Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Orlando (Disney Downtown - Lake Buena Vista) Country Inn and Suites

[MIChessGuy]

Two bids tonight got me an excellent result close to Downtown Disney. This Country Inn & Suites gets a good room rating in the Unofficial Guide's current edition of Beyond Disney. The hotel's website states that they offer free parking, free wireless internet and a fridge in the room. Bidding history and details below; as always, PRICELINE link used for bidding.

First bid of $38 for a 3* in LBV-Downtown Disney...rejected, PRICELINE presented some sort of counter-offer in the 50s that I barely glanced at

Second bid of $38, star level adjusted down to 2.5* despite worry about getting the Orlando Vista which I know nothing about...accepted

Your offer price: $38.00

Number of rooms: 1

Number of nights: 6

Subtotal: $228.00

Taxes and Fees: $39.90

Total Charges: $267.90

[AaronJB]

Congrats on your success. :)

First-rate deal for this Country Inn property, and glad you are pleased with the result.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the site's PRICELINE link.

Enjoy your stay.

[MIChessGuy]

I have a few comments regarding my stay at this property earlier this month:

(1) Construction is ongoing both inside and outside the hotel. Generally, the work is limited to the daytime hours when guests are visiting the area attractions, thus not much of a problem. It was not apparent to me when the construction might finish.

(2) There was a sign inside with a reference to "Fairfield Inn." I didn't take the time to ask, but possibly this lodging may be turning into a Fairfield.

(3) As other guests have noted many times, this particular Country Inn & Suites has a somewhat odd parking lot. There are a few hotel-specific spaces on the side of the building -- no more than a dozen or so. (Construction was taking up some of these spots, but there aren't many regardless.) The rest of the parking lot is shared with the adjacent strip mall, which includes a FedEx Office, Steak & Shake, Giordano's, and a few other places. Most hotel guests have to park in the shared lot and then walk over to the hotel. At first I was a bit unhappy with this arrangement, as I am accustomed to a hotel having its own parking lot where they can keep an eye on things with their own staff. There were no problems, though.

(4) In-room fridge worked great. I put a ton of bottled water in there, and it stayed cold.

All in all, a pretty good hotel. I'll try to remember to eyeball it again next year to see if it has indeed turned into a Fairfield, and report back.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the follow-up... glad to hear it was a pretty good stay.

[MIChessGuy]

One more follow-up: This hotel officially becomes a Fairfield Inn on October 15, 2011. I believe it already appears in the marriott.com reservation system. You may want to update the list of Priceline hotels for Orlando/LBV on October 15.

[thereuare]

Thanks for the additional info.