hhoope01

The following is a list of Cat 4 hotels within about 10 miles of Disneyworld. I bolded the TPSes and RIs as they will most likely have kitchens. And while the RI at Millenia is closer to Universal than Disney, it is very near the big Mall at Millenia which has lots of restaurants and shopping:

TownePlace Suites Orlando at Flamingo Crossings/Western Entrance
SpringHill Suites Orlando at Flamingo Crossings/Western Entrance
Delta Hotels Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
SpringHill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village
SpringHill Suites Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista
TownePlace Suites Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista
Residence Inn Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Residence Inn Orlando at SeaWorld®
Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld®
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando at SeaWorld®
SpringHill Suites Orlando at SeaWorld®
Courtyard Orlando International Drive/Convention Center
SpringHill Suites Orlando Convention Center/International Drive Area
Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center
TownePlace Suites Orlando at SeaWorld®
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando International Drive/Convention Center
Four Points by Sheraton Orlando International Drive
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Near Universal Orlando Resort
Residence Inn Near Universal Orlando
Residence Inn Orlando at Millenia
SpringHill Suites Orlando at Millenia

Horace

If you've checked Marriott.com, you're already aware that there are lot of Marriott Bonvoy category 4 hotels near the Central Florida theme parks, but almost all of them are extended-stay brands or select-service brands such as Fairfield, SpringHill, and Courtyard — where Titanium Elite status does not provide the level of benefits that it does at full-service brands. Of course, most of these brands provide breakfast to everyone, regardless of status. Courtyard would provide a F&B credit of $10 per day to you and another &10 per day to the other adult.

There are three category 4 full-service hotels serving the theme park corridor, and perhaps another one on the way.

Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld is just off I-4 between WDW and Universal. It's officially a resort, so daily breakfast for two in the restaurant would be a Welcome Gift choice (which you could pick instead of points) for Platinum Elite (or higher). I read on TripAdvisor that this Renaissance interprets that to be just continental breakfast, but you can upgrade to the breakfast buffet for $10 per person more. You might want to call about whether they would charge for breakfast for your 3-year-old. Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld is going from category 4 to category 5 in the upcoming category changes.

Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort is a hotel I don't know anything about, but you might want to look into it.

Delta Orlando Lake Buena Vista Hotel is very close to Disney Springs. As is often the case at Delta Hotels in the United States, it has a 24-hour Elite Pantry for your free Platinum Elite (or higher) breakfast and snacks throughout the day — but neither a Signature Lounge nor complimentary Platinum Elite breakfast in the restaurant.

Another Delta Hotel is supposed to open in July 2019: Delta Hotels Orlando Celebration. There's no category yet, but perhaps it will also be category 4. It's now the Grand Orlando Resort at Celebration. Before that, it was the Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration.

Be sure to consider mandatory fees and parking fees at any Orlando properties.

Finally, consider using your 7-night category 4 certificate somewhere else and booking a nice select-service property near WDW for under $100 per night. Such rates are often available during parts of January and February,

FlyBitcoin

Renaissance Orlando Sea World has a nice "resort" feel to it. Large Atrium-style hotel. No lounge on property so take the restaurant breakfast which is excellent.
That hotel stands out from the others on the list.
You will have to pay for parking, however, due to its proximity to Sea World park across the street.
And it is centrally located to the International Drive restaurants and the outlets compared to staying near the Disney area.
Your commute to and from Disney should be against the flow of traffic that moves into Orlando in the AM and out of Orlando in the PM hours.

anteater

HNLbasedFlyer

Recently stayed at 3 Orlando hotels near the parks -

Residence Inn Near Universal Orlando. Liked it - nice room/bathroom - full kitchen. Very close to Universal. No parking fees. When they say near Universal - they mean it. Very close. (For Unversal, spring for the 2 park with all day express pass - definitely worth it)

Four Points Sheraton Orlando Convention Center. Stay away. This hotel needs major renovations - terrible elevator situation - bait and switch on the room (booked King suite - got major runaround) - nothing good to say about this place. Parking free

Fairfield Inn and Suites Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village. Didn't like it. Small bathroom. Close to Disney parks. Elevator situation not good. No parking fees but parking is gated

KRSW

I'm going to take hhoope1's nicely presented list and add my comments to it:

If you're going Jan/Feb, I'd highly suggest the Sheraton Vistana Resort / Sheraton Vistana Villas as you can often get great value for money. I paid $124/night for the Vistana Resort last month and was upgraded to a 1200sqft 2-bed/2-bath, full kitchen, washer & dryer condo that was recently remodeled. Very enjoyable, peaceful stay. It's become the first hotel I search for when checking prices for the area. NO resort / parking fees -- keep this in mind as you look at properties in this area -- many do.

Hotels I've personally stayed at in the past ~2 or so years:

Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista -- Okay hotel, weird location. Shares its parking lot with a Steak & Shake and dodgy strip plaza. Room was fine, although not as nice as other Fairfields in the area. It was clean, staff were friendly. The Fairfield down at Marriott Village is nicer. Had regular combo shower/bathtub. NO parking/resort fees.

