Please help me pick a hotel for 20 people!!

[Kimberly815]

HI!

Here is the back story. I am getting married next November on the Gulf Coast of Florida (where my parents live). After the wedding, my then husband and I are planning to head to Disney for the week with anyone at the wedding who would like to join us. (We will take a more traditional honeymoon a few months later. Our immediate families are already planning on joining us. And of course, we all want to stay together.

We are planning on narrowing down the possible hotels to a list of 5 or so for our families to choose from. The ages will likely be from about 7-65. We are hoping for a realitively cost effective hotel, as there are people with many different budgets joining us. We were also hoping for someplace that my then husband and I could upgrade to a suite (it being right after our wedding and all!).

Please, any suggestions/ideas would be wonderful!!

 

[spiceycat]

the value resorts at WDW are nice for this type of thing. fairly reasonable, WDW transportation - so you don't need to rent cars, and with DME disney will take you back and forth to the airport (cuts out another cost).

there are all the All stars and Pop century.

off property - does it have to be a hotel. Timeshares have suites, 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms, most have activties, all have swimming pools.

Marriott's Cypress Harbour
Marriott's Grande Vista
Orange Lake
Sheraton's Vistana

 

[Kimberly815]

Thanks Spiceycat!
The value resorts are something I was definitley concidering as an option. Good to hear that they may work well.
As most of the people attending should have rental cars (since we will all be traveling over from the Gulf Coast), I think the timeshares may be perfect.

Any other suggestions, or reviews of timeshares would be great. Thanks!

 

[hercamore]

How about a vacation home or two? Lots of owners have homes near each other that can be rented. There are 7 bedroom homes near Disney that are huge. You can rent directly from the owner You mostly have cars so transportation not a problem.

www.vbro.com

 

[Kimberly815]

WOW! That website is great! And those houses are very reasonable once you figure how many people will be staying in them.

I will be traveling down to Florida a few times to make wedding arrangements on the Gulf Coast. I wonder if they would let me check out a few in person.

Thanks, I will keep all these suggestions in mind!

 

[Lisa P.]

For timeshare resorts in Orlando after a wedding, I might suggest...

Sheraton Vistana Villages on S. Int'l Dr. - make sure you and DH get a 1BR deluxe w/jacuzzi (not the smaller 1BR side) - all MBRs have king beds. Other traveling with you may get a 1BR (either type) or 2BR, all with full or partial kitchens, LR/DR. Nice grounds w/walking paths, waterfall pool area, playground, tennis, fitness center, game room and they're right down the road from many restaurants.

Fairfield Orlando at Bonnet Creek, located between Disney's CBR and TL - all unit sizes (1BR, 2BR, 3BR, 4BR) include a king MBR suite w/jacuzzi, full kitchen/LR/DR, balcony, etc. New and pretty w/floating river pool, zero-entry pool, children's water play area, fitness center, game room and a short drive down the street from DTD.

HGVC (Hilton Grand Vacations Club) on International Drive, located near SVV above - 1BR, 2BR & 3BR units have a king MBR suite w/jacuzzi, full kitchen/DR/LR. Studios are available (large hotel room w/fridge, micro, sink, coffee, etc.) too. Waterfall pool, childrens water play & playground, tennis, fitness center, very pretty.

All three of these resorts are fairly new with attractive grounds and evening lighting. The buildings have something of a mediterranean style. They're all considered among the best of the "gold crown" awarded timeshares out there. If you find weekly rentals from owners or on SkyAuction.com, you'll save a lot of money over renting from the resorts themselves but you would not get daily housekeeping service (only weekly, ready for check-in). HTH!

 

[figgy4me]

Govenment Employee Travel Opportunities

If you have any local, state, or federal government employees -- they can go to this site and get available villas for only $264. per week. That is only $37 per day. They do not even have to go - they can put it in the correct name when they reserve the villa. Unless you are getting married around a holiday, this should be no problem in November.

