Smittolis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2017
- Messages
- 768
Having just spend 5 nights at the World Center Marriot, Orlando (Disney Springs Area), I wanted to report back and give my 2 cents on our stay....
Location:
The World Center Marriot is located on the South East side of I4. It is not a bad location by any means, with only a 10 min drive to almost any of the parks.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/O...62ad1f834b74a8da!8m2!3d28.361031!4d-81.509687
Parking:
Parking can (and was) a bit of a nightmare. This is the biggest Marriot in the World and has 3+ exhibition halls adjacent to it, so virtually all of its parking is in a parking garage that requires you to walk to a designated pick up spot and catch a shuttle bus. Not the end of the world, but definitely a drag after a long day at work or in the parks! It was also $10-20 per day parking, depending on function and your rate. This was definitely a huge negative for our party.
General Hotel:
The hotel itself is pretty impressive.. traditional marble and travertine floors, big open lobby with a very 'vegas' feel to the decor and layout. The amenities are very good, the pools are great and provided a great refreshing change to the standard rectangular hotel pool! This had huge slides, rock grotto's and a laser show at night... albeit a little lame lol...
The staff were friendly, but don't expect Disney style knowledge and willingness to fix your issues. We spent 2hrs upon arrival getting our prebooked and assigned rooms figured out after the staff member gave us keys to other peoples rooms! lol... that was an interesting experience. It then took us 60+ minutes to discuss this with them to see the error they made and it wasn't until we went over every single person we realized they had shorted us 1 room.... all the rooms were secured on one credit card so were all under the same name with occupancy listed too. It was more than a little disappointing and not what you would expect for such a perceived 'high end hotel'.
The rooms were pretty good, 2 queens with a small balcony and a huge TV! AC was average, it was a very passive style HVAC system so took a long while to cool down or change the temperature. The bathroom was relatively well appointed but it was dated and showing its age. Stained bathtubs and tiles etc... dirty vents. Nothing out of the ordinary, but once again judging it on its self proclaimed high end status it fell short.
Our room door had some pretty serious damage and had obviously been 'kicked in' at some point, the locking plate was bent and damaged, the security loop had been pulled out of the wall, so that didn't fill me with confidence! haha
Food:
The hotel has a number of bars / food places on the main levels. The food was pretty good but was expensive. There is a small 'market' style store that sells all kinds of snacks and essentials, but again, this was very expensive. $4 for a bottle of soda as an example.
They did have a 'pantry market' on the lower levels which was more of a Disney style foodcourt set up, however, this too was expensive. We found that lots of things they sold there were actually more expensive than what was charged in the Disney Parks. While I know the Parks often offer things at a good price, they are not renowned for their 'cheap' value goods. If you are going to stay here and have access to a vehicle I would definitely be going to Walmart or the like and stocking up on drinks and snacks!
Transport:
They offered no transport to the parks that was complimentary. I thought this was unusual given the size of the hotel, but perhaps that is also a reason why not, perhaps logistically it is just too demanding and costly? We drove into the parks each day as we had 15+ people and i drove our mini-bus (which, by the way, was cheaper than renting a mini-van!?!!?) As stated, the parking was a big headache and something alone that would prevent me from using this hotel for any prolonged period of time with kids.
Final thoughts?:
It was a very well presented hotel with great amenities, rooms were pretty good but showing signs of distress and aging. The parking is an issue due to the location of the parking structure and having to get a shuttle, the staff were friendly but not very knowledgeable nor professional. The cost of food and drink at the hotel is pretty excessive, there is no need given the fact there are so many options locally. It is much more convenient and we would've spent way more money there if things had been reasonable. As it has a number of large exhibition halls, there will more than likely be large groups there, we encountered more than a few inebriated fellows on our jaunts around the various parts of the hotel, and for this reason I would not recommend it for families with young children.
Would I stay there again? Possibly, but based upon all of the above i'd simply look at a moderate or a deluxe onsite and pay the difference. Having the luxury of location and a huge improvement in staff professionalism and knowledge is well worth it.
