Offsite Hotel Advice for Honeymoon

[ZeonStar]

Hey all.

Hoping you can give me some good input on this.

We are arriving in Disney on November 22nd for the start of our Honeymoon. Our Cruise leaves the 24th, then when we come back on Dec 1, we have 8 days at WDW at The Beach Club.

We need to find a Nice Hotel, Non-Disney for our first 2 nights before the Cruise. We want to stay somewhere within The Disney Property, possibly the Downtown Disney Area.

We want to try and keep the cost down, but also would like to get something nice, if we could find a good deal. We would love to have a room with some kind of Hot tub in it. I saw this place called the Sheraton Vistana Villages That had one right in a room I think called the Bella.

We would like to aim for about $100 a night. With that being said, we have thought about using Priceline, selecting the Resort Level and seeing what we get. (Advice from MouseSavers.)

I know if we do priceline we wont get any Hotel with a Hot tub in room. So it's going to be either Priceline, or we search on our own and see what we can get.

I would love any input/advice/options on this. We want to get the room booked soon.

Thank you!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Sheraton Vistana is not at DTD but LBV - so if you are considering other areas one hotel that looks great for couples is the Celebration hotel at Celebration!!

Don't know if it's on Priceline though.

 

[ZeonStar]

Where is Celebration?

 

[Lisa BC]

Celebration is off of 192 east of the I-4 interchange.

DTD or the Swan / Dolphin are really your only choices if you want to be on Disney property but not at a Disney hotel.

I will say that I think $100 /night for a jacuzzi room near WDW during Thanksgiving week is overly optimistic. This is a peak travel period at WDW and the parks will be packed.

I'm assuming that you don't want to rent a car those first two days? You might try something up on I-drive in the general area of Universal. You will likely get a better price, potentially free shuttles to/from the airport, and could use the I-trolley to get around for activities and dining.

If you really want to stay near WDW, you have to pay for a shuttle or cab / town car. Expect to spend $16pp for the shuttle bus that makes mutiple stops, or around $50 total for cab fare/town car service. Then another $20 to get a cab from your hotel to your cruise check-in location. You may be better off in the long run to stay onsite at Disney at a moderate resort and use Magical Express to get from the airport to your hotel. ME is a free service.

Good luck! And congratulations, sounds like you have a fabulous Honeymoon planned!

Lisa

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Sheraton Vistana is not at DTD but LBV - so if you are considering other areas one hotel that looks great for couples is the Celebration hotel at Celebration!!

Don't know if it's on Priceline though.

I have stayed at Vistana and Vistana Village. At Vistana you run the risk of getting the older section. I just booked the single at Vistana Village for 115 per night on Orbitz. I would suggest the Village.

The Celebration hotel is very nice but you might need to rent a car to stay there.
For the OP are you a teacher? If so you can get a discount on Celebration if I am not mistaken.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Celebration is off the 192 as said - about 15 mins from WDW. You can walk round the 'town', it has a main street & a variety of restaurants together with a few shops. The hotel is near the lake & main street.

 

[ZeonStar]

I'm not getting notifications about replies here. Weird. Thanks for the info though.

Yeah we do want to stay within the property. But surely we can get a non disney Hotel? What about all the ones in DTD? The Hilton, or the Hyatt (North of Epcot) I believe? Those would be options wouldn't they?

I kinda forgot it's going to be busy when we're going. I know we need to book this soon. It doesn't have to be $100 exactly. That was a ballpark.

Does anyone know the rooms at the Vistana with the Hot tubs in them though..anyone stayed in one?

Renting a car is definately not something we plan on doing. No need really. we just want to relax for 2 days before our Cruise.

I am not a teacher.

 

[spiceycat]

you can get both Best Western Lake Buena Vista or a WDW value resort for $99 (not including taxes)

I would go with Pop Century myself and let Disney do the driving. but if you want downtown - I stayed at bw - it was old. but it had a hot tub in the swimming pool area. Pop century does not.

www.hotelmartusa.com - this is the only place I could find with $99 a night.

the others places were between $129 to $140 a night.

remember what Lisa BC says about the extra charges. also remember that Thankgiving day is Nov 22. so unless you already have your airline tickets - I might just change my mind.

go on Nov 23 and get something close to the cruise in Port Canaveral.

