Hotels in Orlando

[mikemouse]

Hi I am going for the first time with my wife at the end of September

I am thinking of the following budget hotels

Holiday INN
Quality Inn
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel & Suites - 2* in Orlando
Days Inn Maingate To Universal - 2* in Orlando
best western

does anyone have any specific recommendations or is it pretty much standard and the same with them all

Also when travelling to the parks are there regular shuttles either free or ones you pay and do they leave early enough if you want to get to the parks early?

 

[AlexE]

Hi

Can recommend the Comfort Inn in Lake Buena Vista - stayed there a few years ago. they have a free shuttle and have recently been refurbished. It is also convenient to walk to Downtown Disney from there as well.

Have heard on these boards that any of the Days Inn hotels do not come recommended.

Good luck and have a great time.

AlexE

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

We are going in 3 weeks and are staying at the Quality Inn International - we have never stayed there before but friends of ours have. It is comfortable, with a fridge and microwave.

Most hotels are more or less the same it just depends on where you want to be located. The Quality Inn in right in the middle of I Drive so its perfect. We are also travelling with Virgin and its one of their flagship hotels - so there cannot be anything wrong with it.

In fact we have also booked to go in Sept next year and we are staying the same hotel.

Have fun.

 

[Goofyish]

I've stayed at both the Best Western Plaza and the Quality Inn Plaza. Both are basic hotels, but are clean and the rooms are fairly large. I would say out of the two I prefer the Best Western.

Both hotel are in great positions on the southern end of IDrive and are within easy walking of a number of good eateries

At both hotels I think they do larger 'suite' type rooms with small kitchens for only a few more dollars a night.

The Best Western has free shuttles to WDW.

 

[mikemouse]

I am thinking of staying at travelodge near universal and seaworld on the north of int drive

There are so many hotels- is it better to stay near disney or in the middle of i drive or at the top near sea world etc- does it really matter if there are shuttles etc that take you to disney

what is the best way to get to and from parks- is it this i trolley thing?

 

[DisneyBB]

I think the trolley just takes you up and down I.D. If you don't have a car then the free shuttles are really worth it. It can cost quite a bit to get to the parks if you don't have the shuttles. We are staying at the Fairfield by Marriott for a few nights (near universal) in a suite for only £36 a night. This is through Virgin Holidays with 10% off. It has a mini kitchen two telly's etc. The hotel offers free shuttle to U.S. and Seaworld. Also you get free breakfast every morning. I think the cost of a standard room was £27 with the 10% off. We have stayed a long time ago at the QIP and it was clean basic hotel.

 

[Charlotte D]

Hi I can also recommend the Quality Inn plaza or the Comfort inn lake buena vista as good budget hotel which excellent facilities. In a couple of days I'm staying at the holiday inn nikki bird with my family which i have heard a lot of mixed reviews about good and bad it will be a case of just wait and see when we get there if we get there due to hurricane.

 

[tyke]

mikemouse

Universal Studios is located at the northern end of I-drive - however Seaworld is located at the southern end - personally I prefer the section of I-drive south of sand lake road down to the convention centre - this area has a much nicer feel to it than the area up near Wet n Wild - with a better selection of restuarants and also has the visitor attractions such as the Mercardo and Pointe Orlando.

I-drive is a great option if you are not hiring a car because there are loads of restaurants/shops etc in walking distance and the I-ride trolly runs at regular intervals from 8:00am to 10:30 pm every day - the trolley route spans all the way from the Premium Outlets shopping village via Seaworld and up past Festival Bay and Belz factory outlet world.

You can check out the I-Ride here.

As you say there is a massive selection of hotels in the Orlando area to choose from - once you have identified a few hotels for consideration check out Tripadvisor which is a great site for independent reviews.

One hotel I can recommend is is the Wyndham Orlando Resort - we have stayed here a couple of times and also got married there last year - the resort is set amongst lush gardens and tropical lagoons and the facilities are fantastic - although while not necessarily classed as a budget hotel you can get some great deals - I think we payed around £45 per night for a lagoon side room.

tyke

 

[maureen4200040]

Hi,

We stayed at the Quality Inn International in 2001, apart from giving us a awful room upon arrival (which we got them to change straight away) everything was quite good. There are
2 swimming pools, an all you can eat resturant serving breakfast and evening meals. On site there is also a cafe/mini supermarket, a pub, and games room for the kids, plus laundry facilities.

The I-Trolley & Lynx bus service stop are outside the hotel, a shuttle bus to disney is an extra cost which you can book with the hotel. Your on the doorstep to all the resturants and shops on International drive, and you never have to walk or bus too far get to any of them.

My advised is to check out the comments on your hotel list with Trip advisor, you will get honest opinions from people who have travelled to your hotels recently.


Maureen4200040

 

[florry]

DS 19 and his girlfiend are staying at Travelodge maingate east on US 192. due back this saturday 11th September.
We arrived home yesterday from Animal Kingdom Lodge having been delayed due to Hurricane.

Their room is very basic, not very clean and extremely tatty. The hotel itself is very tatty despite being told by Direct Holidays that this hotel had just undergone refurbishment.

They should have included breakfast, however, breakfast so far has not been anything more than a danish pastry and a cold drink. If you want anything else you have to pay for it (hardly a 'breakfast included' package).
Transport to all the parks is also included however, the first coach out in the mornings is usually at 11.20 so half the day gone !

However, they only paid £320.00 each as a last min deal so you can't complain. They are quite happy, we got them a cooler box to keep the beer in ! but unfortunately they have to buy the ice because the hotel ice machine does'nt work !

 

[rhysd2]

I stayed at the wyndham orlando last time i was out in FL in '02. the grounds were great. the gardens, pools, facilites were amazing, the rooms.... well..... they werent to great.

supposedly its considered one of the more upmarket hotels on I-Drive and is something of around a 4 star rating. this was reflected in the appearance of the hotel and the grounds. however the rooms were very very basic. a tiny fridge. no living space, just beds and a bathroom really. the only good point was the tv which was large.

sure the rooms looked nice and were clean but they were basic. also the walls are PAPER thin. even if the people next door have the tv on regular levels or are just talking you can hear it. doesnt give a good illusion of privacy and if they come home late from drinking or what ever good luck getting sleep.

when i came to book this year i was willing to give the wyndham another go because i was going at a quieter time of year. When i got talking to the guy on the end of the phone at travel city he expressed he didnt like thw wyndham due to paper thin walls and basic rooms(i hadnt commented at all on this by this point) i agreed and he then recommended Crowne Plaza Universal . seems a bunch of them had been sent to there on a company trip so they could advise people booking better and he said the rooms are amazing. great views too. its literally just a few hundred metres down the road from the wyndham(sandlake road) as well so you are well situated for universal and I-Drive.

i havent stayed there yet but i've read various reviews and stuff on the web and im very excited about the place. not to mention its a full 4 star hotel and was Cheaper! than the wyndham.