fairytinkerbell
<font color=purple>The music in the Disney Plannin
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
- Messages
- 720
REVIEW OF HAWTHORN SUITES, LAKE BUENA VISTA
Well everybody, Im back from Disney and it was awesome. :minniemo:
I wanted to write all about this hotel (Hawthorn Suites, LBV) because I know I would appreciate it if I could find as much info. as I could about a hotel Ive never stayed at before.
We thought this was the best hotel for the money. Everything was terrific. I will list in detail:
LOCATION:
Hawthorn Suites in Lake Buena Vista is located at 8303 Palm Parkway. They have a website: www.hawthornsuiteslbv.com . Palm Parkway is a very convenient location in LBV. This particular hotel is about 1/4 mile north of Route 535 (Apopka-Vineland Rd), and there are restaurants in that area as well as a Shell and Citgo and shopping plazas. Just make a left at that light (535) and one minute later you are reaching the I-4 or before you even reach that there is an entrance right into the Dowtown Disney area on the right (Hotel Plaza Blvd) about 5 min. drive to DTD. Overall, we loved this location better than the Disney resort area (we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge & Polynesian and they were basically we felt, in the middle of nowhere) we like to have access to roads, shopping, restaurants, Walgreens, etc. Some of the restaurants around there were:
TGIFs, The Crab House, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, to name a few.
EXTERIOR:
* The building is only about 4 years old or so and looks very new and pretty.
* The outside is a stucco finish and really nice architecture. (see photo on their site).
* The landscaping is nice as well.
<sum> There is enough parking available and we came home at all different hours.
INTERIOR:
As you approach the entrance, the automatic doors open and you walk into a very beautiful lobby area. The ceilings are very high and the lighting is gorgeous. The fixtures are very pretty a chandelier hangs over an elaborate floral arrangement on a round table in the center of the lobby.
**Another plus is that the hotel NEVER smelled funny. It always didnt smell like anything if that makes sense. It always smelled fresh and clean. No odors of any kind.
The front desk/counter area is to the right and is very pretty. As I said, everything is so new and clean and fresh.
<sum> There is a gift shop in the lobby
<sum> The tourist information area service specialist (a woman named Vanessa) is extremely helpful and informative.
<sum> The staff is very efficient and know what they are doing. They want to provide you with the best service and want you to be happy. This is what I found through the entire stay. (8 nites)
<sum> The elevators had tiled floors (very pretty tile)
<sum> There are interior corridors, which is convenient and I feel more safe
<sum> There are only 5 floors (I dont like high rises)
<sum>
HALLWAYS/ DÉCOR:
* The hallways had this thick, plush tropical floral carpeting that was very pretty.
<sum> The lighting in the hallway was very pretty, and soft. The fixtures are pretty too.
<sum> The color of the walls are a rich peachy-stucco color/finish and the room number signs, etc. are in a hunter green color.
<sum> The doors are made of steel (I believe) and they seemed to be very solid and secure. The doors to each room have their own entry about a 1 foot indentation from the wall, which just adds to the pretty look of the hotel.
THE ROOM:
We stayed in a King room (not a suite) and it was very nice. We had a view of the pool, basketball area. The décor was very pretty and new. The rug wasnt cheap looking, it was very pretty w/ hunter green and ivory check pattern fancy though, not cheap. The material the rug is made out of is shiny-ish, not rough commercial carpeting. The dresser had only 3 drawers and 1 desk drawer and lots of hangers in the closet. We brought a TON of clothes and they all seemed to fit just fine. The bedroom furniture is an oak type wood/color. We had cable tv and lots of channels.
THE BATHROOM:
Our standard room came with a tub and shower and a nice sized sink with a built in tissue dispenser. There was a magnifying mirror on the wall with a movable arm. There was a built in fan as well. The décor was all new and the floor was tiled nicely. The towels were a pretty deep ivory color and were always replaced with new ones each day, always folded in an artful way. The toiletries were tucked inside decorative fanned towel displays.
TOILETRIES:
The toiletries they left us were: Breck Shampoo (with vitamins, etc), TONE hand soap
(my favorite soap in the world) and DIAL body bars ( a pretty good size too) and a shoe mitt (to shine shoes), plenty of towels, hand towels, wash cloths, tissues tucked inside the sick counter are convenient.
