Travel Tip Tuesday

Today's tip is an addendum to a previous post. Several posts ago I wrote about how we like to use Hotwire to add an extra night to the beginning of the trip just to make the most out of our first day and to avoid driving all night long. I mentioned that we always try to get a three star or higher when we book. Well, I am changing that a bit as a result of our trip a few weeks ago. We started checking Hotwire a few days before we left just to get a feel for what prices would be for our "extra" night. Let me say that our extra night was a Saturday on the kickoff of high travel season in Orlando so the choices were limited, and a little higher than we were used to in October. So, we decided that we would chance it and check along the way while we were driving down to Orlando. We were very excited when a four star room popped up for cheaper than the three stars had been going all week. It was in the Sea World area, but there were none anywhere close in price to what we wanted to pay in the Downtown Disney area so we decided to grab it. Let me also say that it had gotten pretty good reviews on Hotwire. So, we booked it and anxiously awaited our email letting us know which hotel it was. When the email came, it listed the hotel as Rosen Shingle Creek. Hmmm....not one we had heard of, but the price was right. So, my hubby called the hotel to let them know that we would be doing a late check in. When he did, they informed him of the $16 per night parking fee. What? We so didn't see that anywhere on Hotwire. We knew to look for a resort fee, but there wasn't one listed so we thought we were safe. We were a little disappointed, but the cheap price we had paid offset the parking so we figured it was a lesson learned.

So, we arrived at the hotel.......and it was massive. You could either leave your car at the door with the valet for $20, or self park in a lot a bit of a walk away for $16. We went the cheapest route possible and parked ourselves. So, we checked in the gigantic lobby, then carried our things up to our room. Once we got in the room we looked out the windows and saw that we were overlooking a golf course. So, we looked at the hotel info more carefully and learned it was a golf resort and convention center. No wonder it was so huge! We started scoping out places for breakfast in the morning and realized the only options were pricey restaurants. No thank you! I was heading to Disney and would be paying through the nose for food soon enough. Luckily I had brought bagels for the rest of the week so we ate those before heading out. We obviously weren't getting a free continental breakfast here!

So what is my "tip" after all this rambling? Stick to three star hotels when using Hotwire. You probably won't have to pay parking, and chances are good that you will get a free breakfast. If you are looking for a cheap night to spend a few hours in a bed before heading to the parks, you probably don't need a four star resort. Chances are that you will get a nicer hotel than you bargained for! I would have enjoyed this hotel if I was looking to spend a few days alone with my hubby, and if we golfed. The beds were super comfy (unlike what we encountered the rest of the week at All Star Music) and the robes were fancy, but it was a bit much for the 10 hours we spent in the hotel.