Marriott Hotel closest to WDW

[BlakeNJ]

Im looking for a Marriott closest to WDW for my sister and her family. There are so many options, Fairfield, Courtyard, World Village etc. I need help narrowing one down. Can anyone recommend a Marriott family hotel?

 

[Lucky'sMom]

The Marriott World Center is the closest, I believe. The Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista and the 3 hotels of the Marriott Village: Courtyard, Springhill Suites and the Fairfield Inn are all very close to the Downtown Disney entrance.

 

[TeamSy]

Yup, the closest Marriott is the Marriott World Center. But, surrounding the World Center are also three Marriott villa properties - Sabal Palms, Royal Palms, and Imperial Palms. Those three offer multiple bedrooms/kitchen/laundry options. .

 

[happymommy]

Yup, the closest Marriott is the Marriott World Center. But, surrounding the World Center are also three Marriott villa properties - Sabal Palms, Royal Palms, and Imperial Palms. Those three offer multiple bedrooms/kitchen/laundry options. .

We stayed at Sabal Palms for 11 of our 15 nights August 2012, and could barely believe how close it was to the Disney parks. It's about 3 or 4 miles to the Epcot area, and basically you just exit the resort complex, take a right onto World Center Drive and you're there. It was so convenient (plus a Super Walmart very close, and instead if you exit and take a left and go to I think your first stoplight, you're at a nice big CVS where you can pick up snacks, toiletries, and wine as needed).

If looking at the World Center, I would choose the villas over the hotel in a heartbeat. They are spacious (the first timeshares Marriott built) and Sabal Palms felt like a quiet apartment.

 

[DCbride]

All the ones PP mentioned are within 15 minutes or so. Instead of just location she should pick by other options. Like pool, free breakfast, shuttle, kids activities, kitchen, bedrooms, just a place to sleep...Depending on the type of trip (if we are going cheaper) we pick a Marriott by Sea World. It is easy access to I4 and almost zero traffic. The ones in Lake Buena Vista can have traffic issues due to the outlets.

The Gaylord is also close and is listed on Marriott's site.

 

[DCbride]

Instead of picking by location alone ask her what else is important. All the PP properties are with 10-15 minutes of the parks. Does she want- great pool, bedrooms, free breakfast, kids activities, close to dining, kitchen, etc. we we are off property we usually stay Marriott. We stay at Sea World because it is easy access to I4. We have done parking lot to parked at Epcot in 15 minutes. The Lake Buena Vista ones can be tough due to the outlets

 

[dis-happy]

If you are just looking at the regular Marriott (not the TS ones), some other things to consider are

Parking fees
The flagship Marriott has hefty fees, and the Marriott Village added modest ones ($5 per night?) a yr ago or so.

Free Breakfast, in descending order of best to least
Residence Inn (full hot breakfast Buffett daily)
Springhill Suites (some hot dishes but more limited)
Fairfield (more of a continental breakfast with add ons like yogurt, microwavable breakfast sandwiches)
Courtyard, no free breakfast but they do have a daily buffet (and some hotel rates will include a free breakfast, especially at the Courtyard on Palm)

Beds
The Springhill Suites at MV only had double sized beds.
The Fairfield at MV has a bunkbed option.
The newer Fairfield at Palm and 535 has queen beds.

Space
Best are the one and 2 bedroom suites at Residence Inn
The Courtyard on Palm has a one bedroom suite option. This is an older property and they often offer good rates on these to fill rooms.
Springhill Suites has the extra sitting area/couch area (and can sleep 5)
Fairfield has the family suites room with a second room partitioned off (but not completely separate)
The Courtyard MV has rooms with nice balconies which can add to your living space.

Pools
Marriott Village has 3 themed pools and you can pool hop between them. The one at the courtyard is indoor/outdoor, Fairfield has a big kids splash area.
Residence Inn has a decent pool, small waterfall, toddler pool, hot tub.
Courtyard in Palm has two pools but they can get crowded.

