Name change for Sheraton four points

[Elaine Guidi]

I have just received a letter from Virgin this morning stating that as from 8 January 03 the Sheraton Four Points Orlando will change its name to La Quinta Inn Lakeside. They also state that all advertised facilities will remain unchanged. So should I feel okay about this or is La Quinta the name of a group of hotels that I should be concerned about or not. Any gen is appreciated. i just don't like these kind of changes, they make me a little uneasy!

 

[Elaine Guidi]

Just remembered I'd posted this thread, no takers????

 

[Pam Lau]

That is interesting since we usually use Hilton Honors points to book that hotel for a free night when we arrive. We currently have a night reserved in November, but that is before the name change. I'll have to ask my husband if LaQuinta is another chain in the Hilton program. This hotel, while not the greatest, is very adequate if you are trying to save some $$$. We usually figure that why pay big $$$ when all we want is a good night's sleep the night we arrive and build up our energy for a week at the parks. If it basically remains the same we will be booking another night there in March. Wouldn't it be nice if the point value went down with the name change.

 

[Pam Lau]

Why wait to ask hubby. I was incorrect when I stated that we booked through Hilton Honors. It was Starwood preferred. Can't keep all the rewards programs straight. La Quinta is not part of the Starwood Preferred program. So my guess is that this is some kind of buy out. It has been our observation over the years of vacationing in and around WDW that as various properties age, rather than give them an overhaul, they sell out to another chain down the budget scale. This particular property was starting to show signs of needing to be redone a year ago. I'll be curious to see what condition it is in now.

 

[jgates]

LaQuinta is a decent chain but it is an economy chain. Definitely not up on the same rung as Sheraton. We have stayed ?3 times at LaQ's and I can't really complain about any of them.

 

[Celestine]

I too received a letter from Virgin (have booked last week Jan & first week of Feb). The Sheraton website makes no mention of this & the La Quinta one says its due to open Q4, so I've e-mailed them to clarify what, if anything will change. If/when I get a reply, I'll post on here

 

[Lewisc]

Hotels owners frequently change their affiliation. Four points is the economy brand of Sheraton. Both chains are rated similarly. I wouldn't expect a major change. It is an older property, you might want to see what alternative properties you can get.

 

[Elaine Guidi]

Celestine. I would appreciate any info you get from Virgin. Now that I have had a chance to think about it I do expect things to be pretty much the same as if the name hadn't changed. The one thing which does worry me sometimes is that people say it is an older property, I am sure I read somewhere that Virgin allocations had been recently renovated. Should I drop my expectations, or will the fact that we will only be sleeping there and hopefully using the pool be enough for what we have paid?

 

[Celestine]

Received an e-mail from La Quinta saying they did not expect anything ti change, however he will contact their franchise department to double check. I now share your reservations, however if it is a "flagship hotel" doesn't that count for something in terms of quality etc? I don't think we're going to change our reservations, but if the rooms os growing mould or anything I'll certrainly be kicking up a fuss & demand to be relocated. As we're going in January I can't imagine that would be a problem

 

[Elaine Guidi]

if the rooms are growing mould or anything I'll certainly be kicking up a fuss & demand to be relocated.

"DITTO", we go 7th Feb, I'm not sure it would be a problem then either. I'll pin my hopes on the flagship thing. Thanks for your reply.