Quick notes on Staybridge Suites Lake Buena Vista

[MHSweb79]

We just got back from 8 days at the Staybridge Suites Lake Buena Vista. Here are a few thoughts:

THE GOOD

1. Two bedroom, two bath suite was perfect for the 4 of us (me, DH, DD (20) and DMIL (age withheld) ) DH and I took the room with the king bed, and DD/ MIL took the room with two double beds. We each had our own bathroom.

2. The kitchen had a full-sized fridge, stove, and microwave. There were dishes, silverware, glasses, mugs, two mixing bowls, a set of three nesting storage bowls with covers, a large strainer, pots & frying pan. I didn't see a cookie sheet but I didn't look either. Dish soap, sponge and dishwasher soap were provided. Coffee maker with tea bags & coffee pouches also.

3. Winn-Dixie right next door. Your room key has an ad for a soft-serve ice cream place in the Winn-Dixie parking lot. We went on our last night and it was FABULOUS. Really really good.

4. Hot breakfast every day. Every day was scrambled eggs with some sort of meat (ham, bacon or sausage). Hard boiled eggs. Make-your-own waffles (three stations) and oatmeal. Some sort of pastry: donuts, pound cake, muffins. Apple, orange or grapefruit juice, coffee & tea. After a week you may start craving something else for breakfast, but overall it was pretty good and who can argue with free breakfast?

5. Location was very good. About 1.5 or 2 miles to Downtown Disney. Very easy to hop on Route 4 - one exit and you're at Disney. I would recommend Exit 67 for the MK, Epcot and Studios. Take the exit for Osceola Parkway for AK (10-15 minute ride). Very quick & easy. Also nearby: CentraCare for emergencies, Crossroads shopping center, Premium Outlet Mall, and an abundance of restaurants. We liked the Ale House. Walgreen's right across the street from hotel.

THE BAD:
1. Three levels, no elevator. We prefer a third-story room (to decrease noise from neighbors) and this is what they originally had us in. We said MIL can't climb three flights of stairs every day so they gave us a 2nd floor room. No 1st floor rooms available. This worked out fine.

2. Housekeeping was hit or miss. They seemed to come around 4:30 every day. One day we only had one towel in each bathroom and once I had to ask for extra toilet paper. Another annoyance: if you leave even one glass or fork in the sink, the housekeeper will put in in the dishwasher and RUN IT. For one glass!!!!!! What a waste of water & energy. Once I caught on to this, I made sure to either wash the glass or leave enough dirty dishes to justify the load.

3. Giordano's Pizza - right next door. They specialize in deep-dish/ stuffed pizza but we got the thin crust. It was dreadful. Preformed, cracker-type crust, almost no sauce, and a thick mess of yellow, barely melted cheese on top. Reminded me of the awful pizza at the ice rink my DD used to skate at. Blech. Save your money!

Off the top of my head, that's it. We would definitely stay there again. Plenty of space, free breakfast for 4 and all for $99 per night. Can't beat it!

 

[newrygirl]

Thanks for the review, we are staying there for our first time this August in a 2 bedroom also and also got the $99 rate, sounds like you were happy with it makes me excited for my trip now. Did you take any pictures to share of the rooms or property?

 

[MHSweb79]

I didn't take any pictures at the hotel. It wasn't fancy, but quite nice, don't worry.

One more note: We had a rental car but one morning my DD wanted to sleep in, so she took the hotel's bus to Epcot to meet us. She said the bus also stopped at a couple of other hotels and ended up full to the point of one guy sitting on the stairs near the driver (not legal, but his wife & baby were in the back of the bus & he wasn't letting them go without him). The bus stop at Epcot was really far away- a long long walk. But it did get her there a bit earlier than we expected, so it ran pretty efficiently.

I would definitely rent a car as the bus schedule wasn't set up for getting you to the parks for rope drop. Also, coming back there weren't too many choices of times. And I'm not sure what they do if the bus is full- you might have to wait until they make their entire loop before they come back. Plus, you need a car to go out for dinner unless you plan on eating at the parks every day.

We would definitely stay there again.

 

[newrygirl]

Thanks for all the info, we are pretty easy to please, as long as its clean I don't need super fancy we have rented a car for our trip so won't be using their shuttle at all and thanks for the heads up about the pizza place as we were planning on trying it, I will stick with pizza hut.

 

[TotoToo]

Thanks for all the info, we are pretty easy to please, as long as its clean I don't need super fancy we have rented a car for our trip so won't be using their shuttle at all and thanks for the heads up about the pizza place as we were planning on trying it, I will stick with pizza hut.

IF you 'Stick with Pizza Hut" rather than try Giordano's you will miss out on a great pizza. This poster is in a clear minority on the subject as you'll find the vast majority of people who try it LOVE Giordano's. On the other hand my last Pizza Hut was well over a yer ago now. It is not even the OK pizza it used to be (they seriously changed, for the worse, the pan pizza I used to like) and we don't even consider it for pizza anymore. We search out Giordano's whenever in an area where they are.

 

[MHSweb79]

As for Giordano's: We ordered the thin crust pizza, which was horrible. I suspect the thick-crust pizza, which is their specialty, would be better.

I will say that it smelled fantastic inside the restaurant. But the pizza we got was definitely made on a cardboard-like preformed/ premolded crust, with gross yellow cheese barely melted.

YMMV!

 

[greenclan67]

I will agree with the OP on Giordano's we have heard and read about it the last 4 years, and decided this year to go for it, and we did the thin crust as well, we wished we had never went!!! We will try them in Chicago this summer and see how that goes!

 

[Gr8t Fan]

As for Giordano's: We ordered the thin crust pizza, which was horrible. I suspect the thick-crust pizza, which is their specialty, would be better.

I will say that it smelled fantastic inside the restaurant. But the pizza we got was definitely made on a cardboard-like preformed/ premolded crust, with gross yellow cheese barely melted.

YMMV!

I will agree with the OP on Giordano's we have heard and read about it the last 4 years, and decided this year to go for it, and we did the thin crust as well, we wished we had never went!!! We will try them in Chicago this summer and see how that goes!

Deep dish pizza is what Giordano's is famous for! They shouldn't even have thin crust on the menu. Definitely try the deep dish.