VERY nervous about the Radisson Worldgate--please reassure me!

[DeeCeeSW]

Hi all,
Used Priceline for my June trip to save some $$$ (we're leaving midweek so we can't get an RCI timeshare deal as we would normally would do). Got the 3* "Disney World Vicinity" Radisson Resort Worldgate (this is technically Kissimmee so I don't get it).

I have been reading very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, biddingfortravel.com and eOpinions. We have to stay here for seven nights and I am kind of dreading it.

Has anyone here stayed here recently and had a pleasant experience? Your input is greatly appreciated!

 

[Lewisc]

This hotel is within the boundaries of the map of the DW Zone that was available to you before you bid. PL expanded the zone S so they could include the Omni. That's a bit of a reach but your hotel is close to WDW.

If you do a search you'll see some people like the hotel and some don't. I wouldn't waste my time looking, I don't think the hotel is bad enough to justify blowing off 100% of what you paid so you can stay somewhere else and reading bad reviews will only aggravate you.

Many people use PL for 3 and 2.5* hotels. I'd only go that low if I was staying by the airport for one night. If you booked with a hotel or even through a consolidator you might have paid a little more but could have selected a hotel that had some feature that are important to you. A suite hotel or complimentary breakfast for example.

Hi all,
Used Priceline for my June trip to save some $$$ (we're leaving midweek so we can't get an RCI timeshare deal as we would normally would do). Got the 3* "Disney World Vicinity" Radisson Resort Worldgate (this is technically Kissimmee so I don't get it).

 

[DeeCeeSW]

This hotel is within the boundaries of the map of the DW Zone that was available to you before you bid. PL expanded the zone S so they could include the Omni. That's a bit of a reach but your hotel is close to WDW.

If you do a search you'll see some people like the hotel and some don't. I wouldn't waste my time looking, I don't think the hotel is bad enough to justify blowing off 100% of what you paid so you can stay somewhere else and reading bad reviews will only aggravate you.

Many people use PL for 3 and 2.5* hotels. I'd only go that low if I was staying by the airport for one night. If you booked with a hotel or even through a consolidator you might have paid a little more but could have selected a hotel that had some feature that are important to you. A suite hotel or complimentary breakfast for example.

I would never consider blowing off the reservation as $500 is nothing to sneeze at. I know I am stuck here and will try to make the best of it. I want to go with an open mind but I guess it's too late for that since I decided to read all of the reviews.

I have stayed at the Buena Vista Palace (formerly Wyndham Palace) on 2 ocassions, once paying close to rack rate and the other time on a PL bid. Many people are happy with that hotel and others, like myself, found it to be less than satisfactory. I have also stayed in hotels where it has been trashed by reviewers and I have found them to be more than acceptable. I hope this is the case with the Radisson.

P.S. As far as the bidding goes, I normally bid at the Resort level and will not go lower than a 3*. For this particular trip, I had exhausted all of my free bids except one, Kissimmee, and, lo and behold, I miraculously got a 3* in Kissimmee. Sheryl says that was just a coincidence. I know about the rezoning thing but it makes little sense to me to have Kissimmee hotels under WDW Vicinity and not Kissimmee. JMHO.

I could have easily picked the Sheraton Safari off using Easyclick travel.com for an extra $150 or so for the week, but chose to take my chances with PL. Expedia, using my Entertainment book discounts and Orbitz and Travelocity all had higher rates than I wanted to spend for this trip. At least now I know better to not include Kissimmee when I bid on PL.

 

[dis-happy]

We stayed there once and it was okay. It's not like staying at a great resort or anything. Maybe on par with the NikkiBird. It's somewhat dated but our room was clean. The bathroom area was fairly large (double sinks IIRC, one sink in the toilet/shower area and one in the vanity area outside the bathroom). They also had a microwave and small fridge?? tucked in there (I recall the micro for sure). We stayed in the tower room part which has interior hallways, on the second or third floor (personally, I wouldn't want to stay in the annex in back with the exterior doors--it looked seedy to me). There's a restuarant on site and we had a very enjoyable dinner there with wonderful service at a decent price. The hotel itself is located just off the main street in sort of a strip-mall looking lot, so the approach from the outside isn't super nice (no landscaping, etc), but inside was decent. They gave us a dashboard pass at check-in which allowed us to park in the underground garage---it's not large, but we were able to park there and liked keeping the car out of the rain (it was cold and rainy that week). We were there about 15 months ago and it looked like they were re-habbing rooms, so it might be really nice and improved since then. If you spend most of your days at the parks and come in to crash at night, it will be fine. I never checked out the pool area due to the weather, but there was a tropical feel to the lobby/resturant area that probably extends through. HTH

 

[Lewisc]

I'd like it if PL had a zone for the DTD hotels. Since the Disney hotels don't participate with PL a Disney area zone would have to include parts of Kissimmee. Your hotel isn't even near the boundary of PL's zone. One of the dangers of using PL is getting one of the worse hotel's in a zone.

