Review Raddison Lake Buena Vista

[Sleuth]

We're following up our 4 night stay at POR with a two night stay at Raddison Lake Buena Vista. We have never stayed at a Raddison (let alone this one) but they seem to get pretty good reviews at Trip Advisor (#5 in all of Orlando).

I was hoping someone could give me their personal reviews on this property and the convenience of the location driving wise to Disney parks (we'll have a car).

It's one of the only off-site properties relatively close that we could find that didn't charge for internet and an arm and a leg for parking ($5). We also got a rate of $79 one night and $89 the other.

 

[mandysmom]

We will be staying there for the first time for a couple of nights before checking into CSR next month. We'd like to hear from anyone who has been recently, too.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

I would love to hear about this hotel as well. How close is it to DTD?

 

[firstcruise]

No one posted on their trip to this hotel yet, so look for one toward the end of this month (Oct). I will be staying here for a couple nights before moving to the Grand Floridian on business.

 

[Moxie Doll]

My husband and I stayed here last Friday night ($65 through Priceline). The hotel itself was nice-the room was newly renovated with a very modern bathroom, there was a separate sitting area with a desk and mirror along with a loveseat. The sleep number beds were just ok-they were noisy when adjusting the number and we couldn't adjust the beds completely to our liking.

The hotel is right off I-4, you have to look carefully and be ready to turn quickly into the parking lot (it shares the entrance with the souvenir shop next door) or else you'll have to make a couple U turns to circle back around. It took us an extra 30 minutes on Friday night because traffic to DTD was insane and we didn't see the entrance until we'd already passed it.

Check in was fast and the clerk was friendly. She gave us a "welcome package" and directed us to an outside ticket vendor desk in the lobby. We explained that we had APs and didn't need any tickets or information and the guy gave us our package without any hard sell. It was a little surprising to us that we were routed automatically to a ticket vendor, but oh well.

The restaurant was ok-we used a restaurant.com certificate (they're only valid during dinner hours) and still paid almost $60 out of pocket. The food was just average, but it was convenient and much better than going back out in that traffic. It was a pretty quick drive in the morning to POFQ - about 10 min.

 

[shawy1269]

I stayed at Radisson Lake Buena Vista in February 2011 Superbowl Weekend. It is a decent hotel, with updated rooms and sleepnumber beds. I got the $80 friends of Carlson Hotels rate of $80. There are no resort or parking fees which is nice. The bar downstairs in the lobby serves Starbucks coffee which is nice since that stuff in the rooms is just gross.

The downside to this hotel is definitely the location. As posted previously, the hotel is right next to the I4 offramp so you will probably pass it the first time. And getting back to it is quite a journey since this is the only entrance to the hotel without doing a Uturn that takes about 10 minutes. Traffic is quite heavy on Rt 535 right outside the hotel, with Hotel Plaza Blvd at the next intersection going towards Downtown Disney. This all adds up to quite a headache getting in and out of the parking lot, especially after a long day in the parks. Which leads me to the parking lot itself. We were there in Feb. and returning at night it was always difficult finding a parking space. I can't imagine how bad it is in the summer months.

I'd say you get what you pay for at the Radisson LBV. Decent accomodations, clean, friendly staff, ok gym, so so pool. I'm staying there again in October for an overnight trip.

 

[eduk8r26]

We just got back from a week's stay. We loved it. As others have said, the only down side was the traffic. Other than that, I would definitely stay again. It was a quick drive to DTD if traffic wasn't too heavy. Most mornings we took the hotel shuttle. The first one left at 8:30 or so and dropped you off at AK. Then you could transfer to other parks. Coming back was a bit more inconvenient, but we made it work for us. We weren't on a timetable or anything, so I wasn't bothered by it. There's a microwave and fridge in the room and the room itself was not cramped. No breakfast, but we usually grabbed something at the park. The LGB Pizza (I think that's what it was) is actually in the restaurant downstairs, so you can order it for room service. The picky 12-year old I was with thought the pizza was very good. The staff was friendly and check-in was quick.