Offsite- Never Again!!!!

[Brian Noble]

We stayed for one night at the Sheraton Safari ... I honestly don't see how those of you who stay offsite do it.

It's pretty easy. I stay in places A LOT nicer (but not much more expensive) than this dump.

Thanks for trolling/slumming down here on the offsite board though! If you ever consider an offsite stay again, for heaven's sake come here and ask for advice before picking a property. We could have steered you away from this mistake.

 

[sympatico]

It's pretty easy. I stay in places A LOT nicer (but not much more expensive) than this dump.

Thanks for trolling/slumming down here on the offsite board though! If you ever consider an offsite stay again, for heaven's sake come here and ask for advice before picking a property. We could have steered you away from this mistake.

I knew you'd make a comment.

 

[4forMe]

The problem was clearly where you chose to stay! The Sheraton Safari would not be for me either. I do tons of research before deciding where we stay on or offsite. Having said that I have never been disappointed. Sorry for your experience but I don't think you can't make a fair assessment based on where you chose to stay offsite. I bet if you had chosen Hilton Bonnet Creek, Lake Buena Vista Palace, Gaylord Palms, Sheraton Vistana, etc..... You would have had a different experience.

I completely agree that you chose the wrong place to stay! I am traveling to Orlando with DH next week and we are staying at the JW Marriott which is where we always stay when it's just the two of us (he's a Marriott rewards member). We are paying a special rate of under $150 per night for amazing accomodations - compared to $400 per night for a deluxe property on Disney (with horrible coffee selections!).

My close friend travels with her family to Disney every other year in August, and they always stay at the Ritz Carlton for a rate of under $200 per night. Again, they are getting amazing accomodations whereas they would pay @$400 per night onsite. We don't do EMH and we hate the bus system at WDW, so for us (and many others here), offsite is the way to go.

 

[mikehn]

Wow. We will never, ever, ever stay offsite again. We stayed for one night at the Sheraton Safari and wow...Disney never, EVER lets their hotels/resorts fall into disrepair like the Sheraton was. Honestly, we were scared every time we were on the elevator because it was so old. The carpet was worn, everything was peeling..eww. So totally not worth the 50ish dollars saved. Not to mention, it took us about thirty minutes to get to the Subway which should have taken us 5-10 minutes. Horrible traffic, and not to mention no access to EMHs. Several times we passed by the line for the Ferry to/from TTC/MK...heck no. We will pay our extra money to get clean beautiful rooms and to be immensed in the Disney theming 24/7. Offsite is definitely not our cup of tea. In fact, we've decided that the only exception for us with staying "offsite" would be to stay at the Swaolphin (Swan/Dolphin), since it is technically on property, has Disney transport, EMHs, and is not in disrepair. I honestly don't see how those of you who stay offsite do it. The one night we did offsite was horrible and almost too much to bear. Only onsite for us!

I've stayed at the Sheraton Safari and I can understand why you might not ever want to stay offsite again. I would agree the Safari is inferior to an onsite property. However, I would not use the Safari as a benchmark for offsite properties.

 

[DOOM1001]

If you book a nice,almost brand new brand name hotel that you got on Hotwire for $45 with free hot breakfast and many amenities you might have another experience.I've booked hotels on Hotwire like the Rosen Shingle creek or the brand new Hilton by the convention center for $55-$60,those are really good hotels for a very good price.You'll never get prices like that at the Disney hotels.Don't get me wrong I prefer to stay at Disney but since I go very frequently I stay offsite more than onsite and it's saved me tons through the years.

 

[PrincessCharlie]

Offsite can be great for all the reasons stated above, you just have to know what your walking in to. I did a boat load of looking at reviews before I picked, and you can't compare one hotel to all the rest.

I hope you give it another go because the benefits can out weigh the negatives.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Of course you cannot condemn all offsite places based on a short stay at one hotel.

My thought...this was supposed to be a Sheraton. And Sheratons are supposed to be nice hotels; a step above a Holiday Inn, and a small step below a Hilton. So I would think this was supposed to be a good hotel? Or am I living 30 years ago? Has Sheratons gone downhilll that much?

That said, I've read a few reviews on trip advisor. Seems as though the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[mikehn]

Of course you cannot condemn all offsite places based on a short stay at one hotel.

My thought...this was supposed to be a Sheraton. And Sheratons are supposed to be nice hotels; a step above a Holiday Inn, and a small step below a Hilton. So I would think this was supposed to be a good hotel? Or am I living 30 years ago? Has Sheratons gone downhilll that much?

That said, I've read a few reviews on trip advisor. Seems as though the positives outweigh the negatives.

Generally, Sheratons are nice. And this hotel might be considered nice in some other town. But the bar is really high in Orlando and unfortunately, this one cant compete here.

