Hillbeans
I told them I like Michael Bolton
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2003
- Messages
- 7,061
HI - We just got back yesterday from a split stay at the Renaissance Resort at Sea World and the Marrott World Center. Both hotels were booked at a discount (Renaissance was through the Timeshare offer and Marriott World Center on Priceline).
Renaissance Sea World -
Fast check in - Easy, free self parking. Checked in on Friday, March 12th. There was obviously a cheerleading competition going on nearby and the hotel was overrun with cheerleaders. No problem for me really, but the hotel was booked solid. We were given a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the parking lot. The room itself was larger than a "normal" hotel room. We had a King size bed, pull out sofa, large bathroom with tons of Bath/Body works toiletries. Even though the hotel was booked, the room was at a quiet end of the hall. The pool area is wonderful. There is a kiddie pool for the little ones, and two other pools with a jacuzzi. Off to the side of the pool area is a large playground, tennis courts, basketball court, volleyball court and poolside bar. The area was extremely busy but the amenities would be comparable to a deluxe had it been on Disney property. Sea world is a short walk across the street. The bus stops right outside of the hotel. All in all, this hotel was a fine choice. It's minutes away from Universal, I-drive, etc. I've read that some people have gotten this hotel for $69 via priceline and that's a steal. One thing to keep in mind though is that this hotel is probably 80% convention oriented during the week. There were lots of meetings going on in the ballrooms, and many business people walking around the main common areas. The atrium is really beautiful and there was a wedding in the atrium that Saturday night.
Would I stay there again? If I wanted to be really close to Universal/SW, probably so, however I do feel that this hotel had too much of a "business" feel that i'd rather not get on my leisure vacation. It can be at sometimes uncomfortable walking through the common areas with a wet-from-the-pool 3 yo with a business cocktail meeting going on off to my right. Also, this hotel had no coin laundry, the one real only minus in my book.
Marriott World Center - Checked in at 3 pm on Tuesday, March 16th. Valet parking at $15 is required unless you want to park in the next county in some very very distant lot. Check in was a breeze. I had a priceline reservation for 3 nights at $85 a night which was prepaid on my CC. Check in was a breeze and we were given a beautiful 4th floor room (30448) in the west wing overlooking the main pool with balcony. This room had 2 doubles, with a tropical bedspread theme. The shower/bath area is set up similar to Disney Deluxe with the double sink outside and the toilet/shower separate. The room had a safe, bath amenities (nothing fancy) hairdryer, minibar. This hotel has the most amazing pool i've ever seen. It's huge, with waterfalls, a waterslide, kids pool, even an indoor pool for when the weather is bad outside. There is even a food-court in a mall-esque area on the 1st floor, and there is a pool bar up the stairs overlooking the waterfall area. There are at least 2 other quiet pools on the property, if not more. The fitness room has about 30 state of the art workout machines, free weights, full treatment spa, etc. The hotel itself has about 4 restaurants (we just ate at the foodcourt). First the good - this hotel is a self-contained resort all of it's own. My 3 yo only wanted to stay at the pool area the whole visit. There were many families staying there, lots of little kids, and many wives with their kids who had spouses at a meeting at the hotel. At the busiest time of the day, there had to be about 200 people in the pool area, probably more. This hotel is a deluxe in many ways, and for our $85 per night plus valet, we got so much for the $100 a night we paid, probably a lot more amenities and value than we got staying at the AKL for $215 a night. Now the not-so-good...the hotel is too big, it takes about 10 minutes to walk from the pool to your room. There are many wings on this hotel it's easy to get lost. To make people pay $15 in valet and tip on the in/out trips is insane. I understand why they do it, but that alone would make us not stay there again. In addition, this hotel had conferences, business people, bus trips for companies, loud lobby cocktail work parties, etc, that was not condusive for 3 tourists from NJ wearing shorts and sandals. Here too, we felt underdressed, and in the way of business people on their cell phones, rushing up and down the halls and elevators while we were strolling around in bathing suits and shorts. It's hard to leave our work at home when all around us people are working. This doesn't happen at the AKL, at least very rarely. The real only other bad thing in our eyes was that this hotel was very cold, ie, no "Disney Magic". Same with the Renaissance.
We stayed at AKL on our last trip and we feel this trip we missed out on that aspect of it. These chain hotels have nothing on the on-site hotels in that area. Granted, the amenities alone at the Marriott, as well as the Renaissance, were more bountiful than any value, moderate, and some of the deluxe hotels, however if you're going to Disney for the magic, you won't find it here.
