Old, Abandoned Hotel off of 192 and I-4

[KristinU]

Great sleuthing @bankr63 and @sgtdisney - I didn't realize that is was open so recently...though from the reviews it sounds like it was in sad disrepair towards the end.

 

[greenclan67]

Do you know how many times I go past this place and feel sad. Thanks for sharing

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Sorry but that Post card is not of the Hyatt Orlando. 2900 Parkway Blvd is a different hotel, I believe it may be something called Delta by Marriott Resort. The official address for the Hyatt Orlando was 6375 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747. After Hyatt closed the hotel it was reopened,and unbranded and was called Orlando Sun Resort & Conference Center. However that place didn't last long. There is still reviews and a few pictures of the place on Trip Advisor.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...sort_Convention_Center-Kissimmee_Florida.html

It had some bad reviews.

Here is a video of the hotel when it was the Orlando Sun Resort. They changed very little from it's days as a Hyatt. Check out the 80s/90s stuff in the lobby.

I am not having much luck finding pics of the place as a Hyatt, but if you search for Orlando Sun Resort, there is a lot on the web and even on You Tube, including a cool flyover by a drone after it was closed the 2nd time.

I know the postcard isn't from the Hyatt Orlando. It very clearly states on the back of the postcard that it is the Ramada Resort. I asked the OP if it was the Ramada that he was remembering and he said it might be, so I said I'd post any brochures, postcards or pictures if I could find them.

 

[sgtdisney]

I know the postcard isn't from the Hyatt Orlando. It very clearly states on the back of the postcard that it is the Ramada Resort. I asked the OP if it was the Ramada that he was remembering and he said it might be, so I said I'd post any brochures, postcards or pictures if I could find them.

Ok, sorry I thought you had thought that was the hotel that we were talking about. It is pretty close to the Hyatt Orlando. It was called a Ramada at one point. It's name was Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort.
Here is an old webpage with some pics when it was a Ramada.

https://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotels...375-West-Irlo-Bronson-Highway-34747#HotelName

Also, seems that the Hyatt Orlando went bankrupt before it was a Hyatt. Pretty interesting. I saw some information on this website below and some more pictures. It started out as a place called the Carolando Hotel and Motor Inn. It was one of the first hotels built after Disney to go bankrupt this website says and has an interesting drawing of the resort and a 500 foot tall space needle that was, at one point, supposed to be close to it. I am guessing it may not have ever been built?

Go about 1/2 way down.
http://www.bigbrian-nc.com/mousefestive04c.html

 

[Tardisblue]

Sorry but that Post card is not of the Hyatt Orlando. 2900 Parkway Blvd is a different hotel, I believe it may be something called Delta by Marriott Resort. The official address for the Hyatt Orlando was 6375 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34747. After Hyatt closed the hotel it was reopened,and unbranded and was called Orlando Sun Resort & Conference Center. However that place didn't last long. There is still reviews and a few pictures of the place on Trip Advisor.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...sort_Convention_Center-Kissimmee_Florida.html

It had some bad reviews.

Here is a video of the hotel when it was the Orlando Sun Resort. They changed very little from it's days as a Hyatt. Check out the 80s/90s stuff in the lobby.

I am not having much luck finding pics of the place as a Hyatt, but if you search for Orlando Sun Resort, there is a lot on the web and even on You Tube, including a cool flyover by a drone after it was closed the 2nd time.

Thanks for digging this up. This was definitely the place. The music in the video gave me a "Charlie Brown 'Christmas-time is Here'" vibe, kind of sad and melancholy. It seems to me this property is past rehab and needs to be demolished for something else - perhaps more parking for WDW or that elusive 5th gate we keep hearing rumors about...

 

[Tardisblue]

I know the postcard isn't from the Hyatt Orlando. It very clearly states on the back of the postcard that it is the Ramada Resort. I asked the OP if it was the Ramada that he was remembering and he said it might be, so I said I'd post any brochures, postcards or pictures if I could find them.

After looking through what everyone has posted I'm confident now that it was the Hyatt.

I appreciate all the input and responses.

 

[DsnyCzy57]

Hey guys - not sure if this is the right place to post this or not. We just returned from a week-long stay at the Polynesian, great time, great resort, but not the subject of this post.

We had a car this trip and took a drive off property for dinner one evening and as we're driving back we passed by an abandoned hotel property that is immediately east of I-4 and north of 192. I'm positive this is a place I stayed back in 1983 right after Epcot opened and want to say it was a Hyatt property?

Can anyone confirm what this hotel was originally and (long shot) happen to have any photos or post cards of the place? This is pure nostalgia for me. I stayed there with my parents and grandmother, all of whom have since passed away, and I'm simply taking a trip down memory lane.

Thanks!

TB[/ It was the Orlando Hyatt. We stayed there in 1998, our 1st visit to WDW. It was a nice hotel. Stackable washer and dryers in the hallways. Nice pool and walking distance to Charley Steak House. Great times.

 

[Mikey15]

Crazy to see a big, prime location property abandoned like that, though at this point you'd be talking about razing it and starting from scratch. Considering all the construction going on all the time right now in Orlando though I'm surprised it hasn't been snapped up.