 

[Brian Noble]

I've stayed in a lot of Sheratons---I have status with Starwood. Of the Starwood brands, Four Points is their entry level, and Sheraton is one (smallish) step up from that. Several of their other brands (Westin, W, Le Meridien) are a big step up from there. There are also their new aLoft properties, which are funky and kind of cool, but you have to be in the right frame of mind---I'm at the upper end of their target demographic, age-wise. Usually, the Sheratons aren't too bad, but they do tend to be pretty dated.

In contrast, of Hilton's brands, there are several below the "Hilton" brand itself: Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, and Homewood Suites. The "Hilton-branded" properties are more comparable to the "Westin" branded ones than the "Sheraton" ones. I think of Doubletree and Sheraton as being pretty comparable brand-wise.

I knew you'd make a comment.

Now now, I have nothing against staying onsite. I even do it myself from time to time. It's not that bad.

 

[Lou Holtz]

I've stayed in a lot of Sheratons---I have status with Starwood.

He's kind of a big deal.

 

[Brian Noble]

He's kind of a big deal.

Shoot. I wish. I just travel too much for work.

Edited: Woah! Time warp! I responded to Lou's post, but it appears after mine in the thread. The DISboards hamsters must be tired.

 

[Brian Noble]

Woah! Time warp! I responded to Lou's post, but it appears after mine in the thread. The DISboards hamsters must be tired.

 

[BBG-BLT]

We're staying at the Liki Tiki in March 2012

I'm saving up my DVC points for a 3 BR Grand Villa at BLT MK view in June 2013 (my 50 th). We got it through an II transfer and although it's not Disney (and not even a Sheraton) we'll survive... I hope.

Good things about off site are the food prices and the fact that after 13 years of going to Orlando we'll finally hit Universal. I love Harry Potter.

And maybe (just maybe) my children will actually appreciate a Disney resort and not have it be an expectation.

I can dream can't I

 

[two*little*birds]

I personally would take Disney any day over staying in a hotel room too. A condo or pool home is completely different from hotel stay. Having 3 bathrooms so everyone can easily get ready, having a full kitchen so you can have a snack anytime is great, washer/dryer in the unit is fabulous.

Couldn't agree more...

 

[Lumiere Lover]

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I prefer Disney 24/7, so I will never stay offsite again. Too many great reasons to stay onsite.

 

[keypooh90]

We've stayed offsite at WH over the last two years. Both townhomes we stayed in had over-the-top Disney theming in the kids' room, more than you would ever see at a Disney resort.

In order to get the spacious accomodations we like onsite, we would have to go with DVC. I've read lots of reports of many of the units looking worn and shabby, and we could never afford them anyway.

I highly doubt that some townhome had more theming than say...Pop Century or Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. AKL is our favorite resort. There's no offsite place can give you the beauty of seeing this:

Every morning. This was a pair of Ankole Cattle that was always outside our balcony at AKV. We rent points and it is much more cost efficient that booking straight through Disney.

All Disney hotels/resorts get a "hard rehab" every 7 years (fixtures, furnishings, etc.), and a soft rehab every four (bedding, curtains, paint). They never let their hotels fall into disrepair.

We also enjoy having lots of resort time. For example, AKL offers many activities including African Storytelling, Cultural Safaris, Bead Activities, and more. We also go back to the room for a nap/swim around 1 pm ish and then go back into the parks at night, so we love utilizing the evening EMHs and love the ability to go from the parks and back quickly. Traffic was a nightmare that one night and we couldn't imagine doing it every day to/from the parks.


We booked the Sheraton on Priceline for 70 because it was the only cost it would take. We booked this last minute and will never do it again. Offsite is just not for us. We also go on a budget, but we choose to budget meals instead of the rooms. We eat breakfasts and one other meal in the room, to get the total experience of being on site and in the magic 24/7. We also do not do Universal/Sea World and only go offsite for some meals, so onsite is the best for us. To each his own.

 

[Lou Holtz]

That was a ridiculously high price to put in for that star level of hotel on Priceline. You can get that rate on a hotel's website. You made a mistake. I guess you no longer have any use for this forum. Thanks for visiting. I enjoyed reading your insulting, condescending posts and will miss them.

 

[keypooh90]

That price is all Priceline would take since it was a Holiday Weekend. We tried lower prices and believe me, both the Sheraton and Priceline will be getting letters from us!

 

[Lou Holtz]

I wouldn't waste a piece of paper sending a letter to Priceline.

 

[sympatico]

Now now, I have nothing against staying onsite. I even do it myself from time to time. It's not that bad.

Oh I know you stay both onsite and offsite but my point is that you will tell it how it is for both. In other words you're not an onsite or offsite snob.