What hotels did you consider & why did you pick the one you're staying at?

[katiec]

Morning everyone.

I was just wondering if everyone goes through the same process as us in choosing a hotel?

We didnt really have any set criteria apart from the hotel being WAAAY better than the Ramada Inn Lakeside we stayed in last time

We wanted a nicely appointed room and a hotel that had internal corridors rather than the motel type corridors. ( I know for some that the hotel is just a base - which I agree with - but after the complete disaster of last years hotel where I felt like crying every time we went back to the room we decided that we wanted a little more than "this'll do"!)

We were quite flexible on what area only that we didnt want the bottom end of I-Drive - anything past the big crossroads would be ok, LBV - ok too and a Top Disney hotel - oooohhhh just the best!!

We had condisered a "small" villa (or going with the in-laws to a bigger one) a) rejected as being on holiday means staying in a box for 2 weeks and b) I dont think so!!

We looked at all the following hotels, plus a few more i havent kept written down anywhere....

-SSR/OKW - the Complete Orlando offer - great offer but rooms looked a bt dated and not 100% sure about booking with them?
-AKL - standard rooms a bit small and dark - and too expensive - shame as would have loved to wake up to giraffes but this would have meant booking a savannah view room
-Homewood Suites I-drive - pool too small and didnt seem to have any sunlight after midday
-Fairfield Inn & Suites @ SW - looks great but one reviewer compared it to Travelodge rooms - ok for 1 night but not 14
-Doubletree Resort@ SW - looks like a lovely place but tower rooms not guaranteed & didnt want to pay for the upgrade

I was desperate to stay at the Yacht Club but DH said budget wouldnt stretch that far, but then we booked the Buena Vista Palace and PE seats which came to nearly as much

This process started last May when we got back from the last trip, but started in earnest when the Virgin brochure came out in April.
We then looked at TCD but hated not being able to get onto the website when I wanted to check things and then looked again when the FIrst Choice borchure came out - no problem with using them or flying into Sanford.

FC seemed base prices seemed more expensive then Virgin, and I like Virgin's pricing structure of basing it on just 2 people sharing ( yes I know they will include the extras in that charge but how many grown adults do you know that will actually like sharing a room with their friends for 2 weeks )

So all thats left know is the planning, planning and oh - a bit more planning!!

SO how do you guys go about choosing your hotel? I'd love to know if its as painful is us

 

[Dimplenose]

Much less painful for us!

1. Is has to be a Disney Hotel
2. We have to be able to afford it
3 Therefore it has to be an All Star resort (or pop century - but don't like the idea of a single food court for all those rooms)

Maybe whe we go back as adults only our priorities will change.

 

[PudseyChancer]

Having stayed onsite last year at All Star Sports after three years of staying at International Drive, it was always going to be another onsite hotel, the benefits being to great to ignore.

Like you, couldn't justify the cost of the Yacht Club (saving that my 40th!) and had initially thought about one of the Port Orleans resorts, but the discounted prices with free dining meant that we were quickly looking at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. OKW fit the bill perfectly, I love the theming (am desperate to go to the real Key West!), and we liked the fact that we could be onsite yet some of the reviews showed that it was laid back and quiet - good for our two little 'uns at the end of a busy day. We're hopeful of a water view room so me and the missus can end the day with a glass or two of wine on the balcony whilst the young 'uns snooze away!

The free dining softened the blow of the ridiculous air fares, and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to this holiday more than any other, cannot wait!

 

[Disbabe]

Not a difficult choice for us. Having stayed in "motel" style rooms with 5 of us, just isn't an option any more. We were spoilt with the villa, but was expensive - but we found a happy medium. We now stay in LBV area in a condo style hotel with either 2/3 rooms. We have stayed at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas 2 years in a row and this year we are staying at the LBV Resort Village & Spa. Its like being home from home with a full size kitchen - a mastersuite which includes a spa bath (very useful when you've been on your feet all day as the jets massage your feet!) and a patio area to sit and watch what's going on. Last year we had a view towards disney area and were able to watch the fireworks!
We've booked a package this year with virgin as there's 2 families going together (my sister and I), but with Cypress Pointe - we've booked it ourselves at a cheaper rate using hotel kingdom and couldn't fault it whatsoever - in fact the irony was that both years we ended up in the same building on the same floor but in rooms opposite side of the corridor (we thought it was so funny!). Can thoroughly recommend Cypress Pointe - and I'll let you know about LBV Resort Village and Spa (but as its a newer complex and has identical room facilities, should think it'll be roughly the same)

 

[Disneymad]

I'm a DVC owner so it gets narrowed down between those. It's still hard to choose even then though - I normally end up split staying to help with the trauma of decision-making

 

[disneyholic family]

Morning everyone.

