florida Villa or hotel
Discussion
we have decided to go back to florida in 2013 this time taking my parents, brother and his other half.
we are trying to figure out if its going to be better to a villa or a hotel as both seem to have plus and minus points.
unfortunately no one else wants to drive so it will be down to me. thinking of this obviously i drive is better connected for people to make their own way places with the trolley and lynx buses rather than having to make everyone do everything together.
But obviously a villa is better in a social way and its alot cheaper than 3 hotel rooms looking at may and you can get a very nice villa for 1k for 2 weeks. what are the transport links like out of say kissimmee ?
we will only be doing universal stuff and tampa not doing any Disney
any advice ?
we are trying to figure out if its going to be better to a villa or a hotel as both seem to have plus and minus points.
unfortunately no one else wants to drive so it will be down to me. thinking of this obviously i drive is better connected for people to make their own way places with the trolley and lynx buses rather than having to make everyone do everything together.
But obviously a villa is better in a social way and its alot cheaper than 3 hotel rooms looking at may and you can get a very nice villa for 1k for 2 weeks. what are the transport links like out of say kissimmee ?
we will only be doing universal stuff and tampa not doing any Disney
any advice ?
Somewhere like Sheraton Vistana Villas on I-Drive might be OK, and you've got the facilities of a resort. I've done villas in Orlando and they're great when the kids are small but now I prefer the activity of a hotel - we have a villa in the family but don't use it when we go.
Vistana has 1 & 2 bed villas and *I think* can be interconnecting. No idea how the pricing would work out though - the 2 bedroom villa can sleep 8 so with 4 it might work out very expensive (I'm assuming you won't want to share rooms!).
Vistana has 1 & 2 bed villas and *I think* can be interconnecting. No idea how the pricing would work out though - the 2 bedroom villa can sleep 8 so with 4 it might work out very expensive (I'm assuming you won't want to share rooms!).
If you're going to Universal you could do a lot worse than stay here
http://www.thepointorlando.com/
It's essentially condos/apartments so you get self catering but with a pool, concierge, on site security etc.
We stayed here last year and walked to Universal/Citywalk and I-Drive, it's close enough for both but far enough away to seem less touristy. I've stayed in villas, hotels, with family in Florida and this offered the best of all worlds IMO.
We had a rental car and hardly used it, really convenient location.
http://www.thepointorlando.com/
It's essentially condos/apartments so you get self catering but with a pool, concierge, on site security etc.
We stayed here last year and walked to Universal/Citywalk and I-Drive, it's close enough for both but far enough away to seem less touristy. I've stayed in villas, hotels, with family in Florida and this offered the best of all worlds IMO.
We had a rental car and hardly used it, really convenient location.
Any resort type hotel will have a shuttle service that will get you and family to the big attractions.
Suites, generally don't. Mainstream motels definitely don't.
You'd probably need a cab, if you want to visit a restaurant, shopping mall or any place that isn't Disney or Universal.
If you rent a house out in Kissimmee, Clermont, Davenport or Haines City you absolutely need to have a car.
Suites, generally don't. Mainstream motels definitely don't.
You'd probably need a cab, if you want to visit a restaurant, shopping mall or any place that isn't Disney or Universal.
If you rent a house out in Kissimmee, Clermont, Davenport or Haines City you absolutely need to have a car.
we stayed at the rosen inn at pointe orlando last year and it served its purpose for just the 2 of us
but with 6 adults we would be better with something where we can easily socialize i think
budget is 9k for flights car accommodation and the orlando flex ticket plus maybe we could stretch it a bit but we would rather not infact shock horror we would rather spend less !!
but with 6 adults we would be better with something where we can easily socialize i think
budget is 9k for flights car accommodation and the orlando flex ticket plus maybe we could stretch it a bit but we would rather not infact shock horror we would rather spend less !!
I stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations a few years back.
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/ORLSWGV-Hilt...
It's literally a 5 minute walk from Sea world
It was really good, with nice pools and bars, and only a short drive/taxi/ shuttle ride from international drive
Next time i go, i'm going to try the rented villa approach, but i would have no hesitation in going back to the Hilton hotel.
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/ORLSWGV-Hilt...
It's literally a 5 minute walk from Sea world
It was really good, with nice pools and bars, and only a short drive/taxi/ shuttle ride from international drive
Next time i go, i'm going to try the rented villa approach, but i would have no hesitation in going back to the Hilton hotel.
yellowbentines said:
P.S. Just to make clear the above condos/apartments are nothing to do with or nowhere near the pointe (with an e) orlando.I went earlier this year and stayed in a villa at "Glenbrook", which is sited on US 27 about 2 miles north of the Western end of the 192.
We had small kids with us, so it was ideal for them to have some space, obviously they had their own pool too.
