Nick Hotel report (long)

[ShannonRT]

Just got back today from 6 nights at Nick hotel. I'll try to hit the highlights and would be happy to answer any questions.

Arrived last Sat. morning around 9:30. Obviously couldn't check in yet, but they were able to pre-register us (me, my mom and DD9). We changed and hit the pools. Room was ready early around 2:30. Stayed in room 0130 which was right on the Oasis pool. Can't quite figure out the room numbering system. Our room was in building 1, floor 3. Took us awhile to find it. Great location, very close to the Oasis pool and The Mall (center area where all the food and activities are). Not much noise from neighbors and such. They power-wash the pool deck around 8 a.m. and the pool music starts at 9. Most mornings we were already awake, but it woke us up if we were sleeping. White noise machine helped.

We had a king bed in the bedroom and bunk beds in the kid room which DD loved. Also a small make-up table area in the master bedroom. There was a Playstation2 in the kids bedroom with games for rent at The Mall. I don't know how much they were, we didn't rent any. Then there was a living room area with a sofa-bed and a chair. Also a small kitchen area (microwave and refrigerator) with a table and 2 chairs. Decent sized bathroom.

The Mall area was nice. We ate the breakfast buffet a couple of times for $9.99. Kids are free with an adult purchase. We did not do the character breakfast there. There were also some fast-food options (Pizza Hut, A&W, sub sandwiches and Barnies) that didn't open until the day we left. Official grand opening was this weekend. There is also a Studio Nick theater where they have Nick Live shows every night. They also offer hair wraps and tattoos (which you can get touched-up for free) and kids manicures and pedicures. Food was average, nothing really special.

The pools are absolutely fabulous. The Oasis area is a bit smaller with not as many slides as the Lagoon. But the Lagoon bottom is very rough and DD cut her toes on it. Pool-side games and activities are planned throughout the day. Very funny and entertaining staff. Seem to enjoy playing with the kids. Lifeguards everywhere, very attentive. I saw one jump in and get a little boy who came off the slide.

There is enough to do at this resort for at least a whole day, maybe 2. We spent the afternoon at the pools on arrival day and scheduled another day too. Saturday the pools were fairly crowded, but by Thursday, they were virtually empty. DD got picked for every game they did pool-side because there were only about 6 kids there.

Bottom line...absolutely loved it. Would definitely stay there again. Parking wasn't a problem and we were about 15 minutes from Universal/Wet N Wild. Didn't do Disney this time, but it's even closer.

Any questions?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Thanks so much for the review. We're planning on doing two nights there before heading over to Disney. We just want to enjoy the hotel and let the kids have their fill of the "Nick experience". Glad to hear some positive reviews.

 

[Reflection]

Thanks for the detailed report. We will be staying at the Nick hotel for one night in a couple of weeks. My daughter is really looking forward to staying here. I'm sorry to hear the food quality has not improved with all the changes at this property.

Are they still offering face painting and magic shows along with the activities in Studio Nick?

 

[ca859093]

Thanks for the detailed report. We will be staying at the Nick hotel for one night in a couple of weeks. My daughter is really looking forward to staying here. I'm sorry to hear the food quality has not improved with all the changes at this property.

Are they still offering face painting and magic shows along with the activities in Studio Nick?

I know I am not the original OP but I thought I would answer. They do have face painting at an extra charge, they have balloon creations at an extra charge. I did not see any magic shows when we went on the 19th of May. I recommend if you are only going for a night to get there early so you can enjoy the pools and such. Even though you can't check into your room you can still use everything.

 

[Reflection]

I know I am not the original OP but I thought I would answer. They do have face painting at an extra charge, they have balloon creations at an extra charge. I did not see any magic shows when we went on the 19th of May. I recommend if you are only going for a night to get there early so you can enjoy the pools and such. Even though you can't check into your room you can still use everything.

Thanks, ca859093, for the response. We stayed at this property before when it was HIFS and we really enjoyed the bingo, magic show and karaoke evening activities. My daughter is a huge Nick fan, so the activities in the Nick Studio should be fun. The only thing I did not like when this place was HIFS was the food--IMO really, really bad--even though the breakfast was free. Seems it is still really, really bad and I frankly won't miss the free bad breakfast (do I have a theme here, or what? ), but I was hopeful the extensive renovations would have resulted in better food service.

Checking in early to enjoy the pool is exactly what we plan on doing, so I am glad to hear this strategy worked for you earlier in the month. This one-night stay is a 'relax at the hotel and enjoy the pool' stay.

 

[kdtwiss]

We were there last week for one night. Would have liked to stay longer but too much $$!
The only disappointment at all was mine.The kids were thrilled! We went early and enjoyed the pools which were fantastic! We were near the bigger pool. Very fun upbeat atmosphere with lively music and games for kids. Little pool bar to get drinks for everyone as lobby is far away.
What were my issues? Well first of all I was told HOTEL WAS DONE! Just needing some retouching in rooms. This was not the case at all. The entire lobby (mall area) was not finished as of last Thursday (5/19) not even close really. The buffet area not done, just di not look like the projected photos on website. Now, had I been told to expect this I would have. No problem. It di not interfere with kid's great time, just the ambience for us grown ups.
The food was set up nicely in a room probably for future banquet use and was pretty bad, but cheap with kids eating free so can not complain there.
The other complaint - the rooms are TINY! We have four children and really should have been in a 3 room suite. How I wish we had been made more aware of our options before reserving. As it was we could not move to a larger suite as I was told they had none available. Beware parents of more than two children - the two bedroom suite has one bunkbed and one pull out cot. Thankfully my guys were able to come to an agreement over who sleeps where, but it could have been a big problem. I think the rooms that have two double beds OR a 3 bedroom suite is a better idea with families of more than 2 children.
That said - as shocked as I was at the size of the room for the kids, they were quite happy with the Fairly OddParents theme. I would stay there again in a heartbeat as the kids enjoyed it so much! Look forward to trying it again someday when they are truly done with renovations!