We've stayed at all the properties several times over, but usually try to stay at the Residence Inn on Palm. More space, good free breakfast, comfortable large beds, easy access to parks. Plus they are about to open a new road that will cut to the back side of Publix (plus the outlet malls) in 5 mins or less. You can also skip the DTD madness with alternate routes in.

 

[happymommy]

If you are just looking at the regular Marriott (not the TS ones), some other things to consider are

Parking fees
The flagship Marriott has hefty fees, and the Marriott Village added modest ones ($5 per night?) a yr ago or so.

Free Breakfast, in descending order of best to least
Residence Inn (full hot breakfast Buffett daily)
Springhill Suites (some hot dishes but more limited)
Fairfield (more of a continental breakfast with add ons like yogurt, microwavable breakfast sandwiches)
Courtyard, no free breakfast but they do have a daily buffet (and some hotel rates will include a free breakfast, especially at the Courtyard on Palm)

Beds
The Springhill Suites at MV only had double sized beds.
The Fairfield at MV has a bunkbed option.
The newer Fairfield at Palm and 535 has queen beds.

Space
Best are the one and 2 bedroom suites at Residence Inn
The Courtyard on Palm has a one bedroom suite option. This is an older property and they often offer good rates on these to fill rooms.
Springhill Suites has the extra sitting area/couch area (and can sleep 5)
Fairfield has the family suites room with a second room partitioned off (but not completely separate)
The Courtyard MV has rooms with nice balconies which can add to your living space.

Pools
Marriott Village has 3 themed pools and you can pool hop between them. The one at the courtyard is indoor/outdoor, Fairfield has a big kids splash area.
Residence Inn has a decent pool, small waterfall, toddler pool, hot tub.
Courtyard in Palm has two pools but they can get crowded.

We've stayed at all the properties several times over, but usually try to stay at the Residence Inn on Palm. More space, good free breakfast, comfortable large beds, easy access to parks. Plus they are about to open a new road that will cut to the back side of Publix (plus the outlet malls) in 5 mins or less. You can also skip the DTD madness with alternate routes in.

Good points! Looking at parking fees, breakfast, pools and activities are important considerations. Also unit size (hotel room, suite, or full villa).

The reason we like the villas over hotels now are these:
No parking fees
Good pools (compare them, though - some have nice fun water slides and kids activities)
Full kitchen
In suite washer/dryer (we pack light)
Separate bedroom for the kids
Room to spread out so we're not on top of each other
Beds are very comfortable

But, of course, no free breakfast. We make our own or grab something on our way out. I also cook simple things when, at the end of the day, the kids just want to take a swim and chill out. Or we do delivery or carry out.

I find it surprising that the villas at the Orlando World Center have no parking fees (you get a hangtag to put on your rear view mirror, so they know you're staying there) yet it's a hefty parking fee for the other resort guests (I don't know how much).

We also choose the villas since we're Marriott owners, and have gotten spoiled with large spaces for vacations!

 

[OKW Lover]

We've stayed at almost all the Marriott hotels in the area. We've pretty much decided to avoid the ones in the "Marriott Village" complex simply because of the added parking fee and the heavy traffic trying to get out of there. There is a great Residence Inn on Palm Parkway, and a very nice Courtyard on Vista Center that don't suffer from those problems.

 

[jmasgat]

I just stayed at the Springhill Suites in Marriott Village and I have also stayed at the Fairfield Inn. I have always had good experiences with these properties and have been able to find good rates--just paid $79/nt during Marathon Weekend.

They have added the parking fee, annoying, but no other resort fees. As for the traffic, I guess I just missed the bad times. I never have any issues getting in and out of there. I will say that it seems like there is always more of a line of people turning right from Vineland onto 535 (heading to I-4 or DTD) than going left (onto 535 toward Epcot Center Drive.) And like a lot of the lights in that area, they are one direction at a time.

