Reviews of Fairfield Inn Hotel, Lake Buena Vista, Florida

We (self, hubby and 12 year old...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Apr 2008

Tour Operator:

Virgin

Submitted By:

jackieblack

Comments:

We (self, hubby and 12 year old daughter) stayed here for 15 nights end of March to mid April.

We had a room with two very comfortable double beds (some have one kingsize and a rollaway). It was a pretty standard layout. The bathroom had a shallow bath with a fixed shower and toilet. Just outside the bathroom was the washbasin with a coffee maker and ice bucket. It was useful having this seperate from the bathroom as it meant, for example, my husband could shave at the sink while our daughter was in the shower, which saved time in the mornings. The complimentary shampoo and conditioners were Pantene products which was nice (I wouldn't have bothered taking my own if I'd known!) Opposite the sink there was a hanging rail (with about a dozen nice wooden hangers) with a shelf above. This is also where the iron and board were stored. There is a guest laundry room with three washers and three dryers on each floor. ($2 each per load). There is also an ice machine a soft drinks vending machine on each floor.

The room had a TV and fridge. There were also three good sized drawers for storage, a desk and chair and another arm chair.

There is a little room off the lobby with PCs in case you need to email (small charge), and public pay phones which you can use with a 'phone card (much cheaper than ringing from 'phone in room).



The breakfast room was spacious with a large screen TV (showing local news/weather). Breakfast is 'help yourself' with cereal, fruit, yoghurts, muffins, bagels, doughnuts etc, there was also bread, which you can toast yourself in one of the toasters, and waffle makers to make your own waffles - yummy! There was also orange and apple juice, milk, coffee and you could make tea or hot chocolate. It was great.



The hotel was clean and had a modern feel. It gave the impression of being new, although the outside was being repainted while we were there so it must have been built a while.



The staff were all lovely, very friendly and helpful. They have safety deposit boxes behind the reception desk which are free to use (but if you lose the key you have to pay for a locksmith to break in and replace the lock as the key they give you is the only one). Housekeeping was efficient and friendly.



The pool was a reasonable size and there was also a hot tub. You can also use the pools at the other two Marriott hotels which are part of the 'village', the three hotels are sited like the corners of a triangle around a central fountain which acts as a sort of roundabout.

Between the Fairfield and Courtyard hotels there is a walkway lined with palm trees, along one side are eateries (Pizza Hut, Starbucks and a few others) and along the other side there is an office for booking tickets, shuttles and other trips and a gift shop.



Just across the car park behind the Fairfield there are a Golden Corral and Bahama Breeze restaurants. Although these were always busy we weren't bothered by any noise from here.



Although we were out every day and really only used the hotel as somewhere to sleep, eat breakfast and store our luggage, we thought it was great.



The location is excellent, mid-way between Disney and Sea World/Aquatica (about 5 mins drive to each). It is a short distance from Orlando Premium Outlets and there is a Publix, Sub-way, Walgreens and a few other shops nearby.



The only (small) negative thing we found was that it is quite close to the I-4. Our room was not on that side and we couldn't hear it but I can't comment on potential noise from rooms overlooking this busy road.

Our room overlooked the pool and on a few nights, when there were big coach parties of high-school kids staying, we did hear noise from the pool which is open until 11pm, but we were so tired it didn't keep us awake. Only on one night we were bothered by the noise which was still going on at 11.15pm, my husband rang the reception desk who apologised and immediately sent Security out to clear the pool.



We really enjoyed our stay and would definitely stay there again. It was clean and comfortable and in a great central location.

Having breakfast included (quite rare in the USA) was a definite bonus as it saved us both time and money, and was delicious - I think I'm going to have to buy a waffle maker!

We stayed in the Fairfield Inn...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Miss C Ward

Comments:

We stayed in the Fairfield Inn July 2007. The hotel overall was good, Location is very good. In walking distance to Premium Outlets, Cabs are easy to find and a cab to Downtown Disney was around $10, and a cab to The Disney Parks was around $17-$20.



Hotel was nice, room was also nice. Staff were helpful and friendly. It was really handy having the village shops there, that included a Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Edys Ice Creams then a shop selling the park passes and transport to the parks, a shop selling everyday items like Sun cream, Towels etc.



The Breakfast was OK, Cereal, Fruit, Bread, and Cakes. That was about it and we got bored of it by the second week, But another hotel in the village offered a full English breakfast for $10 so you could walk over and have that if you wanted.