I was just wondering if everyone goes through the same process as us in choosing a hotel?

We didnt really have any set criteria apart from the hotel being WAAAY better than the Ramada Inn Lakeside we stayed in last time

We wanted a nicely appointed room and a hotel that had internal corridors rather than the motel type corridors. ( I know for some that the hotel is just a base - which I agree with - but after the complete disaster of last years hotel where I felt like crying every time we went back to the room we decided that we wanted a little more than "this'll do"!)

We were quite flexible on what area only that we didnt want the bottom end of I-Drive - anything past the big crossroads would be ok, LBV - ok too and a Top Disney hotel - oooohhhh just the best!!

We had condisered a "small" villa (or going with the in-laws to a bigger one) a) rejected as being on holiday means staying in a box for 2 weeks and b) I dont think so!!

We looked at all the following hotels, plus a few more i havent kept written down anywhere....

-SSR/OKW - the Complete Orlando offer - great offer but rooms looked a bt dated and not 100% sure about booking with them?
-AKL - standard rooms a bit small and dark - and too expensive - shame as would have loved to wake up to giraffes but this would have meant booking a savannah view room
-Homewood Suites I-drive - pool too small and didnt seem to have any sunlight after midday
-Fairfield Inn & Suites @ SW - looks great but one reviewer compared it to Travelodge rooms - ok for 1 night but not 14
-Doubletree Resort@ SW - looks like a lovely place but tower rooms not guaranteed & didnt want to pay for the upgrade

I was desperate to stay at the Yacht Club but DH said budget wouldnt stretch that far, but then we booked the Buena Vista Palace and PE seats which came to nearly as much

This process started last May when we got back from the last trip, but started in earnest when the Virgin brochure came out in April.
We then looked at TCD but hated not being able to get onto the website when I wanted to check things and then looked again when the FIrst Choice borchure came out - no problem with using them or flying into Sanford.

FC seemed base prices seemed more expensive then Virgin, and I like Virgin's pricing structure of basing it on just 2 people sharing ( yes I know they will include the extras in that charge but how many grown adults do you know that will actually like sharing a room with their friends for 2 weeks )

So all thats left know is the planning, planning and oh - a bit more planning!!

SO how do you guys go about choosing your hotel? I'd love to know if its as painful is us

since staying in a disney resort isn't an absolute must for you, you might want to consider the resorts with which Dreams Unlimited has a relationship..
they have very good rates at the Swan/Dolphin - which means staying in a very nice hotel in the boardwalk area of disney..

they also have very good rates at the Sheraton Vistana resort, which has really lovely 2 bedroom villas with living room and full kitchen.....and beautiful grounds...

check the Dreams Unlimited rates for those two....

 

[TOONMADLAD]

We used to stay on I-drive in a basic room but found that after a hard day at the parks we were still unable to relax properly, we now go for a suite type room with a kitchen area, we have stayed at Cypress pointe quite a few times but this year they never had the 2 bed available, we managed to get a decent price for a 2 bed suite at Blue Heron Beach Resort.

The way we choose is that we have a price in mind for accommodation around LBV area, we then See if we can get in Cypress point (2 bed) if not we just search the net until we find a decent place/price and then get reviews of the property, mainly from Trip Advisor, If a property gets a bad write up we just search again, I know some people leave bad reviews for the most trivial things but you can normaly get a good idea after reading the reviews, particulary the latest reviews.

Pete.

 

[katiec]

Its soo interesting to hear all your stories.

We are all booked for the Buena Vista Resort for next year, but i like your suggestions for future planning

Keep 'em coming

 

[scottish mum]

We knew that we wanted to onsite and as there are 5 of us the choices are slightly more limited. We looked at all the prices and it was between the cabins at FW or the beach club. These were the 2 cheapest options for us. We have stayed at FW before and loved the extra space but also loved the look of teh swimming pool at BC. We went back and forth for quite a while but eventually decided on the BC for the pool. Hopefully we will all cope in the one room

 

[torsie24]

For last years trip it wasn't too hard really we knew our resort had to be:

- Onsite
- Not a value (they just don't appeal to us and I'd have been bervous about noise and school groups in the run up to the trip - 4 weeks of my time at University in America there was a National Cheerleading semi-final happening on campus and every single morning I was woken up by groups of cheerleaders chanting, and had to share cafeterias with them I will not be risking that on holiday!)
- As few bad reviews as possible

After umming and ahhing over all the Mods we booked POFQ.

