Regal Sun Resort

[catho72]

I booked a 3.5 star hotel on Hotwire for $57/night. Regal Sun Resort was the hotel Hotwire booked me at. How is Regal Sun Resort? The reviews on Trip Advisor looked OK but was hoping for some DIS'ers opinions.

Thanks!

 

[chocolate_monsta]

I'd like to know there - we have a res for October - no replies to my past post. Going off trip advisor it seems ok - there are always a few people who have a whinge - but I find some people expect to pay peanuts for 5 star hotels and wonder why when they book 3 star it doesn't live up to expectations.

Our booking is in the tower too - which is where most of the renovation has been done - I think the wing rooms are the lower star rating as they are more "motel" like with outdoor access etc and not as updated as the tower.

Anyway, if you go before me - let me know how you like it. We chose it as it was cheaper than staying onsite, it included a fridge (without needing to pay extra) had internet, looks to have great pools and is super close to downtown disney. We only really need somewhere to sleep, shower and store our stuff so will suit us fine!

Look out for the resort fee too though - $15 per day. May not have been included in your original price paid and we had to take this into consideration when comparing other hotels in the DTD area.

 

[TRICKY_TINK]

website looks nice!

 

[MrsJD]

I am hoping to book the Regal Sun for my upcoming trip in July. From teh looks of the website, reviews and recent renovation, it looks like a gret place to stay. Location was attractive also. I liked the looks of the water play area. Most of the pools at the other hotels looked shabby.

I'm gonna have to check hotwires prices? I think I can book it today through expedia for 5 nights with a rental car for $570.

Anywas, if I end up going before you and staying there, I will be sure to give a full report!

 

[meka15]

I have stayed at the Regal Sun a couple of times and generally like it. You really do have to stay in the tower room because they other rooms are gross and very motel like. Plus the "motel" rooms have really really thin walls and whenver someone in the next room turns on their water it sounds like Niagara Falls! After one night in the "motel" rooms we switched to the tower and really liked it. There was no noise the set up of the room was nice and everything. One other downside is that it is a very large place and it is hard at first to find your way around from the parking lot.

I love that it is just across the street from DTD and the pool area is really nice but not a lot of shade unless you sit in the eating area. The bar and food place at the pool is nice and the burger was quite good. Overall I like this hotel just try to stay in the tower rooms or you will be sorry.

 

[MrsJD]

meka15....how long ago where you there? they did a huge (like15 million$) renovation last year.


I ended up booking Regal Sun yesterday!!! I am very excited b/c I got it with a rental car for $500 even!

Things that I thought looked good about Regal Sun:

The play oasis thing in the pool. DD saw it and wanted to go there!

The fact that I can walk to DTD...and back after a few drinks!

I believe you get free parking at WDW if you stay there.

Also, OP...did hotwire inform you that there is a $15 a night resort fee? that will add up!

 

[meka15]

I stayed in the "motel" rooms in Nov after the renovations. I think they put all the money into the tower rooms and the outside landscaping because the other rooms didn't look like they had anything new (except the bed were comfy). That is an awesome deal you got with the rental car. Who did you book through?

 

[MrsJD]

Expedia. I have been watching all the sites for about 3 weeks and noticed that Expedia always has great deals on hotels on Wednesdays. On monday the price was 673, on tuesday 570 and when I look on Wed and saw the 500 I couldn't pass it up. My DH still doesn't know I've booked it!

I read over the reviews on TripAdvisor and most of them were pretty good. But don't you think that everyone has different standards for hotels? Some folks are used to staying at high end resorts so are sometimes dissappointed. Where as other people can see a very average hotel as the Ritz because they are used to the Hotel 6! I think I based most of my choice on the pool (some of the other looked very boring!) and location. Plus it has Disney transportation or the option of free parking at the parks. As long as a place is clean, friendly and has a decent pool I am happy, b/c let's be real, it's more about the places you'll be visiting outside of your room!

 

[richmo]

Overall, I thought it was ok.

Its in a great location. Easy walk to Downtown Disney Marketplace. The pool looked pretty nice - didn't use it because it was a little cool when there.

