Great Service - Great Staff - Fun Place
Written: May 10 '04 (Updated May 11 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Kid friendly. Lots of space for the dollar.
Cons: Food offerings. Better activity offerings for the little tykes.
The Bottom Line: Great service and lots of room space for the price. Just improve the food.
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| wvoz1970's Full Review: Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort LAKE BUENA VISTA |
This is a unique Holiday Inn, in that it's still the only one of it's type. I believe there's one other in the works, but I'm not sure. It caters to families with it's multiple suite configurations, but it will work for business travellers also.
My first experience was on a business trip to a conference being held across the street at the Marriott World Center. My company was on a very tight travel budget at the time, so I opted to stay at the Family Suites for about $90 a night less. I was given a "Residential Suite" which worked wonderfully. This format is basically a living room/kitchen (yes, a full kitchen with stove, fridge, microwave and dishwasher) and then a separate bedroom. It was great to come home from my meetings and have a nice living area to relax, which included a 32" TV. I kept a stock of snacks/beverages in the kitchen and then would go offsite in the evenings for meals. Orlando has a HUGE selection for dining in all price ranges, so don't stick yourself at the hotel if you have transportation.
I returned for another event later in the year, and this time my wife and then 6 month old son tagged along. I upgraded my room to a "honeymoon suite". It included a separate bedroom, living room with 50+ inch television, kitchenette, and heart shaped whirlpool tub. On this particular trip, we had multiple issues with maintenance (basically suffice to say that the room should never had been rented out until repairs had been completed). What brought me back after this trip was service. The hotel staff contacted me afterwards and basically paid for my stay by re-crediting my Priority Club points I had used.
I attended another meeting about six months later in Orlando and decided to try out the Suites again, and was upgraded by the hotel staff to their "Cinema Suite". The cinema suite is my kind of room, with a living room/kitchen area, separate bedroom, and a small personal theatre. This room will seat 4-6 comfortably and has a 64" TV with surround sound system. Also in the room was a gift basket of movie foods and a card from the staff, reiterating their apology for the problems on my last stay. Talk about customer service going the extra mile... I'm a long term customer of the suites now.
That's my long winded version of some of my stays in order to say that I highly recommend this hotel for families. In addition to the suites I've mentioned, they have numerous themed one, two, and even three bedroom suites. It's great as the kids get older, as they can have their own "place" while Mom and Dad can have a little privacy too. Other than the previously mentioned room with maintenance issues, I've yet to have a bad room. (Even that one was OK, other than the mechanical problems)
The food service on site will leave some to be desired. They have a fairly nice sit-down restaurant inside, but the specialty seems to be seafood, of which my family is not a big fan. They also have a nice breakfast buffet in the mornings with a good hot breakfast for you and the kids to start the day. Nothing spectacular, just typical cafe fare like scrambled eggs, hash browns, and some type of meat. They also have cereal, breads, and fruit. This is included in your nightly rate, so breakfast is covered. One word of warning, the parks all open in the 9-10am range, so the cafeteria is usually packed from about 8:30 until 9:30 or so. Also in the dining area is a quick mart, A&W Root Beer, Pizza Hut, and an ice-cream place. All pretty standard. If you have a car, I would recommend going out for dinner meals. Especially with kids, you can find a lot of buffet places in the area.
The hotel service staff is phenomenal. I have always found them very helpful and I especially like the check-in area for little kids. They get their own area to register while Dad is waiting to get the keys.
Activity wise, my son was only 6 months old when he went the first time, so I can't say a lot. I know they have a lot of planned activities throughout the day for kids, but it seems to cater to those about 4-12 years. I will say that the "zero-entry" pool was great, as my son and wife could sit in the very shallow end without much fear of going under.
Finally the price... for being in the Disney area, it's reasonable. If you're on a tight budget, you will find cheaper hotels in the area. But for a middle of the road location, I found the service received to be more than adequate for the ~$120 a night. If I wanted the Marriott, I'd pay the $200 and get a smaller room with less kid-friendly stuff.
One word of note, when I was last at the suites, they announced a complete renovation. They were going to shut down one side of the hotel and then the other to convert it to a Nickelodeon themed resort. The rooms will still be all suites, but it looks like the train/railroad theme is going away.
I haven't been to Orlando in a while, but I may have a trade show there in October. If I go down for it, you can be guaranteed I will make my reservation at the Family Suites.
UPDATE: If you visit the Family Suites website http://www.hifamilysuites.com/ you will find a link describing their transition to the Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
wvoz1970
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Member: Brian
Location: Central Ohio, USA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Husband and Dad, Retail Business Analyst for manufacturing company, Videographer
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