Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
74
walking distance. If you want to stay closer to Mickey, the
Best Western Lakeside
(
&
800/848-0801
or 407/396-2222),
Seralago Hotel & Suites Main Gate East
(
&
800/411-3457
or 407/396-4488), and
Holiday Inn Main Gate East
(
&
800/
327-1128
or 407/396-4222) all offer tons of recreational activities for kids and adults,
good rooms, a free shuttle service to the theme parks, and much more—all at bargain
rates.
•
Best for Business Travelers:
The
Crowne Plaza Universal
(
&
866/864-8627
or
407/355-0550),
Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld
(
&
800/327-6677
or
407/351-5555),
Gaylord Palms
(
&
877/677-9352
or 407/586-2000),
Marriott's
Orlando World Center
(
&
800/621-0638
or 407/239-4200), the
Westin Imagine
(
&
407/233-2200
), and the
Peabody Orlando
(
&
800/732-2639
or 407/352-
4000) offer full concierge service, excellent restaurants, spacious lounges, and an
extensive array of business services while the
Hyatt Place Orlando
(
&
407/370-
4720
) or
Hyatt Place Universal
(
&
407/351-0627
) are good options for the more
budget-conscious business set.
•
Best Location: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
(
&
407/934-7639
or
407/824-3000),
Disney's Polynesian Resort
(
&
407/939-6244
or 407/824-2000),
Disney's Contemporary Resort
(
&
407/939-6244
or 407/824-1000), and
Disney's
Bay Lake Tower
(
&
407/939-6244
) are on the WDW monorail route, providing
easy access to the parks. The
Portofino Bay Hotel
(
&
888/322-5541
or 407/503-
1000),
Hard Rock Hotel
(
&
888/232-7827
or 407/363-8000), and
Royal Pacific
Resort
(
&
800/232-7827
or 407/503-3000) are within walking distance of both
Universal Orlando parks, and there's also boat service to the dock at CityWalk.
•
Best Service:
The elegant
Peabody Orlando
(
&
800/732-2639
or 407/352-4000)
offers attentive pampering from one of the best staffs in the area. The staff members
at the
Gaylord Palms
(
&
877/677-9352
or 407/586-2000) also make it their busi-
ness to treat you as if you were their only guest. At the
Ginn Reunion Resort
(
&
888/
418-9611
or 407/662-1000), a personal concierge ensures guests are treated to top-
notch service.
•
Best Pools:
All of the Walt Disney World resorts have wonderfully whimsical, themed
swimming pools, and usually of Olympic size. Arguably, the best is shared by
Disney's
Beach Club Resort
(
&
407/934-7639
or 407/934-8000) and
Disney's Yacht Club
Resort
(
&
407/934-7639
or 407/934-7000). Storm Along Bay, a 3-acre, free-form
pool and water park, stretches between them, including a shipwreck for exploring and
sand-bottom pools for a toe-tickling experience. Outside the Disney complex, the
best resort pool in Orlando can be found at the
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Resort
(
&
800/233-1234
or 407/239-1234). It's a half-acre, lagoonlike, water-world
pool that flows through rock grottoes, is spanned by a rope bridge, and has 12 water-
falls and two steep water slides. The 24,000-square-foot lazy river pool shared by the
Ritz-Carlton
and
JW Marriott Orlando
at Grande Lakes (
&
800/682-3665
and
800/682-9956), however, definitely provides some stiff competition. Not to be
ignored is the rock-'n'-roll themed pool at Universal's
Hard Rock Hotel
(
&
888/430-
4999
or 407/503-2000), with its underwater sound system and fantastic landscaping;
or the super kid-friendly water park-style pools at the
Nickelodeon Family Suites
(
&
877/642-5543
or 407/387-5437), which have towers, slides, climbing nets, mini-
flumes, and more.
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