Narrowed down hotels...please help picking!

[Disneymom1102]

Hi there!
Narrowed down to 4 hotels. Seeking feedback! Going with husband, 4 year old daughter, and 2 month old son. For us, proximity, cleanliness, comfort are all our priorities. Any/all of the following are desirable bonuses but not deal breakers: nice pool, on-site playground, room service, free breakfast, free parking, suite or with separate couch/sitting area. Would love any personal experience or feedback:
1. Springhill Flamingo Crossing
2. Springhill Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
3. Courtyard Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
4. Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Besides general feedback, wondering what would differentiate #2 and #3? How is location of #4? Where is #1 in reference to MK and Epcot?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Klayfish]

Why stick yourself in a hotel room for the 4 of you when for the same money you can have a condo/townhouse in a gated community. It'll have an on-site playground, pool, parking, full kitchen, full family room, etc...there isn't "room service", but you don't need to scrub the place. Just make a total mess (damage furniture, break plates, etc...) and they have a housekeeper come in and clean when you leave.

 

[HopperFan]

Why stick yourself in a hotel room for the 4 of you when for the same money you can have a condo/townhouse in a gated community. It'll have an on-site playground, pool, parking, full kitchen, full family room, etc...there isn't "room service", but you don't need to scrub the place. Just make a total mess (damage furniture, break plates, etc...) and they have a housekeeper come in and clean when you leave.

I think they are using reward points if I remember correctly.

Hi there!
Narrowed down to 4 hotels. Seeking feedback! Going with husband, 4 year old daughter, and 2 month old son. For us, proximity, cleanliness, comfort are all our priorities. Any/all of the following are desirable bonuses but not deal breakers: nice pool, on-site playground, room service, free breakfast, free parking, suite or with separate couch/sitting area. Would love any personal experience or feedback:
1. Springhill Flamingo Crossing
2. Springhill Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
3. Courtyard Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
4. Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Besides general feedback, wondering what would differentiate #2 and #3? How is location of #4? Where is #1 in reference to MK and Epcot?
Thanks in advance!

I have not stayed in any of those but I am very familiar with locations, and I've read some reviews ...

1. Flamingo Crossing is great to get in/out of Disney property with minimal if any traffic at all. Fairly central location. Fairly new hotel in quiet area, no walking to anything. DN stayed there and liked it very much. Not far down the road is a newly renovated Target (was just there) and every/any dining etc you could want.
2. and 3. Marriott Village are together, I think a couple have been newly renovated. They do have parking fee. Traffic there can be an huge issue and you'd have to build in travel time to the parks for sure. Right on busy road and I-4 so noise exists.
4. Sheraton in area where there is anything you need - even walkable, easy drive to Disney Springs, but have to go through DS or I-4 to parks. THIS ONE has lots of negative reviews which have scared me off.

If it were me I would book Flamingo without blinking.

 

[writerguyfl]

None of this is based on personal experience.

1. Springhill Flamingo Crossing

The Flamingo Crossings hotels seem to have lots of positive reviews. There are two potential negatives. First, these hotels are located on a toll road (State Road 429). The route to Disney World is not tolled. But, if you're going out to eat or to HopperFan's Target, you'll pay a toll. That's just an annoyance if it's your car. If you're renting, you may end up paying the toll plus a "convenience" fee.

The other potential negative is that these hotels included multipurpose sports courts when they were built. They actively pursue youth sports teams to book there. I think having to share the free breakfast with 40 youth soccer/basketball/football/etc kids would be a negative. Of course, youth sports tournaments don't happen every week. There's good chance you won't have to share the hotel with a team.

2. Springhill Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village / 3. Courtyard Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village

I used to work in the hospitality industry. Even I couldn't provide you with a good explanation of how one Marriott brand relates to another without looking at reference materials. It is confusing (and hotel websites are not good at explaining the differences).

I'd classify Springhill Suites as a limited-service, all-suite hotel. It's limited service because it doesn't have a restaurant. While they call the rooms "suites", I believe most of them are studios that don't provide a door between the area with beds and living area (with pull-out couch). Given the age of your kids, that's probably not a deal-breaker like it would be with teenagers. This hotel provides free breakfast...although it's not going to be super-high quality.

The Courtyard by Marriott is a select-service hotel. It's not quite full-service hotel, but it does have a breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant and lounge/bar. Breakfast would be extra (unless you are an elite-level member of Marriott Rewards). Rooms will be slightly smaller than the Springhill Suites and they will be more traditional. The quality of furnishings and soft goods like linens should be a little nicer.

For one or two people, I'd probably go with the slightly nicer Courtyard. For a family with young children, I'd recommend the Springhill Suites.

4. Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista

As HopperFan notes, the Sheraton gets lots of bad reviews. I really wish it was a better-run hotel, because the location is really good for people like me that don't have cars. Based on what I've read online, I wouldn't consider this location.

