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.

Travel Tip Tuesday

So you are going to Disney World and you have secured your hotel. Maybe you are staying on property for a week, and you plan on driving there from wherever you live. The problem is that if you drive, you either arrive midday, or you have to drive all night to get there in the morning. What do you do? Do you pay for an extra night, even though you are arriving late in the day and won't be able to take advantage of the amenities or parks? Do you drive all night and arrive at the parks worn out? We have done both options, and now prefer the option of adding a night to our trip. We typically leave after my daughter gets out of school (ok so we usually can't stand it and pick her up a little early), then begin the 11 or so hour drive. This puts us in the Orlando area around midnight. With such a late arrival it doesn't make sense for us to pay the higher price of our Disney hotel (unless you have free dining and get an extra day of meals for everyone in your party). So the last two years we went off property for our first night and used a travel website to help us secure a super cheap room that served our main purpose....get a cheap hotel room to allow us to rest a few hours after our drive, and even get a free breakfast in the process :)

Today's tip is my advice on how to secure a cheap hotel room at Disney World. I know everyone has probably used the travel websites such as Hotwire or Priceline. We started using Hotwire a few years ago for Disney, and I have to admit it was a little scary. The way Hotwire works is you tell them the city you want to stay in, and it it brings up choices in different areas at different price levels. The ony problem is that you don't know the hotel name, or it's exact location. So, unless you know a little about the city you are staying in you could end up choosing a hotel in a not so nice area of town. Not my ideal situation, though in our case, I could do anything for a night (I think). I am not brave enough to use this service for the entire trip, but for a few hours in a comfy bed, I am all for using Hotwire and gambling with the hotel a bit.

If you do decide to use Hotwire, I would suggest choosing a hotel that is listed in the Lake Buena Vista-Downtown Disney area. This will guarantee a room pretty close to Disney property, and the area is a good, safe one. We used this last year and chose a hotel in this area that ended up being right by I4 and across from the entrance to Disney property (about half a mile or so from Downtown Disney). We put Orlando into the city name, and a lot of options popped up. We chose one in the Lake Buena Vista-Downtown Disney area that was listed as a three star hotel for $49 plus tax. We felt it was a good price so we went with it. Once we accepted it and put in our payment info we received an email that we would be staying at the Clarion, which made us pretty happy. We felt like we go a pretty good hotel for a cheap price. Once we arrived we definitely were impressed and happy with the outcome.

I have a few tips to keep in mind if you are considering using Hotwire for your trip. First and foremost, once you hit that confirm button, you are locked into your stay as it is non-refundable. So, double check that you are selecting a hotel in the right area. Decide on what "star" level you want for your hotel, and read the reviews for that level on the site. Check to see what your final charge will be. Some resorts charge a resort fee ON TOP of the Hotwire charge. So, you may want to choose a hotel that does not charge extra (our Clarion did not charge the extra fee). Just be careful and take your time. Finally, both times we did this, we booked a day out. Since it didn't matter where we stayed, we waited until the last possible moment so that we could get the best deal available. So there you have it! You can save money on a hotel at Disney World!