Crowne Plaza Orlando-Universal
Crowne Plaza Orlando-Universal
What is your IHG/Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador
Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, very much.
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked advance purchase King Nonsmoking, was proactively upgraded to King Executive Level the morning of the stay. Was further upgraded at check-in, after asking, to King Whirlpool Executive Level.
How are the rooms?
The King Whirlpool Executive Level is their best publically advertised room (there’s a Presidential Suite which isn’t listed on the website). Our room was on the top floor (I think all of the rooms in this category may be), and was positioned at the corner of the building so that the bathroom was set off to the side and very spacious.
The entrance of room has the microwave and refrigerator, the closet, and a chair. Going forward you’re in the main portion with the bed to the left and the bathroom to the right. Past the bed is a couch on one side of the room and a desk on the other, both next to the giant floor-to-ceiling window.
The bathroom was nice, had a roomy off-set shower area as well as the relaxing (but not quite powerful enough for my preferences) whirlpool tub. There was a small window in the bathroom, next to the sink area, which may help the space feel so large.
How is the exec. lounge?
The executive lounge was big and had plenty of isolated seating areas. We were always able to get seats next the windows overlooking the pool area, and didn’t see any point where more than half of the seating was full – morning or night. That being said, the hotel was moderately busy but not in high season by any means.
In the evening, snacks consisted of basic items like cheese and crackers, and vegetables with ranch dip. There was also one hot snack – which was eggrolls while we were there. I can’t say I was overly impressed by the evening offerings, but they were by no means bad. Maybe it would have all been more appetizing had I not just eaten a huge meal. There was free draft beer (Miller Lite), as well as a small wine, bottled beer, and liquor selection available for a reasonable $4 per drink. Water and soft drinks were free.
Breakfast in the lounge was continental-style, with a selection of breads and bagels, fresh fruit, cereal, hard-boiled eggs, and probably a few other little items I’m forgetting. The coffee was good, but the overall breakfast offerings didn’t stand out any more than the evening snacks did. I’m not the biggest breakfast person, but if I was the type of traveler who needed a real meal to start the day, this wouldn’t cut it.
Overall, despite wishing for slightly better food choices, the lounge was nice and peaceful with a great view and amazing service. I would definitely consider paying for an executive level room here in the future.
What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Basically everything.
- Booked cheapest room at advance purchase rate, received great upgrade.
- Food or no food, the executive lounge was a nice place to kick back and relax.
- Staff were all very friendly.
- Great loyalty recognition. Apart from upgrades, also received 600 bonus welcome points (wasn’t mentioned at check-in but posted to my account that same night). Upgrade to executive level gave free continental breakfast. Self-parking is normally $10/night, but waived for Platinum members.
- Top-notch location. Very close to Universal theme parks, the Convention Center area, and International Drive. Just a few minutes’ drive to Disney and all of the good stuff in Lake Buena Vista.
Bad
- A single hot dish for breakfast – similar to how they do it in the evening – would vastly improve the lounge meal experience in my opinion.
- I read reviews about parking being an issue sometimes. We didn’t have a problem finding a spot during our stay, but I could definitely see the lot being packed during the busy season.
Value for $ or IHG Points? Would you return?
Positively. From the dates I’ve looked at, this hotels seems to normally be just 10-20% more expensive than the Holiday Inn’s and HIX’s in the area. The value is already there, but as an elite it’s a no-brainer. Barring any amazing deals, this will be my go-to IHG property in Orlando from here on.
I don’t like Orlando for award stays, however, because hotel prices are generally so cheap. Compared to other IHG properties in the area that run 25k/night, however, I think this hotel is fairly priced at 30k/night. Though if I was trying to maximize point value, I may give the Crowne Plaza Orlando Downtown (10 interstate miles away) a try at 20k/night.