 

[ca859093]

We were there last week for one night. Would have liked to stay longer but too much $$!
The only disappointment at all was mine.The kids were thrilled! We went early and enjoyed the pools which were fantastic! We were near the bigger pool. Very fun upbeat atmosphere with lively music and games for kids. Little pool bar to get drinks for everyone as lobby is far away.
What were my issues? Well first of all I was told HOTEL WAS DONE! Just needing some retouching in rooms. This was not the case at all. The entire lobby (mall area) was not finished as of last Thursday (5/19) not even close really. The buffet area not done, just di not look like the projected photos on website. Now, had I been told to expect this I would have. No problem. It di not interfere with kid's great time, just the ambience for us grown ups.
The food was set up nicely in a room probably for future banquet use and was pretty bad, but cheap with kids eating free so can not complain there.
The other complaint - the rooms are TINY! We have four children and really should have been in a 3 room suite. How I wish we had been made more aware of our options before reserving. As it was we could not move to a larger suite as I was told they had none available. Beware parents of more than two children - the two bedroom suite has one bunkbed and one pull out cot. Thankfully my guys were able to come to an agreement over who sleeps where, but it could have been a big problem. I think the rooms that have two double beds OR a 3 bedroom suite is a better idea with families of more than 2 children.
That said - as shocked as I was at the size of the room for the kids, they were quite happy with the Fairly OddParents theme. I would stay there again in a heartbeat as the kids enjoyed it so much! Look forward to trying it again someday when they are truly done with renovations!

We were there the same time. The same thing happened to us, the kids had a great time and I was disappointed. I was disappointed that we got our room and the living room walls were not painted just all patched up. I didn't think the size was to small but you would have to do some creative thinking if you had more the a couple kids. I took 3 of my 5 boys and it worked out well for us. For what I eat the dinner and breakfast was ok, and it worked out for us because the kids eat free and they can eat as much or as little as they want.
It is a big place and a little confusing at times, I really look forward to when it is done, because the boys had a great time and wanted to stay longer then a night. I also looked in some rooms they were working on and were almost done with and they looked really nice.

 

[CarsonsMom]

We were there last week too. We stayed 4 days. I too was disappointed. We had a Nick at Nite suite which was not what I expected. It looked kind of cheesey. They make it sound very plush on the website. It was clean, but decorations were not great. Bed was comfy but the sheets were like sandpaper. I too was told the hotel was complete and the cafeteria was not finshed. The only place to eat was the buffet and it was awful. The atmosphere of the place in general was great and the pools and slides were wonderful. Basically, we had a great time and my son loved it but the room and eating areas left a bit to be desired. Paying $194 a night versus the $120 we could have paid per night in a value resort at Disney, we will pick Disney next time like we usually do. It was fun but you just can't beat Disney quality.

 

[tnkrbell]

Paying $194 a night versus the $120 we could have paid per night in a value resort at Disney, we will pick Disney next time like we usually do. It was fun but you just can't beat Disney quality.

Do you say this because of the hotel overall or because it was not finished? We are paying 200.00 per night in July and we are paying 240. for Yacht club do you think they compare?? what do you think?

 

[heart4dis]

We stayed there in 2003 when it was still HIFS. Breakfast buffet was free. Is that no longer the case?

 

[kilee]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

[MNmom2]

We stayed there in 2003 when it was still HIFS. Breakfast buffet was free. Is that no longer the case?

Nope. Now it's $9.95 for each adult and kids eat free with a paying adult.

 

[Kirstytwin]

We stayed in the Nick hotel in Dec 2005.

We loved it, the attention our children got was second to none, the food was resonable for the price.

We have booked again to stay in May/June 2006

 

[lisafost]

Any updates from those of you who were planning on visiting later?

Any info would be appreciated!!

Thinking of this for May 06...

 

[Kirstytwin]

When in May are you thinking of?

We will be there 23rd May till 31st May 2006

 

[lisafost]

we were thinking may 12 & 13..we have a L/S package thatv starts the 14th.

 

[mommykds]

Interesting review & comments...I just started looking into the Nick hotel today. As someone above mentioned - to let the kids get out there Nick fix. We will be in WDW for 10 days in late August & I was thinking of doing the Nick hotel for 2 nights before we hit Disney...Is 2 days enough? Also would you do Nick before or after WDw?

 

[alicenwonder99]

We stayed at a value resort last month, and I said never again. I'd rather stay offsite than stay at a value again. We stayed at the Nick hotel when it was Holiday Inn Family Suite, and we loved it. But I have to agree with everyone on this thread that the food was really bad. The free breakfast buffet was okay (because it was free), the other food available for dinner was bad.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom kid suite. Is there a 3 bedroom suite?

Mary

 

[jama]

Hi!
We stayed in the 3 bedroom first week of Jan.
The food was very good! We ate at the character breakfast buffet, dinner buffet, room service dinner, and ordered from dinner menu in restaurant. Also ate at Pizza Hut, A&W, And the Subs& Salads. All the food was tasty and great selections.
Jama