But I'm a Deluxe girl so kept my eye out, and one day AKL and WL were only £300 upgrade. Chose AKL as it jsut had that 'wow' factor.

For next years trip it really was a case of what do we like, as it's a special trip.

So we're back to AKL (we looooved it) but we've booked savannah view as we don't want to risk not having it now we've been spoiled by an upgrade last time.

The Grand Floridian (probably the only time I'll have the excuse)

The Beach Club or Boardwalk (this is the one giving us trouble, they both are awesome in different ways) as we think this location will be amazing to walk to EPCOT and DHS.

Ending at BLT as I really really want to see Wishes from my balcony, and we want to end the trip with lots of MK time.

 

[katiec]

For last years trip it wasn't too hard really we knew our resort had to be:

- Onsite
- Not a value (they just don't appeal to us and I'd have been bervous about noise and school groups in the run up to the trip - 4 weeks of my time at University in America there was a National Cheerleading semi-final happening on campus and every single morning I was woken up by groups of cheerleaders chanting, and had to share cafeterias with them I will not be risking that on holiday!)
- As few bad reviews as possible

After umming and ahhing over all the Mods we booked POFQ.

But I'm a Deluxe girl so kept my eye out, and one day AKL and WL were only £300 upgrade. Chose AKL as it jsut had that 'wow' factor.

For next years trip it really was a case of what do we like, as it's a special trip.

So we're back to AKL (we looooved it) but we've booked savannah view as we don't want to risk not having it now we've been spoiled by an upgrade last time.

The Grand Floridian (probably the only time I'll have the excuse)

The Beach Club or Boardwalk (this is the one giving us trouble, they both are awesome in different ways) as we think this location will be amazing to walk to EPCOT and DHS.

Ending at BLT as I really really want to see Wishes from my balcony, and we want to end the trip with lots of MK time.

You sound like my kinda girl - but DH idea of a nightmare (just like me )

I would have loved AKL but couldnt justify the savannah room and no way would I rely on an upgrade.

BC/YC i think it would be YC for me every time.... DH and I have both had the big 40 in last 2 years so its probably gonna be another 8 year wait

 

[starrysky]

Hi

We have stayed both on and offsite. Off site was at the sheraton vistana and it was a great and very big two bedrood apartment we had and it was only the two of us. The master bedroom had a hot spa bath!

Last year was the first time onsite and we went with POFQ, I understand what people say about the outside walkways but we had a fantastic corner kingbed room that overlooked the water and to be honest I like the open views on the walk to the room rather than a long corridor.

We did not hire a car both times and felt the benefit of the small size of POFQ and the use of disney buses was a major plus. While yes the vistana was lovely it will be disney from now on. Plus the boat ride to DTD or POR was lovely both during the day and more so at night. You really have to see the view of DTD all lit up at night very pretty.

We did like the look of the SSR/OKW but having no car and the layout of those resorts put us off.

 

[gemmybear83]

Ours is a bit of a complicated one...we wanted the first week to be reasonably priced for us and our wedding guests and we really wanted to stay at POR because we love the look of the resort. We then realised the Pop Warner tournament is on the week of our wedding and they get housed there after reading lots of bad reports we thought it was better to give that one a miss!

We looked at loads of different hotels, we stayed at Coronado Springs last year and although we loved it we didnt want to go back to the same hotel again, never been convinced over Caribbean Beach as it looks to sprawling. We started to look offsite, and the Buena Vista Palace caught our eye (looks lovely!) but as our guests didnt want to drive we were a bit unsure on the bus transportation.

In the end we booked the Dolphin on a fantastic rate (about £20 more than a disney moderate), and although I cant say I love the aesthetics of the hotel it is perfect for our group as there is such a choice in restuarants, pools, spa etc, and its in walking distance of where we are getting married

After the wedding we are spending a couple of days at the Yacht Club just the two of us, managed to get a fantastic rate on Expedia uk - roughly the same for concierge as a garden view room on Disney UK!

