Tell Me about Holiday Inn Family Siutes please!

[Carrieberry]

We ware going to WDW in Feb and are thinking of staying here. We have a son that is hearing impaired and talks to himself VERY loudly as he goes to sleep, so the benefit of having a seperate sleeping area for him is crucial (just that one door would help alot-believe me). We have only ever stayed onsite, and are a little nervous about staying off site, so please let us know what you thought of this hotel! How was the food, the employees, the pool, the cleanliness? We are also going to do Sea World and IOA while there, not just Disney and we will have a rental car. We want this to be an Orlando vacation, not just a Disney one, although we will be spending 5 of 8 days at Disney parks. Any opinions would be helpful! Thanks!

 

[clutter]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

The kid's room is only a curtain, however, the mbr has a good door. Best bathroom around!

Food was adequate (we only did breakfast), employees were nice enough, but we didn't have or need a lot of interaction, pool is great (no slides, but like a water park and you can rent animals to float on. I like the zero depth so little kids can walk around), cleanliness was great.

So far, my favorite of HIFS, DI and WL.

 

[js]

We stayed there in Oct with 2 children and LOVED it! You will not believe how close you are to the entrance of WDW. My mom is taking us again end of Aug. and we are staying at CBR. She does not want to say off-site. But, if just my family was going, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again! The big, hot breakfasts were great and the privacy was wonderful. Although the rooms are a little small, they are much bigger than one room at a WDW resort. The kids room does not have a door (just a curtain) but the adult room with the king size bed does have a door. The pool is great! We did have a car so I can't comment on the transportation. Have fun!

 

[ZachnElli]

so look for my review July 20! We are staying at HIFS for 8 nights with 2 kids. I'm very excited and the kids are looking forward to that pool and play area they have.

 

[Katie]

I am laying in the kingsize bed at HIFS right now! It is awesome! My kids love it!

There is a small living room with a pullout sofa bed, small table with chairs, refrige(with small freezer), microwave, sink..and storage. There is a large tv with a vcr. Also, is a digital safe...(awesome). Off the living room is a bathrromm..again..large for hotels...sink, toilet, bathtub with showers. Also a large area for storage!

The kids bedroom only has a curtain..but it has bunk beds with rails, and a pull-out(we did NOT use that)..a small table, TV, VCR, and Ninentendo ! Some small drawers and shelfs(very narrow shelfs..) I am not sure what exactly the purpose of the shelfs are they are very very narrow!

The Adult bedroom has a separte vanity, chair, makeup mirror, hairdryers, OUTLETS!! A king size bed, two nightstands, a closet. Four drawers, TV VCR!!

3 phones in thes uite!

The breakfast was about 5 out of 10! Usually you can find enought to fill you up..but it isn't that grand!

Kids eat free in the food court from 1100-500! I got a pizza combo and 4 kids meals..for 6.38!!! We ate there almost daily so far..you cna't beat that price!!! They say the kids have to be present to get the kids meal free..but after 2 days of being the only parent with kids with me...I left the kids with their dad at the pool, room, ect..and did the food run without them! The food court is terrible ineffiecient however...very frustrating..allow about 10-15 minutes IF there is NO one ahead of you! Luckily, we have never had many ahead of you..but everybody there is sooo frustrated when they leave! But hey..for the price..you can't go wrong!

There is small store also..has Krisspy Kreme Doughnutes daily! NOT Free..but good!

The pool is a hit with my kids! Small putt putt course by the pool, 2 hot tubs, and a playground all in the same vicinty! Also a pool bar and snack bar by th epool...pricy..but good!

Everything is sooooooooo close! about 8 minutes to MK every day! The first few times..we got terribly lost on the way home....but finally called at the front desk and got directions home...and now it takes only about 8 minutes home too! GET DIRECTIONS..DON'T FOLLOW THE SIGNS!

Epcot and MGM is even closer! AK takes the longest actually..but still under 15 minutes!

We have always stayed on site..but decided we could stay longer at 99.00 a nite..vs 300 a nite...so we double our stay....and glad we did.. The week has flown by..we only have 4 more days left!!! BOO HOO

Any more questions????

kat

I usually check this every night before bed!!

 

[ZachnElli]

I was so worried about my 2 year old rolling out of bed, I'm so happy to hear they have rails on the bunk beds! And Krispy Kreme donuts too!! Wahoo, hit the jackpot, those don't need to be free! Thanks for the heads up on the food court being so slow and getting directions back! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[sernarama]

I just got back from HIFS a few weeks ago. This really is a great hotel. One definite must is a car! I decided to rent one at the very last minute (the day before we left for our vacation) and saved our trip. The shuttles only run at very specific times, and you really are expected ( I actually felt a little pressured) to tip the bus driver anyway, so you end up paying about $6 bucks anyway. Also, you can drive up to Hwy 192 which is right around the corner. The Publix grocery store was 2 mins from the hotel, and 192 has every restaurant imaginable.

The hotel really seems to go out of their way to please you. We had a very minor snafu and they showered us with gifts! (actually, they gave us a room that was perfectly fine, but I wanted a different decor, so they sent a bell hop with the key for another room and it took him a little long to get there). No big, right? the next night they sent over a huge basket full of goodies (munchies) for the kids and a fruit and cheese platter for DH and me!

 

[Katie]

Maybe i misdirected you..the top bunk has rails..not the bottom!!! So, you might want to bring your rail from home for the bottom

 

[Carrieberry]

WOW! Thanks for all the great info everyone! I was a bit nervous booking this, as we have only ever stayed onsite. We have stayed at The Poly, DxL, PO, ans ASMo.
We really wanted to stay within a tight budget if possible because our airfare is going to be pricey. My DH said after our last trip in Dec, that he was Disney'ed out and that we couldn't go back until 2003 or 2004. We had planned to take a cruise without the kids next year, but the other day he said he'd rather take the kids and go to Disney!! I am a Disneyaholic, and was estatic to say the least. We started discussing our last trip, and had some minor complaints about staying onsite like the room size, and some major complaints on the bus service the week we were there. After a lot of talking, we also decided we wanted to check out Universal IOA, and the Space Center. I looked at HIFS and they looked great! I am so glad you all liked them, and you have all eased my mind tremensously! We will be fine with the curtain for the kids, as long as our room has a door. My son will be so excited to stay in a bunk bed! We figured renting a car would not be to much more than taking Tiffany, and the fact that the Publix isn't too far is great. I read on another thread, that there were refillable mugs there? Is this true and if so how much are they?

I just couldn't see spending $169 a night to stay at PO again, even though we loved this hotel. I got HIFS for $112 a night, and it just seems like it will work our so much better for us with the kids, and save us some serious money in the process. Besides the Krispy Kremes sealed the deal!

Thanks again!