Just stayed at Holiday Inn Family Suites

[Jingle]

We absolutely loved it there and would highly recommend it for people with kids, especially for people with more than two kids! Our kids are 10, 16 & 17. They all loved it there too. We had a kidsuite, with a queen bedroom and a kids bedroom with two single beds. I think the rooms were a bit smaller than I expected, at least the living room area, but we still thought it was a great deal and were very comfortable! My brother and his wife had a kidsuite with the kids themed room. Their 9 year old son also really loved that! My parents had a residential suite with the full kitchen. All of us would go back again.

We thought it was a great value for the $109 per night rate we had. The free breakfast buffet was certainly adequate and was set up well so there was not a lot of congestion. We also had two free adult dinner buffets each night, which we used the first night we were there. We were all very much able to find things on the buffet that we liked.

I also found the people who worked there to be very friendly and helpful!!! Their onsite security was also reassuring. My DD (16) met some other kids there and decided to sneak out after we went to bed. I found out about 2:30 in the morning. I ran into a security guard within twenty feet of our room and asked him if he had seen any kids around. I told him who I was looking for and why. He radioed to other security personnel and they had her found within minutes. She wasn't too happy about that but it was sure nice for me!

The drive to the Disney parks was also very quick and easy. I've stayed off 192 before and found the drive to Disney to be very slow and congested. Not so with this location! I had not planned on ever staying off Disney property again because we like to take mid day breaks, but with three kids and a budget, this worked out great.

 

[Robinrs]

Great review!

I'm still picturing your DD's face when security cornered her...

I, too, enjoyed the HIFS! My favorite part? The fact that I NEVER had to watch the same TV show as my son and my sister the whole time I was there! We stayed during a pretty bad cold snap in January 2001 and spent alot of time in the room. She had the living room, my son had the kid's room and I had the queen room. We relaxed and enjoyed our time without getting into each other's hair!

 

[Jingle]

That's the one thing that's great! There were three TV's, two vcr's and a nintento 64 in the room. With three kids, we were able to avoid conflicts about what to watch on TV. It was also nice that everyone could have there own space, at least compared to a regular hotel room. After driving almost 24 hours to get there, that was very helpful in maintaining our sanity.

The kids also loved the mini golf that was available. It wasn't a course that older kids and adults would go wild over, but the 9 and 10 year old we had with us really liked it. It was also nice because all of the equipment you needed was right there. You didn't have to go a long way or have a hassle getting equipment. It was easy and convenient for everyone. We are planning on going back next year.

We were also looking for a corkscrew one night for a bottle of wine we had. We couldn't find one for sale there, but someone found one for us and just gave it to us. They were very accomodating.

 

[missyb]

Is the cost savings worth staying off site?

Of course my three are younger than yours and just getting them in the car is a hassle.

 

[Jingle]

For us it was definitely worth staying offsite. We got to the parks just as fast, if not faster, than when we stayed at the All Stars last year and used the bus.

I would stay on site if I wanted to take advantage of an e-ride night or if transportation was an issue. If we had a group with only one car that all wanted to split up quite a bit then on site would be an advantage.

I will also stay on site some time in the future for a special occasion at a deluxe resort. I've always wanted to stay at the Polynesian, and someday I will. But, that's just not in the budget right now with three kids.

My kids also liked HIFS better than the All Stars. There was a lot more for them to do right at the resort.

 

[poohangel]

we are thinking of going last oct-first nov. 2003 and was trying to book this hotel, but when i tried it said no dates available. do you think that it is booked that far in advance or is it just too early to book?
I really wanted to get the sweetheart room for our anniversary trip. anniversary is in april but this is when we could go and thought it would be romantic.
any advice?

poohangel

 

[minivanmomof2]

Originally posted by poohangel
we are thinking of going last oct-first nov. 2003 and was trying to book this hotel, but when i tried it said no dates available. do you think that it is booked that far in advance or is it just too early to book?
I really wanted to get the sweetheart room for our anniversary trip. anniversary is in april but this is when we could go and thought it would be romantic.
any advice?

poohangel

Poohangel, we just booked our room (themed Kidsuite) for July, 2003. In searching the internet for "deals" (hotel discounts,etc) I found that it was definitely too far in advance (rack rates weren't in THEIR systems yet,etc) ....I booked directly through HIFS Reservations Line(1-877-387-5437). Plus if you should happen to come across any discounts/promotional codes between now and then(once you make your reservations that is) it makes it that much easier to make the necessary adjustments.
Hope this helps you,
Naomi

 

[minivanmomof2]

Originally posted by Jingle
We absolutely loved it there and would highly recommend it for people with kids, especially for people with more than two kids! Our kids are 10, 16 & 17. They all loved it there too. We had a kidsuite, with a queen bedroom and a kids bedroom with two single beds. I think the rooms were a bit smaller than I expected, at least the living room area, but we still thought it was a great deal and were very comfortable! My brother and his wife had a kidsuite with the kids themed room. Their 9 year old son also really loved that! My parents had a residential suite with the full kitchen. All of us would go back again.

We thought it was a great value for the $109 per night rate we had. The free breakfast buffet was certainly adequate and was set up well so there was not a lot of congestion. We also had two free adult dinner buffets each night, which we used the first night we were there. We were all very much able to find things on the buffet that we liked.

I also found the people who worked there to be very friendly and helpful!!! Their onsite security was also reassuring. My DD (16) met some other kids there and decided to sneak out after we went to bed. I found out about 2:30 in the morning. I ran into a security guard within twenty feet of our room and asked him if he had seen any kids around. I told him who I was looking for and why. He radioed to other security personnel and they had her found within minutes. She wasn't too happy about that but it was sure nice for me!

