Just booked Courtyard Marriott at DD for the $20.03 rate. How are the rooms?

[luckytso]

Thanks to this board, I just booked 2 nights for 8/31 and 9/1. I was told that we will get a room with 2 double beds. King bed rooms are not available for this rate.

How are the rooms? Has this hotel been renovated recently and is there any recommendation for location of the room?

Thanks

 

[Leigh123]

Wow, can you tell me how you got this rate?

 

[dturner]

Is this hotel the old Howard Johnson's right inbetween the Hotel Royal Plaza and the Hilton? I stayed there back in the 80's, has it been refurbished since then, I guess so if Marriott owns it now. Has anyone stayed here recently? Let me know how the rooms are? Great rate, hard to pass up.

Thanks all.

 

[pixiedust519]

I stayed there last August with the same rate you got. The hotel was very nice. It seems to have been refurbished not too long ago. We stayed in the main tower (there are also side buildings attached) and would recommend the tower building. The lobby area has a small sitting area and a Pizza Hut express with some other food items as well. I think it also had a TCBY. They have their own bus system instead of the Disney buses and it's very easy to use. They will give you a listing of the bus times when you check-in. The rooms are very spacious. We stayed in a room with 2 doubles and had LOTS of room. The bathroom is very nice because it has two sinks. There is one sink in the bathroom area and also another one outside of the bathroom that other people could use if someone was taking a shower. If you don't mind walking, you could walk to Downtown Disney. It would probably take about 10 minutes to get there.

If you would like to see some photos of the room, I have downloaded some from our vacation. I have tried numerous times to post them here or somewhere else on the web but it's not working... I have them posted on the website Ofoto so I can have them e-mailed to you if you want to see what the rooms look like. I have 4 different photos from different angles.

Hope this helps!! If you have any other questions, I hope I can help.

Alyssa

 

[luckytso]

Alyssa,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately the web pages are not available. I will try them later again.

It is an incredible rate, we were going to stay at Disney's Beach Club Villa, but for $20 it just seems too good to pass

 

[nowellsl]

I know what you mean about the rate. I had reservations in Sept. for 3 nights with a free certificate (could be used anytime), I switched those to the 20.03 rate and switched from CBR in May to the Courtyard at Marriott using the free certificate. Now my trip in May is free (we have AP's) except for food etc. We are disappointed to miss out on the CBR but hey, for free - we'll deal with it!! Maybe we'll ride the bus over there and eat at the food court !? Can you do that?

 

[luckytso]

Free - that is a better deal. I would do what you did, I want to say in a heartbeat, but it is not that easy for me still. I am becoming a Disney snob that after we stayed at DD Hilton in Feb. for 2 nights, I said to my hubby that I will never stay offsite, I would rather go to All Star than staying offsite.

Well, this deal came out and I guess I am not that determined, I have to book it because I can't justify the cost difference.

 

[Denman]

I'm with you on the great deal. It was definitely too good to pass up. I just spent $111.70 for 5 nights! Since we usually spend the entire day at the park anyway, I'm hoping we don't miss staying on-site too much. This frees up some money to spend on other things (like maybe a few nights at a deluxe -- what can I say, I'm a Disney snob too!)

 

[Leigh123]

Can someone please tell me how to get this rate?

 

[luckytso]

You can just call DD Courtyard Marriott at

800-223-9930

and ask them to book the room at this rate.

Good luck!!!

 

[eeyore0062]

We stayed there last August for the $20.02 rate. It was so fantastic, and we were SO impressed, we extended our stay an extra night! The employees were wonderful. In the afternoons between 4-6 they have a managers party in the Tipsy Parrot Lounge in the main lobby. The serve free beer, wine and sodas, and have snacks available, too. There is the Marriot mascot there (the Tipsy Parrot) to entertain the kids. The lobby is very nice, and the elevators are glass, and really cool. There are 2 heated pools, a kiddie pool and a playground. We had a 7th floor room and from the balcony you could see the Epcot fireworks, as well as Downtown Disney.

I have stayed onsite and off. This is more like staying onsite... the quality was right up there with Disney. We had absolutely NO complaints. The rooms are large, clean and kept immaculately. I don't think you would be at all disappointed!

