Hi Heidi - here was my mini review on PO FQ:
Just returned from POR-French Quarter
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Hey all,
Just got back from a 6 night trip with my wife and 2 sons - age 4 1/2 and 19 and to sum up this resort in one word - Fabulous. I traveled for business for many years and have stayed at virtually all hotel chains and can not put into words how much we thouroughly enjoyed the FQ. Here are just a few reasons a to why:
1. Resort Size. 1000 rooms equals less than 4,000 people on property. Spoke with somone at the front desk and was told that they were 95% sold out. It was hard to believe because at any given time - you never saw more than 60-70 people roaming throughout the grounds.
2. Room. Can't say enough about it. Perfect size. I would rate the comfortness of the beds a 7.5 based upon a scale of 1-10. The pillows - a 5. Definately recommend you bring along your own favorite. Showers were very warm and the seperate "powder room" with the dividing curtain was much appreciated - especially with a 4 year old sleeping and sharing the room with a 19 year old. The 2 sinks were great - allowing both of us to get ready at the same time.
3. Free Fridge. Perfect size. We ordered groceries form Garden Grocer and were able to fit the following items in it: (Had to remove the 2 shelves)
1. Gallon milk
2. Gallon OJ
3. Pint coffee creamer
4. Pint of fruit
5. (8) 16oz bottles of water
6. (4) Juice boxes
7. 1/2lb. Cold cuts
4. Cleanlieness/Housekeeping: Room was perfectly clean. Floors, bathroom, linens all top notch. Tipped Mousekeeping $5 per day - got one towel animal - but everday she organized the characters that my son had brought down. Very very nice coming back to an immaculate and cool room every night.
5. Pool. The pool rocked. Warm, clean and plenty of towels. The slide was a huge hit with my little guy - probaly going down it 2 dozen times. Only downside - closed a few nights due to lightning and one night due to a very sick child who got sick in it and they were forced to heavily shock it and close it down for 12 hours.
5. Restaurant. What can I say - it's a Disney "Cafa-restaurant." Burgers and fries were very good. Breakfast was decent. Omlettes, french toast and mickey waffles. Never had a crowd issue. Always waited until 8:30-9:00 to eat. I'm sure it may have been packed at 7:00 - but that's to be expecetd.
6. Buses. Other than waiting for an Epcot bus for 25 minutes the night we arrived, NEVER waited more than 10 minutes - and most of the days less than 5 minutes. Found that if we arrived at the bus stop 5 minutes to the hour - we would always catch a bus ASAP. Yes, sometimes you share with POR, but because it's the 1st stop we always had a seat. Returning from the parks - 1st off as well and really never had any issues with overcrowding. Usually there were 2 buses loading at almost the same time.
7. Staff.. Friendly and courteous. Had an autographed b-day card signed by all of the characters for my oldest and an anniversary card/photo from Prince Charming and Cinderella for our anniversary. Bell hops delivered our Garden Grocer delivery and refused to take a tip. Called maint. about 2 burned out light bulbs in the bathroom area and they were at our door in less than 5 minutes! Couldn't believe it.
8. Love Bugs. NONE!
9. Weather. 95 degrees all week with 95% humidity. Pack an extra shirt when heading out. Also rained almost every afternoon. Always had four $1.00 - Dollar store umbrellas in my messenger bag along with a $10 stroller cover. ( Always used it when we went on the rides. Saved us 3 times in a week from coming back to a drenched stroller)
10. Extra Info. Don't spend the extra dollars for a water view room. The view of the river is nice but worth about $1.00. Plus, a water view pretty much puts your farthest away from the lobby, buses etc... Unlike other resorts (POP Century for example) where it's well worth paying for a preferred room due to the proximity to the pools, buses, restaurant etc.... definately not needed here. We stayed in building 6 - Room 6108 and would probably request that same building and room again. It was a corner room with 2 windows right next to the stairs and NEVER heard a sound. 3 minutes walk at the most to all facilities. Walked the last day to POR's gift shop with our 4 year old ( refused to sit in the stroller) and made it there in less than 15 minutes.
Overall - I rate POR FQ an 8.5. If you are looking for a well maintained, beautifully lanscaped resort - with less than a 4 minute walk from end-to-end, then this is the resort for you
. I think that POR has a better pool area. If your DS likes the pool thing, you might want to consider staying here. They also have a pool bar and larger jacuzzi (I think...never officially measured). FQ has a pool bar as well.
will be there in 60 days!!!!!
