Staley Cornell

Any stays here over the summer? There is a rate of $65.00 prepay Labor Day Weekend (Sunday Night) and I am seriously considering it. The room is on the outside corridor side which isn't an issue for me. I am a new Diamond. Should I expect an upgrade? Will I get breakfast for the whole family 2 adults and 2 kids?

dmarge18

You'll likely get breakfast for 2, but no harm in asking (it's a great breakfast, full buffet for Golds/Diamonds). That's a good rate and well worth it; don't forget the ~$20 resort fee, though. You can ask for them to waive that as a Diamond, but it includes parking and parking alone is like $19, so it's kind of pointless. Last trip there, parking was kind of a pain, but as a Gold (when I was there) I got upgraded to a tower room. Just luck of the draw.

CMK10

Stay Report - 8/29 - 8/30

Location: The hotel is located just off International Drive a little south of FL-528 (The Beachline Expressway). It's a straight 15 minute shot to MCO down the freeway. Nearby are some restaurants (a Village Inn is across the street), a really overpriced gas station and a liquor store. The Orange County Convention Center is in this area so there are a number of other large hotels nearby too.



Hotel: This is unlike any Doubletree I've been to, it's certainly the first with a large map. There are a number of low rise buildings similar to apartment complex buildings which surround fountains, two pools and greenery and walkways as well as a highrise "Conference Tower". There is a bar in the lobby area, another by the main pool and another bar and restaurant. The conference tower has a 24 hour fitness center. There is a resort fee of $18 but it covers parking.







Check In: Handled quickly and efficiently. I was told I'd been moved to the 11th floor in the conference tower which I was happy with as the low rise buildings didn't look very appealing.

Room: I'd been upgraded to a corner junior suite. It meant a larger room with couch, chairs, desk, king sized bed and a nice bathroom which even had a window in it! No issues with the Wifi or shower.









Breakfast: One of the best US buffets I've been to. As a Diamond I got the full buffet and it included an omelet bar, french toast and pancakes, smoked salmon, cold cuts, cheese, fried tomatoes and fried plantains, beans and rice plus the usual cold items.

This hotel can be had fro cheap in the summer (I paid $80) and it worked well for where I had to be for work. It was also a really enjoyable place to stay. I'd be back.

mdbe

Just completed a stay here. Parking was ridiculous. People were double parking, parking in fire lanes etc. I had to spend 20 mins looking for parking at 11p one night. I had a booking for a king room, however was assigned a double as a diamond. After going back and forth, was upgraded to a "suite" which turned out to be on the third floor, with no curtain etc. over port hole style bathroom window, i.e. direct view from the pool. The bed also did not have a comforter, just a quilt/blanket. Needless to say I won't be going back.

pretzlaff

Really great stay for two nights this weekend.

We are about an hour away from Orlando and have stayed at a number of Orlando Hilton's and IHG's when rates were cheap, we had grand-kids visiting, or I needed nights/ stays for bonus points. In general, most stays have been quite bad including the "Hilton Orlando". Usually over-run with people, old beaten up rooms, poor Diamond/ Spire upgrades, bad lounges, and over-whelmed staff.

I was looking to spend the Amex $250 credit before my yearly card date, and 2 grandkids were going to be here. Rates most places were quite low since the Christmas rush was over. I saw a rate at the Doubletree Seaworld for $137 for what looked like a non-re-modeled 2 room suite. There was a $20/night resort fee, but no parking charges. So, I figured that 2 nights there wouldn't be much over the $250 credit.

I was upgraded to what looked like a better 2 room suite the day before when online checkin was available. This suite listed at $208, so seemed like a real upgrade. I chose a suite on the ground floor of Building 1 which is in the center of the property. While looking at my reservation to see if, indeed, it was an upgrade, I saw that my rate had changed to the $208 figure. It appeared that they upgrade you and then simply charge you for the upgrade.

Checking in was well handled. I noted the change in rate and the FD 'saw what happened' but then asked what my original rate was. I showed her the original reservation and she changed the rate. She did a good job of noting the property and Diamond benefits. 1) upgraded suite, 2) gave us 4 extra breakfast vouchers for the 2 kids for the 2 mornings (two breakfast per day come with the 'room number' for diamonds), 3) told us to go down the hall to sign up for the free shuttle to Seaworld, 4) explained that we would get 'fast passes' for the lines at Seaworld even tho we had already bought our tickets, 5) free parking with our room key getting us thru the parking lot gate. Finally, she sent 2 text messages during the stay to check on us and the manager sent an email as we were checking out. So, they are quite pro-active.

The suite was not new but nicely furnished. Nice king bed and a good sofa bed in the living room. Really nice kitchen with big fridge and microwave.

Grounds are very nice and the pools were good.

Breakfast was very good, as was the 'to go' pizza one night. There is also a Village Inn across the street as we were looking for something different one night.

It is just across the street from Seaworld and the shuttle worked well as did the fast passes.

All in all, a very good Hilton property in Orlando. Indeed, of the last 6-8 stays in Orlando over the last year or two, this was the best.

btw: Amex sent me an email as soon as the credit card was run that I had probably just initiated the $250 credit. As of this morning the charge is still pending, so I don't know if or when the credit will hit.

pretzlaff

Just an update on the American Express credit here: We checked out on Sunday, on Wednesday the charge went from 'pending' to real, then on Thursday the AmEx credit posted. So, the credit worked and fast!