 

[fla4fun]

You can get to the Target and dining on 192 without paying the toll, but it means driving out of your way. Just a thought to keep in mind. You can either cut through Disney property or take Hartzog Road west to Avalon, and down to 192. Personally I would probably split it by taking the free route through Disney to get to shopping/dining, and the toll road for a quick return to the hotel.

If you are going to focus on Disney, I think the Flamingo location is the best. I am not sure how familiar you are with Disney property, but you would be entering property by driving in along the north side of AK, and then by Coronado Springs. It’s maybe ten minutes from Flamingo to Coronado. If you are thinking about other Orlando attractions as well, the Marriott Village area would be more centrally located. Any of those three hotels will meet your needs. I also agree about skipping the Sheraton.

 

[writerguyfl]

I did actually pull up a map before I posted about the tolls because I wasn't sure if there was a semi-close, non-toll option. The Hartzog Road option is the shortest. It turns a 3.2 mile trip on the toll road to 6.6 miles (using the hotel and Target as the starting and ending points). I'm remarkably stingy and absolutely hate toll roads...but I wouldn't go 2x further. So, I didn't think it was worth mentioning.

But, thanks for providing the information. More information is better than less.

It's kind of like trying to avoid tolls between the airport and Disney. Technically, it's possible. Practically, it's not worth the hassle for 99% of travelers.

 

[fla4fun]

I did actually pull up a map before I posted about the tolls because I wasn't sure if there was a semi-close, non-toll option. The Hartzog Road option is the shortest. It turns a 3.2 mile trip on the toll road to 6.6 miles (using the hotel and Target as the starting and ending points). I'm remarkably stingy and absolutely hate toll roads...but I wouldn't go 2x further. So, I didn't think it was worth mentioning.

But, thanks for providing the information. More information is better than less.

It's kind of like trying to avoid tolls between the airport and Disney. Technically, it's possible. Practically, it's not worth the hassle for 99% of travelers.

My dad was the type that would drive to the moon and back to avoid a toll, so I bet there are some people who will see six miles and free, and never blink an eye. So Hartzog was shorter than turning right at Coronado and taking Sherberth Road near AK to 192? I didn't measure them, but thought through Disney might be shorter. Of course, it also depends on where a person is going, if they are dining vs. just going to the Target. It seems like a lot of the restaurants are closer in to Disney than to Avalon Road.

 

[writerguyfl]

My dad was the type that would drive to the moon and back to avoid a toll, so I bet there are some people who will see six miles and free, and never blink an eye. So Hartzog was shorter than turning right at Coronado and taking Sherberth Road near AK to 192? I didn't measure them, but thought through Disney might be shorter. Of course, it also depends on where a person is going, if they are dining vs. just going to the Target. It seems like a lot of the restaurants are closer in to Disney than to Avalon Road.

Yes, if the destination is the intersection of SR 429 and Irlo Bronson (192), it's 2.8 via the toll road, 6.3 via Hartzog Rd, 8.8 via Western Way to West Buena Vista Dr, and 9.5 miles via Western Way to World Drive.

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

We usually drive to WDW from Canada and since we arrive the night before we need a hotel for the night before we check in. The last 2 times we have stayed at SpringHill Suites at Flamingo Crossing. (Recommended to us on here by HopperFan ) We have loved it both times and are staying here again in November the night before we check into WDW. We didn't have time to check out the pool or playground but the Free breakfast was really good both times. We haven't seen any big groups or teams when we were there. It was busy at breakfast but I have seen way busier (Holiday Inn Express). I did not know they had sports courts there? We have never seen them there and they aren't mentioned on the website. If they are there it didn't impact any of our stays so far. Free parking, free breakfast, no resort fee. There is a separate couch/sitting area that is partially hidden from the sleeping section by a desk area that extends to the ceiling. If you google SpringHill suites you can see some room photos.

 

[Mikey15]

Yes, if the destination is the intersection of SR 429 and Irlo Bronson (192), it's 2.8 via the toll road, 6.3 via Hartzog Rd, 8.8 via Western Way to West Buena Vista Dr, and 9.5 miles via Western Way to World Drive.

Yep, and it’s not just the miles. Hartzog->Avalon is backroads. Your worst light will be waiting to turn out on 192. The Sherbeth Rd way spits you out by IHOP and a bunch of souvenir shops, and there’s a lot of red lights between there and Target (Bahama Breeze, Olive Garden, etc).

We grocery shop at that 192 Target and the 27 Walmart each trip. Proximity to those is a bonus.

 

[Smittolis]

Having recently stayed at the Marriot Townesuites adjacent to the Springhill suites (check out my youtube video in another thread) I'd say the Springhill suites is the overall best choice. The location for WDW is pretty good to be fair, a short drive to any of the parks. We stayed there for a week and the facilities were very good apart from an issue we had with a fridge, but other than that the staff were friendly, it was clean and accessible. If the price is right its definitely a good overall 'value' especially when there are no parking fees or daily resort upcharges. The Toll's to target and the like are offset by the lack of parking charges or resort fees in my opinion, but I understand its an additional cost.