The only thing you might have done differently is to split your bid.

I would have paid the extra $150 (around $20/night). Normally I want a 40-50% discount for a PL stay. PL stays can't be changed or canceled and you don't hotel frequent customer perks. It sounds like your discount is around 23% (150/650). Sounds like you're taking a budget trip and are willing to accept a lower discount than I demand. Drop me a PM if want to discuss some PL ideas.

P.S. As far as the bidding goes, I normally bid at the Resort level and will not go lower than a 3*. For this particular trip, I had exhausted all of my free bids except one, Kissimmee, and, lo and behold, I miraculously got a 3* in Kissimmee. Sheryl says that was just a coincidence. I know about the rezoning thing but it makes little sense to me to have Kissimmee hotels under WDW Vicinity and not Kissimmee. JMHO.

I could have easily picked the Sheraton Safari off using Easyclick travel.com for an extra $150 or so for the week, but chose to take my chances with PL. Expedia, using my Entertainment book discounts and Orbitz and Travelocity all had higher rates than I wanted to spend for this trip. At least now I know better to not include Kissimmee when I bid on PL.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Thanks for your responses dis-happy and LewisC!

BTW, I'm paying $62 a night (before tax and PL fee). The hotel lists $99 for 5 nights and $109 for other 2. This is the price that I have found on the discount sites as well. From what I've seen, you could get this hotel for as low as $35 a night less than a year ago. Nowadays, it's in the low to mid 60's. I guess they think the rooms are worth more now due to renovations and/or Radisson taking over?

 

[dgaston]

I find the location of this hotel to be excellent. You are on the Sherberth Road cut-off, with the various driveways, and that can be extremely convenient for off-site.

 

[DianeV]

This hotel is one of the reasons I try to avoid bidding 3* in that area. We have gotten it twice and werent thrilled either time. Its a shame because we have also gotten the Sheraton Safari and BW on Hotel Drive area and they seem more like true 3*s to me. I am just afraid to take the chance anymore. Kinda like I felt when the Hyatt Orlando used to be open and included as a 3*. Luckily that place shut down

 

[tlynk]

My family stayed there in 2004. We booked the hotel through Hotwire for $50 per night. The staff was wonderful, the pool and hot tub were great, and the rooms are large. The only downside was the shuttle to the parks didn't cut it for us. The scheduled times were extremely limited. If you have a rental car you should be fine. The location is excellent- very close to Animal Kingdom. It isn't as bad as the reviews I read on Trip Advisor.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

My family stayed there in 2004. We booked the hotel through Hotwire for $50 per night. The staff was wonderful, the pool and hot tub were great, and the rooms are large. The only downside was the shuttle to the parks didn't cut it for us. The scheduled times were extremely limited. If you have a rental car you should be fine. The location is excellent- very close to Animal Kingdom. It isn't as bad as the reviews I read on Trip Advisor.

This is a relief to hear.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

This hotel is one of the reasons I try to avoid bidding 3* in that area. We have gotten it twice and werent thrilled either time. Its a shame because we have also gotten the Sheraton Safari and BW on Hotel Drive area and they seem more like true 3*s to me. I am just afraid to take the chance anymore. Kinda like I felt when the Hyatt Orlando used to be open and included as a 3*. Luckily that place shut down

What about the hotel did you not like?

 

[kathy87]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. My mother gave my family a week of her timeshare (RCI) and she booked the Florida Vacation Villas. I was so disappointed but didn't want to seem ungrateful. I am also dreading it I wish I felt better about it, but I'm use to staying at places that have more of a resort feel. Anyone ever stay here?? I guess I will have to make the best of it

 

[DianeV]

We felt the place was kinda shabby and as someone mentioned some parts look downright seedy. There are areas that are nice, probably the common areas like the lobby etc but we thought the rooms were pretty mediocre (but they are large)- just not a true 3* to us

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Thanks for your response Diane.

Since I posted this, oddly there have been three new positive reviews for the hotel put on TripAdvisor. I can only assume these are real, however, I do know that sometimes bogus reviews are posted there (but usually to say something negative not positive?). Maybe things have improved since you were last there. I can only hope so for our sake.

 

[Lewisc]

Thanks for your response Diane.

Since I posted this, oddly there have been three new positive reviews for the hotel put on TripAdvisor. I can only assume these are real, however, I do know that sometimes bogus reviews are posted there (but usually to say something negative not positive?). Maybe things have improved since you were last there. I can only hope so for our sake.

Check in early so you can complain and get a new room assignment if you don't like what they give you. I really think you should stop reading reviews. I'd expect you could at least get a room that's adequate or mediocre.

