ILovetheReds

As a gold your breakfast will be better at ES than the DT. You also have the managers reception at DT, but not sure how that one is since we were never around during that time period.

Travelling with kids, the suites at DT are more practical than at ES.

If both properties are around the same price range, I would stick with DT, unless the breakfast and managers reception are important to you. Kids breakfasts are discounted at DT, and when my wife stays there as a gold if she wants the full breakfast it's only $6 to upgrade.

millsryno

I don't see a definitive thread or any real updated info about this hotel.

I am planning a late May/early June reward stay to take my wife and 2 young children (4yo and 2yo). This looks like a good property due to the guaranteed suite upgrade (all suite hotel). Can anybody provide some insight to this property for a family vacation with a couple young kids? We will mainly focus on Disney World, but may try a few days at some of the other local attractions. I am definitely open to all comments and suggestions. I want this to be as trouble and stress free as possible.

BJfly

Just finishing a stay at this property. Since your post specifically asks about breakfast: As a diamond, I was given a continental breakfast voucher. They were very strict about not allowing it to be used for a full buffet without paying the upcharge. In general, the property was nice. Not luxury or resort. But clean, and perfectly acceptable. But I will say that the breakfast was very weak. Fruit was all rind. Orange juice was probably the worst I have had. Muffins were inedible. But each room is suite, and the property is clean and well maintained.

Hope this helps.

BJFly

desi

Apologies for the stupid question.

But which Doubletree in Orlando this thread is about?

It seems there are several.

- Downtown
- Seaworld
- Universal

jerry a. laska

The tipoff is the name: Doubletree Suites
While there are 5 Doubletrees in the are there is only one Doubletree Suites.
http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hot...HDT/index.html

Milhous Gloriosus

Any recent reports

dznyboy

Well,Tripadvisor are ok to use. I will say around 50% of reviews in there are "real".
I have indeph info,on this hotel,
(Walt Disney World, 2305 Hotel Plaza Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, 32830-2811, USA),
so ur welcome to ask me anything you like.
But be aware that my answer will be 100% honest.

writerguyfl

Here is a link to a fairly detailed report I did from March 2014 in the general Orlando thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22514781-post1165.html

I stayed there twice after I wrote that review. Both of those stays were above average.

Sterlingguy

Having stayed at the DT Suites Times Square, I was excited about our stay in this hotel. Just returned from seven nights at the DT Suites Lake Buena Vista. This DT Suites is way downscale from the DT Suites TS.

After contacting the mgr via Facebook was given our two rooms on the 7th floor (the top HH floor, along with the 6th). The rooms are dated, with old outlet plugs on the lamp that don't accommodated phone chargers well. Bathroom inside the bedroom was small and had one sink. This hotel does not have the wonderful Doubletree Sweet dreams beds. One of our room doors was very difficult to open and shut (originally we thought the keys didn't work 'till we rammed the door to get it to open). The front desk clerk who checked us in didn't understand we had two rooms and kept asking the same questions over and over. Annoying. The breakfast was typical hilton. Every day we noticed that the waitstaff would ask every table if they were gold or diamond. All it took was to say the magic word "yes" and you got free continental bfast and the option for $5 (plus tax) upcharge for hot. Never heard anyone say they were not gold or diamond-- expected with such a leading question. Valet is only $3 more than the $17 self parking daily charge. Valet pickup is good, but dropoff requires you to come in and find someone at the front desk to call for a valet. Rate was $144 (with no "resort fee"), so it's not a bad deal. It's a serious walk to Disney Springs- don't think about it in the Florida summer heat- just drive 5 minutes away and park there for free.

dznyboy

Ar they actually allowed to suddently charge 5$ (7) for hot breakfast for gold members.
Free continental breakfast....always included the hot stuff.
I have stayed here more than 70 nights...always w free hot bfast.

brett1075

Have reservations for Early December 2017 at the Doubletree. Wanted to see if anyone had some updated info. I am HH diamond member, wondering if we will still get two full breakfast coupons per day. Also, any particular rooms better to request/reserve. Stayed at the Hilton next door couple years ago.

AStarr

Recently just had a stay here for a few nights doing a tour of the theme parks.

Thread hasn't been updated in awhile so I'll give it a go.