After our cruise we have rented DVC points to stay in studio villa at Wilderness Lodge. We stayed a night there and loved the resort - and actually prefered the look of the villas! I think this will be perfect for the Christmas season! Renting points worked out a great bargain too - after our cruise we hit the "peak" season hotel prices and the cost of renting dvc points is the same as paying for two nights at Pop

We are already planning next years trip, hopefully in November 2011 we are going to New York for a few days then onto WDW for about 6 nights, we have toyed with going offsite but we cant bring ourselves to do it! I think we will stay in Pop (loved it in 2008) or rent dvc points, were then going to go on a dream cruise and will spend 1 nights in WDW before going home, we want to stay on the monorail line probably in the Contemporary or Bay Lake Towers

 

[Squidgyness]

Well, for us:

1) OFF SITE - 4 people but all older than 18 now (me being the youngest)
2) I Drive - great location, links to all parks (we do ALL 7 major parks.)
3) 1 room suite. (I get stuck with the sofa bed.)
4) Cheap - we dont earn that much and stay for 2 weeks, and im a student, so bread and water for the next 2 years to scrape as much of my loan together as possible!

Last 2 times in a suite were at Hawthorn Suites Sea World, liked its location, rooms good, food bad but good resteraunt nearby (village inn)

Now we will try the Hawthorn suites near Universal, much more better reviews than before. The one thing I will say is that you shouldnt pay much attention to the bad reviews. For example, one guy said he loved the hotel but the people he booked through scammed him - how is that the hotels fault? He gave it one star on TripAdvisor - a major reason you should beware unread reviews.

We like having a living room ( I get a sofa bed away from my fathers colossal snoring ) and there are some great resteraunts nearby, shuttles and taxis make it just as convienient as staying onsite, no screaming kids at the food court (or less anyway) and no little brats running around causing mayhem. (usually american kids, btw.) or groups for that matter.

Havent booked yet obviously, but we will as soon as we can, planning sometime around 20th june.

EDIT- Thought I'd add that the HSO (hawth.) got 15% 2 star or less - was a bit worried until I saw that our old one had 30% and the even AKL and GF had 10-15% 2 star or less reviews on tripadvisor. BEWARE THE REVIEWS

 

[katiec]

Well, for us:

Now we will try the Hawthorn suites near Universal, much more better reviews than before. The one thing I will say is that you shouldnt pay much attention to the bad reviews. For example, one guy said he loved the hotel but the people he booked through scammed him - how is that the hotels fault? He gave it one star on TripAdvisor - a major reason you should beware unread reviews.

I agree - I try to only take the postives out of the American reviews and put a "bit" more faith in the UK ones! Unless of course they all say its wonderful

We like having a living room ( I get a sofa bed away from my fathers colossal snoring ) and there are some great resteraunts nearby, shuttles and taxis make it just as convienient as staying onsite, no screaming kids at the food court (or less anyway) and no little brats running around causing mayhem. (usually american kids, btw.) or groups for that matter.

Oh how I agree with this. I really have no issue with children at all - its usually more the parents in my opinion who think that its ok for the kids to run up and down the corridors screaming at the tops of their voices, so if I have a choice give me adults only (yes - shame on me and yes I am mum too!)


EDIT- Thought I'd add that the HSO (hawth.) got 15% 2 star or less - was a bit worried until I saw that our old one had 30% and the even AKL and GF had 10-15% 2 star or less reviews on tripadvisor. BEWARE THE REVIEWS

I try to aim for anything that ranks in the top third in trip advisor reviews - I usually find that the photos are a great help to... apart from those that show a broken tile in the bathroom Are you really gonna let that spoil your holiday? Especially in Orlando

 

[heatherbelle]

Before I discovered Mr Tesco to pay for most of our holidays, then I spent hours on trip advisor reading reviews.

The first time I took my DS I decided on location and cheapness of room. Fancy pool didn't matter. In the end I choose Country Inn and Suites. Nice clean room, free breakfast which saved pennies, close to downtown in the car. Second year we went and again paid for with real cash, the pool was the issue, so plumbed for Regal Palms. Personally for me this was too far away, wasted loads of time travelling to Disney and everywhere else really, but that's only my opinion. I liked the house, which was a town house, but big enough for three of us and we all enjoyed the pool and lazy river. The for the next two trips, Mr Tesco was paying.