THE POOL: Every day we at breakfast and had a view of the pool. We saw 2 people from an outside pool company come EVERY SINGLE DAY and check the water (they took samples every day) and cleaned the pool. We were very impressed with that. We went in the pool one time (because we were out all the time) and it smelled clean. They provide towels for you, located against the wall. There are reclining chairs for all. Even though the parking lot white fence is in view as others might have mentioned, we didnt even notice it. The pool is pretty big and my DH had enough room to swim back and forth.
HOUSEKEEPING: The staff was terrific. They did an excellent job cleaning the room, making the bed and changing the sheets. They left me extra pens and pads and tissues when I asked. They fanned out the bathroom washcloth and towel and artfully tucked soap /shampoo inside. The pens are great. They even tuck the toilet paper under and form it into a V shape. I like the attention to detail. They housekeepers all seemed very nice and professional. They all seemed to care about their job and themselves. They presented a nice image of housekeepers.
BREAKFAST / BREAKFAST AREA:
This hotel includes a FREE DELUXE HOT BREAKFAST! How amazing is that? I thought the breakfast they offered was delicious and enjoyed sitting in a large airy space with windows overlooking the pool. This area is off the lobby. There is nice carpeting and beautiful tables and chairs (fancy) and fancy curtains on the windows. There were always enough tables and food. There is a lounge area built in that area w/ couches and a tv center for the kids. The Kitchen had all different zones with the following foods:
Their breakfast included:
<sum> Hot, fresh scrambled eggs (alternating days with .
<sum> Fresh, hot vegetable omelettes
<sum> Tater tots
<sum> Sausage links (the best Ive ever had)
<sum> English muffins
<sum> Bagels (plain)
<sum> White bread for toasting
<sum> Toaster Machines (2 of them, totaling 6 slots)
<sum> Fresh butter, cream cheese
<sum>
<sum> Coffee (awesome caw-fee), Tea, Orange Juice, Apple Juice
:
<sum> There are coffee mugs AND Styrofoam coffee cups with lids, if you want to travel with your coffee (beverage)
<sum> Cereals (froot loops and corn flakes?) with cold whole milk
blueberry danishes, cheese danishes, berry danishes
plain donuts, glazed donuts, crumb donuts
other stuff i can't remember!
TOTAL FOR 8 NITES: $660
I have photos if anyone wants to see. If anyone can tell me how to add photos to my post or a reply, then i can upload them here. have pics of all!
[
Well everybody, Im back from Disney and it was awesome. :minniemo:
I wanted to write all about this hotel (Hawthorn Suites, LBV) because I know I would appreciate it if I could find as much info. as I could about a hotel Ive never stayed at before.
We thought this was the best hotel for the money. Everything was terrific. I will list in detail:
LOCATION:
Hawthorn Suites in Lake Buena Vista is located at 8303 Palm Parkway. They have a website: www.hawthornsuiteslbv.com . Palm Parkway is a very convenient location in LBV. This particular hotel is about 1/4 mile north of Route 535 (Apopka-Vineland Rd), and there are restaurants in that area as well as a Shell and Citgo and shopping plazas. Just make a left at that light (535) and one minute later you are reaching the I-4 or before you even reach that there is an entrance right into the Dowtown Disney area on the right (Hotel Plaza Blvd) about 5 min. drive to DTD. Overall, we loved this location better than the Disney resort area (we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge & Polynesian and they were basically we felt, in the middle of nowhere) we like to have access to roads, shopping, restaurants, Walgreens, etc. Some of the restaurants around there were:
TGIFs, The Crab House, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, to name a few.
EXTERIOR:
* The building is only about 4 years old or so and looks very new and pretty.
* The outside is a stucco finish and really nice architecture. (see photo on their site).
* The landscaping is nice as well.
<sum> There is enough parking available and we came home at all different hours.
INTERIOR:
As you approach the entrance, the automatic doors open and you walk into a very beautiful lobby area. The ceilings are very high and the lighting is gorgeous. The fixtures are very pretty a chandelier hangs over an elaborate floral arrangement on a round table in the center of the lobby.
**Another plus is that the hotel NEVER smelled funny. It always didnt smell like anything if that makes sense. It always smelled fresh and clean. No odors of any kind.
The front desk/counter area is to the right and is very pretty. As I said, everything is so new and clean and fresh.
<sum> There is a gift shop in the lobby
<sum> The tourist information area service specialist (a woman named Vanessa) is extremely helpful and informative.