COSPILOT

I think it was 2017 that I stayed at this property, with many stays back in 80's and early 90's when it was called Sheraton World. Room was fine, but I had a ground floor room on the Sea World side. It rained pretty hard during my stay that I had to leap over the 2" of standing water in front of my door, with some that was in the entry of the room as well. Wasn't a big deal overall, and the rest of the property was fine. Didn't have any challenges with parking despite the hotel at full capacity during my stay.

inspiration100

Just got a price match which dropped the price down to $61 per night including tax (price match rate was $69 + 25% off). However, the resort fee kinda kills the deal. I'm going to try to get it comp'd as a platinum even though it was prepaid rate. Any tips for this hotel? Spending 8 nights here.

cjd

Thought I'd written a report from our stay in March this year, but realised I'd put it in the thread on suite upgrades. Booked King suite for 3 nights and upgraded to Presidential Suite on top 17th floor in the Conference Tower. Huge bedroom with 4 poster bed and sitting area, huge lounge with kitchen area with fridge/freezer and microwave, sofa and dining table. Large bathroom with bath, separate walk in shower, double sink and separate w.c. Second separate washroom. Suite is an end corner room on top floor overlooking pools with views in three directions. As Diamonds, we were given full buffet breakfast which was quite substantial and unusual in the US, as we normally only get continental breakfast. We did have to pay the resort fee, but it did include car parking. Pools were nice and didn't get too crowded. No problems in March with parking the car and we always managed to get parking spaces. Overall, a great stay. Would go back, but wouldn't expect that upgrade again.

TravelPhotographer

Got this email this morning. Have already stayed here.
No one at this property knows if other properties are offering same or similar.
Anyone get same-similar offer for other US Hiltons? Thanks in advance.

24.05.2004

TravelPhotographer Did the email mention valid dates and/or promo code? TIA

TravelPhotographer

I saw no deadline, only this:

Terms and Conditions: Seven (7) night minimum length of stay required. All rates are subject to hotel suite availability; rate does not include taxes, gratuities or other incidental charges. This offer may not be combined with any other discounts or offers; resort fee has been waived. Not valid for groups. Housekeeping services limited to once per week. Please request the "Extended Stay" package or plan code "LDTEXS". Flexible 24-hour cancellation policy.

Matt4200

Have an Upcoming Stay here as a Diamond Member.

A couple questions -

Is the Breakfast Buffet still open? If not, what Breakfast Options are available?

Staying mostly weekdays hoping for a Suite Upgrade. The app keeps suggesting an upgrade to a 1 King Bedroom Suite or 2 Room 1 King Bed Suite are either of these likely as Diamond Upgrades?

Are upgrades usually done here prior to check in or at check in?

Any other useful info is much appreciated, Thanks!

englisha

It looks like the hotel has dropped the resort fee and, for now at least, offers free breakfast to everyone. Quote from tripadvisor : "The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld offers FREE Wifi, FREE Continental Breakfast, and NO Resort Fee!" They have also inbedded this into the first picture you see on tripadvisor.
Whatsmore, the 7 nights for $53 offer still looks alive, just booked for June with this rate.

Not sure on upgrades or any other Diamond benefits, maybe someone else has some input here?

chrisny2

I'm here now - on a 6 night stay. There are pros and cons, but it's hard to beat the price.

I reserved a King Tower room and the app assigned me a Tower 2Qn room. So I went to the checkin desk and the agent said "let me see if I can find you a king room." She was very friendly and said "yes, I found one." It's on the 4th floor with a terrible view of a rooftop. And no diamond upgrades were available. I assume it's because it's spring break week and they are really full. (The last time I stayed here a couple of years ago, I was given a 2 BR suite in the app as an upgrade from a King.)

The grounds here are really quite lovely. It's been too chilly to swim for me (though others were swimming), but they do a nice job of keeping the landscaping well-maintained and clean. My tower room is a perfectly fine basic Doubletree, and it does have a fridge. The bed and pillows are comfortable. All of the service that I have encountered has been very friendly and helpful

The only real downside has been that the walls are very thin, made worse by the fact that I have a connecting room. So, I can easily hear the baby crying next door and all the families being extremely noisy in the hallways (seriously - when you're walking down a hotel hallway in the morning, you're probably disturbing 50 people or so, so be quiet in the halls!) The housekeeping must be pre-scheduled - I didn't bother. The housekeepers would go in the room and bolt open the door, so they would swing them open and let them bang shut every time they stepped to their cart for supplies. This drove me crazy, especially when I was trying to nap on Sunday, a day with lots of checkouts/room turns. (To their credit, that Sunday I finally opened my door told her that it was so loud and made my door shake and she apologized and I didn't hear it again that day.)

You're given a voucher for two water bottles that you pick up from the market/pizza shop. I didn't eat there, but it looked like they had good deals on whole pizzas.

For breakfast, Diamonds are entitled to the full buffet (coffee and probably juice, but no soft drinks included.) It looks mostly normal except for there is a server handling the buffet pans, so they don't have as many options out, for spacing from guests. They do have made-to-order eggs and omelets.

Ubers have been expensive this week, again because of spring break demand combined with fewer drivers. (One driver told me Uber had sent out many notices to their drivers saying they needed to upgrade their cars to keep driving, and many drivers opted to just stop driving for uber as now's not the time they can afford buy a brand new car.) I tell myself, though, that I'm still paying about a third of the price I normally pay for the hotel, so I'm still coming out ahead.)

I can't opine on the resort level rooms - I stayed in them years ago and they were great, but I have read reviews saying they are now musty.

Overall, especially for the price, it's a fine place to stay. There is a pretty new Tru by Hilton that's very close by. Since I'm not really swimming and my biggest issue here has been the noisy hallways, I might have preferred that, for about the same price. But I also only went to breakfast a couple of times here - if Breakfast is important to you, it's clearly better at the Doubletree.