off-site hotel with easy access to your car?

[RebeccaMA]

I need to find a hotel for 1 night, the day we arrive in FL. The rest of the time we will be staying at a friend's time share. We are coming in Friday instead of Saturday though so that we have a little extra time to visit with family in the area (My mom is in Daytona Beach). So I'd like to find an off-site hotel, with King sized bed, Continental breakfast or access to a glass of milk at 6am at least, and lets you park your car near your room. An early check-in time would be a bonus. Any suggestions? We are going in September so I still have some time to book this. A AAA discount would be another bonus.
There will be 3 of us- DH, DD (2 1/2 years old), and myself. With the king sized bed we can all sleep together. I'm assuming non-smoking rooms won't be hard to find. It seems like most places are non-smoking now anyway.
In terms of proximity to parks, I'd prefer a place that was closer to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but since we will be renting a car it doesn't really matter. I know I'll be doing lots of driving no matter where we stay.

 

[KingStefan]

There are TONS of choices. What price range are you looking for? And what time of year? You can get anything from about $40 a night to $200 or more, depending on time of year and how soon you are coming.

I'll try to post some good choices, but in the meantime, it would help if we had that information.

 

[RebeccaMA]

more info, price and date

There are TONS of choices. What price range are you looking for? And what time of year? You can get anything from about $40 a night to $200 or more, depending on time of year and how soon you are coming.
.

Sorry, didn't think the time of year would matter. We'll need the room Friday, September 12th, and I'd like to keep the price under $100. I know there are TONS of choices, but a lot of the hotels seem like they put you miles from your car. If you are on the 22nd floor of a tower somewhere, you can't run out and grab that teddy bear you forgot to bring in really easily.

 

[KingStefan]

You are right, it is very difficult to find a hotel where you have easy access to your car.

I know at the Motel 6 on 192 you can park right in front of your room most of the time, and at worst (especially at that time of year) a few feet away. It's very cheap, too - $36/night.

But the rooms are tiny and gloomy, and they all have two double beds. Still if you are looking for cheap and easy access to your car, this would be a choice. I haven't stayed there for about 8 years, but at that time, we got a clean room (smelled a little musty, but not so bad) and everything worked (lights, plumbing, etc).

If you want to upgrade from that a little, you can go to Suites at Old Town, also on 192. $60/night. It's a two floor building, but I can't remember if they have any suites on the first floor facing the parking lot. They might face all towards the inside courtyard/pool area. If you're on the second floor, or in a room facing the couryard, you can usually park fairly near one of the entrances, but it will not be right outside your door. You'll have to walk to the end of the building and out to the parking lot. Still not so bad.

However, they are two-room suites and it is listed as having three double beds. I think that means two in the bedroom and a pull-out couch. Don't know if that meets your requirements.

A fairly new place is Buena Vista Suites in the Caribe Royal "Village" on World Center Drive near highway 545. I've stayed at the bigger suites in the Caribe Royal towers, and this place is fabulous - I would highly recommend it. I haven't seen the smaller suites, in the building next door, which are at that time of year $70/night direct from Caribe Royale, but the grounds are fabulous and that rate includes a really nice full breakfast including just about anything you could want. The trouble is that it does not have particularly easy car access. It's one of those towers you talked about.

But if you want to spend up to $100, then why not stay at the Pop Century or All-Star? At All-Star right now, there is a special that night available for $69 for one king or two double beds. Not sure why you would prefer a king over two doubles for your situation, but be sure to tell them you are just two adults (and this applies to any hotel) if you want just a king, becuase otherwise they might not let you book a king-bed room if there are three of you, even if your girl is only 2 yo. I'm pretty sure you can park quite close to your room at All-Star.

Hope that helps. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

 

[RebeccaMA]

Motel 6, All Stars, and king beds I guess

I know at the Motel 6 on 192 you can park right in front of your room most of the time, and at worst (especially at that time of year) a few feet away. It's very cheap, too - $36/night.

If you want to upgrade from that a little, you can go to Suites at Old Town, also on 192. $60/night.

But if you want to spend up to $100, then why not stay at the Pop Century or All-Star? At All-Star right now, there is a special that night available for $69 for one king or two double beds. Not sure why you would prefer a king over two doubles for your situation, but be sure to tell them you are just two adults (and this applies to any hotel) if you want just a king, becuase otherwise they might not let you book a king-bed room if there are three of you, even if your girl is only 2 yo. I'm pretty sure you can park quite close to your room at All-Star.

I think I will pass on the Motel 6. The Suites sound like a possibility. Going to Old Town is a very real possibility.

I've heard that the All-Stars are really small and cramped. Not sure if I would want to stay there.

As far as the King bed goes, with a toddler who is used to sleeping in a toddler bed (and often rolls onto the floor), the advantage of a King is that DH and I can put DD in the middle to prevent her from rolling off the bed, and since a King is big, we all still have enough room to sleep without being smooshed. DD is too big for a crib, and I'm worried about her falling out of bed on her own. So I figured a king would be a good way to go. It's what we have done at other hotels when we travel. When we get to the timeshare, I can pull a room apart and put a mattress on the floor since we will be there for a week, but for 1 night it's not worth the hassle.

 

[KingStefan]

That's kinda what I thought. Just remember what I said about some hotels having a strict 2-person rule for king-bed rooms.

About the Suites at Old Town: I have never stayed there, but my cousins have and they loved it. That was a few years ago, though. Just keep in mind that they are not new (maybe even one might say a bit run down), so don't expect anything fancy. Online reviews mostly say they are clean rooms, though. They are very, spacious, too.

I can't remember what the bed configuration is, though. And some suites may differ from others. So you may or may not be able to get a king bed. If you are interested, it might be worth calling them directly to make sure.

At the Buena Vista Suites, the regular suites have one queen bed in the bedroom, and a pull-out couch in the living room, but for anouther $20, ($90 total the time you are going) you can upgrade to a deluxe suite with a king-size bed and a whirlpool tub. And as I said the building and rooms are fairly new, and the breakfast is to die for. You can also use the Caribe Royal facilities including their fabulous pool. The only problem is it's one of those tower hotels and access to the car might not be so convenient.

I'd recommend tripadvisor.com. It's worth looking into if you haven't used it before. You can read lots of reviews by other people who have stayed at many hotels.

 

[RebeccaMA]

thank you

T

At the Buena Vista Suites, the regular suites have one queen bed in the bedroom, and a pull-out couch in the living room, but for anouther $20, ($90 total the time you are going) you can upgrade to a deluxe suite with a king-size bed and a whirlpool tub. And as I said the building and rooms are fairly new, and the breakfast is to die for. You can also use the Caribe Royal facilities including their fabulous pool. The only problem is it's one of those tower hotels and access to the car might not be so convenient.

I'd recommend tripadvisor.com. It's worth looking into if you haven't used it before. You can read lots of reviews by other people who have stayed at many hotels.

Sounds like the Buena Vista Suites get pretty good reviews, at least in these forums. I'll look at Tripadvisor too. I've already looked at AAA's website, but that's not the best IMO. My DH will also be a factor, but I'd like to at least narrow down the choices before I give him a say in it. He will not have the patience to wade through all of this.

 

[SAV]

We just got back from the Courtyard by Marriott at Vista Place and it would fit your needs. Not sure on the rates, but a quick look on their website would confirm that.

 

[wdwmomof3]

I believe that the Hotel Royal Plaza, close to DTD, have rooms that are close to the parking lot. We stayed in a tower room but there were ground rooms that you could park just outside of your door and access your car through the patio door. I am not sure what the rates are, and we never ate there, but it was a nice place to stay.