Offsite hotel help

[blewits]

I am going to try to talk my husband into taking me to Universal for my birthday and anniversary combined. We have never been there but have been to Disney several times and have always stayed on Disney Property.

The only way I'm gonna be able to sell this to him (ha ha) is finding a hotel room for about $50 to $75 per nite. If we go, it will be in September (2003) so I hope it won't be as crowded (we've always had good luck @ Disney this time of year). Therefore, I'm not as worried about that express line thing that you get as a bonus for staying on Universal property. If I am wrong about this please tell me.

So my question is this? What offsite hotel would you reccomend that is close but not too far from Universal. I would like to have a nice pool and a microwave would be a huge plus. I just dont know the area at all and I don't know whats far and whats close. I really would like to have transportation provided to Universal/Islands via shuttle. We will have a car but it's kind of a pain to park at the parks.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Wendy

 

[Linda/MA]

A couple of years ago, we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on International Drive for $49/nite with the AAA rate. The room was very nice. It's not far from Universal, had a decent pool (nothing special), but don't remember if there was a microwave/fridge in the room. I got that rate off the Marriott website. It's worth a try!

 

[Robinrs]

Last June on a last minute trip we stayed at the Hampton Inn Universal in a Queen Room. That room has a small fridge and a microwave in the room. They have a shuttle and a free continental breakfast. We got it on www.hotelkingdom.com for $45 a night. Good deal!

 

[JessicaR]

We recently stayed one night at Crowne Plaza Universal. Its pretty new and the rooms are large. They offer transportation to the parks as well and have some nice dining options. The pool isnt that large but its kidney shaped and big enough and also has a hot tub. We were able to get a $58 rate using Hotwire.