 

[areuready]

If interested in a villa, we stayed at this great one. the website is dsnyhomes. we stayed in #1, it was 6 bedrooms, number 2 if located on the same street.

 

[ShariVT]

http://www.vrbo.com/22975

I thought this might work the it is 2 8 bedroom houses side by side giving you 16 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. It is in Emerald Island and all the homes there are pretty new and it is a great location.

 

[isla bonita]

A couple of pool rental homes would suit just fine. Enough room to gather together and enough room to have your own space when needed. If you split the cost between all that will be there it will be very inexpensive. This way you can be with the relatives when you want and you can have the honey moon alone time when you leave for your private hotel room minutes away. Have a great one what ever you do.

 

[tednvon]

Hi Shari,
we have also owned a 7 bed 6 bath in Emerald Island

I am very familiar with the two homes you have seen on VRBO and they are very nice...located on a culdesac with lots of space to the rear of the homes...

I think you and your family would be absolutely thrilled with this arrangement. You will not believe how beautiful these homes are and when you spread the cost out, it is very very reasonable...be sure to get the pool heat.

All the best and congrats on your engagement...Grandpa Ted

 

[Kimberly815]

Wow. This is such great info. I think that the two homes would be perfect! I can wait to tell everyone about it, and how cost-effective it will be for everyone. This should make for such a fun trip!

 

[mbb]

we took our immediate family last January, and stayed in a 5 bedroom..and it worked wonderfully well. A few tips if you decide to do this, though:

1)Talk about EVERYTHING beforehand...ie, who is cooking, who gets what room(s), paying for groceries, snacks, etc...are the grands going to be asked to babysit...etc, etc...right down to "closed door policies"

2)Pool rules for everyone, and what is expected to happen with the wet towels/swimsuits (This drives my mother crazy We talked about it, and came up with a plan that worked )

3)"Vacation for all", was our theme, as opposed to "vacation for some". With a little thoughtfulness, a group of people *not* used to living together, can have a wonderul "Let's Do This Again!" outcome...

...and we're booked again for February

Some sites we like:
www.orlandovillas.com
www.villasflorida.com
www.onlinefloridavillas.com These are all sister sites, and have free forums that you can ask owners anything at all...and they are all so helpful...just like the owners are here!!

One other quick thing...have you thought about everyone renting points from a DVC owner? Onsite, with accomodations to suit everyone...studio with kitchenette, to the 1,2 bedrooms or Grand Villas..

Congrats on your engagement!

HTH!!

 

[tednvon]

Just a reminder...this is a message board for information sharing, not advertising a home.

One more tip when renting a home or condo...bring your favorite bar of soap and shampoo. The cleaning companies use the cheapest soap and no shampoo. It is not like a hotel where you get a fresh set of soap and shampoo each day.

Also to save a little money, buy a small box or bottle of laundry soap and a small box of dishwasher soap and stick it in the suitcase.
If you are lucky there may be some left from the last renters. If you buy these at the grocery store in Florida they are really expensive..

Enjoy...Grandpa Tee

 

[Kimberly815]

Wow. Thanks. \

Good tip on general rules for everyone. I would never have thought of that.

I would have never thought of the shampoo or laundry detergent either!

I never realized how many responses I would get! Thank you so much to everyone! I owe you!

 

[tednvon]

Kimberly, if you want to do something really fun and a little extra, two years ago for a big family get together at Disney I went to Ebay and bought a bunch of Mickey Mouse soaps from the hotels...they come up a lot on Ebay.

Here is a link to some I saw today...kind of makes the Disney World thing a little more "Disney."...

Ted

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-MICKEY-MOUS...552962969QQcategoryZ95120QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[umaangel00]

I would highly recommend either Windor Palms or Windsor Hills. I stayed at Palms in March and it was awesome. Staying at Hills in March of 2006. That one is a newer resort. If you go to Hills' website you can submit a general inquiry for information. Then the owner's will get back to you if their home is available during your dates. IT's a great way to find information out. They will send you a link to their home, pictures and the rates. Good luck!