Which area of Orlando to stay?

[Curlybrunette]

Hi,

We are looking at booking Florida next year and I could do with some advice on where to stay. We've been before and stayed on International Drive, didn't get a car and it was fine. Our issue is that DSs will be 13 and 14 by next year and we can't fit in 1 hotel room anymore, so we need at least 2 bedrooms. The kids are really tall so they can't fit comfortably on a bed settee anymore but would be fine to share a room.

I'm struggling to find that on I Drive for less than a gazillion pounds, or at least that fits in with my budget. I don't really want to spend more than about £1100 for 10 nights accommodation.

I've seen some lovely villas/condos further out which is fine, we can get a car this time but I have no ideas of which area to look at. I would want to be somewhere where we could walk on an evening and get a meal and a glass of wine and not have to drive all the time.

Do any of you know of a 2 bed villa/condo/apartment that is in a fairly lively area?

Thank you

Have you looked at embassy suites, Homewood, Hyatt house (great trio room!)....

LBV area is much nicer than international drive but more expensive.

What time of year were you thinking of travelling there?. £110 a night may need to be revised purely on that basis although the hotel chains below do offer v reasonable rates.

I would also suggest looking at hotels chains like the Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites. Have previously stayed at the Embassy Suites at Jamaica Court on I Drive and that has a lot of restaurants etc within walking distance.

LBV is indeed a nice area but you will need to drive to a restaurant in the evenings (so probably does not fit your requirements as well).

If you will be getting a car, the best for your money would be a self catering villa
Try James Villas. They usually come with a private swimming pool as well. The prices are around £1000 for 7 nights.

www.jamesvillas.co.uk/search-results?nights=7&adults=2&children=0&airport=-1&region=8&flex=3&width=1024

“ I would want to be somewhere where we could walk on an evening and get a meal and a glass of wine and not have to drive all the time. ”

Orlando isn’t designed that way. It’s the US, you have to drive everywhere unless you are in inner city/bad area. It would be better to order a food delivery or buy groceries and cook a meal in the kitchen if you both want to drink alcohol.

Another vote for looking into Embassy and Homewood Suites. Their suites have basic kitchen facilities, fridge and microwave iirc, and communal laundry rooms.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice, I'll take a look at the Embassy and Homewood Suites.

Sorry I should have said, we are looking at February next year, I've found some really reasonable flights. I imagine the accommodation is cheaper then compared to the summer.

With regards to a car, we're happy to get one if we need one, but a few of the places I've looked at have a shuttle service so maybe we'll manage without. We didn't last time and it was absolutely fine,

Last time we did Universal, SeaWorld and Wet and Wild so this time we'll try Disney. I am very excited!

Westgate Palace on international drive is v reasonable, well kitted our suites and a shuttle bus to Disney.

Agree though that there’s very little scope to stroll to and from many restaurants on I drive.

Check you'll be covered if the holiday can't go ahead. They seem to be warning quite heavily against making a new booking at the moment. I wouldn't risk it at all

We stayed at Fantasy World which had 2 bed condos which might fit the bill. They weren't luxurious but had a great pool and lazy river attached and a few restaurants within walking distance - we liked the Olive Garden. It was quite keenly priced - it has been a few years since we stayed so don't know what its like now - we rented privately through holiday lettings and think we got a better apartment that wat.

I stayed in Clermont last year and it was really lovely with lots of conveniences near by.

I'm booked to go in February staying at the Rosen inn pointe Orlando on international drive try Florida for less and as a package deal they are usually really good

That is a nice part of I Drive to stay on loopyloo; you're within a 10 minute walk of Friendlys too (a nice restaurant).

We stayed at Endless Summer resort at Universal last summer, we got a good deal, but a package with VH so don't know specifically how much hotel was. They have family suites with two queen beds in the main room and a further bedroom with a queen bed, worked really well for us as our children won't share but are too young imo for their own room. Wish more hotels had this set up.
The hotel is on I drive, where wet n wild used to be. We absolutely loved it super clean and comfortable.

