By Jay Whipple
Trend Magazine Online™
Good Despite Flaws!
Trend Magazine Online™
Good Despite Flaws!
My
stay at this property was in conjunction with my visits to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios which in each case I had a great
time that I shared via the associated links. As I have written many times
before, the Orlando area of Florida is my favorite place to
vacation and has been since I first visited back in the early 1970's
when most of what is here now was undeveloped swamp land.
I am also quite
impressed at how the folks here work together to ensure that your stay is
memorable by making transportation available from area hotels, building easy
access highways, convenient souvenir shops, restaurants, gas stations, and
grocery stores. It reminds of a visit to the Bahamas years ago when I
observed the same cohesiveness. It is that type of teamwork that keeps me
coming back again and again from generation to generation.
I arrived at the Holiday Inn Resort on a Sunday
just before 7PM in the evening with plenty of daylight still left so I
had a chance to take a brief look around the grounds and they were well kept. I
was quite impressed with their lobby area which was clean and also well kept. I
was the only one checking in which is always good as there is no waiting. There
was either no Bell Captain on duty or they do not have one employed; I
did not ask.
They did have a Concierge's
area that was staffed and stocked with a myriad of brochures on what to do,
various places to go, and people to see. The front desk lady, however, was a
bit listless and appeared to be tired as if she was working a double shift or
this was her second or maybe third job. In fact she stated that she needed some
sleep.
Check in took less than 10 minutes and I was
given a first floor room per my request. I was then given a map of the property
with my room location highlighted by the front desk clerk which is a sign that
she was still very alert. Smile! I was also given a code to get into the
property's gate but it
was already open. My room was easy to locate per the map given and card/key
also opened the entrance door to my wing. My room and bathroom were very clean
which, for me, is a great start to hopefully what will be a pleasant and
enjoyable stay. There were quite a few amenities available to include a hair
dryer, safe and full ironing board in closet, kitchenette, flat-screen TV,
corporate desk and chair, Disney brochures, and a wide variety of
coffees and teas.
Upon closer inspection of my room I did find a few gigs (as
we say in the military) like a small blemish on the bathroom sink cabinet, the
executive chair was slightly worn, the hot water at the bathroom sink took over
a minute to get hot; one of the faucets had a loose fitting, and the freezer
took over a day to get cold. There were two King size beds and both were
very comfortable.
The location was excellent; there are at least a
half-a-dozen restaurants and/or bars within a mile, a drug store across the
street, convenience stores with fuel, souvenir shops, and easy access to Interstate-4
east and west, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article. The resort
comes complete with an Applebees (with bar and pool cabana), business center, a (get
this) small movie theater for young folks with popcorn available, and a
souvenir/gift shop. 
