet and Wild thur Virgin the hotel was OK but thats all.I must agree with a previous thread the south end is far better area.If you need to travel up and down I drive the trolley buses are cheap way to travel and most of the hotels lay on transport to disney etc.