Looking for a Convenient Place to Stay in Kissimmee.

[tarheelmjfan]

DH just found out he's going to be working in Kissimmee next month, so I'm looking for a place for us to stay. We typically prefer accommodations other than hotels, especially if we have a grill & fire pit at our disposal. That said, we'll choose a hotel if that's the only option for having restaurants, bars, shops, etc. within walking distance. He does have a per diem that we have to stay within, which could affect our choices.

ETA: Concerning things to walk to, we greatly prefer local restaurants over chains.

 

[HopperFan]

DH just found out he's going to be working in Kissimmee next month, so I'm looking for a place for us to stay. We typically prefer accommodations other than hotels, especially if we have a grill & fire pit at our disposal. That said, we'll choose a hotel if that's the only option for having restaurants, bars, shops, etc. within walking distance. He does have a per diem that we have to stay within, which could affect our choices.

ETA: Concerning things to walk to, we greatly prefer local restaurants over chains.

Is this long term (a month) or just a few days or a week?

Are you asking about AirBNB or VRBO rentals?

House, townhouse, condo? Kitchen?

Are you planning on going to parks?

Is he working in Kissimmee City or the area up closer to I-4?

Will you have a car?

That info could help some folks focus on specific areas and type of lodging?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Is this long term (a month) or just a few days or a week?

We could be there as long as a month, but we hope to go home to South Florida most weekends.

Are you asking about AirBNB or VRBO rentals?

We don't really care, if it's Airbnb, VRBO, direct or through a large booking engine. We've done them all, except for VRBO.

House, townhouse, condo? Kitchen?

Any of them are fine, as long as they're ground floor or have an elevator. A kitchen is a plus, but not absolutely necessary. Being within walking distance of restaurants (preferably not chains), bars, etc. is more important.

Are you planning on going to parks?

We may go to Epcot one day & will probably go to DS a time or two, but we'll primarily be there for him to work.

Is he working in Kissimmee City or the area up closer to I-4?

He's going to be working at East Toho RV Resort & Marina, which is on East Lake Tohopekaliga. He likes to come back to have lunch with me, so he prefers to stay within a 30 minute drive of the work site.

Will you have a car?

Yes

 

[Lisa P.]

Try visiting SkyAuction. It appears that there are weekly timeshare 1BR condos available for rent all Saturdays in October at Star Island Resort in Kissimmee. Very nice property set back from Rte 192, with pools, bar/food, picnic tables & bbq grills, game rooms, tennis courts, mini-golf, fitness center, self-serve laundry, etc. You can see some of the restaurants that are within 3/4 mile walking distance of the resort, which is at the bottom of the map photo below.

Note that the 1BR units with a full kitchen are preferable with all full-size appliances, a dining room table in the spacious DR/LR, a king bed in the large en suite BR, an in-room stacked washer/dryer, and a balcony off the LR. But the 1BR units with a partial kitchen offer very limited amenities with a bistro table in the modest den, two double beds in the BR, a basic hotel-style bathroom and no balcony. Both kinds of 1BR units have a queen sleeper sofa in the LR/den. The floorplan of each 1BR lock-off unit type is shown below. HTH.

 

[HopperFan]

Just to verify above, I have used SkyAuction many times for lodging in Orlando and never had any issues with them. Always had great rates.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Try visiting SkyAuction. It appears that there are weekly timeshare 1BR condos available for rent all Saturdays in October at Star Island Resort in Kissimmee. Very nice property set back from Rte 192, with pools, bar/food, picnic tables & bbq grills, game rooms, tennis courts, mini-golf, fitness center, self-serve laundry, etc. You can see some of the restaurants that are within 3/4 mile walking distance of the resort, which is at the bottom of the map photo below.

Note that the 1BR units with a full kitchen are preferable with all full-size appliances, a dining room table in the spacious DR/LR, a king bed in the large en suite BR, an in-room stacked washer/dryer, and a balcony off the LR. But the 1BR units with a partial kitchen offer very limited amenities with a bistro table in the modest den, two double beds in the BR, a basic hotel-style bathroom and no balcony. Both kinds of 1BR units have a queen sleeper sofa in the LR/den. The floorplan of each 1BR lock-off unit type is shown below. HTH.


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Thanks for the suggestion. It's good to know the difference in the one bedroom suites. I'll look into the resort & check out the area.

 

[Upatnoon]

DH just found out he's going to be working in Kissimmee next month, so I'm looking for a place for us to stay. We typically prefer accommodations other than hotels, especially if we have a grill & fire pit at our disposal. That said, we'll choose a hotel if that's the only option for having restaurants, bars, shops, etc. within walking distance. He does have a per diem that we have to stay within, which could affect our choices.

ETA: Concerning things to walk to, we greatly prefer local restaurants over chains.

Do you have a budget? I would rent a house or a condo if looking for a longer-term rental. There are many available on all the large rental websites.

As for local restaurants, chains dominate in the Disney zone, so it is harder to find recommendations.

 

[RoseGold]

If you don't mind moving, you could break up some Airbnb with one of the many Kissimmee timeshares. Those will have nice, resort style pools and new restaurants, and might be a fun change. You can rent a week on Redweek. If you're looking for the cheapest option, this might be it. If you're trying to walk to a locals bar, this won't be it, but obviously they will have bars and restaurants.

Florida timeshares have a well-earned reputation. I would read reviews carefully.

I lived on the road for months in Covid, mostly in Airbnbs, but also with some rented timeshare weeks in there.

 

[HopperFan]

ETA: Concerning things to walk to, we greatly prefer local restaurants over chains.

You might want to look at Downtown Kissimmee which will fill this wish. And it should be about 30 minutes from where DH is working. I'm not familiar with lodging but I think there is a B&B downtown that might be worth exploring, walkable to dining, shops, galleries etc.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Sorry it took me a few days to get back to this thread. We were traveling home from Ohio & had to deal with the hurricane. My thoughts were pretty much consumed by that.

Do you have a budget? I would rent a house or a condo if looking for a longer-term rental. There are many available on all the large rental websites.

As for local restaurants, chains dominate in the Disney zone, so it is harder to find recommendations.

We try to keep it to $150/night, but do go over on occasion.

If you don't mind moving, you could break up some Airbnb with one of the many Kissimmee timeshares. Those will have nice, resort style pools and new restaurants, and might be a fun change. You can rent a week on Redweek. If you're looking for the cheapest option, this might be it. If you're trying to walk to a locals bar, this won't be it, but obviously they will have bars and restaurants.

Florida timeshares have a well-earned reputation. I would read reviews carefully.

I lived on the road for months in Covid, mostly in Airbnbs, but also with some rented timeshare weeks in there.

We're considering going home some/most weekends, so moving won't be a problem. I've never used Skyauction, Redweek, eBay, etc. for condo rentals. I'm not sure, if I'd be comfortable with that, or more accurately, I'm not sure I want to spend a lot of time researching how to most effectively use them. That said, I will look into it to see if it's more simple than some of the posts here make it sound.

Airbnbs are always our first option, if we can find a well reviewed home in a good location. It's funny, because we never would have considered staying in one, until we spent months living out of hotels.

You might want to look at Downtown Kissimmee which will fill this wish. And it should be about 30 minutes from where DH is working. I'm not familiar with lodging but I think there is a B&B downtown that might be worth exploring, walkable to dining, shops, galleries etc.

Thanks for the suggestion. We found out yesterday that we have to go to Kissimmee next week for three nights. I'm going to use that time to check out the area for our longer stay. Downtown sounds a perfect location for us, if we can find accommodations within the budget .