Question about Hampton Inn Florida Mall

[dgr1973]

We have a room booked at the Hampton Inn Florida Mall on Nov 2nd - 6th and I got a great rate (35 per day). I read all sorts of different reviews about it and almost all say the hotel is great, very clean, good service, great free breakfast, etc.... My concern is I have read a few commenting on the area that it's in as being a little "seedy" as one person put it. Is it that bad? We are going to Universal and Seaworld only this time so I think the location is good for that but I don't really want to be in a crappy area. I know everyone's opinion of a bad area is different and believe me I have seen some nasty neighborhoods in the city I'm from (Chicago) but it makes me a little nervous. I would love to hear some other opinions about the area.

 

[sjanus]

We stayed over by Florida Mall at a Holiday Inn for 2 nights in April 2007 when we came down for business, as not much availability, it was Easter. It was a "seedy" area, didn't feel real comfortable. Also, there was a train in the middle of the night, sounded like it went right through our room, woke us right out of bed! Also, there was a strange bug on the wall. And it had 3 stars. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the area. For Sea World, Universal, there are lots of hotels on International Drive, a much better area.

Sandy

 

[dgr1973]

Thanks for the info! Anyone else have any opinion?

 

[Detailor]

The area that the hotel is located in is well outside of the Disney or Universal tourist area but I don't think that that area is particularly bad. There are several car dealership along that stretch of Orange Blossom Trail that's just below the Mall, along with fast food restaurants, stores and other hotels. There's usually a lot of traffic in the area.
Hampton Inns are pretty predictable hotels - nothing particularly fancy, usually serving business travelers, usually acceptably clean, etc. But not at a location that's likely to be top notch for hanging out at the pool or just relaxing.
Likewise, the area isn't too fancy - you're not going to see resorts like you'd see closer to Disney property. There are warehouses and such between OBT and SR 528 but they're behind the businesses that are located right on OBT like the Hampton Inn is.
I'm not sure where the Holiday Inn that the PP referenced is located but I know that there are train tracks that go across Orange Blossom Trail maybe a quarter to a half mile south of where the Hampton is located, so it's probably somewhere around there.
But if you're going to spending most of your time at SeaWorld or Universal then the hotel should serve you fairly well.

Dick Taylor

 

[sjanus]

The area that the hotel is located in is well outside of the Disney or Universal tourist area but I don't think that that area is particularly bad. There are several car dealership along that stretch of Orange Blossom Trail that's just below the Mall, along with fast food restaurants, stores and other hotels. There's usually a lot of traffic in the area.
Hampton Inns are pretty predictable hotels - nothing particularly fancy, usually serving business travelers, usually acceptably clean, etc. But not at a location that's likely to be top notch for hanging out at the pool or just relaxing.
Likewise, the area isn't too fancy - you're not going to see resorts like you'd see closer to Disney property. There are warehouses and such between OBT and SR 528 but they're behind the businesses that are located right on OBT like the Hampton Inn is.
I'm not sure where the Holiday Inn that the PP referenced is located but I know that there are train tracks that go across Orange Blossom Trail maybe a quarter to a half mile south of where the Hampton is located, so it's probably somewhere around there.
But if you're going to spending most of your time at SeaWorld or Universal then the hotel should serve you fairly well.

Dick Taylor

It was actually a Holiday Inn Express, think this is it http://orlando.citysearch.com/profi...xpress_hotel_suites_orlando_florida_mall.html,
but looking at the website it might have changed hands and be a Baymont now.

I agree with you about Hamptons, we stay at them a lot when travelling between places, but some have been better than others--we did stay at a couple we wouldn't return to while others were excellent. The breakfast is always nice. It will be convenient, 10 minute drive to Sea World, Universal, and decent restaurants at the Florida Mall. Perhaps someone will come along that stayed at that specific hotel and give you more feedback. Good luck in your decision.

Sandy

 

[dgr1973]

Thanks again for the info, I really appreciate it! I know the hotel should be fine from the reviews I read but I was just a little concerned with the neighborhood. We basically will only be in the hotel to sleep and shower so I hope it will be ok.

 

[Pineapple Whip]

I live here, find another hotel. People are trying to be polite by saying "seedy", what they mean is hookers and the associated crimes and elements that follow.

