Is Floridays Resort Worth It?

[Eaglefan9727]

Hi there -

My wife and I are in the planning stages of going to Orlando which will be our first visit to Orlando. It will be for our 5th anniversary and the dates that we will be down there will be October 16th through October 28th.

Here is the issue. I was hoping to stay at about $1500 for the hotel, flight, and car rental package, But when my wife saw how nice the Floridays Resort looks on the website. She is really interested in getting that hotel, But with that hotel. The total package would be $2000.

From the reviews that we have read online. It seems like it is a great hotel, But I would like to hear from some fellow members of this forum to insure me that it would be worth spending the extra $500 on the package. The one thing that I like about the hotel is that I can smoke on the patio/balcony of our room unlike many other hotels that I cant, So it has a advantage when it comes to that.

I would also like to know how good their shuttle transportation to and from the parks and if there are many restaurants in the area of the hotel.

If you have stayed at the Floridays Resort, Please let me know what you thought of it and if you would recommend the hotel.

Of course, If my wife and I could afford it. We would stay at the Animal Kingdom Disney Resort, But that package is $3200 for the both of us.

Thanks in advance.

 

[4kids4karen]

I have never stayed there, but a few of my friends have and highly recommend this hotel.

Are you paying the rack rate for the room? I would call and inquire about discounts. Also sign up for their newsletter as they may run a promo with a discount. If your wife feels like it is a nice hotel and you can afford it, I would say it is an excellent idea to stay with this hotel. If you convince her to move to a less expensive hotel and she doesn't like the new hotel when you arrive, it could just put a damper on your trip.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

I have never stayed there, but a few of my friends have and highly recommend this hotel.

Are you paying the rack rate for the room? I would call and inquire about discounts. Also sign up for their newsletter as they may run a promo with a discount. If your wife feels like it is a nice hotel and you can afford it, I would say it is an excellent idea to stay with this hotel. If you convince her to move to a less expensive hotel and she doesn't like the new hotel when you arrive, it could just put a damper on your trip.

I am not sure what the rack rate means, But we will be booking the airfare, hotel, and car rental through either Travelocity or Expedia on this hotel or any other hotel we decide on. It is just her and I with no kids involved as we have none. We are just looking for a nice hotel for 2 adults that we can enjoy and looking to spend about $1500 on the total package (Hotel, airfare, and car rental).

However, The hotel cant be a 100 percent smoke free property. It has to have a designated smoking area(s), fridge, swimming pool(s) with Jacuzzi in the pool area, close to restaurants, and shuttle service to the parks.

The parks we are planning to visit are as follows:
Disney - Magic Kingdom (We will be using rental car to get to this park)
Disney - Animal Kingdom
Disney - Hollywood Studios
Disney - Epcot
Islands Of Adventure
Busch Gardens Tampa (We will be using rental car to get to this park)
Sea World
Dolphin Cove (We will be using rental car to get to this park)
Aquatica

We have no interest in Universal Studios at all as there is really nothing there we want to see and do there.

Thanks for the response

 

[coastgirl]

"Rack rate" just means the "default" rate, usually the most expensive rate a hotel offers. (You know, the rate they print on the card on the back of the door...) So, yeah, call and ask for discounts, try AAA, do some searching for "Floridays discounts" or something on google. I agree with the above poster, I think they do have a newsletter, and you have time...

We stayed there with kids, and didn't love it, but we had just come from a house with even more space. We always have a car and enjoy eating some meals in our own kitchen--so a completely different viewpoint, and probably irrelevant to you. It was clean, well-maintained, well-laid out. I found it kind of dark, heavy wood bedroom furniture, that kind of thing, but I think the décor was just more "grown up" than I'm used to these days. If it had been just the two of us, I probably would've loved it. You have a nice long time away, so I would definitely recommend something with a bit more space than a regular hotel room. After a week that gets old.

Have fun, sounds like a nice plan for an anniversary, with lots to do but time to relax.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

"Rack rate" just means the "default" rate, usually the most expensive rate a hotel offers. (You know, the rate they print on the card on the back of the door...) So, yeah, call and ask for discounts, try AAA, do some searching for "Floridays discounts" or something on google. I agree with the above poster, I think they do have a newsletter, and you have time...

We stayed there with kids, and didn't love it, but we had just come from a house with even more space. We always have a car and enjoy eating some meals in our own kitchen--so a completely different viewpoint, and probably irrelevant to you. It was clean, well-maintained, well-laid out. I found it kind of dark, heavy wood bedroom furniture, that kind of thing, but I think the décor was just more "grown up" than I'm used to these days. If it had been just the two of us, I probably would've loved it. You have a nice long time away, so I would definitely recommend something with a bit more space than a regular hotel room. After a week that gets old.

