FL Orlando Four Point Studio City Universal SeaWorld

[Hokietravel]

We had an excellent stay recently March 13-18, 2009. No Priceline attitude. If anything, we were treated better. We were given an upper floor for which they charge a premium.

The rooms were clean, modern, and made us feel pampered. There was an iron, blow dryer, and safe but oddly, no shampoo or conditioner daily. When we asked for some at the front desk, they were happy to provide a few bottles. There were plenty of pillows and they were nice and thick (not those tissue thin "hotel" pillows one can get.) We heard absolutely no noise from either surrounding room.

The staff went out of their way at each and every turn to make our stay wonderful. I mentioned it was my birthday, and the front desk clerk (who gave me the 15th floor) also sent up a chocolate cake. Extra towels were delivered within minutes. When we asked where the shuttle to the parks picked up, one of the staff escorted us, got us bottles of chilled water, and hung out with us until the bus came.

The hotel itself is cylinderical, so the rooms are somewhat wedge-shaped, but seemed similar in size to typical rooms. There are only 16 rooms per floor, and 20 floors (they say 21 but of course there is no 13th). They are in the process of remodeling, and our floor had new carpet, beds, etc. The entire hotel has a old Hollywood 'art deco' look. Carpet on the floors yet to be remodeled was black with a block of zebra pattern, but the new carpet is brown with multi-colored blocks, and in the room, a brown plaid. The bathroom was black and white checked tile. The elevators are all mirrors which the children thought was ceaselessly intertaining.

The restaurant, The Starlite Grille, is also being redecorated and didn't look like the picture on the website. We had breakfast only and it was okay, but we (and other families that came in while we were eating) were disappointed to find they only had the buffet on weekends. The restaurant offered coupons on Restaurant.com, so you might want to get one if you plan to eat in the hotel for one meal. We saved $9.40 by using a $10 coupon for which we'd paid $0.60.

The pool was clean, warm, with plenty of guest towels and chairs nearby. The shadow of the hotel covers it in the morning. The deep end is about 7 feet deep so no diving, and no slide. There is a kiddie pool with a safety fence around it so they can't toddle away into the big pool.

It is on the exciting International Drive and surrounded by restaurants, games, and shopping. There is a miniature golf course practically in the parking lot. It is within walking distance to Wet N Wild, and at around 1 mile, it is technically within walking distance to Universal. There is a shuttle from the hotel, with the first one leaving at 8:30 and the last one coming home at 2 AM. The shuttle also goes to Disney parks. Parking at the hotel is free.

I had read on other sites that there was a $10/day charge for wifi and bottled water. I was not charged this, nor was I even asked if I wanted it, but I had wifi all week anyway (a fairly week signal though that kept dropping me) but no bottle water in the room.

There is a small laundry room ($2 to wash, $2 to dry), a game room, and a pool bar. The laundry room is outside the doors that one must have a key to enter, so technically not "as safe," but I did a load and had no problems.

[ttmom]

For the price we paid by bidding on price line for this hotel, we rented three rooms, we feel that we well received our money's worth and then some. Sabrina at the front desk and Vanessa and Alexandria in the restaurant are great and always willing to help the guest.The staff overall was very accommodating.The hotel was in a moderately nice area where I felt safe, with lots of restaurants and shopping nearby. None of us had anything missing from our rooms and we did not use the safe so that is a plus. If you want a refrigerator and microwave, request it on the first night of check in. You will likely end up with a refrigerator, but microwaves are in short supply. The restaurant's food is pretty good especially the omelet and waffle bar for breakfast, and the chicken soup and pork chops for dinner. Also nicely portioned kid's meals are only $2.95 in the restaurant with choices of corn dog (2), chicken tenders, grilled cheese, or macaroni. If you order room service be prepared for a 22% gratuity and a $2.00 delivery fee, which isn't too bad because their prices aren't bad. The hotel is in a central location, probably 5 minutes from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and 15 minutes from the Disney Parks. For the price we paid $, I would definitely stay again.