Stewart Pierson

Review of Doubletree Guest Suites LbV

I stayed at DoubleTree Suites for a very short vac...

I stayed at DoubleTree Suites for a very short vacation with the family. We had the insanely stupid idea that it would be fun to go to Disney World for a day with our 3 children right before Christmas. If any of you decide at some point in your life to possibly verbalize a similarly ridiculous idea, then just stop. It's a terrible terrible idea!

Anyways, since we were coming from Jax, we needed a room for the night so we could hit the streets of Disney before the chaos began (this statement alone should illustrate my ignorance).

The hotel is very conveniently located near all of the major theme parks as well as near several other things to do such as restaurants and entertainment should you decide that selling one kidney to visit a Disney theme park wasn't enough punishment. The outside of the hotel is nothing exciting but is acceptable for the price range. Parking is also ample and conveniently located but it is generally an upcharge (although we lucked out in visiting at a time when their parking meters weren't working so we parked for free).

We arrived fairly late and were planning on leaving fairly early so our needs were limited for our visit. We were really just looking for a comfortable, clean suite to get some sleep. We were pleasantly surprised by the suite which was roomy and nicely decorated. Everything appeared well maintained and reasonably clean and my children quickly fell asleep in their beds. But oh, the beds..... I tossed and turned and tossed and turned but couldn't manage to find a way to get comfortable on the uber-cheap mattress. I was at one point tempted to sleep on the floor because it was so bad. My back and neck would be very sorry the next day as we waited around Disney to meet Elsa (if that wasn't hard enough on its own)!

As I mentioned earlier, the dining options near the hotel are plentiful which is a good thing because the price of food here is outrageous! I made the mistake of asking how much breakfast was and was informed that a hot breakfast, which would consist of items you get for free at a low-end hotel, would be $18/person (which amounts to $90 for my family) and the "continental breakfast" which was made up of cold cereal, fruit and muffins would cost $12/person. I thought I saw a bit of shame in the eyes of the concierge as he told me that. His hotel was attempting to bend me over their knee and spank me and he knew it! I could almost take my family to Ruth's Chris for that price. Luckily there is your friendly neighborhood diabetes factory immediately across the street so we chose that option instead.

Overall, of the hotels in the area this is a decent choice. The price is okay for a large family (if you don't eat the food) and the rooms are nice. Just remember to bring a sleep aid to help you through a night of bedding on a rock.