The drive to the Disney parks was also very quick and easy. I've stayed off 192 before and found the drive to Disney to be very slow and congested. Not so with this location! I had not planned on ever staying off Disney property again because we like to take mid day breaks, but with three kids and a budget, this worked out great.

We're booked there for July 2003; I enjoyed reading all of the wonderful feedback. Very reassuring.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post.
Naomi

 

[Jingle]

Did you try calling? I think I got a no dates available response one time when I was looking on-line and then after that we had three parties that got rooms with no problem. I would highly doubt they are booked that far in advance. We just made our reservations in May for the week starting June 8th.

I got a great tip on these boards for getting a the $109 rate. Prior to that the lowest I had found there was around $149. Although I don't know of any other deals than the Florida Play USA lottery ticket deal during the year 2002, I'm sure others may come up with some good deals.

I'm glad there are people who enjoyed my review! I had a great time writing it and will tell it to anyone who will even half way listen! We just had such a great time and I can't wait to go back. I keep looking at our pictures. We got some really nice shots of the courtyards by the pools at night. They have lots of lights that showed up great in the pictures.

There is also a walkway that we would take when going from our suite to the main building. It was just a short walk, but very pretty. There is a light display in the water. Some of the suites have a view of the water and the light display.

There are also two separate pool areas, one on each side of the main building. The pool areas are surrounded by the buildings with the suites. Some suites will have a pool area view and others a parking lot view.

One pool area is more geared towards kids, with a great zero depth entry pool with different kids activities. I think there was also a smaller kiddie pool over in the corner but I never went over and looked at it. There are also Ping Pong tables, shuffleboard, mini golf and two hot tubs. The other pool area is a large rectangular pool. There are also two hot tubs. I'm not sure what else was there because we only went in those hot tubs one night for a short time. I think both pool areas have little shops and a pool bar. Neither area seemed over crowded. Both areas also provide pool towels! They always had a great supply and you could just pick up how ever many you needed.

I'm a person who's real big on customer service. I hate it when I go to any kind of business and they act completely indifferent about whether or not they get my business. At HIFS, everyone we encountered from the time we checked in made us feel welcome and like we were really wanted there. I hope that all of you who stay there in the future have as great of an experience as we did!

 

[minivanmomof2]

Hi Jingle,
Actually, it was poohangel that got the "no dates available". We are all booked for Jule 14-23, 2003!
Our sons will be 5 1/2 and 9 when we go next year.
Glad to know we can get towels right in the pool area. I'm hoping that we can take advantage of all that HIFS has to offer. We intend to spend at LEAST one full day at the hotel especially seeing as how we're staying for 10 days/9 nights. I refuse to "run" EVERY day that we're there! Want to do things in moderation.
I am confident that we will be pleased with our decision to stay at HIFS!
Naomi

 

[MK Familystone]

Hi Jingle!
We were going to book a Wilderness Lodge Time share but the deal for HIFS was too good to pass-up, especially traveling to Seaworld and IOA.
I have gone to WDW RESORT 10 TIMES SINCE 1977
and never relaxed at the end of the day by staying in HIFS.

FYI: I have to thank one of the other members of this site for the tip of using International Drive to avoid the traffic on RTE.4 Late at night.
Just be careful when getting on RTE 535 off I.D.

If you didn't tour HIFS, next time, go walk around the top floor of the east phase of HIFS and take in the veiw The Swan-Dolphin,Epcot,Cirsus Solea, and the Disney Pleasure Island fireworks.
Only Hotel with a better veiw was Wyndham Palace which beats The Contemporary when watching fireworks on the 4th of July where you can see all Disney, Seaworld and Univeral plus all the Local Towns,WOOW!

 

[tink2dw]

Jingle! What themes did your rooms have??
We had a Bunkbed Kidsuite with Disney theme it was so whimsical,it still makes me smile! We loved HIFS and will stay there again!! Dh just turned 50 so we are eligable for the $89. Senior Saver rate!

Then we moved to All Stars Music what a disappointment!! The only themeing was a really glaring Star Shaped wall lite. Pluss we had the nightmare room,everything went wrong! We didn't get any Disney soap for 4 days,even the dispenser in the shower was broken,luckly I had packed a travel size bar of soap[Dh is allergic to the cheap soap some hotels use.] The worst 2 things IMHO was 1.When we checked in the carpets were Soaking wet,they had Just shampooed,but we couldn't put the luggage on the floor,the only place to put it was over the closet shelf!!
2. Wierdest thing was the MEN all over the bathroom wallpaper,one had this pop eye that stared at you even in the shower!! It was just too spooky!!

 

[Jingle]

We didn't have a themed kidsuite. The themed kidsuites have a King Size bed in the adult room, and bunkbeds and a trundle bed in the themed kids room. We didn't get that because the beds are smaller than regular single beds. Since we had a 17 year old that would be sleeping in one of the beds, we had to go with the non-themed rooms. In those suites, the adult room is a Queen instead of King Size bed, and the kids room is just a bit larger with the regular single size beds. Just like with the themed kids bedroom, we had three tv's, two vcr's and a ninetndo 64.

 

[tink2dw]

jingle did the teens bring their own nintendo 64 games from home?? or rent??

 

[Jingle]

Both. They brought a couple from home and then also rented a couple. I think the rental is a little expensive, $5 per night per game. Although, when you compare that to some places, it's not that much.