Just back from DTD Hilton

[valleygirl]

We just returned from a quick trip to WDW. We decided to extend our trip for a day and spent the extra day at DTD Hilton. The hotel was great! Here's part of the trip report I'm posting on the trip report board that relates to the day spent at the Hilton.

In our school district it’s a tradition that the 8th grade travels to Washington DC at the end of the year to celebrate the end of elementary school and to tie into their American History curriculum. Since the school is K through 8, it’s something the kids look forward to for many years. This year it was our daughter’s turn to make the trek to DC. Since it’s been about 10 years since DH and I have been on vacation without children, we decided it was time for us to get away too and what better place to go than to the sunshine state!

I guess this is a good place to introduce ourselves!

I’m Maura and DH is George. We’re both 40 something (although DH only has 8 months left before the big 5-0!) We’ve been together for over 20 years and have 2 great kids, John who’s 23 and Samantha who’s 14.

We decided that we would begin our vacation by visiting DH’s father in St. Augustine and then head to Coronado Springs Resort on June 2nd. We left from TF Green on Thursday, May 28th and flew Southwest to Orlando. We rented a car through National’s executive aisle, picked a Mazda 3 and were on our way to St. Augustine without any problems. Although the plan was to stay in St. Augustine until Tuesday, after spending some time with family, shopping on St. George Street and relaxing on the beach our happy place was calling so we decided to head to Orlando on Monday, June 1st. I went onto Priceline to see what we could get for the night of June 1st and got the Hilton at Downtown Disney for $60.
We left St. Augustine at 9:00 am on Monday and arrived at the Hilton just before 11:00 am. We upgraded to a club level king room for an additional $50 and our room was ready right away.

Here's the view from our room

After settling in we decided to head over to DTD to explore and have lunch at one of our favorite places, Earl of Sandwich. The Hilton is a 5-minute walk to DTD. Here's a picture from the grounds of the Hilton to show how close DTD is.

Yay!! We’ve arrived at Earl of Sandwich!!

Went in looking forward to my favorite, beef & bleu, but, to my dismay, it was no longer on the menu. Oh well, I ordered the original

DH ordered the jerk chicken

Both sandwiches were great!

We then ventured forward

I stopped to pose with a princess

and hubby posed with a plastic family

We made our way through the marketplace and over to Characters in Flight, the balloon ride in DTD.

DH really wanted to try it so off we went! The balloon goes up 400 feet. For reference the Planet Hollywood revolving globe is 100 feet high.

After our flight we decided to head back to the Hilton and relax by the pool. The pool was fabulous and the lounge chairs were so comfortable with padded cushions. The pool bar made yummy frozen mudslides! What an awesome afternoon!

After a relaxing afternoon we headed to the club lounge and enjoyed potstickers, spring rolls, veggie crudites and cheese with a glass of wine.

The Hilton Hotel, grounds and room were beautiful. DH and I both agree that we will return to this hotel in the future.

Up next - we're off to CSR!!

 

[dougsmom98]

Thanks for the pictures and the review!

 

[Havana]

What a nice review! We stayed here before, It is a great hotel, and Location!

 

[SereneOne]

Thank you so much!

Looks like you had a great time!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I'll have to stay there sometime.

 

[Lorix2]

thanks for the pictures and review. I never would have thought to stay around the DTD area. This place looks great. Can anyone estimate the travel time to Typhoon Lagoon by car?

 

[StuckInKS]

Great report! We got the same awesome rate in May (although ours was a little more once tax/fees were included) and would be staying there again in Sept if it wasn't for free dining (I'm sure POP or ASSports isn't going to be as good, but hopefully better for the kids, plus you can't beat free dining!) Was the $50 to upgrade a per night rate or total?

 

[valleygirl]

Thanks for the pictures and the review!

What a nice review! We stayed here before, It is a great hotel, and Location!

Thank you so much!
Looks like you had a great time!

I'll have to stay there sometime.

Thanks for reading my review. Although it was only a one night stay we very much enjoyed the resort.

thanks for the pictures and review. I never would have thought to stay around the DTD area. This place looks great. Can anyone estimate the travel time to Typhoon Lagoon by car?

Typhoon Lagoon is no more than a 5 minute drive from the Hilton. Leave the Hilton and head toward DTD, bearing left at the lights. Typhoon Lagoon is on this road just a short distance past the movie theater and Cirque.

Great report! We got the same awesome rate in May (although ours was a little more once tax/fees were included) and would be staying there again in Sept if it wasn't for free dining (I'm sure POP or ASSports isn't going to be as good, but hopefully better for the kids, plus you can't beat free dining!) Was the $50 to upgrade a per night rate or total?

The rate I quoted didn't include tax and fees either, just what we bid on priceline. Our first bid was accepted so we may have been able to get it for less. I think the $50 upgrade was per night, as we only stayed one night. I think the upgrade was worth it for our one night stay as it was only DH and I and the king room was something we really wanted. The lounge served breakfast which consisted of oatmeal, pastries, muffins, toast, cereal, fruit, juice & coffee. Snacks during the day were cookies, pretzels and fruit. The evening we were there they served potstickers, egg rolls, cheese, fruits and vegetables. Not sure if it would be worth the upgrade fee for a longer stay but it made our stay more comfortable.