If I can answer anymore questions, please feel free to ask.
Renaissance Sea World -
Fast check in - Easy, free self parking. Checked in on Friday, March 12th. There was obviously a cheerleading competition going on nearby and the hotel was overrun with cheerleaders. No problem for me really, but the hotel was booked solid. We were given a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the parking lot. The room itself was larger than a "normal" hotel room. We had a King size bed, pull out sofa, large bathroom with tons of Bath/Body works toiletries. Even though the hotel was booked, the room was at a quiet end of the hall. The pool area is wonderful. There is a kiddie pool for the little ones, and two other pools with a jacuzzi. Off to the side of the pool area is a large playground, tennis courts, basketball court, volleyball court and poolside bar. The area was extremely busy but the amenities would be comparable to a deluxe had it been on Disney property. Sea world is a short walk across the street. The bus stops right outside of the hotel. All in all, this hotel was a fine choice. It's minutes away from Universal, I-drive, etc. I've read that some people have gotten this hotel for $69 via priceline and that's a steal. One thing to keep in mind though is that this hotel is probably 80% convention oriented during the week. There were lots of meetings going on in the ballrooms, and many business people walking around the main common areas. The atrium is really beautiful and there was a wedding in the atrium that Saturday night.
Would I stay there again? If I wanted to be really close to Universal/SW, probably so, however I do feel that this hotel had too much of a "business" feel that i'd rather not get on my leisure vacation. It can be at sometimes uncomfortable walking through the common areas with a wet-from-the-pool 3 yo with a business cocktail meeting going on off to my right. Also, this hotel had no coin laundry, the one real only minus in my book.
Marriott World Center - Checked in at 3 pm on Tuesday, March 16th. Valet parking at $15 is required unless you want to park in the next county in some very very distant lot. Check in was a breeze. I had a priceline reservation for 3 nights at $85 a night which was prepaid on my CC. Check in was a breeze and we were given a beautiful 4th floor room (30448) in the west wing overlooking the main pool with balcony. This room had 2 doubles, with a tropical bedspread theme. The shower/bath area is set up similar to Disney Deluxe with the double sink outside and the toilet/shower separate. The room had a safe, bath amenities (nothing fancy) hairdryer, minibar. This hotel has the most amazing pool i've ever seen. It's huge, with waterfalls, a waterslide, kids pool, even an indoor pool for when the weather is bad outside. There is even a food-court in a mall-esque area on the 1st floor, and there is a pool bar up the stairs overlooking the waterfall area. There are at least 2 other quiet pools on the property, if not more. The fitness room has about 30 state of the art workout machines, free weights, full treatment spa, etc. The hotel itself has about 4 restaurants (we just ate at the foodcourt). First the good - this hotel is a self-contained resort all of it's own. My 3 yo only wanted to stay at the pool area the whole visit. There were many families staying there, lots of little kids, and many wives with their kids who had spouses at a meeting at the hotel. At the busiest time of the day, there had to be about 200 people in the pool area, probably more. This hotel is a deluxe in many ways, and for our $85 per night plus valet, we got so much for the $100 a night we paid, probably a lot more amenities and value than we got staying at the AKL for $215 a night. Now the not-so-good...the hotel is too big, it takes about 10 minutes to walk from the pool to your room. There are many wings on this hotel it's easy to get lost. To make people pay $15 in valet and tip on the in/out trips is insane. I understand why they do it, but that alone would make us not stay there again. In addition, this hotel had conferences, business people, bus trips for companies, loud lobby cocktail work parties, etc, that was not condusive for 3 tourists from NJ wearing shorts and sandals. Here too, we felt underdressed, and in the way of business people on their cell phones, rushing up and down the halls and elevators while we were strolling around in bathing suits and shorts. It's hard to leave our work at home when all around us people are working. This doesn't happen at the AKL, at least very rarely. The real only other bad thing in our eyes was that this hotel was very cold, ie, no "Disney Magic". Same with the Renaissance.
We stayed at AKL on our last trip and we feel this trip we missed out on that aspect of it. These chain hotels have nothing on the on-site hotels in that area. Granted, the amenities alone at the Marriott, as well as the Renaissance, were more bountiful than any value, moderate, and some of the deluxe hotels, however if you're going to Disney for the magic, you won't find it here.
If I can answer anymore questions, please feel free to ask.