There were complimentary buses to the Disney Parks included within our package. Busch gardens offers a shuttle bus from the Premium outlets. And to get to Sea world, Universal Studios and Island of Adventure we got the I-Ride Trolley from the Premium outlets. This cost $1 every time you ride it and it takes you right into Sea world and the stop near Universal is about a 10 minute walk to the park. I’d really recommend this trolley service.



There was a few restaurants near the hotel, but we tended to go into Downtown Disney for meals. Hotel and Pool were clean and there is Tea and Coffee available 24 hours a day in the lobby.



The only thing that wasn’t great about the hotel was the number of 15/16 year old children staying in the hotel from countries like Brazil and Argentina. During their summer holidays they go on summer camps to Florida and there seemed to be about 4 or 5 groups of 20 children at our hotel at one point. They seemed to not have a tour guide or leader with them in the evenings and they often woke us up by chasing each other down the corridors and chucking each other in the pool during the night.



On the third night of this I called reception and security asked them to go to their rooms. In future I wouldn’t come to this hotel in July/August again. Id avoid the summer holidays.



Also the reception desk wasn’t manned all night which I found strange. The staff seemed to go home about midnight then come back early morning and during the night there would just be a note on front desk with a phone number to call if there were any problems.



I assumed this number was for a neighbouring hotel in the village.

Overall hotel was good and location was fine. I’d stay here again just not in summer holidays!!

This hotel is excellently...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Select

Date of Holiday:

Apr 2005

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mrs D Cooper

Comments:

This hotel is excellently located for both driving to Disney parks and Seaworld. It is also very easy to get to the discount mall in LBV.



However as already said, everyone is the US DRIVES everywhere! The hotel was clean and comfortable although there was a mix up with our room upon arrival and we were given a king size bed for the three of us (son aged 7). Not good, although this was sorted out the next day with a rollaway bed and the following day we moved to another room with two queens. A bit of a faff though.



The pool is nice and it is good to use the other pools at the Marriet hotels in the complex. The Springhill is probably the best choice however and more luxurious than the others. We found it disappointing the get everything disposable at breakfast time at our hotel (cups, plates the lot) but after a few days in the States, realised that this is normal virtually anywhere you go.



Breakfast times is also rather hectic and sometimes you can struggle for a table. Quite a bit of choice but all out of packets! You can go to the Springhill for a civilised breakfast where all the food looked and tasted really nice and freshly made but we had to pay extra for that (our deal incl breakfast). Evening meals on site were limited to takeaway pizza etc.



However just down the road (can be walked) we went to the Lonestar steakhouse a couple of times which was really good. And there is a cheap help yourself, all you can eat type place a bit nearer to the hotel which is an experience to say the least. Food is pretty average but you can have lots of it!



The mall down the road (driving) was excellent and we also visited the Millenia mall which was fantastic and had lots of branded known shops in there including Bloomingdales and Tiffanys - definitely worth a visit for the shopaholic (like me!). April was a good time to visit Florida.



It was decent weather, not too hot and no hurricanes! It was a little busy when we went as it was Spring break for the Americans but all the same it was excellent. The Disney water parks are great and we also went to Kennedy Space. V good!

Superb location - less than ten...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Dec 2005

Tour Operator:

Virgin

Submitted By:

Mr S Roberts

Comments:

Superb location - less than ten minutes by car or taxi from both Disneyworld and Seaworld. Universal slightly further - maybe 15 minutes away. The Premium Outlet centre is about 2 minutes away. It costs about $6 for a taxi to Downtown Disney.



The rooms are clean and are of a good standard. They were replacing all the mattresses while we were there as well. There is a good pool as well. There is a good selection of in room movies and games.



You can use facilities at all 3 hotels at the Marriot Village (Springhill Suites and Courtyard too) which allows you to use internet cafe at business centre (although all rooms are on FREE wireless broadband).



The only places you can really walk to are the two restaurants next door - Bahama Breeze is excellent. The only downside was the onsite food court which was very slow and the choice is not great - although that could be because it very quiet while we are there.



All in all a reasonably priced, good quality hotel close to the main attractions - I would recommend it to others.

The hotel was huge with 2000...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Room Only

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2004

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs R Thorn

Comments:

The hotel was huge with 2000 bedrooms, which could have made you feel anonymous. However the staff were very helpful and courteous with any queries l had.


The facilities were many as it is a 5* hotel. The restaurant and snack bar catering for different tastes.


We had a double room but felt the beds could have been a little larger for comfort. We were given the option of a king size bed and a sofa bed but felt our youngster would not have appreciated that!


As with the USA everything is spread out. There was nothing within the walking vicinity of the hotel which our son could have done independently when he didn’t want to come on one our trips.