Unless you get a package that includes it, you'll have to pay the resort fee, which is $15/night. I''m not sure what thats supposed to get you, but it does include Wi-Fi. For some reason, I think there's a $7/night parking fee also, but I could be wrong about that.

The Hotwire price isn't bad if it includes the resort fee. If not, its so-so. I got a $69 thru bookit that did include the resort fee and parking, so it was a nice deal, especially for the location.

I was not in the tower, but out on the wings. The room was fine; I wasn't there for more than sleeping anyway, but its a pretty typical motel room. Nothing fancy, no Disney feel.

One poster mentioned free parking at Disney Parks if you stay at the Regal Sun. I do not believe that is the case, but I have an AP so it didn't matter. You can use the Downtown Disney Hotels bus line to the parks. Not as good as Disney hotel transportation, but much better than off-site shuttles. You can also walk over to the Marketplace and get to parks via a Disney resort (Saratoga Springs).

I'd stay there again if it was cheap; nothing special about it though.

 

[Tinkerjane]

We stayed there in March and overall were happy with it. We had a tower room. The main lobby is very pretty and has a small Disney store also. We spent a day at the pools and ds9 had a fantastic time (so did we.)
The rooms are small but we were only there to shower and sleep. The resort fee was waived with the deal we got. Parking was included at the hotel but you do have to pay for parking at the parks. However, they have free buses from the hotel to all the parks. It is a 3 minute walk to Downtown Disney.
Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[pomlover]

Yeah the resort fees are pointless and it's only worthwhile if you can get it waived.

 

[gracielou]

Overall, I thought it was ok.

Unless you get a package that includes it, you'll have to pay the resort fee, which is $15/night. I''m not sure what thats supposed to get you, but it does include Wi-Fi. For some reason, I think there's a $7/night parking fee also, but I could be wrong about that.

Oh, now I'm getting worried! I booked this hotel today for a one-night stay the night before checking into Caribbean Beach. I used Kayak and found a rate of $50.00 ($58.19 after taxes/fees) and now I'm getting worried. The website I actually booked through--EasyClickTravel.com--said there was a $1.00 nightly "maid" fee and a $5.00 nightly resort fee. My confirmation doesn't say anything about any other resort fees. I usually stay at the Country Inns and Suites on Apopka Vineland and only booked this because of the "great" deal I thought I was getting. Is there really a $15.00 resort fee on top of the other listed fees??!!

 

[olbear]

Please be warey of this "resort". It is not a resort at all. It is no more than a 2 star at best in my opinion. And I am a travel agent. It is definately not a 3 star. The wings rooms are very undesireable. Old and smelly and even sometimes dirty. The best you could do is book a room in the tower. But if you are getting "great deals" I can guarantee you will be in a wing room. The only good/nice thing about this hotel/motel is the refurbished pool and lobby. Everything else is old and needs updating.

This is owned by the "Grosvenor" hotel chain. They changed the name because of all the bad reviews. It actually is known to may as the "Gross-nor". Because it is so gross. I even was lucky enough to get food poisoning in the restaurant.

Do yourselves a favor book another hotel!

 

[JB2K]

Please be warey of this "resort". It is not a resort at all. It is no more than a 2 star at best in my opinion. And I am a travel agent. It is definately not a 3 star. The wings rooms are very undesireable. Old and smelly and even sometimes dirty. The best you could do is book a room in the tower. But if you are getting "great deals" I can guarantee you will be in a wing room. The only good/nice thing about this hotel/motel is the refurbished pool and lobby. Everything else is old and needs updating.

This is owned by the "Groevnor" hotel chain. They changed the name because of all the bad reviews. It actually is known to may as the "Gross-nor". Because it is so gross. I even was lucky enough to get food poisoning in the restaurant.

Do yourselves a favor book another hotel!

Obviously, if you are a travel agent, you need to either re-do your homework or revisit the property (it went-through a $25M renovation in 2007 and changed it's name from "Grosvenor" to the current "Regal Sun").

More at the Regal Sun website.

 

[MrsJD]

I think it's funny that this resort keeps getting bad press on the DIS but on the trip advisor there was plenty of good stuff said. And the pics on trip advisor look very nice. I am going to be at Regal Sun in one month and I am planning to have a lovely trip. And I intend to come right back here and give a very detailed report on my findings!!