Marriott Village:
Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village
SpringHill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village

All three of these are on the same property. These are some of my mattress-run properties. Done right, you can get these for <$60/night. These are corporately-owned and I've always had good experiences here. Rooms have always been clean & well-maintained. They have a decent (but slow) food court in the side of the Fairfield and in-room delivery from it for reasonable prices. The fitness center is located in the Courtyard across from the food court. Courtyard is the quietest of the bunch, as the lack of free breakfast attracts a different clientele than the FF/SHS. CY/SHS have the nicer pools. All rooms have fridge (no freezer) and microwave. The SHS rooms are my favorite, followed by the Courtyard, then Fairfield. All rooms have regular shower/tub combo. I don't have any problem staying in this FF. Breakfast can be a zoo, but they have signs letting you know the peak / non-peak times. Also, NO resort fee, BUT they do have parking fees ($15/night now..was $10/nt last year) which can sometimes be waived via AAA rates and special deals.

SpringHill Suites Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista and TownePlace Suites Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista -- These two are brand new (November '18 opening, I believe). Combo hotel with shared lobby & common areas. I stayed here 2 weeks ago in one of the TownePlace rooms. I booked the cheapest rate, got the smallest (~350sqft) room, but it was very well thought-out and felt much larger than it really was. Kitchen had: Full fridge/freezer, sink, microwave, stove, dishwasher, full set of pots/pans/dishes, no oven. Bathroom was large & modern, BUT, only had a stall shower, which might be an issue for some. They've also gone to the pump-on-the-wall soap dispensers. Also nice: The hotel's HVAC systems have dehumidifiers built-in! Finally, a hotel which isn't sopping damp in Florida. They DO charge parking ($15/day).

Residence Inn Orlando at SeaWorld® -- Largest RI in the chain. Recently updated. Bathrooms are still shower/tub combos. Nice pool, and they do have a small on-site restaurant & bar. New: They've started charging $10/day for parking.

SpringHill Suites Orlando Convention Center/International Drive Area and Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center -- These two hotels are adjacent and share a parking lot. Out of the two, I prefer the Residence Inn rooms, although perfectly happy to stay in the SpringHill. The SpringHill rooms were clean and in good repair, but felt a bit downmarket. Regular shower/tub combos. Able to walk to a ton of restaurants & such on International Drive. No parking/resort fees.

Hotels I've not stayed at:
Delta Hotels Orlando Lake Buena Vista -- Old 1970s hotel. Lots of lipstick put on this pig. Used to charge a resort fee, but I'm not seeing it on the website right now. They do charge $15/day for parking. You can do better in immediate area.
Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld® -- Fees, fees, fees. $60/day ($30/day self parking + $30/day 'resort' fee) -- I refuse.

Steve Swicegood

Renaissance Orlando charges a resort fee. Deal breaker for me.

I highly recommend renting a Marriott/Sheraton timeshare unit (Marriott.com). You do get night credit, points and NO parking or resort fees. The extra space is worth it! Plus Lakeshore Reserve / Grande Vista and Sheraton Vistana all have excellent pools. The atmosphere will beat any Fairfield/Courtyard/Springhill/Delta any day.

Renting a one bedroom would give you a huge master (king bed), full kitchen and a sofa bed in the living room. I'm a huge believer in having a kitchen with a child. Going to the grocery store and stocking up on breakfast foods will make mornings much easier. A child is going to get worn out doing the theme parks. I strongly suggest a schedule of theme park/rest day/theme park/rest day/theme park, etc. Sleep and pool time on the off days will be a blessing. You will end up having a much better/enjoyable time!! Grocery store sandwiches, chips, deli chicken, sides, salads for lunches and some dinners will make for a more relaxing time than sitting through restaurant dinners.

As opposed to a hotel room, a timeshare (any unit above a "studio") will allow your child to go to sleep earlier and you can stay up with the lights on in the next room.

Disney will be exhausting mentally and physically. Universal is really catching up to Disney with theming (and it's less complicated for planning purposes). There is less for a three year old at Universal, BUT Universal offers child swap at the intense rides. With a three year old, I would actually steer you to Legoland and SeaWorld. My kids LOVED Legoland when they were younger.

hhoope01

While I agree MVCI properties can be a great alternative and there are a lot of them near the Universal/Disney parks in Orlando, none of them are Cat. 4 properties. The Imperial Palms 3-bedroom units as a Cat. 6 for only 50K/night is a very nice value, but the OP's Cat. 4 award won't work there. But with that said, TPSes and RIs are similar with an apartment like feel to them. And there are a few of them near the parks and as Cat. 4.

mattw4239

theOtherHolmes

Thanks everyone! Looks like I should save my certificate and just pay for the hotel or timeshare property. Thanks a lot everyone!

Muerz

SkiAdcock

Call the property directly. A 2-minute call would answer all your questions easily.

Cheers.

sanfran8080

Muerz

SeeTheLights

Anyone stay at the Courtyard Orlando International Dr? Is it a decent property? In for a business trip so just need a clean room and quiet hotel. Thanks.