Where would you never, ever, stay off-site?

[redrosesix]

There are all sorts of deals available near WDW but some are not even worth paying the $30 per night that these "hotels" are charging. The websites and the info they post on Expedia, etc. can be very misleading.

Finding yourself in one of these places could literally ruin your vacation. So let's do our fellow DISers a favour and steer them away from the worst of the lot.

PS. I have one in mind -- friends stayed there this year -- but I'll post it later. Luckily, we've never taken the chances and been burned.

 

[Brian Noble]

My view on this is pretty simple. I'd never stay in a "regular hotel" anywhere offsite. Ever. There are simply too many properties with better room features and amenities, priced comparably to a single Disney Value room, to bother with anything less.

 

[Lisa P.]

Same here... especially at the bargain chain hotels and motels. Yikes!

There are SO MANY gorgeous timeshare condo resorts and high-end pool home communities near WDW, where you can save money for your group by eating in or eating offsite on the way to/from the parks, that there is NO reason to risk your vacation by staying in a cheap place that could be a dump. If you're traveling alone, stay onsite and save the gas money by using Disney transfers.

 

[Mysteria]

Days Inn Kissimmee-Orlando- Hwy 192

4104 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy
Hwy-192 & Hoagland Blvd
Kissimmee, FL 34741 US
Phone: 407-846-4714

Long story as to how we ended up here for 1 night but it will be our one and only night.

 

[sympatico]

Condo Lodge : DON'T DO IT NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE PRICE IS !

 

[redrosesix]

My friends stayed at the Magic Castle Inn and Suites, also in Kissimmee. The place looks awesome on the website, but is basically a run-down motel painted bright purple. The grounds are nothing more than a parking lot and the water in the pool (about 10 x 10) was not heated and a funny shade of green. The rooms were Bleck! nothing like the ones shown on the website and the only restaurants were the ones that you could walk to down the highway.

 

[AKL_Megs]

That "Gator Inn" down off of 192... yeah, no.

Tripadvisor has GREAT pictures of just how terrible it can be. Check it out sometime!

WAY back when there used to be the Delta Court of Flags off of I-4 near Universal, the floor fell out from underneath us in our room!

 

[redrosesix]

That "Gator Inn" down off of 192... yeah, no.

Tripadvisor has GREAT pictures of just how terrible it can be. Check it out sometime!

WAY back when there used to be the Delta Court of Flags off of I-4 near Universal, the floor fell out from underneath us in our room!

 

[DOOM1001]

One thing for sure is if you don't know the area your chances of booking a bad hotel goes up.For example I live in Miami and have stayed in hotels in Orlando hundreds of times so I know which areas are OK, for example there's no way I stay at any hotel east of 535 on 192.Also many of the cheapest hotels on websites like Orbitz or Travelocity are not good,I might stay at a couple of them because I know the area and hotel,but if you don't know that you're bound to stay somewhere you'll end up regretting.However I've been using Hotwire for years now and have gotten amazing deals on great hotels,for example I just stayed at the Rosen Centre on International Drive,priced at $269 a night on the hotels website,I got it for for $42 on Hotwire,now that's probably the best ever deal I've gotten with them but most of the time rooms that go for $100-$140 a night I would get for $35-$65.

 

[CarolA]

I am pretty much sticking to the Lake Buena Vista area.

I generally go for too short a stay to deal with the condos etc. Plus I have DVC, so my longer stays are there.

I am not a fan of International drive... (too much traffic) As was pointed out above some of the 192 accomdations are "iffy" too.

I just like the accessiblity from Lake Buena Vista. It feels reasonably safe, there are good services and resturants and even my "bottom feeder" hotel (Comfort Inn) is not a total dump LOL!

 

[cassie714]

We stayed In the most disgusting hotel ever right at universal. I am not even sure if it is still there. Unfortunely I dont remember the name something like rio grand. It was only 35 a night so we were not expecting anything spectacular but the roaches were a quite uninvited I try to look for reviews on here now first

 

[MickeyP]

The Cinderella home that "Loyalty" rents. It looks fine on the website, but is very run down.

