Well, due to dh's conference at the Gaylord Palms - me, ds6 and dd5 tagged along. We opted for the great deal at Nickelodeon Hotel for the first 2 nights. Every employee was astounded about the deal we got ($99 and waived resort fee) so keep that in mind for my review. They even upgraded us to a 2 BR bunkbed suite for nothing extra.
For Nick:
The good:
- Free upgrade
- Frig/micro in room - we spent about $100 at Publix and it served us for many meals
-Water temp was great - very warm
-Slides were great - kids loved them and I felt comfortable letting them go up and down alone - couldn't see them the whole time but could see them at the bottom every time.
-Lifeguards were excellent - plenty of them and they were very nice and seemed to pay great attention.
-The price!
The not-so-good:
- Room is not as big as I had envisioned - it would be VERY tight with 6 people in there.
- The second slide area (the smaller kids area) was closed the entire time we were there but no one let me know about it (even though they have my email address). I was VERY upset by this. They said something about the closings being updated on their web site - but I've had these ressies for 5 months - they should let people know. Luckily, dd was tall enough for the bigger slides or it would have been a bigger issue.
It was great - we stayed at the pool for several hours after we checked out. Just put all the luggage in the car. Also, both days we brought a cooler down to the pool with our lunch and snacks in it. It is great that they allow this. For the price we got - it was DEFINITELY worth it - not sure if I would have been as thrilled if we paid $250 per night.
Now onto our second hotel - Comfort Inn LBV. I was specifically looking for a hotel close to WDW that had a frig and was hopefully $50 per night or less. I knew we'd have refrigerated items leftover from NIck - so I didn't want to have to throw it out. SO, I got this one for $34 per night when they had the $9 first night - $45 additional nights promotion. Let's just say do NOT stay here if you have high expectations. The room was dingy - the sink was peeling a little bit. BUT, the beds and the shower were fine. The pool, although we didn't have time to use it, looked great. And, the location is ideal for those visiting WDW on a budget. There are restaurants/shops in walking distance - I saw lots of people using the shuttles (but we did not), and we got back to the hotel after EPCOT in about 15 - 20 minutes. The continental breakfast was decent - 2 kinds of cereal, apple and orange juice, cheese danish and little cinnamon danish, donuts, fruit salad and fresh cut-up orange slices. Plus lots of different bread with PB or butter to toast yourself. Defintiely enough to fill you up before visiting the parks. This hotel was fine for the 2 nights we were there, and you couldn't beat the price for the great location!
Now our final hotel where I am actually writing this - Gaylord Palms. It is quite a switch from the last one. A beautiful hotel but it is huge - so even bringing up our own bags wasn't worth it since it is quite a walk from the parking lot to our elevator. The pool is great for kids - with a splash area too. Although I think for the price they should at least have one lifeguard on duty here. The fitness room is wonderful. And, they are very helpful - we had leftovers in the frig from a previous dinner and they were very quick to let me know where there is a microwave available to use to warm it up. I am a little irritated with our room location - there is a service elevator near us that makes noise at all hours - but I'm not annoyed enough to pack up everything and request a different room. This location, too, is ideal for WDW visiting. The kids and I hit DHS yesterday and it took about 1.5 minutes to get onto WDW property and then another 10 or so minutes to get to DHS. If you come with kids it is sometimes tough to find a 'quick' meal for them. When I was warming up leftovers in the food area - I had several inquiries about where I'd gotten it. So keep that in mind.
Well, that's it I guess. I'm sure I'll think of more and add it in later. Any questions let me know!
For Nick:
The good:
- Free upgrade
- Frig/micro in room - we spent about $100 at Publix and it served us for many meals
-Water temp was great - very warm
-Slides were great - kids loved them and I felt comfortable letting them go up and down alone - couldn't see them the whole time but could see them at the bottom every time.
-Lifeguards were excellent - plenty of them and they were very nice and seemed to pay great attention.
-The price!
The not-so-good:
- Room is not as big as I had envisioned - it would be VERY tight with 6 people in there.
- The second slide area (the smaller kids area) was closed the entire time we were there but no one let me know about it (even though they have my email address). I was VERY upset by this. They said something about the closings being updated on their web site - but I've had these ressies for 5 months - they should let people know. Luckily, dd was tall enough for the bigger slides or it would have been a bigger issue.
It was great - we stayed at the pool for several hours after we checked out. Just put all the luggage in the car. Also, both days we brought a cooler down to the pool with our lunch and snacks in it. It is great that they allow this. For the price we got - it was DEFINITELY worth it - not sure if I would have been as thrilled if we paid $250 per night.
Now onto our second hotel - Comfort Inn LBV. I was specifically looking for a hotel close to WDW that had a frig and was hopefully $50 per night or less. I knew we'd have refrigerated items leftover from NIck - so I didn't want to have to throw it out. SO, I got this one for $34 per night when they had the $9 first night - $45 additional nights promotion. Let's just say do NOT stay here if you have high expectations. The room was dingy - the sink was peeling a little bit. BUT, the beds and the shower were fine. The pool, although we didn't have time to use it, looked great. And, the location is ideal for those visiting WDW on a budget. There are restaurants/shops in walking distance - I saw lots of people using the shuttles (but we did not), and we got back to the hotel after EPCOT in about 15 - 20 minutes. The continental breakfast was decent - 2 kinds of cereal, apple and orange juice, cheese danish and little cinnamon danish, donuts, fruit salad and fresh cut-up orange slices. Plus lots of different bread with PB or butter to toast yourself. Defintiely enough to fill you up before visiting the parks. This hotel was fine for the 2 nights we were there, and you couldn't beat the price for the great location!
Now our final hotel where I am actually writing this - Gaylord Palms. It is quite a switch from the last one. A beautiful hotel but it is huge - so even bringing up our own bags wasn't worth it since it is quite a walk from the parking lot to our elevator. The pool is great for kids - with a splash area too. Although I think for the price they should at least have one lifeguard on duty here. The fitness room is wonderful. And, they are very helpful - we had leftovers in the frig from a previous dinner and they were very quick to let me know where there is a microwave available to use to warm it up. I am a little irritated with our room location - there is a service elevator near us that makes noise at all hours - but I'm not annoyed enough to pack up everything and request a different room. This location, too, is ideal for WDW visiting. The kids and I hit DHS yesterday and it took about 1.5 minutes to get onto WDW property and then another 10 or so minutes to get to DHS. If you come with kids it is sometimes tough to find a 'quick' meal for them. When I was warming up leftovers in the food area - I had several inquiries about where I'd gotten it. So keep that in mind.
Well, that's it I guess. I'm sure I'll think of more and add it in later. Any questions let me know!
