Help! Hotel in Orlando, FL that isn't part of the Disney World from Hell

[Flaxbee]

complex? I DO NOT want to be anywhere NEAR the Disney craziness. Business meetings, but don't want to drop $200/night at the downtown Sheraton on South Ivanhoe several others are staying at. Could cope with $100/night or so. Any suggestions? I'll have a car, so can drive to the downtown hotel, but I don't really want to be toooo far away.

I have never been to Florida, so I'm really lost here - hotels can be so hit-or-miss.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[Radio_Lady]

1. Husband suggests you go on the Internet, and search through Booking Buddy, Expedia, Orbitz,

or Travelocity.

Best rate you will get by going to the hotel site itself, where you can ask for any additional price breaks (Triple-A, AARP, etc.)

If you're doing hotels, you can also choose on the pulldown from Marriott, Hilton, Residence Inn.

You should be able to find something in Orlando if anywhere.

Good luck.

Radio Lady in Oregon

PM me if you're stumped -- give my hubby the dates, how many people, and tell us what you need via PM and we'll look for you.

[Flaxbee]

2. Hey - thanks, Radio Lady! Very helpful offer...

does your husband have an opinion about the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte? I know you guys are in Oregon, but is he familiar with Orlando? Looks like Altamonte's about 9 miles from the city center ...??

[Radio_Lady]

15. Sorry I didn't see this until now -- I'll ask hubby to respond to you.

Have you made any progress in your search?

[NewJeffCT]

17. Most of those sites

Have options for which area of Orlando you want - just put in that area and your price range and you should have a lot of options to choose from.

[Parche]

3. MCO

I do travel and can get good rates anytime


Wholesale any where in Orlando, I have been there 4times also!!!!!!


Send me an DU email with dates and I can tell you what is available!!!

[RockaFowler]

4. We always stay at the Wyndham Resort

It is off International Drive and Sand Lake. If you go on their website and sign up for the Wyndham By Request, you get a lot of bonuses. We get an upgrade to a bigger room now free of charge. The rooms are nice and the location is OK. It is busy there, but we never knew it. They have 3 restaurants and 3 swimming pools. Plus, they are close to Universal (our favorite spot). I sympathize with you regarding Disney. I haven't been back to the Mouse in years. It is too much for me, too.

[Blue-Jay]

5. There's a Loews hotel attached to Universal that's pretty nice.

It's gonna cost more than $100 per night, but the craziness factor is low. Plus, there are some good restaurants in the hotel. I don't remember exactly what it's called. "Something" at Universal Studios...

[nytemare]

6. Where are the business meetings at?

Here is one near the Florida Mall

http://www.hotels.com/property.do?COYear=2007&searchID=AC102643-D17E-C391-10E2-68B19D1925C9&propertyIdsToCompareString=&destination=4ff23c22-e4ff-4834-91bd-08bad605fe8c%7C9c74f4b8-0737-49e7-a094-0fad13c51ebd%7COrlando%2C+FL%2C+USA%7C1&mtnHotelID=289081&numrooms=1&roomOccupancyString=1%7C%7C1%7C0%7C0&searchMtmPropertySupplierId=&PSRC=OT2&usertypedcity=&paging=1&alternateSell=&searchType=&sortBy=HCOMPICK&CIMonth=2&CODay=27&allPropertyTypesSelected=true&COMonth=2&priceRangeKey=1&TSRC=1&CIYear=2007&CIDay=23

Here is on pretty centrally located. It is near I drive and Universal, but not near too much hustle and bustle. I live in this area.

http://www.hotels.com/property.do?COYear=2007&searchID=AC102643-D17E-C391-10E2-68B19D192780&propertyIdsToCompareString=&destination=4ff23c22-e4ff-4834-91bd-08bad605fe8c%7C9c74f4b8-0737-49e7-a094-0fad13c51ebd%7COrlando%2C+FL%2C+USA%7C1&mtnHotelID=281538&numrooms=1&roomOccupancyString=1%7C%7C1%7C0%7C0&searchMtmPropertySupplierId=&PSRC=OT2&usertypedcity=&paging=1&alternateSell=&searchType=&sortBy=HCOMPICK&CIMonth=2&CODay=27&allPropertyTypesSelected=true&COMonth=2&priceRangeKey=1&TSRC=1&CIYear=2007&CIDay=23

I would avoid South International Drive and the Disney area.

Altamonte is not that far out, but with traffic it will be a bit of a hike depending on where your meeting is.

[Flaxbee]

7. downtown Orlando, the Sheraton on South Ivanhoe

how long would it take me to get there from Altamonte?

thanks for the links, I'll check them out. :hi:

[nytemare]

8. I would say 45 minutes or so with traffic.

It is perhaps a 20 mile drive. The hotel off Universal Blvd might take about 20-30 minutes with traffic.

For some reason, for me, it seems the traffic is crazy in Altamonte, even though it is out of Orlando. I guess a lot of folks commute from there.

[MorningGlow]

9. We always stay in downtown Orlando

There's a B&B "complex" of two Victorian houses and a nifty '50s former apartment building (all black and pink--love it!)--not exceedingly expensive if I recall correctly. Try the Google for the name.

Caveat: We go to Orlando to visit relatives, not go to Disneyworld, so I couldn't say how long it would take to get to the mouse behemoth.

Good luck! :hi:

On edit: On second thought, I had time to look up a link. Here you go: http://www.orlandohistoricinn.com/

[spinbaby]

10. There's about a zillion cheap motels in the area.

Get off at any exit.

[kay1864]

11. Expedia lets you search for "near an address"

So you can put the location of your main business meeting, and it will show you the closest hotels. I think you can also put a cap on the room rate, which will reduce the number of hotels you see. It will display AAA and AARP rates as well.

[fla nocount]

12. 10-15 minutes from Downtown

Hilton or Homewood Suites in Altamonte Springs, maybe the Sheraton in Maitland. The trick to navigation in this town is to stay north of downtown. To us who deal with this daily the thing to remember is that anything south of Hwy. 50 in the land down under. Don't go unless your're wearing bermuda shorts in February have a camera slung around your neck.

As other posters have noted, there are rooms everywhere; its what we do.

[Marnieworld]

13. I stayed at the Downtown Marriot on Monday night

lovely place but all night long I could hear a train whistle blowing and did not sleep.

[madinmaryland]

14. I stayed at the Fairfield inn when I was down

there about a month ago for a conference. It was $94/night for three weeknights. They also had wireless internet access which I believe was free.

Here's a map and some info:
http://marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/mcolz-fairfield-inn-orlando-lake-buena-vista-in-the-marriott-village/?WT_Ref=eResConfo

Orlando is based on Disney, so expect some it anywhere you stay.

:hi:

[Radio_Lady]

16. Flaxbee, are you on the DU now? It's 12:45 PM Pacific Time...

Let me know if you are.

[MrSlayer]

18. There's a Disney World from Hell?

What an awesome theme park that would make.

[spinbaby]

19. Sure

You've seen the devil-guy from Fantasia, haven't you?

[MrSlayer]

20. Heh. Certainly.

I would love to see them do a villains theme park. Something that is rumored to be in the works.

[Orangepeel]

21. Try the Comfort Inn on N. Orange

Comfort Inn Suites on N. Orange is quite nice
Courtyard by Marriott on North Magnolia is older but comfortable

I asked my husband who knows Orlando very, very well. Depending on the time of year, both of these might be reasonably priced. If neither of these have availability or are too pricey, let me know and I'll ask again.