 

[redrosesix]

The Cinderella home that "Loyalty" rents. It looks fine on the website, but is very run down.

This one?
http://www.loyaltyusa.com/kissimmee-vacation-rental-homes.aspx?homeId=6

That's what our friends found with the hotel they found in Kissimmee. there was one chosen for our whole group to book, but the TripAdvisor reviews were horrible -- the most common statement was that the pictures on the website must have been taken a long time ago because it didn't look like that now.

Pictures can be so misleading.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We stayed In the most disgusting hotel ever right at universal. I am not even sure if it is still there. Unfortunely I dont remember the name something like rio grand. It was only 35 a night so we were not expecting anything spectacular but the roaches were a quite uninvited I try to look for reviews on here now first

You must mean just outside Universal. Their onsite hotels are all 4* and on par with Disney deluxe, starting at over $200/nt, some over $300. I've stayed at all 3 and they are beautiful with top notch service, valet parking, etc. They are Loew's hotels.

Not trying to start a fight, just don't want misinformation floating around about Universal hotels.

 

[cassie714]

Yes I meant outside. It was just so close I was surprised how run down it was. I guess I shouldn't have been for the price. But it too was one that the pictures on the website were deceiving. I was trying to look it up but cant find it so maybe someone else took it over. This was about 4 years ago.

 

[redrosesix]

Yes I meant outside. It was just so close I was surprised how run down it was. I guess I shouldn't have been for the price. But it too was one that the pictures on the website were deceiving. I was trying to look it up but cant find it so maybe someone else took it over. This was about 4 years ago.

Or maybe they just changed the name of the hotel. Apparently that happens a lot -- I have a friend in the hotel industry and she said that a crummy hotel that has had a lot of bad reviews will change it's name so that those reviews no longer "count". Unfortunately, they don't update the pictures when they change the hotel name.

 

[tweetylori]

Years ago I stayed at a "Quality Inn" at Old Town. Don't know if it still exists, but it was horrible. I refused the first room. And the second one wasn't so hot. Recently (two weeks ago), we spent one night at the Wyndham "Resort" on International (won off Priceline for $49) I would not care to stay there again.

 

[isla bonita]

Stayed one night at the red roof inn on 192 near the 535. Never again! It was YUK!

 

[BonnieA]

I really even hate to admit this, but it was an emergency situation. My brother-in-law ended up in the hospital while we were there with a near fatal colon blockage. I was staying in the area to be near him while he was in the hospital. I needed an economical place and this was an unplanned expense. I saw the signs for "Home Suite Home". Cheap, close, how bad can it be? I went to trip advisor and the recent reviews weren't "that" bad. I figure I could take it for a week, I'm not hard to please.
Well I should have taken a clue from the reception area where they have bullet proof glass between you and the receptionists. But I didn't. The room had some major issues, electrical sockets torn out of the wall, broken lamp shade, drawer pull gone, safe rusty and non working. I took pictures of all the items (so they wouldn't charge them to me). Surprisingly they fixed all the problems except for the safe.
But the whole place gave me a creepy feeling. People were smoking and drinking outside my room. I didn't feel safe.
I know this place is home to a lot of people that can't afford any other place to live. But that wasn't me. I stayed only 2 days out of my week. They did refund the remaining money.
To tell you how bad it was, I would stay in a Days Inn before I would stay there again. And most of you know, that says a lot.
I was fortunate to get a week at Liki Tiki from a nice lady wanting to sell her week. She sold it to me at cost because of my situation. The following week I rented a very nice 3 bedroom house in Davenport very last minute and very economical. I probably should have checked online first before I went to "Home Suite Home". But I didn't lose that much money and I learned a valuable lesson.

 

[MickeyP]

Yes! That is the exact Cinderella home. It was disgusting AND, none of the arcade games worked. I think one turned on, but didn't work right.