I enjoy staying out in Four Corners, but it's bizarre to me that new places keep getting built there but not at this much "closer" spot.

 

[writerguyfl]

Complete and Total Speculation:

I can think of two reasons for this prime real estate to be still vacant after all these years. The first reason would be that there's an issue with the ground. Since there's already buildings there, it's probably not contaminated by former industrial use. So, that leaves quality. Due to the high water table in Florida, building anything heavy (like a mid or high rise building) typically requires lots of deep pilings. Some sites are better than others. It's possible that this site can only support lower rise buildings. Anything bigger might require more expensive foundations.

(Although unconfirmed, I've heard rumors that the Main Street Theatre at Magic Kingdom got canceled because that site wasn't appropriate for just a large, heavy building.)

The second reason is more reasonable and it's one that bankr63 raised on page one of this thread. I'd bet that the property taxes on this site haven't been properly paid for many, many years. Anyone purchasing the site probably would have to pay back-taxes before any construction could happen.

On that front, I'd guess that the value of the site probably is inflated. It's not unusual for the local property tax authority to overvalue hotels and other tourism-related buildings. (Universal Orlando routinely challenges the value of their property in that respect.) With no one paying attention over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if the value of this site is a bit inflated. And, I doubt there's a way to dispute the taxable value from previous tax years.

 

[HopperFan]

The second reason is more reasonable and it's one that bankr63 raised on page one of this thread. I'd bet that the property taxes on this site haven't been properly paid for many, many years. Anyone purchasing the site probably would have to pay back-taxes before any construction could happen.

On that front, I'd guess that the value of the site probably is inflated. It's not unusual for the local property tax authority to overvalue hotels and other tourism-related buildings. (Universal Orlando routinely challenges the value of their property in that respect.) With no one paying attention over the years, I wouldn't be surprised if the value of this site is a bit inflated. And, I doubt there's a way to dispute the taxable value from previous tax years.

To back this up Disney is currently in court battling the Tax Assessor over several WDW properties they consider severely overvalued.


BUT I did check on this property and the taxes are paid up to date. Last bill paid was in amount of $553,735.04 in November 2017.

The available records go back to 1992, and it has been held by the same Real Estate Investment group (family) the entire time.

It certainly is a mystery but either something is stopping them from doing anything right now or maybe they see more value in holding it long term until a time when a big investment or sale will pay off. It has awesome visibility and across from Celebration, but it's still on 192 - a less popular stretch of it. Curious minds want to know!

 

[writerguyfl]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing your detective work, HopperFan!

 

[LAS2AMS]

As mentioned, the property was built in 1972 as the Hyatt Orlando and closed in 2003. It was bought by a developer who intended in turning it into over 4,000 timeshare units, but — due to a softening economy — partially reopened it as the Orlando Sun Resort in 2007. It was renamed the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort the following year and closed circa 2011.

It’s been available for sale at $75M since 2014. That’s overpriced for the area, especially given the cost to demolish and clean up the site would add several more million to the price tag. The owner’s obviously not in a hurry to sell the property; they acquired the property for $30M in 2004.

 

[KristinU]

Very interesting sleuthing and tidbits, @HopperFan and @LAS2AMS , thanks for sharing!

 

[impos]

After looking through what everyone has posted I'm confident now that it was the Hyatt.

I appreciate all the input and responses.

Hope you like it

 

[impos]

I stayed there when it was Hyatt Orlando and I do still keep the card keys and map of property. I remember we were in orange blossom building, and do enjoy a lot the little supermarket at property, with a so nice and warming Cuban lady.
It’s so sad to see the property like this.

 

[Nsaudra]

This was back when they use to have all the commercials for Kissimmee St Cloud it was the place to be..... not so much anymore one of many abandon or run down proprieties

 

[Alicefan]

Oh my gosh! I always wonder when I pass this place at how such prime property hasn't been snatched up? I don't think you could find a better location if you wanted to build a resort. Very interesting to read everyone's information.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Great sleuthing @bankr63 and @sgtdisney - I didn't realize that is was open so recently...though from the reviews it sounds like it was in sad disrepair towards the end.

While those reviews sadly paint a picture of a hotel on it's last legs, some of the reviews are kind of funny in their outraged hyperbole. I especially love the one who blames her UTI on a dirty toilet seat, and the one who checked out after finding an ant - because a single sugar ant in a Florida hotel room is obviously the sign of a derelict hotel.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

Very interesting thread, thank you! My wife and I stayed at this Hyatt Orlando around 1999-2000. It was such an odd setup, but we had a great stay. The small pod buildings feel much more like a timeshare setup, but each pod had an interior hallway and entry much more like a hotel. Our room was actually very nice. I remember an exercise trail around the property we used, and at that time, several of the pods were already out of use. I guess it was already on its way down.

One of the reasons this stands out to us is we had only been married a year or two and we had just gotten the Disney fever enough to get an AP, and we were trying to take as many economical trips as possible. We also had just tried Priceline’s new invention (Lol) of naming your price and star level and then getting assigned a hotel. I was pretty disappointed when we got this hotel because the Priceline forums were not kind to it, but we were pleasantly surprised.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Back in the 80s it was a very nice Hyatt. Stayed there with friends the weekend prior to their wedding