My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.
- Highlights
- Lobby
- Room
- Hotel Space / Ambiance
- Food & Drink
- Fitness
- Miscellaneous (+Timeshare!)
Highlights: Four Points by Sheraton Orlando International Drive
Ah, Four Points by Sheraton Orlando International Drive. Such a staple in the area, and avoided the dreaded category change this time too! This category two hotel is such a value redemption in the area, for a measly 3,000-4,000 points per night. However, they’ve tightened the belt a bit, demoting Platinum breakfast to purely continental, and requiring a $5 upcharge for full buffet or hot foods. Did twice as many timeshare presentations this time, allowing us to go to Disney Animal Kingdom for free!
Lobby
It hasn’t changed. Note that Green Choice is 250 points per night, rather than 500, as it is a Four Points property. The associates are very friendly and helpful, assisting us with our many issues and questions. They are quick to help and I am very grateful.
Room
Due to capacity, we were stuck in a regular King room this time, without a suite like last time. Unfortuantely, they only have a couple suites for guests, which were taken. The room did its job, although there was a moldy smell if you leave the air off for a while. The front desk instructed us to leave the fan on, but it is loud, making it difficult to sleep. I’m not sure what it is about the Florida air and humidity, but everything smells damp and moldy all the time. Room comes with a fridge – useful for leftovers – but no microwave. Thankfully, they do have a common use one in the lobby, across from the breakfast restaurant.
Hotel Space / Ambiance
Resort for families. Lots and lots of families, of all ages and nationalities. It was a fun and lively environment.
Food & Drink
Breakfast, as I mentioned, is limited to cold items only, with hot items requiring a surcharge. Thankfully, they were accommodating for my lady’s specific dietary needs, bringing her a bowl of berries each time. Other than that, it was a major downgrade from last time, with no smoked salmon, croissants in the continental. Not to mention making you pay $5 for an omelette. Cutbacks.
There are plenty of good restaurants in the area, on International Drive, however.
Fitness
I only used this a couple times – as we spent a few days walking in excess of 20,000 steps, exhausting ourselves that way.
Miscellaneous
You cannot beat the convenience and value of this property, for only 3,000-4,000 SPG points per night. I hope it maintains its Category 2 position for years to come, as I can see SPG members up and leaving if that changes for the worse. Otherwise it does not have much to compete against the various no-name hotels/motels in the International Drive area.
Timeshare
A very nice associate at the concierge lounge of the Four Points by Sheraton Orlando quoted me a rate of $137 for 2 1 day 1 park Peak tickets, down from $127 per person. Note that the Disney price on the website came to about $130 per person after tax, making this a $123 savings. This is not as much as the last time where I saved $127, and also scored a Sheraton umbrella. The presentation was at the same Sheraton Vistana Villages and building. It ran over two hours, which was stupid, but to be expected.
We also did another presentation at the Westgate property nearby, after finding the kiosk in the outlets a half hour walk from our hotel. That was for $150 in a prepaid card, making our Disney trip free overall. Of course, we burned the greater part of a Saturday, close to 6 hours including transportation, for both these high-pressure presentations, but it’s an interesting experience to hear about the offerings and industry. I would definitely do them again, if we are allowed. Besides, it’s not like we had any other Saturday plans. Works for us.
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