Recommending Hotels or Not

[daystar]

Hi,
Looking to stay offsite next year could anyone tell me what hotels not to look at.....What offsite hotel do you not recommend???And why???Which offsite hotels do you recommend???And why???Need help to figure out which hotel to stay at since we will be committing ourselves for a week stay....Want to make sure my family is comfortable......
Thanks

 

[djh96]

What are you looking for? Cost, amenities, location, size? Resort or just room. A little more info might be helpful for people to help you.

 

[disneysteve]

Also, how many in your party? How many kids? What ages? Will you have a car or will you depend on hotel shuttles?

 

[daystar]

Hi again,
I'm sorry that i didn't give you enough info.....We are a family of four, my boys are ages 12 and 5.....Looking for a hotel that close to either WDW or Universal.....Unsure of what hotels are close to these areas.....I would like a family atmosphere hotel....As for room type we are not sure yet but we did think about a one bedroom suite to use the kitchenette......Shuttle i don't think that we will need i think my dh said he is going to rent a car.....Looking for something affordable trying to keep it under a 100.00 per night if possible....The only hotel i have looked at was the holiday inn suites, only because a friend mention it....Also i will have my sister and her family coming with us but not staying in the same room but they will have a infant with them, they are only a family of three......Any advice will help....
Thanks

 

[zaxmom]

You might try going to www.hotelkingdom.com . They are having a good deal on the Cypress Pointe Resort. You can get a 2 BR for $65 and a 3BR for $80 a night. I have not stayed here yet, but it sounds like a great deal. Full kitchen and w/d. Although, no elevators. It is next door to Downtown Disney. You may even all decide to stay in a 3BR. Hotel Kingdom has pretty good rates for other hotels, too. I would highly suggest you pay extra and stay onsite at Universal. You receive front of the line privileges, which is really worth it. And they have excellent hotels. Check out the Universal Hotels board for ways to get discounts. We usually divide our stay when we are going to Universal and stay onsite while we are there to take advantage of FOTL.

 

[disneysteve]

Would you and your family be interested in sharing a house with your sister and her family? If so, consider renting a house. There are wonderful houses in the Disney area from 3-8 bedrooms in size. They have far more space than any hotel I know of. You get a full kitchen fully equipped, a private screened-in swimming pool, multiple TVs, often a VCR, DVD player, stereo system, sometimes a video game unit like Playstation. Some houses even have a computer with Internet access. Prices are quite reasonable. For well within your budget (assuming you share the cost with your sister), you can certainly get a beautiful spacious house.

Just to give you ballpark figures, http://www.closesttodisney.com/ has 4-bedroom homes starting at $103/nite, 5-bedrooms starting at $124/nite and 6-bedrooms starting at $143/nite. So even a 6-br house which would easily accomodate all of you would only cost each family $71.50/nite.

 

[daystar]

If i looked into a house, do you have to bring your own bedding???We are all flying in from Buffalo NY so it would be a long way to travel with extra stuff ......Or maybe i could look into driving....Also do you get a swimming pool with all these houses???Are they private or do you share???

 

[daystar]

Also i forgot one more question how far are these houses away from WDW and Universal???

 

[disneysteve]

The houses supply everything you need including bed linens, towels, pots and pans, dishes, etc. They usually give starter supplies of toilet paper, dish detergent, etc. but you may need more during your stay.

We usually bring a small bottle of dish detergent, a container of dishwasher powder, a container of laundry detergent, a few dryer sheets, a roll of toilet paper and paper towels and some trash bags. Sometimes we pack that stuff. Other times we stop at the grocery store down there and buy what we need - depends if we drive down or fly.

The houses all have private in-ground screened in pools. You don't share them with anyone and the screen keeps out most of the bugs. Many also have a jacuzzi.

It is a GREAT way to vacation. If you browse this board, you'll see a lot of threads discussing vacation homes/villas.

As for location, there are literally hundreds of these houses available within a 15-minute drive of Disney. I'm not sure if there are any developments close to Universal.

Happy to answer any other questions.