Thanks Attila just hope everything's back to normal by then

Off topic, but please please look into SeaWorld before you think about revisit. Horrific animal cruelty, watch Blackfish. I realise this is unsolicited but I know of others who wouldn’t have gone, had they known more about it.

Loopyloo12 have you stayed at the Rosen Inn at Pointe before? We stayed there last time we went (about 3 years ago).

I liked the hotel, the staff, the shuttles, and the food but we found that room was too small for us all, and there was no where to hang wet clothes so the room constantly smelled of damp. It's a shame as I thought the location was brilliant, within walking distance of lots of food places and the entertainment stuff on I-Drive but I just needed a cloths airer #firstworldproblems

Have any of you stayed at the Celebration Suites?

Thanks

Clothes not cloths!

@Curlybrunette no not stayed there before have stayed on idrive before at coco key hotel which is down by the big McDonald's

Not sure if there's anything you could take with you to hang clothes, one of those sock hangers or something, as I said we loved the hotel and the location, just having wet clothes (I tend to pack light and wash stuff when I'm away, maybe I should just have taken more stuff!) and not being able to dry them was the only issue.

If you’re trhonking or going to universal, it’s worth staying at one of their hotels. Your room key is an express pass, well worth it. We stayed at the hard rock.

Floridays at the Disney end of I-Drive would suit you I think.

There are lots of villas for rent near BerryTown Centre which even has a fish and chip shop. You can get a 3 bed villa with pool plus facilities for less than £100 per night if you do the homework. You will only pay per head for a villa if you go through certain travel agents. depending on your dates a package deal can be cheaper but we usually go diy. When you are sorting things out continue to do comparisons between package and diy. If a travel agent offers to sell you park tickets take a long hard look at it and remember that they work on commission. There are plenty of reputable sites that also sell them.

Another vote for Floridays. We normally visit central Florida 3 times a year (pre-covid) and have been going for 28 years.

Before we got our villa we stayed at Floridays many times.

We have been a few times and stayed in hotels and condos. Prefer condos. The last two times we have rented a 2 or 3 bed condo (All en-suite) in Davenport in a gated complex called “Bahama Bay Resort”. Worked out to be much cheaper and we could spread out for our 2 week holiday.

It has a 24 hr concierge, 2 onsite restaurants, Bar, Internet cafe, numerous pools, spa (fab/cheap massages after long flight), hair salon, little deli/shop, basketball tennis & Beach volleyball courts, outdoor table tennis etc. On Lake Davenport close to shops eg big target, supermarkets and restaurants only a 5-10 min drive away. Plenty onsite to keep DS (Mine are a similar age) amused if you wanted rest days.

They have built a new road near the resort that takes you straight to Disneyworld in about 20 mins. We would definitely stay here again and have recommended it to friends.

I booked it through “HomeAway”. You can also book directly with them. The last one we booked was a 3 bedroom penthouse (although we only needed 2 bedrooms), also had a laundry with massive washer & dryer, Large screened off lanai overlooking pool area. Air con, Kitchen fully equipped although we did a mixture of eating out, takeaways and a little bit of home cooking. Only pain was the 3 flights of stairs (with shopping or suitcases etc) but worth it for the views, peaceful. They have small clusters of condos, each overlooking a communal pool with beautiful gardens. Only thing that let it down was the “tropical Floridian decor” not my taste but such a minor thing😂

Great thing is if you are flying out in the evening you can spend the day by the pool, leave baggage at reception and they have showers etc to get changed before your flight. We did this last time and it was a really relaxing way to end the holiday!

The staff are also really friendly/helpful and can book tours etc. We plan to go back again sometime soon. PM me if you want more details.

@Sandgroper
We stayed in Bahama Bay many years ago!
Just looked at it on google maps, so much built up around it since!

What new road are you referring to, can’t make out which one you mean to get to Disney quicker.

I would suggest the area around Champions Gate Golf course, south east of B.Bay , right on the I4 interstate.
We stayed in the Tuscana Condo resort there, but I see it’s been developed with new properties too.