ClapYourHands
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2018
Stayed 2 nights 5/31/19 and 6/1/19, booked through Hotwire blind booking (though I knew what I was getting). I paid $155.82 total for both nights, including all taxes and the $9.99 mandatory hotel fee that was collected by Hotwire, so I owed nothing at the hotel.
Galleria Palms is one of the little maingate hotels tucked behind discount souvenir shops, but I decided to try it because it got consistently good reviews on booking websites. I found those good reviews to be merited, and recommend it as a solid bargain hotel.
The whole place was incredibly clean, and everything inside and out appeared well maintained. While not extensive or fancy, even the landscaping near the entrance was well-kept and included flowering plants. It's an interior-corridor hotel, which I don't think I saw in any other hotel at this price point. Parking was ample and free. Laundry facilities consisted of 2 washers and 2 dryers - $2.50 for wash, $2.50 for dry, and $1.50 for a single-serve pack of Tide powder.
The staff was friendly and helpful. When we checked in around 9pm, there was no wait, and the person working the front desk gave my daughter a small coloring book and crayons (the older kids declined the offer). When I later realized I forgot the kids' toothbrushes and toothpaste, the lady at the front desk gave me 3 complimentary brushes and two small tubes of toothpaste. Checkout was just as fast and easy as check in.
The beds were comfortable, and housekeeping did a nice job. I noticed my son got some blood on his sheets the first night from a scab he picked, and the bed had new sheets when we returned to the room. We had two queen beds, which was one of my must-haves for 4 people, and so many hotels at this price point seem to have only full size beds or a king with a pull-out sofa. But as it's a budget hotel, the sheets were pretty basic white, not a high thread count, but fine, and just a fleece blanket with a thin cover over it. I noticed there were only 3 pillows per queen bed, while I'm used to 4 pillows at higher-end hotels. I did not ask for additional pillows.
The room was rather small. We brought a twin-size air mattress because DD has a tendency to fall off beds without a bedrail, and the only place to fit it was lengthwise near the bathroom. There was no closet. There was a small wardrobe, but in half of it was taken up with a built-in dresser with the room safe on top, and in the half that was tall enough to hang a dress there was an ironing board. Not a problem for us because we don't really have much to hang up, but the space did feel rather cluttered with no good place to stash our suitcases.
Coffee maker, microwave, and mini fridge were all in room. My favorite part was that the mini-fridge had a small freezer section, so it was actually possible to freeze an ice pack for our lunch box the next day. I hate it when I can't freeze anything, and sadly find the freezer-less mini-fridges to be the norm, even in higher-end hotels.
I found the room overall to be quiet. I did not hear neighbors on either side, in the hallways, or traffic outside. Some of that might be because the AC unit was rather loud, which didn't bother me, and doubled as a white noise machine, but even when it was off, I didn't really hear anything. I think being an interior corridor hotel helped, too.
The complimentary breakfast was adequate. Not gourmet, but they were clearly trying. Cereal, yogurt, bananas, oranges, mini muffins and pastries, bread and one of those conveyor belt toasters, bagels our second day, pancake making machines (which my sons thoroughly enjoyed using), as well as some type of eggs and meat. One morning the eggs were typical powdered scrambled eggs and the other morning they were pre-made into little omelettes with cheese and peppers/onions inside. We had ham rounds the first day and sausage patties the next. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, apple juice, and OJ. People seemed to come in waves, but we got seating both days without a problem. The staff was good at restocking items when they ran low, so the people eating later still had bananas after the first basket was emptied.
Pool was a basic rectangle, but the area seemed well maintained. We ended up not using it because it wasn't open before we went to the park, and we were too tired when we got back. The pool was open until 11pm, and people were definitely using it late (our room overlooked the pool).
Judging from the magic bands, lanyards, and t-shirt choices, I'd say the vast majority of guests were on Disney vacations. There was a free shuttle to the parks, but it was incredibly limited, and required using Disney's transportation to get to and from your desired parks. Posted times to Epcot at 7:30am and 9:55am; to Sea World and Universal at 11:30am. Return from Sea World at 6:15, from Universal 6:30; from Magic Kingdom at 8pm and 11pm; from Epcot at 9pm and 10pm. Without a car, you might be able to save a few bucks if you can make the shuttle work in one direction, and use an Uber for the other way.