I didn't have enough points for the Beach Club, so we stayed at OKW. Really liked it and especially the free dining, which is what swayed us to staying on site. Also good location. Good pool with small slide for my DS and DH.

The year after we went off to LA, that was down to price and a nice looking pool. (There is a theme here).

Now I had enough to stay at the Beach/yatch Club with Mr Tesco, we had visted loads of VH hotels to check out the pool, so we were sure the Yatch Club was for us. So that is where we are staying in August. Pool/location and free food (well its not really free as i'm sure its in the price of the hotel/tickets somewhere.)

For our next stay it will back to hard cash. I have been looking at Orange Lake its got a great pool and also Bonnet Creek.

For us its the pool that really matters, sad I know, but we do like to spend time at the pool even though we have waterpark tickets.

If staying on site as well once you factor in the free parking that makes a big difference too. So maybe if 40% offer for SSR comes along, I'll book that as there pool is really really warm and it has a nice slide.

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Staying on site is the only thing that's essential to us (and even then if it was a case of not going or staying cheaper off site then I would definitely stay cheaper off site!). Then it just comes down to money. The last few years we have been moderate, and this year we are staying SSR as it works out the same price as a moderate. But I actually really like the values as well and owuld have no problem staying at them again! I'm not fussy at all!

 

[wayneg]

What I look for.
Offsite, around LBV if at all possible but not opposed to onsite if the price is right, AKL Room only at £70/night was OK but wouldn't pay anymore. OKW at £100/night incl DDP has hooked us for a 2nd year this August, I will again moan how tied we are to Disney but with poor exchange rate its too good to resist. Wouldn't stay in a value again.
Free internet preferably wireless, if not free then a very low room rate to compensate paying for it.
Fridge inroom
Generally good reviews on Tripadvisor but some bad reviews can be taken with a pinch of salt.
No resort fees or again a very low room rate to compensate.
Free breakfast sways me to a hotel if I have a choice of a few places.
Always manage to get what we want under £30/night except Easter, usually have to pay a bit more then.

 

[virginatlantic]

We first went in 1992 with Virgin Holidays and have ever since.
Our children were 2 and 5, it was a bit of an adventure at such a young age for the children, but we had read a few books ( no internet!!)and had decided we wanted to be near Disney but could not afford the Disney prices on site then.
We stayed at the main gate west Holiday Inn. It must have been fine as we went back the following year.

Our third time in 1994 was to the newly opened Disney All Stars Music resort, and did so for the next 3 years.
The All Stars really had all you needed for small children, big bright colours large Disney characters, a food court, ideal again for children.
Since then we have done a mixture of Disney All Stars Movies and Clearwater beach.

As the children entered their teens we were looking to step up to the Disney moderate resorts we fancied a few more trimmings! but on our return flight from what was to be our last stay at the value Diseny resorts, we were upgraded to premium economy for free

So the next holiday was back to All Star Movies again that was in 2000, our extra budget was now spent on the Premium seats
We did so again in 2004 plus a week at Clearwater.

That was it until last year when we tried the Pop Century our children now 22 and 19, plus my sons girl friend 22, Gosh the time has passed since that first trip in 94

So we have had many great holidays at Disney over that time and the All Stars have given us many happy memories, for that I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone with young children ( I would say I think the All Stars Movies is the best of them all!! best theme and an outside seating area at the food court. I enjoyed The Pop Century but it is my least favorite as it has 4 stories and the others all have 3, the PoPs food court seemed busier too ? )

We are now going this August without the children for the first time so looking for more lux , going to Clearwater and then Universal Pacific on site at the end of holiday ( just to see Harry Potter), no Disney this time!!

We all plan to go again together in 2012 for 3 weeks, that will be to an on site Universal for 4 days then the Disney Poly,then last 4 days at Clearwater

 

[Squidgyness]

I try to aim for anything that ranks in the top third in trip advisor reviews - I usually find that the photos are a great help to... apart from those that show a broken tile in the bathroom Are you really gonna let that spoil your holiday? Especially in Orlando

I know... I mean there are so many people that buy a car with a scratch and ignore the scratch... why is it so hard to ignore a broken tile? There is a large difference between minor and major problems.

Another thing that really annoys me... people who complain that the room was fine but the corridors were dirty... if you are spending most of your time in corridor, seek help. Your "fun" section in your brain is malfunctioning