 

[ZeonStar]

We do already have our tickets. We'll be coming in around 8am on the 22nd. All night flying...Funzy-wunzy!

Forget I said $100. If we find a good deal, it's ok. We just want to find a place somewhat Honeymoonish IF POSSIBLE. I am trying to keep it Non Disney for her sake, as to not bombard her with it. Since after these 2 nights, it will be Disney for 2 weeks non stop.

We thought about a Moderate resort though, just to try them. Not a value though. The Caribbean Beach looks nice, and kind of fits with the "Theme" of our honeymoon.

This is the start of our wonderful Honeymoon. We want something kinda nice...but of course not $400/night nice. Heheh.

thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

then I would either get LBV BW or a value resort now - generally places require 3 days because it is holiday.

right now, I don't think either are requiring 3 days.

 

[ZeonStar]

We just talked on the phone and decided to just get our room. We used Priceline and got the Hyatt Grand Cypress for about $100 a night. We are very happy, we love the Hyatt hotels and this one looks gorgeous.

We're all set. Thank you all though for the input.

Side note: She loves how Celebration looks. We'll have to stay there sometime.

 

[spiceycat]

wonderful!!!

but go read the latest reviews about the Hyatt. So you won't be disappointed there.


boy it is time for me to try the Hyatt - $100 a night.

 

[ZeonStar]

Why are the reviews bad or something?

Reviews from this site, you mean right?

We have alot of fond memories of Hyatt's...hehe.

Looks like we're north of Downtown Disney. Kind of off in a corner. Looks wonderful though.

 

[spiceycat]

well they were not bad exactly. but you know complaints about why the hotel was not perfect.

people who are use to a 4 star hotel and expect to always be in a 4 star hotel.

I think they are working on the hotel. but nothing that would upset you.

 

[ZeonStar]

I don't know where the reviews are.

 

[spiceycat]

here are some
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?w...d+cypress,+orlando,+fl&submit.x=17&submit.y=6

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1374289

 

[Lisa BC]

I would say that you got a fantastic rate. That's great!

Join the Hyatt GoldPassPort program. While you won't earn points for your stay since it was through priceline, you may get some perks... like an upgrade to a suite or concierge since it is your honeymoon. When you call with any room requests, be sure to mention it is your honeymoon. Maybe a little Pixie dust from WDW will fall your way at check-in.

This hotel isn't on Disney property, and it isn't within walking distance to DTD IMHO - its a little more than a mile on pretty busy roads.

For trip from the airport cab fare will be about the same as reserving Town Car service.

Enjoy!

Lisa

 

[ZeonStar]

Oh what is this GoldPassPort thing? YOu got my attention with that room upgrade option. Hehe. (Not promised, I know.)

Now that my room is booked, I would call the Hotel directly for any requests right? I dont go through Priceline at all anymore?

We are excited about this Hotel. Nice start to our Honeymoon. As I said, we love the Hyatt's in general and this blows away others we have stayed at and loved.

EDIT: Ok so I signed up to it, that was easy. I can't link my new number to my existing reservations. Maybe it's again because I went through Priceline? Or should I call?

Is it a bit soon to call and request a room...and hint about the Honeymoon thing? Would I wanna call the Gold number or just the Hotel itself?

I forgot to mention, that this is actually 1 of 2 Hyatt's we will be at in the coming months. We are taking a quick trip to Disneyland next month for our 30th Birthday's (My friend is getting us into Club 33 for our first time!) and we are staying at a Hyatt then too.

 

[Lisa BC]

Hyatt GoldPassPort is great! So glad you were able to register.

I don't think you will be able to link your GPP # to your priceline ressie. But, when you check in, take it with you. Be sure to check-in at the GPP desk rather than the regular check-in desk. You can earn GPP points on other purchases at the resort that week, like food - or anything else you charge to your room during your stay.

I would call Hyatt now for your California stay, and have them link your GPP # to that ressie. You might as well earn some points.

I would call the Hyatt in Orlando directly for any room requests in October.

Good luck!

Lisa