Need advice on where to stay in late March!

[snowmom]

Our family of five (husband, wife and three daughters - ages 16, 13 & 8) will be visiting WDW on our way to Sanibel Island in late March. Usually, we stay onsite and love that. However, it seems kind of foolish now that there is no EE and that was the main reason we paid the extra to stay in a Disney Resort.

So, here I am trying to figure out where to stay outside of the parks. We don't want to spend high bucks on this portion of the trip, since Sanibel is really our main destination. I'd like to keep the price under $150. The most important things for us would be:

1. proximity to WDW
2. nice, lush pool area
3. clean rooms

Any advice? I've done some looking at the Radisson Resort Parkway.

Thanks much for your help!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Take a look at places on west 192. That will put you within minutes of WDW property and at the junction of 192 and 27. I don't know how you plan on getting to Sanibel, but I've driven from that area to Orlando many, many times. (I used to live there). I found 27 to 17 to 31 (outside of Arcadia) to 75 in Fort Myers to be the fastest and the least miles. Anyway, Summer's Bay is nice and Polo Park Villas are new and I think still running a special $79 a night. Have fun!

 

[snowmom]

Thanks for the Sanibel directions - we'll certainly check them out!

Anyone else have any advice for us on hotel options?

 

[deena]

it might be suggestible to check on the new Residence Inn in Lake Buena Vista that has both a tropically landscaped pool and waterfalls; very close to WDW. Hope this helps.

 

[ChiTownZee]

Hotel Kingdom is advertsing $135.90 per night, w/ the 7th night free for a 2 bedroom villa at Vistana Villages. I was thinking about going back to Orange Lake for our next trip, but after reading about VV lately, I think we'll stay there. It seems to have what you want, it's close, nice pools and from what I've heard, clean is an understatement, the rooms are BEAUTIFUL and at the risk of another understatement, spacious.

 

[teachk2]

We're going to Orlando in early March before we go on a cruise, and I got some great rates at a number of hotels on Expedia. We've decided to stay at the Sierra Suites Pointe Orlando since we are going to Universal. I got a rate of $65/nt. on Expedia. We prefer a suite hotel since we also have three kids, ages 15 (DS), 14 (DD) & 10 (DD). We like the extra room that a suite provides, plus the Sierra Suites has a complimentary continental breakfast. I've seen lots of great reviews about the Holiday Inn Family Suites on these boards. You might want to research the rates there. There's also a Sierra Suites Lake Buena Vista and I found rates there for about $109/nt. Hope this helps!

 

[tink2dw]

There also the Marriott World Center on S R 536 near HIFS.

Here are a couple of pages of suite hotels at Places to Stay.com
http://search.worldres.com/search/HotelSearch?SI=1&FE=1&LA=1&NI=2406&MI=TR-6129891a39ffba6ca&

 

[snowmom]

Thanks for all of the advice - I'll definitely be checking out these places. Right now, we have
reservations at the Hotel Royal Plaza for $85/night. It sounds OK for our needs, but I'll keep
exploring our options.

Vistana Villages sound wonderful, but the quote I got from Expedia was $219.00/night for a
family of five. That's more than we want to spend - especially since this is just a stop on our way
to the main destination of Sanibel Island.

Please keep the advice coming!

Thanks,
Snowmom

 

[ChiTownZee]

Vistana Villages sound wonderful, but the quote I got from Expedia was $219.00/night for a family of five. That's more than we want to spend -

Have you checked hotel kingdom.com? That's where I found the 135 rate and I know a lot of people here have used them with great results.

 

[Margie J]

What about the Caribe Royale. Some friends of mine (3 groups, total of 10 adults and 2 kids) stayed there last month and loved it. Everyone thought the pool/spa area was wonderful and the rooms were clean and spacious. The location has easy access to WDW too.

On Sierra Suites: The bedroom and LR/DR areas are all in one, no separate bedrooms. The rooms are nice but there's no privacy, if that matters. Homewood Suites, on the other hand, do have a separate bedroom (as does Caribe Royale).