Nikki Bird? Anyones recent opinion?

CommandoDisney

CommandoDisney

Member
Original Poster
So im planning my Spring Break trip to the World but being a poor college student i must unfortunately stay offsite. and after perusing all the hotel sites online and relying very heavily on the unofficial guide, i decided on the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird hotel. but i was just checking out so old posts who said this place sucks! i picked it because its been rated pretty well (3-3.5 stars) and only $60 a night! the pictures seem nice and it also says it was recently redone. i cant imagine why the unofficial guide would give it such a good rating if it sucked so bad. i really dont want to get there and realize i overpaid for a lousy hotel. i could get a room in some dump for $40 if i wanted to be that cheap but id figure i could spend a little more to get a mediocre place. if anyone has any thoughts or knows where i can get a nice place for under $60 a night i would GREATLY appreciate it!!!
 
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The Mak

Member
I have stayed at the Nikki bird on 3 seperate short trips in November 04, Setember 05, and December 05. The grounds are well kept. Customer service was friendly and prompt. The room was clean and full of information about the WDW resort. The television also has the resort TV loop simulcasted on its own channel.

I can't comment on the quality of the food at the resturaunt (Angel's Lobster Buffet) as I chose to eat at the Perkins across the street in my past trips. There is also a 7-11 two doors down from the Perkins if you want any snacks and whatnot.

The arcade is pretty run down with a selection of a few dated games, however there are 2 pool tables and 2 air hockey tables. Those will keep you entertained for a bit.

There's a free shuttle in the morning to the TTC. There are returning shuttles later in the day from each park, however the departure times are typically immediately after each park's closure, so be prepared to take a taxi back to the hotel if you plan to stay until park closing.

I didn't spend any time in the pool, but I took a dip in the outdoor jacuzzi. It was small, very warm, and bubbly. It's a great way to unwind after dodging the crowds at the parks.

Overall, I recommend the Nikki Bird. It's a nice joint at a reasonable price.
 
CommandoDisney

CommandoDisney

Member
Original Poster
Thank you very much! that makes me feel a lot better. and yes i saw the radisson deal and thats very good but with my budget, if we paid anymore for lodging id have to give up eating for a few days... and i kinda like eating, haha
 
CommandoDisney

CommandoDisney

Member
Original Poster
wdwmagic said:
Check out the Radisson. http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts_radissonorlando.htm
There is a special rate on there for WDWMAGIC readers of $69 per night, which is a very good deal for that hotel.
Click to expand...

ok so i looked into it but i couldnt find the $69 per night rate. is it only certain days? the cheapest i could it was $95 and that was the rate for only the first 2 nights. i went through the links on this site but i didnt see it. could anyone direct me to exactly where i could find this?
 
wdwishes2005

wdwishes2005

New Member
Ok, maybe things have changed. but this hotel is what has caused us to stay on site. When we went the pool was horribly kept ( dont want me to go there), the shuttles were constantly late ( not 15 minutes. more like hours), and when one did come our driver did not speak english, went the wrong way on an on ramp, and almost backed up into a pond. This hotel is the reason we now stay onsite.
 
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The Mak

Member
^They must have improved greatly from what you are describing. It may have something to do with them recently becoming a "Disneyworld good neighbor hotel" as I can't see Disney sponsoring a total dump.

I feel its a cost-friendly alternative for people who can't afford to stay at All Star/POP. It's also handy for times when you're only in town for 1 day and want to visit a park. Anything longer than 2 days I would recommend an onsite hotel.

The driver on the last shuttle I took from the Nikki Bird spoke English with a wierd hispanic accent and he spieled like there was no tomorrow. He droned on about the A-list attractions in all 4 parks and rattle off jokes so cheesy a Jungle Cruise skipper would blush. I couldn't wait to get off the shuttle, good thing it was a speedy trip.
 
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taverner

New Member
We have stayed at Nikki Bird twice, last time in October 2004. There are three pools, and we were happy with them. The buffet breakfast and dinners were very good. The lobster dinners were especially well attended. There is a children's playground, arcade, pool tables etc. Rooms are functional. We had a car so can't comment on the shuttle.

Overall we thought it reasonable value for money.
 
wdwishes2005

wdwishes2005

New Member
maybe it has improved. But when we went it was a total dump. not like we will ever try it again though, we will almost never stay off site again.
 