Florida mall is beautiful in the daytime when you can go in there and shop your heart out. OBT is great for shopping and has a lot of business to choose from. There are a lot of police and security in the mall and in the area, mostly concentrating on busting the hookers and protecting the shoppers. Your hampton is towards a nicer part of Orange Blossom Trail, but still in the afflicted area.

There are nice hotels along I-Drive which are much closer and have a lower crime rate. Shop around. The police mission in these areas is to protect the tourists / tourism and keep crime out. If you insist on expanding your search, stay west of John Young Pkwy.

 

[dgr1973]

I live here, find another hotel. People are trying to be polite by saying "seedy", what they mean is hookers and the associated crimes and elements that follow.

Florida mall is beautiful in the daytime when you can go in there and shop your heart out. OBT is great for shopping and has a lot of business to choose from. There are a lot of police and security in the mall and in the area, mostly concentrating on busting the hookers and protecting the shoppers. Your hampton is towards a nicer part of Orange Blossom Trail, but still in the afflicted area.

There are nice hotels along I-Drive which are much closer and have a lower crime rate. Shop around. The police mission in these areas is to protect the tourists / tourism and keep crime out. If you insist on expanding your search, stay west of John Young Pkwy.

This is not what I was hoping to hear but glad you told me! Still don't know what we are going to do but I can't stop obsessing about it!

 

[Pineapple Whip]

This is not what I was hoping to hear but glad you told me! Still don't know what we are going to do but I can't stop obsessing about it!

Yeah, it sucks when you see a great price and find "the catch".

I usually check on hotels.com for the pricing in the area and to get some user reviews. The user ratings tend to give you a better "gut feel" as to what you should expect.

There are a couple of interesting ones right on IDrive in the $49-54 range. A Rosen Inn and a Country Inn. Both are notable because they have a high number of user ratings and stayed at 3.9 - 4.1 "stars". There are a couple of $38's but they're questionable.

The Rosen name on anything should be good quality (i.e. Rosen HoJo, Rosen Days). I say this because they are a "franchise brand" with several "hotel brands" of various caliber in the area. There is the UCF "Rosen school of hospitality management", and frankly with that level of recognition, you should be able to complain and expect a decent level of customer service and quality.

The Country Inn isn't Rosen, but should be fairly nice because it's one of those brands like Hampton where you usually don't complain after a stay (like I always complain about Days hotels everytime I stay at one, so I stopped.)

Disney good neighbor hotels are another thing to look for as WDW holds them to a standard.

Pricing on stuff around here is pretty stable based on tourism dates... they know when they can charge more and less because of demand. Drastic differences in prices should trigger you to question them. Poking around on hotels.com will allow you to figure out the average pricing for your travel dates. I think you'll be here at a quiet point which is good (the car rental rates are all about the same, normally National / Alamo are like 3x less than the others) Speaking of "average pricing" some hotels will quote you different prices nightly or add a "daily resort fee", so read all the fine print on the deal.

I know what you mean about "different views of bad neighborhoods", I moved here from NYC myself. You being from Chicago, the worst neighborhoods around here won't seem like it at first. Then people start acting a certain way, things look a little less polished, and it triggers that instinct. Trust your instincts. There's an economic downturn here and plenty of knuckleheads. Just like anywhere else if it can hurt tourism, there's a cop nearby. Orlando is a safe place but use your head. It's a huge city and once you leave the tourist spots, anything goes.

Have a great trip!

 

[dgr1973]

Pineapple Whip you have been very helpful to me! I did check reviews on hotels.com and tripadvisor before I booked and almost all were favorable except the couple that mentioned the neighborhood. My husband thinks I'm nuts and says not to trust opinions of people on the internet but who can I listen too? We've never been there. To be honest last year we stayed at the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista for 29 per day and I remember it didn't have the best reviews either and we thought it was pretty nice. You are right being from Chicago I do know what a bad neighborhood is but I never spend any time in them and I wouldn't recommend someone staying in a hotel in one of them. I think I will keep my eyes open for other deals and maybe something will come along before then and if not I guess we can leave if it's horrible - Orlando isn't exactly short on hotels! Thanks again for all your input