I will revisit this review with a couple of video's and pictures once I have uploaded them.
Location:
The World Center Marriot is located on the South East side of I4. It is not a bad location by any means, with only a 10 min drive to almost any of the parks.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/O...62ad1f834b74a8da!8m2!3d28.361031!4d-81.509687
Parking:
Parking can (and was) a bit of a nightmare. This is the biggest Marriot in the World and has 3+ exhibition halls adjacent to it, so virtually all of its parking is in a parking garage that requires you to walk to a designated pick up spot and catch a shuttle bus. Not the end of the world, but definitely a drag after a long day at work or in the parks! It was also $10-20 per day parking, depending on function and your rate. This was definitely a huge negative for our party.
General Hotel:
The hotel itself is pretty impressive.. traditional marble and travertine floors, big open lobby with a very 'vegas' feel to the decor and layout. The amenities are very good, the pools are great and provided a great refreshing change to the standard rectangular hotel pool! This had huge slides, rock grotto's and a laser show at night... albeit a little lame lol...
The staff were friendly, but don't expect Disney style knowledge and willingness to fix your issues. We spent 2hrs upon arrival getting our prebooked and assigned rooms figured out after the staff member gave us keys to other peoples rooms! lol... that was an interesting experience. It then took us 60+ minutes to discuss this with them to see the error they made and it wasn't until we went over every single person we realized they had shorted us 1 room.... all the rooms were secured on one credit card so were all under the same name with occupancy listed too. It was more than a little disappointing and not what you would expect for such a perceived 'high end hotel'.
The rooms were pretty good, 2 queens with a small balcony and a huge TV! AC was average, it was a very passive style HVAC system so took a long while to cool down or change the temperature. The bathroom was relatively well appointed but it was dated and showing its age. Stained bathtubs and tiles etc... dirty vents. Nothing out of the ordinary, but once again judging it on its self proclaimed high end status it fell short.
Our room door had some pretty serious damage and had obviously been 'kicked in' at some point, the locking plate was bent and damaged, the security loop had been pulled out of the wall, so that didn't fill me with confidence! haha
Food:
The hotel has a number of bars / food places on the main levels. The food was pretty good but was expensive. There is a small 'market' style store that sells all kinds of snacks and essentials, but again, this was very expensive. $4 for a bottle of soda as an example.
They did have a 'pantry market' on the lower levels which was more of a Disney style foodcourt set up, however, this too was expensive. We found that lots of things they sold there were actually more expensive than what was charged in the Disney Parks. While I know the Parks often offer things at a good price, they are not renowned for their 'cheap' value goods. If you are going to stay here and have access to a vehicle I would definitely be going to Walmart or the like and stocking up on drinks and snacks!
Transport:
They offered no transport to the parks that was complimentary. I thought this was unusual given the size of the hotel, but perhaps that is also a reason why not, perhaps logistically it is just too demanding and costly? We drove into the parks each day as we had 15+ people and i drove our mini-bus (which, by the way, was cheaper than renting a mini-van!?!!?) As stated, the parking was a big headache and something alone that would prevent me from using this hotel for any prolonged period of time with kids.
Final thoughts?:
It was a very well presented hotel with great amenities, rooms were pretty good but showing signs of distress and aging. The parking is an issue due to the location of the parking structure and having to get a shuttle, the staff were friendly but not very knowledgeable nor professional. The cost of food and drink at the hotel is pretty excessive, there is no need given the fact there are so many options locally. It is much more convenient and we would've spent way more money there if things had been reasonable. As it has a number of large exhibition halls, there will more than likely be large groups there, we encountered more than a few inebriated fellows on our jaunts around the various parts of the hotel, and for this reason I would not recommend it for families with young children.
Would I stay there again? Possibly, but based upon all of the above i'd simply look at a moderate or a deluxe onsite and pay the difference. Having the luxury of location and a huge improvement in staff professionalism and knowledge is well worth it.
I will revisit this review with a couple of video's and pictures once I have uploaded them.