P

PoTCGuy

Member
wdwishes2005 said:
maybe it has improved. But when we went it was a total dump. not like we will ever try it again though, we will almost never stay off site again.
Click to expand...

When was that? It sounds like things have improved. I'm asking because we are also considering staying there in June. The on-site resorts are not really an option since we have 5 people in our family. The pricing from value to moderate resorts would be a major increase for us.

When are you going, CommandoDisney?

Thanks for the comments!
 
polarboi

polarboi

Member
Did you ever decide where you're going, Commando?

I stayed at the Nikki Bird last month for a conference, and I was completely satisfied. There are cheap food options right across the street, the staff was friendly, and the rooms were clean.

For me, the one downside was the shuttle. During my stay, the schedule was for the shuttle to depart three times in the morning (once to MK, once to Epcot, and once to the Studios) and then to return from each in the evening. Since I didn't have a car and was relying completely on the shuttle, I would usually take the most convenient shuttle time and then take a Disney bus from that park to the park I really wanted to visit. This also made things a little hectic in the evenings, since the Disney Studios shuttle left that park before Fantasmic let out, so in order to see the show, I had to catch a Disney bus to a different park to get home. This sort of shuttle schedule, obviously, prevents you from returning to your hotel in the middle of the day. Since I'm used to staying on-site, that was a bit difficult to get used to, but in the end it worked out fine.

-p.b.
 
s2jrston

s2jrston

Active Member
Niki Bird re-born as Home Suite Home

The Hoiday Inn Niki-Bird is now the Home Suite Home Niki Bird. It looks like the only change will be in the special extended stay rates and lack of daily room cleaning. I would say by the new signage out front that it is probably owned by the same people that own the Hawaiian Resort two doors west. They were a little dis-organized when I checked in Saturday but they did have my reservation and the room was ready. I believe they changed names on the 19th of May but they have a long way to go. The phones in the room still had the Holiday Inn logo and the pens on the desk were still Holiday Inn. If I remember correctly the menu on the TV also said Holiday Inn. There were some old Holiday Inn shuttle busses in back of the hotel. The front desk personnel did not have name tags and anywhere Holiday Inn used to be on the walls is now blank.

The rate was good, $108.99 for three nights. Tax was $14.16 with no resort fee. That's a first for me. Seems like all hotels charge a resort fee these days. The total was $123.15, can't beat the price for a hotel that is litterally next door to WDW.

The room was clean but needs updating. We had a microwave, fridge and safe but no coffee maker; king sized bed that was very firm; good pillows; and a lounge chair with ottoman. There was an iron and ironing board that came in handy for drying our suites after a day at Typhon Lagoon. The TV was fine, it had games and movies and all the usual channels. The air conditioner worked and did not smell of mold. The carpet was clean. I've stayed at what used to be the Econo-Lodge Hawaiian Resort in the past but the Niki-Bird is better.

It was OK but the wife says she does not want to stay there again.
 
mkt

mkt

Disney's Favorite Scumbag™
Premium Member
It's a total dump, and I can see why IHG pulled its franchise.

Good riddance.
 
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typhoonguy

New Member
Good Neighbor

Actually this hotel is no longer a good neighbor hotel. Official message from Disney "The Holiday In Nikki Bird Hotel is no longer part of the Good Neighbor Hotel program" "At this time there are no future plans to reinstage them".
 
Ducky_Love

Ducky_Love

New Member
As someone who manages a hotel near them.. you may not even have a reservation. They are not honoring many of their reservations booked prior to the name change. You should call and follow up... lots of people have been left searching for a room upon arrival.

They've fired their staff. No one seems to know what is going on. It is a *bad* situation. It may be smoothed out by the time you get here but I would be VERY careful.
 
maelstrom

maelstrom

Well-Known Member
After hearing all this stuff about the Nikki Bird, I had to go check it out. It doesn't look in such good shape, just from driving by. :(
 
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davinakb

Member
Got this dump via Priceline and arrived day of name/ownership change. Couldn't get a refund from hotel (and didn't want to pay twice) so had to stay. Horrible. But after much complaining to Priceline (who didn't respond quick enough to move us to another property) we did get a refund. I'd avoid this at all costs, and since this place is no longer a 2.5*, it's a little safer to bid for this zone again.
 

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