Another complaint I saw quite frequently was for the people who have rooms facing I-4. The Clarion i

I mentioned in a previous post that choosing a hotel for your Orlando vacation is no easy task. My mother and I started a notebook filled with all the information about the various hotels we were considering. We made lists of pros and cons, compared prices and locations, and browsed services and amenities for at least two weeks before finally deciding on a place to say.
First, let me say that although the full title of the hotel lends itself to being inside Disney property, it is not. It is very close, however. It resides only a few streets from the edge of Lake Buena Vista, on Palm Parkway. There are a cluster cheap plain tickets of other hotels both here and on Apopka-Vineland Road, which (along with I-4) divides Disney from the rest of Orlando. You will still need transportation back and forth from the theme parks to the hotel -- it may be close to Disney, but it's not that close. You won't be walking.
cheap plain tickets That being said, let's take a closer look at the main areas of the hotel. Once inside, the lobby feels slightly small. The registration and ticket sales are presented directly cheap plain tickets to your right and left, respectively. There is also a tiny, somewhat crowded convenient mart, outgoing mail slot and pay phones directly cheap plain tickets past registration. This area can easily get extremely congested, especially cheap plain tickets around meal times and check-in. Near the ticket counter is the entrance to one of the two restaurants, and past the mart is the other. The second restaurant featured more buffet-style dining. A handful of arcade machines is on the opposite side.
When standing outside, the hotel can feel massive because of its design. I had read a lot of complaints about people needing to walk to their rooms, and about their room being in the outer buildings, like ours was. The way the Clarion is set-up feels like several rectangular, 5-story buildings all grouped into one area, connected to each other through the use of an elevator "tower". The first night I was a bit confused while trying to find our room, but once we did I had no further problems. It was a two or three minute walk and an elevator ride up to the fourth floor for us, and we faced the parking lot. Being that I am twenty-five and physically fit, and my mother is still young and quite active as well, there was no issue for us when it came to distance back and forth to our rooms. If this is something that worries you, call the Clarion ahead of time and request a room that will fit your specific needs.
Another complaint I saw quite frequently was for the people who have rooms facing I-4. The Clarion is directly on the side of the highway, so some guests were unhappy that they could hear the traffic all night. Now, everyone's situation cheap plain tickets is different. I currently live next to a hospital with a helicopter pad in the middle of downtown Columbus, cheap plain tickets so traffic cheap plain tickets noise is also of no concern to me. A fantastic perk of being in the last building and facing North/North West was the view. Florida is a flat state, and the higher up you are, the better a view you will get. Our first night there we were able to see the fireworks from both Epcot and The Magic Kingdom (slightly cheap plain tickets harder to see due to the trees in this direction). We could see the Characters In Flight balloon flying every day when exiting our room.
The rooms aren't the biggest cheap plain tickets you'll ever stay in. It was fairly standard: two large beds with a nightstand and a chair, a desk, dresser with a TV and a large wardrobe, and a sink, mini-fridge and mirror. You get free wi-fi, there are soda machines near the elevators, and an optional laundry service. This is not a fancy resort by any means. Some might say "you get what you pay for", others cheap plain tickets would say that "it's just a place to sleep", and I agree. We spent very little time at the hotel. The hotel wasn't the reason we were in Florida to begin with. I would be remiss if I did not mention that as far as hotel prices go, for eight nights the Clarion was comparable. It cost under $600.00 for the two of us. I did some comparing of the price on various sites, including Kayak . Ultimately, we got a slightly cheap plain tickets cheaper price booking it through AAA.
The Clarion cheap plain tickets Inn has two pools and a small splash area for children. The first pool and the splash area are both located just behind the main lobby. There are signs along the ground floor pointing you toward the children's place. Following them will take you behind the hotel and past some of the numerous Floridian pockets of water. One thing I was impressed by (as I usually cheap plain tickets am whenever I'm in the Sunshine State) was the landscaping. It was very well-kept and while walking to the second pool I noticed that there are banana trees growing both behind and in front of the hotel.
Another thing to remember while you're in Florida is that there will be creatures around you. Several signs around the premises remind visitors not to feed... the alligators. There were large, crane-like birds watching us as we waited for the shuttle, and I came across several small lizards. Small critters will be around no matter where you travel cheap plain tickets -- I've even seen a rat near the water in Universal Studios. We did not have a roaches in our room, but I did notice a few very, very small ants crawling along the tile in the bathroom. cheap plain tickets This will likely turn several of you off of this hotel, and I can't say whether or not I would return because of this fact. I have dealt with larger ants before, so one or two tiny ones (I would not have noticed them at all had I not dropped something on the floor) is not enough to put me off the hotel entirely.
Now, possibly the worst part of this hotel was the shuttle. The vehicle itself was fine, but the arrival times were extremely inconvenient for me. The transportation was complimentary, and required us to walk from our room down to the bus stop outside the lobby area. For anyone who has trouble standing for long periods of time, know that there are only two benches to sit on, and they are directly in the sun. The staff here advises you to be at the bus stop anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes cheap plain tickets early, and for good reason: seats are first come, first serve and the Clarion is not the only hotel to ride the shuttle route. You will get a schedule with your check-in package, and if you don't you can pick one up at the ticket counter or check the times posted at the bus stop. On Palm Parkway there is also the #50 bus stop for the Lynx bus system. Be aware that this is public transport and you will have to pay, as well as share the ride with locals and other tourists. A bus route for Lynx can be found at the shuttle area, too. Anyone unfamiliar with riding public buses (or bad at navigating them), should avoid this option. The upside is that it comes regularly for the entire day (usually in 20 minute intervals).
Shuttle times were normally two or three options in the morning, cheap plain tickets and one in the afternoon. cheap plain tickets For instance, you might catch either the 7:00, 8:00 or 10:30 in the morning, or have to wait until 1:00 PM if you miss the first three. Often you are dropped off in a slightly further bus lot -- the closest ones are for Disney cheap plain tickets buses. You will need to listen to the driver of the shuttle and have your schedule handy because you will need to return to your hotel's designated bus spot on time or risk being left. The Magic Kingdom shuttle actually drops guests off at the Ticket center, requiring you to either board a second bus or ride the monorail to the actual park, and back again at night. Returning times were usually a little too early for me. I like to spent my entire day in-park unless otherwise planned. Universal Studio's only return shuttle was at roughly 7:00 PM, but City Walk is open late. This prompted me to request a ride from a friend to be able to continue to enjoy Universal's parks into the night. Another thing to consider is how you will get back from any of Disney's after-hour parties. The Clarion does not offer transportation for these.
For people looking for a budget hotel or a simple cheap plain tickets place to sleep while they spent their days exploring Orlando, the Clarion Inn at Lake Buena Vista is not a bad option. However, if you'd prefer to have a bit more stability, more amenities, cheap plain tickets or just have a higher cheap plain tickets budget, you should consider some of the other hotels around the area.
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