Just go into it knowing it's a budget hotel, and it's a good place for the night before an onsite stay, or for a parks-heavy trip if you just need a clean place to sleep.
Galleria Palms is one of the little maingate hotels tucked behind discount souvenir shops, but I decided to try it because it got consistently good reviews on booking websites. I found those good reviews to be merited, and recommend it as a solid bargain hotel.
The whole place was incredibly clean, and everything inside and out appeared well maintained. While not extensive or fancy, even the landscaping near the entrance was well-kept and included flowering plants. It's an interior-corridor hotel, which I don't think I saw in any other hotel at this price point. Parking was ample and free. Laundry facilities consisted of 2 washers and 2 dryers - $2.50 for wash, $2.50 for dry, and $1.50 for a single-serve pack of Tide powder.
The staff was friendly and helpful. When we checked in around 9pm, there was no wait, and the person working the front desk gave my daughter a small coloring book and crayons (the older kids declined the offer). When I later realized I forgot the kids' toothbrushes and toothpaste, the lady at the front desk gave me 3 complimentary brushes and two small tubes of toothpaste. Checkout was just as fast and easy as check in.
The beds were comfortable, and housekeeping did a nice job. I noticed my son got some blood on his sheets the first night from a scab he picked, and the bed had new sheets when we returned to the room. We had two queen beds, which was one of my must-haves for 4 people, and so many hotels at this price point seem to have only full size beds or a king with a pull-out sofa. But as it's a budget hotel, the sheets were pretty basic white, not a high thread count, but fine, and just a fleece blanket with a thin cover over it. I noticed there were only 3 pillows per queen bed, while I'm used to 4 pillows at higher-end hotels. I did not ask for additional pillows.
The room was rather small. We brought a twin-size air mattress because DD has a tendency to fall off beds without a bedrail, and the only place to fit it was lengthwise near the bathroom. There was no closet. There was a small wardrobe, but in half of it was taken up with a built-in dresser with the room safe on top, and in the half that was tall enough to hang a dress there was an ironing board. Not a problem for us because we don't really have much to hang up, but the space did feel rather cluttered with no good place to stash our suitcases.
Coffee maker, microwave, and mini fridge were all in room. My favorite part was that the mini-fridge had a small freezer section, so it was actually possible to freeze an ice pack for our lunch box the next day. I hate it when I can't freeze anything, and sadly find the freezer-less mini-fridges to be the norm, even in higher-end hotels.
I found the room overall to be quiet. I did not hear neighbors on either side, in the hallways, or traffic outside. Some of that might be because the AC unit was rather loud, which didn't bother me, and doubled as a white noise machine, but even when it was off, I didn't really hear anything. I think being an interior corridor hotel helped, too.
The complimentary breakfast was adequate. Not gourmet, but they were clearly trying. Cereal, yogurt, bananas, oranges, mini muffins and pastries, bread and one of those conveyor belt toasters, bagels our second day, pancake making machines (which my sons thoroughly enjoyed using), as well as some type of eggs and meat. One morning the eggs were typical powdered scrambled eggs and the other morning they were pre-made into little omelettes with cheese and peppers/onions inside. We had ham rounds the first day and sausage patties the next. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, apple juice, and OJ. People seemed to come in waves, but we got seating both days without a problem. The staff was good at restocking items when they ran low, so the people eating later still had bananas after the first basket was emptied.
Pool was a basic rectangle, but the area seemed well maintained. We ended up not using it because it wasn't open before we went to the park, and we were too tired when we got back. The pool was open until 11pm, and people were definitely using it late (our room overlooked the pool).
Judging from the magic bands, lanyards, and t-shirt choices, I'd say the vast majority of guests were on Disney vacations. There was a free shuttle to the parks, but it was incredibly limited, and required using Disney's transportation to get to and from your desired parks. Posted times to Epcot at 7:30am and 9:55am; to Sea World and Universal at 11:30am. Return from Sea World at 6:15, from Universal 6:30; from Magic Kingdom at 8pm and 11pm; from Epcot at 9pm and 10pm. Without a car, you might be able to save a few bucks if you can make the shuttle work in one direction, and use an Uber for the other way.
Just go into it knowing it's a budget hotel, and it's a good place for the night before an onsite stay, or for a parks-heavy trip if you just need a clean place to sleep.