JW Marriott..Have you ever stayed there? Please Share experience!

[DWDude]

We are doing a split stay between BC and JW Marriott this December.
The first 5 days of our trip, we will stay at the BC and hit every park.
We will then leave for the JW for 3 nights and go to the parks at a slower pace and try to enjoy the hotel.

Have you ever stayed at the JW?
How was the hotel? food? etc?
How hard was it to get to the parks? (we plan on renting a car)

Thanks!

 

[Straitlover]

I believe it's off John Young Parkway. I know I passed it when i was heading to the Massage Envy at Hunter Creek. If so, then you can jsut go straight down John Young to Osceola Parkway and take a right. However, I think you have a small toll that way, so you could turn right on Central Florida parkway (think that's the right name) and take a left on International (Sea World entrance is across the street) and go down to Osceola Parkway. You pass the Mariott Grande Vista on International that way (where I stayed for one night that trip).

I'd plan on at least 30 minutes to get to any WDW park. It's a super nice hotel, though, so it might be worth the trek.

 

[papertraveller]

Hi,
As much as we love staying onsite, the JW is our next best place to stay. I'm in love with this hotel. The lobby is spectacular, the restaurant on the lower level (Citron) is simply lovely, with great buffets at breakfast and likely through the holiday season. And the lazy river -- heaven!

That said, like most Marriotts it's also large. The hallways go on forever, so it feels like you're walking a lot. The rooms are nicely appointed and spacious enough -- the bathrooms are gorgeous, with marble tile, separate glass-walled shower and a full tub. (Ours is always full of the tubes we bring up after floating away in the lazy river.)

So what should you know?
1) Don't count on getting in the river in late December -- we were there last year and it warmed up only on New Year's Day. They do keep the water temperature nice and toasty though.
2) Bring your own tubes. Tough to find at this time of year, but you'll save some money.
3) The New Year's celebration was really nice. We started by going to the buffet in Citron. It was prix fixe, but the buffet was amazing. There was a caricature artist doing sketches for free -- DD was very happy with this. We then moved out into the lobby where there was a band set up. The fireworks over the golf course at midnight were Disney-worthy.
4) 'Smores. DD still talks about these. When we were there, they were offered (along with hot chocolate) at the Ritz next door. It's a nice stroll, and there are plenty of kids out looking for chocolate.
5) Take a stroll along the creek. There are lots of places for nature watching, with signs along the way to help you identify what you're looking at.
6) Unless you have a package, you'll pay separately for parking.
7) The drive to WDW is easy. We went west along Central Florida Parkway to I-Drive south, then turned west again on World Centre Drive and straight to Disney.
8) There is a Walgreens across the road (John Young); the nearest Publix is just west on Central Florida Parkway.

Have a great vacation.

 

[DWDude]

I still can't decide if we should rent a car while at the JW or just use cabs or town cars?
Any thoughts?

The car rental rates around Christmas are around $80/day. Add parking fees to that and it seems cheaper just to cab or town car.