 

[olbear]

Obviously, if you are a travel agent, you need to either re-do your homework or revisit the property (it went-through a $25M renovation in 2007 and changed it's name from "Grosvenor" to the current "Regal Sun").

More at the Regal Sun website.

Excuse me, But I have stayed there recently for the second time. And outside of the tower being slightly refurbished, the wing rooms are still horrible. And although I may have miss-spelled the name in my original post, I still say it is a gross hotel to stay at. And I don't care how much money they put into this "resort" it wasn't enough to entice me to go back or book it for anyone!!

And it is STILL owned by the "Grosvenor". As I said, because of bad reviews by locals and visitors alike, they only changed the name to entice people to come back because of the bad reviews.

 

[catho72]

OP here. It wasn't as bad as I had expected....totally worth $130 total for two nights. We were in the "motel" section of the resort. Our room had been recently renovated but still felt like a motel. The beds were comfortable with updated headboards and duvets, and there was a granite countertop in the bath area. The pool was fantastic.....the kids thoroughly enjoyed swimming in it. The elevators, on the other hand, are AWFUL. It took forever for it to arrive after hitting the call button, inside was HOT and it was very slow. We were staying on the 4th floor but took the stairs several times since the elevators were horrendous. There was also only two double beds in our room for five people.....it was a little tight. No sofabed...only two chairs and a small table. I asked the employee who checked us in how much would it be to upgrade to a tower room, and he said $45/night. No thanks!

Overall, we were pleased with our stay. It was perfect for what we needed....two extra nights at the beginning of our vacation. The location can't be beat! It's super close to DTD. I did fight the "resort fee" when I checked in....Hotwire said the resort fee was "around $10 a night" but in reality, it is $15. The front desk manager reluctantly charged us the $10 after much arguing back and forth. He said they have notified Hotwire that the fee is $15, I said it's not my fault they haven't changed it, and it's not fair that it's actually 50% more than what was stated on my confimation sheet from Hotwire. Eventually, I won!

We would stay here again. It was a nice hotel with a perfect location.

 

[MrsJD]

Catho,

Thanks for reporting back! I am still very much looking forward to my 5 night stay there in July. I'm glad to hear that the pool was a hit with the kids b/c it was a large part of my reason for choosing Regal Sun. Also location looks to be ideal for this trip.

How was the rest of your trip? Did you have fun at WDW? Anything exciting to report?

 

[catho72]

Catho,

Thanks for reporting back! I am still very much looking forward to my 5 night stay there in July. I'm glad to hear that the pool was a hit with the kids b/c it was a large part of my reason for choosing Regal Sun. Also location looks to be ideal for this trip.

How was the rest of your trip? Did you have fun at WDW? Anything exciting to report?

You are welcome! I'm sure your kids will enjoy the pool and you all will enjoy the great location.

Our trip was fun! The Up! characters were at DHS but we didn't "meet" them since their line was the longest....even longer than Mickey's! Chip 'N Dale, The Incredibles and Frozone were there too. It was crowded but if you stayed away from the parks with EMH and arrived at rope drop, the crowds were bearable. The heat, on the other hand, was unbearable. The temps were 93-99 degrees all week with heat indexes 100-110.

We rented a 3 bedroom condo in Windsor Hills for the rest of our trip. It was fantastic! The condo itself was beautiful and comfortable and the ammenities at WH are great! The pool was huge! WH is so conveniently located, too. Last year, we stayed on property with the DDP....I missed the DDP and the Disney magic that comes with staying onsite.

 

[wayneg]

Just booked 2 nights here for end of August, was going to stay at AKL but not paying price they want this year.
Anyone looking for a low rate I have used an agent here in UK who I used last month for Country Inn and suites LBV no problem.
http://www.great4hotels.com/ used code D446B for £25 discount.
Total paid for 2 nights at Regal Sun Resort after code £50 (approx $83) incl tax. $42/ nights here is a great price. Great4 hotels rates usually include resort fees also but can't confirm this until I have been in August.

For code to work you have to spend £60+ before applying code.