<sum> The staff is very efficient and know what they are doing. They want to provide you with the best service and want you to be happy. This is what I found through the entire stay. (8 nites)
<sum> The elevators had tiled floors (very pretty tile)
<sum> There are interior corridors, which is convenient and I feel more safe
<sum> There are only 5 floors (I dont like high rises)
<sum>
HALLWAYS/ DÉCOR:
* The hallways had this thick, plush tropical floral carpeting that was very pretty.
<sum> The lighting in the hallway was very pretty, and soft. The fixtures are pretty too.
<sum> The color of the walls are a rich peachy-stucco color/finish and the room number signs, etc. are in a hunter green color.
<sum> The doors are made of steel (I believe) and they seemed to be very solid and secure. The doors to each room have their own entry about a 1 foot indentation from the wall, which just adds to the pretty look of the hotel.
THE ROOM:
We stayed in a King room (not a suite) and it was very nice. We had a view of the pool, basketball area. The décor was very pretty and new. The rug wasnt cheap looking, it was very pretty w/ hunter green and ivory check pattern fancy though, not cheap. The material the rug is made out of is shiny-ish, not rough commercial carpeting. The dresser had only 3 drawers and 1 desk drawer and lots of hangers in the closet. We brought a TON of clothes and they all seemed to fit just fine. The bedroom furniture is an oak type wood/color. We had cable tv and lots of channels.
THE BATHROOM:
Our standard room came with a tub and shower and a nice sized sink with a built in tissue dispenser. There was a magnifying mirror on the wall with a movable arm. There was a built in fan as well. The décor was all new and the floor was tiled nicely. The towels were a pretty deep ivory color and were always replaced with new ones each day, always folded in an artful way. The toiletries were tucked inside decorative fanned towel displays.
TOILETRIES:
The toiletries they left us were: Breck Shampoo (with vitamins, etc), TONE hand soap
(my favorite soap in the world) and DIAL body bars ( a pretty good size too) and a shoe mitt (to shine shoes), plenty of towels, hand towels, wash cloths, tissues tucked inside the sick counter are convenient.
THE POOL: Every day we at breakfast and had a view of the pool. We saw 2 people from an outside pool company come EVERY SINGLE DAY and check the water (they took samples every day) and cleaned the pool. We were very impressed with that. We went in the pool one time (because we were out all the time) and it smelled clean. They provide towels for you, located against the wall. There are reclining chairs for all. Even though the parking lot white fence is in view as others might have mentioned, we didnt even notice it. The pool is pretty big and my DH had enough room to swim back and forth.
HOUSEKEEPING: The staff was terrific. They did an excellent job cleaning the room, making the bed and changing the sheets. They left me extra pens and pads and tissues when I asked. They fanned out the bathroom washcloth and towel and artfully tucked soap /shampoo inside. The pens are great. They even tuck the toilet paper under and form it into a V shape. I like the attention to detail. They housekeepers all seemed very nice and professional. They all seemed to care about their job and themselves. They presented a nice image of housekeepers.
BREAKFAST / BREAKFAST AREA:
This hotel includes a FREE DELUXE HOT BREAKFAST! How amazing is that? I thought the breakfast they offered was delicious and enjoyed sitting in a large airy space with windows overlooking the pool. This area is off the lobby. There is nice carpeting and beautiful tables and chairs (fancy) and fancy curtains on the windows. There were always enough tables and food. There is a lounge area built in that area w/ couches and a tv center for the kids. The Kitchen had all different zones with the following foods:
Their breakfast included:
<sum> Hot, fresh scrambled eggs (alternating days with .
<sum> Fresh, hot vegetable omelettes
<sum> Tater tots
<sum> Sausage links (the best Ive ever had)
<sum> English muffins
<sum> Bagels (plain)
<sum> White bread for toasting
<sum> Toaster Machines (2 of them, totaling 6 slots)
<sum> Fresh butter, cream cheese
<sum>
<sum> Coffee (awesome caw-fee), Tea, Orange Juice, Apple Juice
:<sum> There are coffee mugs AND Styrofoam coffee cups with lids, if you want to travel with your coffee (beverage)
<sum> Cereals (froot loops and corn flakes?) with cold whole milk
blueberry danishes, cheese danishes, berry danishes
plain donuts, glazed donuts, crumb donuts
other stuff i can't remember!
TOTAL FOR 8 NITES: $660
I have photos if anyone wants to see. If anyone can tell me how to add photos to my post or a reply, then i can upload them here. have pics of all!
[
!
). There were only two washers and two dryers for the entire hotel when we were there in 2002. Just curious if they have added any more.