Having our own space was nice, even if we didn't spend that much time there. The other advantage was restaurants were quieter - when we were there some relatives were staying on i-drive and they found it to be quite busy. At the very Western end there is a branch of just about every restaurant you will find on i-drive but it was much quieter and only 5 minutes drive away. This was late August/early September so hardly peak season.
From Glenbrook you'd be on i-drive in about 25minutes I'd guess, so not too far for Universal etc.
We had small kids with us, so it was ideal for them to have some space, obviously they had their own pool too.
Having our own space was nice, even if we didn't spend that much time there. The other advantage was restaurants were quieter - when we were there some relatives were staying on i-drive and they found it to be quite busy. At the very Western end there is a branch of just about every restaurant you will find on i-drive but it was much quieter and only 5 minutes drive away. This was late August/early September so hardly peak season.
From Glenbrook you'd be on i-drive in about 25minutes I'd guess, so not too far for Universal etc.
plastic orange said:
The DIBB is quite handy with a lot of useful members on there but my god there are some serious morons that post on there.Both of those locations (you can almost see one from the other) - and indeed, anything "Extended Stay" on or around I-Drive is basic, relatively cheap and predominantly aimed at the lower end of the tourist/convention market.
That might work well for you, so who am I to judge. That said and with the budget you mentioned earlier, you could enjoy far more pleasant (and secure) surroundings and facilities elsewhere.
I don't fully understand your aversion to renting a car - or why your fellow travelers are so opposed to driving, as this limits you significantly.
Most of the tourists that utilize budget I-Drive accommodations do so because that's all they can afford. I'll leave it to you to interpret what kind of fellow guests some of them tend to be in terms of behavior, noise, conflict etc. Not all of them by any means - but it only takes a few a
holes to ruin your experience.
Crimes against the person, although still quite rare are an issue in and around some of those hotels (usually parking lots), so do some research.
With 9 grand to spend, I would be thinking mid-market Disney - or a house rental where you can do what you want, when you want and not be bothered by dheads who don't know how to behave in a civilized way.
That might work well for you, so who am I to judge. That said and with the budget you mentioned earlier, you could enjoy far more pleasant (and secure) surroundings and facilities elsewhere.
I don't fully understand your aversion to renting a car - or why your fellow travelers are so opposed to driving, as this limits you significantly.
Most of the tourists that utilize budget I-Drive accommodations do so because that's all they can afford. I'll leave it to you to interpret what kind of fellow guests some of them tend to be in terms of behavior, noise, conflict etc. Not all of them by any means - but it only takes a few a
holes to ruin your experience. Crimes against the person, although still quite rare are an issue in and around some of those hotels (usually parking lots), so do some research.
With 9 grand to spend, I would be thinking mid-market Disney - or a house rental where you can do what you want, when you want and not be bothered by d
heads who don't know how to behave in a civilized way.hmm i think you have missed a point or 2 we are renting a car but im the only one driving as my father flatly refuses and my mrs would just rather not do it mo one else can drive unfortunately so that leave me.
you can hardly almost see one from the other as one is located net to the pointe and the other is passed the universal/wet and wild turn off.
we wont look at disney due to the fact we wont be going to disney. + disney starts at about 9k
you can hardly almost see one from the other as one is located net to the pointe and the other is passed the universal/wet and wild turn off.
we wont look at disney due to the fact we wont be going to disney. + disney starts at about 9k
hmm i think you have missed a point or 2 we are renting a car but im the only one driving as my father flatly refuses and my mrs would just rather not do it mo one else can drive unfortunately so that leave me.
you can hardly almost see one from the other as one is located net to the pointe and the other is passed the universal/wet and wild turn off.
we wont look at disney due to the fact we wont be going to disney. + disney starts at about 9k
you can hardly almost see one from the other as one is located net to the pointe and the other is passed the universal/wet and wild turn off.
we wont look at disney due to the fact we wont be going to disney. + disney starts at about 9k
OK, perhaps I should have been more literal.
The Universal location is at the really stty part of North I-Drive. The Convention Center location is in the moderately stty part of I-Drive - slightly less 'Blackpool Pleasure Beach', but still pretty naff. By car, they are approx 5 mins apart.
In order to guage the clientelle of either, simply observe the sunburned pedestrians shambling along International Drive.
Sounds like you've made up your mind, so knock yourself out. Only trying to offer a little local experience. Additionally, my daughter is a cop here, so I have a pretty good idea of what's right and what isn't, location-wise. Glad to help if you need it, fine by me if you don't.
The Universal location is at the really s
tty part of North I-Drive. The Convention Center location is in the moderately stty part of I-Drive - slightly less 'Blackpool Pleasure Beach', but still pretty naff. By car, they are approx 5 mins apart. In order to guage the clientelle of either, simply observe the sunburned pedestrians shambling along International Drive.
Sounds like you've made up your mind, so knock yourself out. Only trying to offer a little local experience. Additionally, my daughter is a cop here, so I have a pretty good idea of what's right and what isn't, location-wise. Glad to help if you need it, fine by me if you don't.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff