puppylove

BWH is a good location as well; on the quieter side but still walkable to a lot and has that old town kw "feeling" -- the quieter side may be a plus or minus for you. But either one of those would be good! If you havent' been and/or want some recommendations let me know - we spend about 2 months there every year.

I would strongly suggest sticking with Old Town, and the Eden House is in an EXCELLENT location on a great street - one of our favorites actually. New Town is a pain and not worth the savings/hassle of going back and forth; add on some cabs/ubers and you are right back to where you started. Plus it's a completely different feeling....

Just wanted to add that the Fontainebleau is not walkable to South Beach, so if that's where you want to go/be/spend time, you will be Ubering/taking cabs back and forth.

There were a few 4's that looked similar (resort style) -- Wyndam Grand, Gaylord but after fees etc it's only a bit more to do a PRICELINE EXPRESS 5* (Waldorf?) or via bidding... Since there are so many 4's it would be more of a risk then we want I think, and the Caribe with the 600sf king deluxe suite + military deal is exactly what we want within a resort & cheapest of all the 4's.. Interesting, just since we started looking 2 days ago at the Caribe on PL, the price has just today gone down to $99 for the PRICELINE EXPRESS! The Stash awards program actually offers a good bunch of extras: Stash members will always receive the following benefits when staying at Caribe Royale: Complimentary upgrade to Premium internet service Coupon for The Island Spa 1 Complimentary drink coupon 1 20% off coupon for the Tropicale restaurant 2 complimentary bottles of water Members may request a free suite upgrade at check-in, based upon availability Early check-in and/or late-check-out, based on availability (excluding villas)

Update - $175 rejected.... used Ratedrop for an alert, and will probably rebid up to around $225...which put us at around $300 total. Caribe replied and agreed to honor the price mistake (guess they couldn't say no on Veterans day!) so factoring in the $30 credit its $98 + tax total....upgraded deluxre room is 600 sq ft suite which is a nice bonus! Guess we just have to determine if the Waldorf etc is worth 3x as much.... Thanks again for the help!! I can see how it can get addicting! :)

Ok so I was on the right track, just wasn't sure if I was missing something :) So looks like if I choose LBV and Sea World as the areas, for 5 star - it's just between Waldorf/Four Seasons/Ritz (last 2 being so much more, so unlikely) Just emailed with Caribe and they said there's an error on their website -- the military deal does not include the resort fee (which it says it does on the page.) I'm trying to get them to honor it but they don't seem to willing. Still a good price though and a lot less than Gaylord Will update with results of the 5 star bidding!

Do we know the others in those zones that are considered 5 star? Four Seasons/Ritz are out of price range, and the only other i see is the Reunion Resort - this to me looks like a 4 star, similar to the Gaylord but more adult-ish. I got a $179 Waldorf military direct but on a different day - great price though! Good to know for the future when we have more flexible dates. DH likes all the 'fun" things in the Gaylord pics, but is just so huge, plus $20 parking, $20 resort fee - overall about $125 more than the Caribe for the night, so prob not worth it. I think if I knew which 5 stars were in the mix, I could chance it with some bidding then default back to the Caribe military as a backup Thanks for the help :)

Thanks!!! Which others in the area/surrounding ares are 5 star under $300? Good point about the bidding, Like the Caribe over some other 4's as it's more resort'ish/different and we will be on site the entire time day/night before checking out. I guess I would consider anything similar but definitely don't want a generic regular hotel without restaurant etc attached or some nice grounds etc.. Since I won't be guaranteed any of that it sounds like I should just bid on the 5* and if I don't get the price I want, stick with the direct military Caribe deal at $100... These are the areas that work: Disney Area - Lake Buena Vista East Disney Downtown - Lake Buena Vista Disney Maingate - Celebration Area Disney Maingate West Downtown Orlando Intl. Drive - Convention Center Intl. Drive South - Sea World Universal Orlando Resort Area

Hi all - new to the board and appreciate all the help and info here! Quick 1 day stay on November 17th to the IDrive/Sea World area of Orlando but willing to be within 15 or so minutes in any direction Found a military deal at the Caribe Royal for $128 + $30 food credit + no resort fee + room upgrade/late checkout, so basically $100 + tax for the night. An accepted bid would have to be under $75 to make sense since they just started charging a $20 resort fee (not waived if we don't use the military deal.) Then had the idea of a 5 star, hoping to keep it around $200 if possible. The only option it seems is the Waldorf, listed as the only 5 star hotel in this price in the general area at $266 pl for the express deal. Am I on the right track? Questions: 1. Where should I be with bidding for the Waldorf - the lowest direct rate from their own website over the next 2 weeks is $199 for the day before which sadly we can't do. Is a bid of $150 unreasonable? This + the $30 plus taxes would work. 2. Seeing in previous posts most accepted Caribe bids are low $80's to high $90's - worth bidding any lower than that or just stick with the military deal should the Waldorf not work out? Thanks all!