I always assumed the opposite, bogus reviews were posted by shills of the hotel to counter the posts of unhappy guests.

You'll have a great time at Disney. If the resort isn't great spend time at a water park instead of the hotel pool. Spend time at DQ instead of the hotel arcade. Buy breakfast food instead of relying on whatever free or low cost but inedible food provided by the hotel.

 

[zenshome]

I would also suggest you stop reading the reviews. Most times, after reading the reviews, I'm surprised at how good the hotel is.

Something you might want to consider next time is a Pool Home, we were in Orlando a couple of weeks ago and did this, it was fantastic and inexpensive for two families. We paid $1220 for 12 days and had a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath with kitchen and our own personal pool to come home to each day.

I personally love Priceline and have had only one bad experience, with it.

Good Luck on your stay!

 

[disneymom3]

I have stayed at this hotel. It was a few years ago, but at that time I was also quite nervous after winning it on Priceline and then reading the reviews so I know just how you feel. I have to tell you that after reading the reviews out there, I was extremely satisfied with the hotel. It was not resort status by any means, but I found the staff to be very helpful and friendly. I did have to ask to be moved because by the second day our a/c was not working. Actually I didn't even have to ask. I called the front desk to say I thought it was broken and they sent up a guy to look at it. He walked in the door and said, "Oh, you can't stay in here." Told me to pack up our stuff and he would be back to help me move to a new room. He came back quickly, carried all the stuff for us and came into the new room to make sure all was okay. Very nice, helpful and apologetic.

I really liked having the small fridge in the room. The pools were both clean and in nice locations, though nothing fancy. (I have found my kids don't really care about fancy--they just like having a pool.) Easy and quick drive to the parks--we had a rental but talked to some folks in the pool who were using the hotel shuttle and they said it was easy and effecient.

Our room (both of them) was clean and well kept. I did see one bug in the hallway at one point, but hey it's FL and it was pretty near the door. We did use the little food court area once for a few breakfast items but otherwise went out or had cereal in our room.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

I have stayed at this hotel. It was a few years ago, but at that time I was also quite nervous after winning it on Priceline and then reading the reviews so I know just how you feel. I have to tell you that after reading the reviews out there, I was extremely satisfied with the hotel. It was not resort status by any means, but I found the staff to be very helpful and friendly. I did have to ask to be moved because by the second day our a/c was not working. Actually I didn't even have to ask. I called the front desk to say I thought it was broken and they sent up a guy to look at it. He walked in the door and said, "Oh, you can't stay in here." Told me to pack up our stuff and he would be back to help me move to a new room. He came back quickly, carried all the stuff for us and came into the new room to make sure all was okay. Very nice, helpful and apologetic.

I really liked having the small fridge in the room. The pools were both clean and in nice locations, though nothing fancy. (I have found my kids don't really care about fancy--they just like having a pool.) Easy and quick drive to the parks--we had a rental but talked to some folks in the pool who were using the hotel shuttle and they said it was easy and effecient.

Our room (both of them) was clean and well kept. I did see one bug in the hallway at one point, but hey it's FL and it was pretty near the door. We did use the little food court area once for a few breakfast items but otherwise went out or had cereal in our room.

Glad to hear that you had a possitive experience! Thanks for posting.

 

[dzneprincess]

Soo how was your stay? I just won this for fri and sat night b4 mocing over to OKW...and I was wondering if you had an update for us?

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Wow, was I surprised to see this back up. Our experience was less than stellar. I wrote a review on Tripadvisor regarding our stay:

Stayed for 7 nights on a Priceline bid. I was not happy when I received this hotel as it is in Kissimmee, off of 192. 192 is not my favorite area; it is overcrowded with people, restaurants and hotels, etc. At least this hotel is far enough off the main road that you are not disturbed by traffic.

We received a Priceline room, Room 310, (also known as a non-renovated, run down room without sleep number beds in the North Tower). Our bathroom faucet leaked the entire week and our tub was worn and chipped. The housekeeping staff was good, they kept the room as clean as possible, but had little to work with. We used the pool on our second evening, and it was filled with bugs and twigs and flowers. The next morning the pool was better as it had been cleaned, however, we noticed that there were hair clips, garbage and even someone's hair extension left laying around the pool area. I informed the front desk about the debris but no one ever came to clean up the area and the hair extension was STILL THERE the next day. Gross!

I guess this is a decent hotel for those on a budget, but overall it is nothing special. We did not use the hotel shuttle as we rented a car. The hotel is convenient to Animal Kingdom and the rest of the Disney property (you can catch Sherbeth Road through the Radisson parking lot), but it's a long drive to Universal and Sea World as you are essentially at the end of 192 (West). No more Priceline in Orlando for me, too risky!

Hope this summed up my experience for you.