Have fun, sounds like a nice plan for an anniversary, with lots to do but time to relax.

Most of the time, We will be out of the room as we will be at the parks and in the evening. We will be going out to dinner on some nights and on other nights. We will spending most of our time at the pools.

We are just looking for a nice clean place and not a run down place with enough space and a place where we can cook maybe 1 or 2 nights while we are down there.

Like I said, This will be our first trip to Orlando and we will most likely not get down to Orlando until the 10th anniversary, So we want to have something memorable.

I would like to hear some more opinions, So if anyone wants to chime in. Please feel free and do so. Next weekend is when we will be booking the vacation.

Thanks....

 

[Upatnoon]

Hi there -

My wife and I are in the planning stages of going to Orlando which will be our first visit to Orlando. It will be for our 5th anniversary and the dates that we will be down there will be October 16th through October 28th.

Here is the issue. I was hoping to stay at about $1500 for the hotel, flight, and car rental package, But when my wife saw how nice the Floridays Resort looks on the website. She is really interested in getting that hotel, But with that hotel. The total package would be $2000.

From the reviews that we have read online. It seems like it is a great hotel, But I would like to hear from some fellow members of this forum to insure me that it would be worth spending the extra $500 on the package. The one thing that I like about the hotel is that I can smoke on the patio/balcony of our room unlike many other hotels that I cant, So it has a advantage when it comes to that.

I would also like to know how good their shuttle transportation to and from the parks and if there are many restaurants in the area of the hotel.

If you have stayed at the Floridays Resort, Please let me know what you thought of it and if you would recommend the hotel.

Of course, If my wife and I could afford it. We would stay at the Animal Kingdom Disney Resort, But that package is $3200 for the both of us.

Thanks in advance.

$500 more than what other resort? Floridays Resort gets high marks on tripadvisor, but there are a ton of great resorts in Orlando, so I would not get hung up on it.

The resort has a nice central location, there is no way I would stay there unless I had a rental car for the entire trip.

Also, the list of parks you gave seems way too ambitious for the length of your stay. I would suggest just doing the disney parks this trip and the non-disney parks on another trip. This would also save you a ton of money.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

$500 more than what other resort? Floridays Resort gets high marks on tripadvisor, but there are a ton of great resorts in Orlando, so I would not get hung up on it.

The resort has a nice central location, there is no way I would stay there unless I had a rental car for the entire trip.

Also, the list of parks you gave seems way too ambitious for the length of your stay. I would suggest just doing the disney parks this trip and the non-disney parks on another trip. This would also save you a ton of money.

These were the first hotels/resorts we looked at when we started looking.

The Flordian
Champions World Resort
Quality Suites Universal Central
Celebration Suites At Old Town

As for the rental car. We will have the rental car for the whole trip.

As for the list of parks. We have 11 full days in Orlando with 9 amusement parks. We are considering that "Aquatica" and "Discovery Cove" days are relaxing days. The remaining 2 days, We will most likely end up going to some beach one day and the other day. Who knows?

As for your suggestion of skipping non Disney Parks. That is not a option as who knows when it will be when my wife and I will get down there again. It could be in 5 years or it could be never......

Anyways, Here are the following requirements for our hotel and they are as follows:

1) Clean and safe hotel
2) Shuttle service to and from the park
3) Atleast a mini fridge in the hotel/resort room
4) Swimming pool and Jacuzzi (Prefer a hotel/resort with atleast 2 of them).
5) Designated smoking areas on property (Prefer able to smoke on balcony or patio)
6) A hotel that we can find on Expedia, Travelocity, or one of those type of sites that gives us "hotel, car rental, and airfare" package from Boston, Ma to Orlando for those dates mention above

 

[zilp]

We stayed there about 5 years ago. We had a two bedroom and it was lovely. I like the upgraded amenities in the room- full kitchen, granite countertops, attractive decor, great main pool (the "adult" pool in the back was always quiet, which was nice too). If you get a good package deal that is comfortable in price for you, then I would stay there.

As other PP mentioned, there are similar resorts (WBC to name one) where you can get similar accommodations for less money, but you would have to book those separately. I guess I am like your wife, having an attractive and updated place to stay is important to me. Since it is for an anniversary and you might not go back to Orlando for a while, I would say it's worth it. But only you can truly decide if that is worth the extra $.

We had a rental car, so I cannot comment on the shuttle. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

We stayed there about 5 years ago. We had a two bedroom and it was lovely. I like the upgraded amenities in the room- full kitchen, granite countertops, attractive decor, great main pool (the "adult" pool in the back was always quiet, which was nice too). If you get a good package deal that is comfortable in price for you, then I would stay there.