 

[Trena]

Luckytso--

We stayed last September for the $20.02 rate and got a King bed with a sofa! It was poolside so we could just walk right out of our back door to the pool. I called today and reserved 4 nights for this September and requested the same type of room. She said she couldn't promise that is what we'd get, but she would note our preference.

Our room was very nice! Its a great place to stay.

Trena

 

[allshookup]

I don't want to burst anybody's bubble or anything, but I do think you should hear both sides of the coin before you actually stay there. I too am a Disney snob, but we stayed at CBM last Aug. at the 20.02 and cancelled our reservation at POR. I thought for 20.02 it will be well worth the inconvenience of not staying at a Disney hotel. I absolutely agree that for such a low rate, the hotel is just fine. I loved the manager's reception every afternoon with free beer & wine, the pools were nice and the rooms were clean. My only real disappointments were the tower room balconies were enclosed so you can only enjoy the view by standing up and we were not impressed with the bus transportation. The buses drop you off and pick you up far from the park entrances and the schedules are not always dependable. We sometimes waited up to an hour after park closing because the lines were so long and the one bus they would send filled up so fast. These things may not matter to those that don't rely on bus transportation anyway nor to those that have no intention of sitting on their balconies at night enjoying the view, but these minor inconveniences were enough to make DH and I agree that we would rather pay the higher prices and only stay at a Disney Hotel from now on.

 

[pomcoach]

Most people mentioned Aug. or Sept. was when they stayed. If we wanted to go in Dec. 2003, would it be available then, do you think? Or are there only certain months to receive this great rate? Is there a website that explains this super offer? Thanks guys! This sounds great!
Pomcoach

 

[Bottlejet]

Originally posted by allshookup
I don't want to burst anybody's bubble or anything, but I do think you should hear both sides of the coin before you actually stay there. I too am a Disney snob, but we stayed at CBM last Aug. at the 20.02 and cancelled our reservation at POR. I thought for 20.02 it will be well worth the inconvenience of not staying at a Disney hotel. I absolutely agree that for such a low rate, the hotel is just fine. I loved the manager's reception every afternoon with free beer & wine, the pools were nice and the rooms were clean. My only real disappointments were the tower room balconies were enclosed so you can only enjoy the view by standing up and we were not impressed with the bus transportation. The buses drop you off and pick you up far from the park entrances and the schedules are not always dependable. We sometimes waited up to an hour after park closing because the lines were so long and the one bus they would send filled up so fast. These things may not matter to those that don't rely on bus transportation anyway nor to those that have no intention of sitting on their balconies at night enjoying the view, but these minor inconveniences were enough to make DH and I agree that we would rather pay the higher prices and only stay at a Disney Hotel from now on.

Ditto. All of the "Hotel Row" resorts suffer the same problems. If you are on a very tight budget and willing to put up with all the major inconvenience, then go into it whole hog!

 

[Trena]

I was told that the special was from Aug 10 to Oct 2. (No Fridays or Saturdays) This is a slower time, school has just started, summer is over.

You could ask them for that rate in Dec, let us know if you get it. I don't think they advertise this deal anywhere. It just gets passed around. You have to ask for it when you call, they don't seem to volunteer the info either.

The have done this for 2 or 3 years that I know of.

Trena

 

[higgin704]

Originally posted by pomcoach
Most people mentioned Aug. or Sept. was when they stayed. If we wanted to go in Dec. 2003, would it be available then, do you think? Or are there only certain months to receive this great rate? Is there a website that explains this super offer? Thanks guys! This sounds great!
Pomcoach

We got it for $29 in December 2002.

 

[We4mickey]

I just printed out my confirmation info and when I clicked on the room description it does say this is a newly renovated room. Hope it really is. Who cares, I'm going to DISNEY cheap!

 

[ticketwm35]

Hi we have a reservation at all stars sports and now thinking of changing it.I'm so scared that I won't be happy at courtyard.We love the transpotation from the sports.Is the transportation from courtyard ok or will we wait a long time. We are going August 10.My sil already reserved at the courtyard and we are at the sports hubby thinks we should all be together what should I do?

 

[nowellsl]

I know how you feel. We just switched from CBR to Marriott in May. We've never stayed off site. I think if the transportation at the hotel is bad, we'll walk to DD and go from there. I don't think it will be a problem. I'll have a car there but I prefer to use buses when possible. I think we'll have just as much fun and we'll be saving tons of money!!!!