Sheraton Safari Hotel..

[debsays]

We have points and can stay at the Sheraton Safari Hotel near the Olive Garden/Pizza Hut for 4 nights free. However, have never stayed there and don't know anyone who has. So putting my feelers out there to anyone that has stayed there. Have only stayed on Disney Property. Would like your HONEST opinion/s. Thanks

 

[Planogirl]

You might want to post this question on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum. I've wondered about this resort too. It certainly looks nice online!

 

[debraW76]

I stayed at the Sheraton Safari in October 2007. We stayed in a 1 BR suite ( I think they may all be 1BR suites). It had 2 full/queen beds and a TV in the BR, a mini-kitchen with a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, counter and sink. The living room had a sleeper couch & TV.

The hotel appears to be a Days Inn that was bought, converted, and themed. Most of the rooms open to the parking lot. I personally like this because it is convenient to park so close to the door. Others may prefer having a view from their door but this did not bother me.

The room was clean when we arrived. I do remember on one day house keeping was really late and came around 5pm. They asked if we wanted to sign a waiver declining Housekeeping services for that day. We declined to sign and they cleaned anyway.

The pool was great with a slide that the kids loved. There was a pool bar, hair braiding services, and tube rentals.

We ate breakfast one morning in their restaurant. Kids ate free (might have been a seasonal promotion). Food and service was great.

The hotel is located very conveniently to WDW, restaurants, and shopping. We were at the parks in a matter of minutes. You can be in DTD in even less.

I would stay again if I had a great deal on the room. I would not pay more than what the Disney Allstars would cost. Since you are staying for free I think you will certainly get your money's worth! I hope you have a great trip!

Hope that helped. If I find any photos I will post them.

 

[wonderlandaddict]

We stayed there several yrs ago and it was very nice. It is also very close to the downtown Disney. We had to wait about 30 min for a room and they gave us free breakfast for a couple of days, which was a nice surprise since we didn't mind waiting on a room. It is very close to Chilis, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden also. We like to eat off site some to get away from crowds and better price. The room was very comfortable and pool had a big slide. hope this helps!

 

[FayeW]

We absolutely love Sheraton Safari! We never stay onsite, and can't imagine that we ever would.

 

[Donnask8pro]

We just stayed there last month for one night. It was fine for what we needed

 

[tasha99]

My son and I stayed there in 2006 and we liked it very much ($35/night priceline bid seemed like a real bargain). We loved the pool and slide, and the room service food was pretty good. Joe's Crab Shack was almost across the street, and we had a great meal there.

Be aware that the shuttle service for the Sheraton Safari does not compare to Disney transportation. DS (who was 7 at the time) had a meltdown waiting for the bus one day, which to be fair to him, was a miserable experience due to the hour long wait and the hot, hot parking lot. We had a split stay that year, with 4 days at Sheraton Safari and 4 days at Coronado Springs, and CS was far preferable since we didn't have a rental car. The AC at the Sheraton worked really, really well though, which wasn't true of CS.

(If anyone ever does a split onsite/offsite stay to save money like we did, here's a tip: Do onsite first so you can use your tickets for the offsite portion. It never occurred to me that I couldn't pick them up early, so we ended up doing a time share presentation to get cheap tickets while staying at the Sheraton. Never again!)

 

[crashbb]

(If anyone ever does a split onsite/offsite stay to save money like we did, here's a tip: Do onsite first so you can use your tickets for the offsite portion. It never occurred to me that I couldn't pick them up early, so we ended up doing a time share presentation to get cheap tickets while staying at the Sheraton. Never again!)

I picked up my tickets early in January, but perhaps that was possible because both parts of my trip were onsite (the first part was room only). Unless you want the dining plan, you could also do the onsite part as room only, and get your tickets through UT (or somesuch).

OP - you may want to check out "tripadvisor.com" (though I tend to sort by rank and ignore the very best ones and the very worst ones) or "flyertalk.com" (search both the Starwood section and the Orlando section).

 

[Reagan&Co.]

We stayed there last June! We had a last minute change when WWof HP changed their grand opening date at Universal. The trip was expensive, and we decided to fly so i took a gamble on Priceline @ $50/night and got the Safari. It was VERY nice for $50/night!

The theming is great! Really cute decor. And the pool was great. It's huge and has a large, cool water slide where you slide right out of a snake's mouth.

We never ate at the hotel. There are LOADS of restaurants right on the same block. I believe there is a Sizzler Steakhouse next door. Across the street is a 7-11 and Dunkin Donuts. And about 5 more restaurants surrounding the hotel. But it was not a noisy street, that I could tell. It was fairly easy to cross the street for those donuts!

One of the best parts was the free shuttle. VERY nice bus- way better than the Disney buses. Took you right to all parks. I think pick-up was once every 2 hours, maybe?

It was our first time off-site. Disneywise, we have only stayed at POP. Safari has bigger rooms, of course!

 

[alyssa810]

This is our favorite offsite spot! We usually stay here on weekend nights to save DVC points. They usually have very reasonable cash rates, but more often we book with points. The rooms are always clean; the staff is pleasant, and my DS loves to check out the little alligators in the lobby. He's scared of the python slide though!
This is a great offsite alternative, IMO!

 

[Lewisc]

The hotel consists of a series of buildings with the pool area in the middle. About half the rooms have a pool view with the other half having a parking lot/highway view.

Most of the buildings have interior corridors, I think one building has exterior corridors. Pretty sure that's the building where guests with pets are put.

Double check, I think the hotel added a resort fee or parking fee in 2011.

 

[debsays]

Thanks for all your input, makes up feel better about staying there. Sounds very nice and with AE points it'll be free. Thanks again can always could on you guys for feedback.

 

[lizabu]

I know when you book on Starpoints at any Starwood property the 5th night is 0 points. I'm not sure is AE points works the same but I would ask how many points for 4 nights vs 5 nights because it may be the same number of points.

 

[debsays]

That's what the points are AE Starwood Preferred Guests points. Good thing to know. That's to all for your input and putting us at ease.

 

[tinkerbell555]

How does this compare to the caribe royal? The kids want a slide and I am considering which one? We need non smoking.