As other PP mentioned, there are similar resorts (WBC to name one) where you can get similar accommodations for less money, but you would have to book those separately. I guess I am like your wife, having an attractive and updated place to stay is important to me. Since it is for an anniversary and you might not go back to Orlando for a while, I would say it's worth it. But only you can truly decide if that is worth the extra $.

We had a rental car, so I cannot comment on the shuttle. Good luck with your choice.

Can you tell me what WBC is? So we can look into it....Thanks in advance

If WBC means Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. It is a non smoking resort from what I read on their site.

 

[kmb584]

Can you tell me what WBC is? So we can look into it....Thanks in advance

If WBC means Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. It is a non smoking resort from what I read on their site.

You can smoke on the balconies of WBC. All resorts are now considered to be smoke free but all have designated smoking areas.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

You can smoke on the balconies of WBC. All resorts are now considered to be smoke free but all have designated smoking areas.

Most of the websites of the resorts that I have looked have stated that it is a 100 percent free smoking resort. Most of them don't mention of the designated smoking areas on their sites. Also, Am I correct on WBC being Wyndham Bonnet Creek?

 

[zilp]

Can you tell me what WBC is? So we can look into it....Thanks in advance

If WBC means Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. It is a non smoking resort from what I read on their site.

Yes, I meant Wyndham Bonnet Creek Sorry for the confusion.

You can always contact the resort directly about their smoking policy.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

Yes, I meant Wyndham Bonnet Creek Sorry for the confusion.

You can always contact the resort directly about their smoking policy.

No problem with the confusion. I will most likely call them tomorrow and ask them as smoking on the balcony would be great for me. This way, I wouldn't have to leave the room at all.

 

[Bribrittmom]

We just stayed in a three bedroom unit at Wyndham Bonnet creek and can confirm that you can smoke on the balcony. My sister in law did and there was even an ash tray on the balcony table. It's a great resort.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

We just stayed in a three bedroom unit at Wyndham Bonnet creek and can confirm that you can smoke on the balcony. My sister in law did and there was even an ash tray on the balcony table. It's a great resort.

Thanks, But from the Expedia site. Bonnet Creek is almost $900 more for the package than Floridays is.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thanks, But from the Expedia site. Bonnet Creek is almost $900 more for the package than Floridays is.

No one books WBC from a site like Expedia....you book directly with owners like Vacation Upgrades. On Expedia or on the Wyndham site the price per night would be around $300 but with an owner you will get it for around $120 per night for a 2 bedroom. A one bedroom would cost a little bit less. Read the 'we loooooove bonnet creek' thread you will find a lot of information including owners to book with.

I can also confirm that smoking is allowed on the balcony including an ashtray on the table.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I just wanted to add....

You do realize that Floridays along with WBC are timeshare resorts....not hotels. You will have a condo type accommodation with no housekeeping services.

The other properties on your list are all hotels and can not even compare with these 2 timeshares.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

No one books WBC from a site like Expedia....you book directly with owners like Vacation Upgrades. On Expedia or on the Wyndham site the price per night would be around $300 but with an owner you will get it for around $120 per night for a 2 bedroom. A one bedroom would cost a little bit less. Read the 'we loooooove bonnet creek' thread you will find a lot of information including owners to book with.

I can also confirm that smoking is allowed on the balcony including an ashtray on the table.

Does vacation upgrades do packages like airfare, hotel, and car rental? My wife and I don't want to do airfare, hotel, and car rental each by themselves.

I just wanted to add....

You do realize that Floridays along with WBC are timeshare resorts....not hotels. You will have a condo type accommodation with no housekeeping services.

The other properties on your list are all hotels and can not even compare with these 2 timeshares.

Yes I know Floridays and WBC are timeshare properties.

 

[Upatnoon]

Does vacation upgrades do packages like airfare, hotel, and car rental? My wife and I don't want to do airfare, hotel, and car rental each by themselves.



Yes I know Floridays and WBC are timeshare properties.

Booking Wyndham Bonnet Creek would require booking each item on its own, not doing a package.

I would not book a package though Expedia or Travelocity unless as a last resort. I use those services to find fares and rate, then book directly through the airline, hotel and rental car agency I want to use. It seems like more work, and it may be, but if anything goes wrong with your trip, or you have a change of plans, you will be glad you didn't do the package.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Does vacation upgrades do packages like airfare, hotel, and car rental? My wife and I don't want to do airfare, hotel, and car rental each by themselves.

.

No, they are not a travel company or travel agent...Vacation Upgrades is a husband and wife that are VIP owners at WBC. They rent out their extra points and are VERY reputable. There are many different people/companies around that rent timeshares. I just rented 2 weeks at the Marriott Grand Vista from a seller on Ebay.

I totally agree with the PP about booking your components individually. If you book with Expedia, for example, you have no control over your reservations.