I've also stayed at Royal Palms, which was fine as condos go.

 

[summerrluvv]

The Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista is nice. They have family suites, and a nice hot buffet breakfast that is FREE, and has Mickey Waffles. It's very close to DTD.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

The Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista is nice. They have family suites, and a nice hot buffet breakfast that is FREE, and has Mickey Waffles. It's very close to DTD.

Love it there. If I'm staying on Marriott points, this is where I stay. Plus they have a free dinner (nothing fancy) Monday-Thursday.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[cgattis]

I just stayed at the Springhill Suites in Marriott Village and I have also stayed at the Fairfield Inn. I have always had good experiences with these properties and have been able to find good rates--They have added the parking fee, annoying, but no other resort fees. As for the traffic, I guess I just missed the bad times. I never have any issues getting in and out of there.

This was our experience as well. But I will say that we found the breakfast quite bad--ended up pretty much with toast and bananas.

Stayed at the World Center once and had an amazing room--biggest hotel room I've EVER stayed in! Had a government rate, so I don't know if they upgraded us or if all the rooms are that nice. Pool was amazing, and location was super; massive parking fee ($20+ IIRC) was a pain.

Stayed once at the Courtyard at Crossroads. Property is very meh (in need of a rehab), no breakfast, but staff were very nice. Liked being close to Sweet Tomatoes, but the Crossroads traffic is a no-go for us; doubt we'd ever stay there again. Did find Best of Orlando tickets from them, though, so I'm glad we stayed there once.

Had NO IDEA there was a Residence in LBV! I've got 4 free nights to spend.....hmmmmmm. Thanks!!!

 

[summerrluvv]

This was our experience as well. But I will say that we found the breakfast quite bad--ended up pretty much with toast and bananas.

Stayed at the World Center once and had an amazing room--biggest hotel room I've EVER stayed in! Had a government rate, so I don't know if they upgraded us or if all the rooms are that nice. Pool was amazing, and location was super; massive parking fee ($20+ IIRC) was a pain.

Stayed once at the Courtyard at Crossroads. Property is very meh (in need of a rehab), no breakfast, but staff were very nice. Liked being close to Sweet Tomatoes, but the Crossroads traffic is a no-go for us; doubt we'd ever stay there again. Did find Best of Orlando tickets from them, though, so I'm glad we stayed there once.

Had NO IDEA there was a Residence in LBV! I've got 4 free nights to spend.....hmmmmmm. Thanks!!!

It's off Palm Parkway on Marbella IIRC, so you would be dealing with the crappy traffic still. But, I have to say when we went it wasn't bad at all. We stayed the week of Thanksgiving (departed Thanksgiving Day).

 

[rimomma66]

Has anyone stayed at the Residence Inn by the Convention Center? Any feedback? We can get a 2 BR/2 BA room for the same price as the family suite at the Residence Inn on Maribella Palm.
Thanks!

 

[Lorrained]

Im looking for a Marriott closest to WDW for my sister and her family. There are so many options, Fairfield, Courtyard, World Village etc. I need help narrowing one down. Can anyone recommend a Marriott family hotel?

We always stay at Marriot village lake buena vista on Vineland ave. we usually stay in Fairfield inn but for some reason could not book that for this time (and next year through virgin for some reason we cannot book this Marriot village AT ALL, and have had to find a different hotel) so this time we are staying at the courtyard. Absolutely love the complex, it's just close enough to everything, perfect.

 

[sheboz]

We enjoyed our stay at the Courtyard MV. We booked a suite, they only ave a couple. The zero entry pool was great for the whole family. We would often order dinner delivered pool side, the kids loved eating outside in there swimsuits. The best thing about this property is being able to sit outside at night on the balcony and enjoy the Floida weather with a nice cocktail.
The key to avoiding traffic getting to the parks is to turn left at the light, as stated in a previous post.
I would not hesitate returning to this property.