Although Gainesville, Fla. is halfway between Atlanta and Miami, we decided to break up the drive from my parents' home in Miami with a stop in Orlando. But where to stay, especially with a little baby? We agreed that a suite hotel would be best, but which one?

Well, the Caribe Royale was just what the doctor ordered. You can see a complete map of the room layout online, but it has a living room with sofabed, and a separate bedroom. There was a special going on that weekend, so we got the room for $99.

It took a little bit of wheeling and dealing to get the crib set up in the room--I happened to run into the housekeeping supervisor for our floor while headed to the elevators. This was key, because I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have gotten our crib nearly as fast if we had not spoken to her.

There were lots of little kids running around all over the place, but the room was actually pretty quiet.

The location can't be beat. You're right on World Drive, near the entrance to the Disney Parks, and I saw that there was a shuttle bus taking people over to the parks every half hour or so. In addition, there's a pretty good outlet mall just down the street, and International Drive is a short drive away.

We didn't take advantage of the pool, but it looked pretty nice.

We did stop at the breakfast buffet before heading back to Atlanta. The buffet had the usual pile of sausages, bacon, pancakes, and eggs, and there were the usual distribution of little kids with plates piled high. The place was a little dirty, and our waiter looked like he could have used a little help (there were only two people to cover a room seating over 100!). The food was fine, but nothing you couldn't get at Shoney's. For $12.95 each, I would have hoped for a little nicer of a spread--maybe some smoked fish, bagels, an omlette chef. Oh well, I guess I've been spoiled by The Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans.

Anyway, this was a decent place to stay in a town full of them. It's distinguished by the all-suite setup, excellent location, and pool. If you can get it on special, it will do just fine.

Recommended: Yes