I was staying solo so a suite was a bit overkill but after my previous lodging situation, much welcome.

The front desk, concierge, and bell hop were all friendly and resourceful. The hotel bar staff was friendly but could probably use a little more know-how in working in a bar. I ended up eating dinner here twice out of necessity - the mahi sandwich is decent. And Uber Eats delivers here.

The property is dated, for certain. But everything was clean and mostly working. Beds were definitely cosy. Power outlets were plentiful but awkwardly located int he lamps (which I find mostly in the Garden Inn line). I did have some plumbing issues that required the toilet be snaked twice during my 4 night stay. I highly suspect people are flushing things that they ought not flush.

The self-service laundry facilities work just fine with quarters available from the lobby for soap/fabric softener vending. The washer/dryer machines themselves do take card payments. I believe it cost me a grand total of $5 for one load to wash and dry including buying detergent/dryer sheets.

Breakfast is pretty bleak if you limit yourself to the continental. Fruit was hit or miss, yogurt was sad, the bread products were dismal. The $5 up-charge includes an omelette/egg station. The breakfast staff were wonderful. They made me feel very welcome to be there. And, ironically, for a Disney resort property, it was never that crowded. Then again, I was never there before the parks opened for the big pre-park rush.

The shuttle service to Disney is best for going to Epcot/Animal Kingdom. The bus for Magic Kingdom drops you at the transportation centre. There is a direct bus to the front of Magic Kingdom from Disney Springs (take this one if you're going to the park in the morning or before lunch). I believe they also have a shuttle to Disney Springs. We also went to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure - obviously they do not have a shuttle for this. But Uber/Lyft works just fine for this purpose and was $15-25 each way.

Overall, the hotel is fine... but in serious need of updating. The property seems to be doing the minimum - but then again, it's not tremendously expensive, doesn't have resort fees. It's not a luxury property by any means. Very much reminds me of choir-trips and decent places for larger families to stay. I enjoyed my time here but I wasn't looking for a luxury experience so much as a place to sprawl out and be comfy during long theme park days. The staff are definitely on the ball here, though. They are great.

writerguyfl

Slight Correction: There are no direct buses from Disney Springs to any of the four theme parks. After 9am, you can take a bus to Disney's Contemporary Resort and walk to Magic Kingdom. However, doing that will almost certainly take longer than just going to the Transportation and Ticket Center and transferring to the monorail or ferry. You'd need to walk approximately 1 mile from the DoubleTree Suites to the Disney Springs bus location. There, you'd wait for a bus. Unlike the buses the DoubleTree Suites use, those buses do not have a set schedule. You may wait 2 minutes, 20 minutes, or occasionally longer. Once you arrive at Disney's Contemporary Resort, you'd need to walk an additional half mile to get to the entrance.

Disney does provide direct transportation from all four theme parks to Disney Springs from 4pm until 11pm or two hours after each park closes, whichever is earlier.

The bus to Disney Springs operates from 6pm to 3am every night.

AStarr

Fabulous info! I will keep this in mind! I knew someone would know...

There is a slight chance I may stay at this property again in the coming year mostly due to my hatred of resort fees.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the like of breakfast crowd. Just really wished I could have avoided the crowd at the Disney transportation centre.

writerguyfl

I used to work at Disney World. I've since moved from Orlando and I travel to Lake Buena Vista for work occasionally. I typically try to add a day to those trips, as I have an Annual Pass. The DoubleTree Suites is my preferred hotel. Even though I travel solo, I like the suite set-up because I find the bedroom area quieter than a traditional guest room because you are insulated from noise coming from the hallway.

I agree that the staff is really great. I usually stay between 8 and 16 nights at the hotel each year. Aside from an evacuation earlier this year (a guest started an actual fire in their microwave), I've never had anything but minor problems that get resolved with a single phone call. I've never had toilet issues. You're probably correct in thinking that was related to another guest in the same plumbing "stack" flushing non-flushable items.

I agree having to transfer at the Transportation and Ticket Center to get to Magic Kingdom is a bit annoying. But, the only way to avoid that is to stay at a Disney Resort. Anything comparable to the DoubleTree Suites would cost hundreds of dollars more each night. That fact helps lessen the annoyance for me.