Again, as posted on Trip Advisor:
After "winning" this 3 1/2 star-rated hotel on Priceline for the rate of $49 for one night (3/24/09), I was very concerned to read the reviews on TripAdvisor. So concerned, that I wrote to Priceline to question their 3 1/2-star rating. They researched it and responded back that they stood by their rating. Reassured, I went into the reservation with an open mind and hopeful heart.
We arrived late at night after a full day at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Check-in was friendly and quick. We were told we had a double on the first floor of building 11. I asked if a king might be available, and after some typing on the keyboard, we were given a room on the second floor of building 11. Seeing building 11, I was very glad we were moved to the top floor, as I don't know that I would've felt overly secure on the bottom level.
This "resort" is very large, land-wise. Having just stayed a few days before at the 3-star-rated Coronado Springs at Disney (which is also very large), I have to say there was no comparison in looks. Having read here on TripAdvisor that the Wyndham's landscaping was beautiful (one person even compared it to the Polynesian), I must admit I was expecting better. Instead, it was okay. Large. Plants all around. But the buildings are, well, old-looking and more motel-like than resort-like. Sorry, but that's what it seemed like to me. We pulled up in front of building 11, got out and looked for the elevator. Couldn't find one, so my husband carried our luggage up the stairs, past the old-looking laundry area. I was very pleased to see that a card-key was necessary to access the top floor. Our room overlooked the "courtyard" (parking lot), and had a balcony. Why anyone would sit on such tiny balcony and gaze at the parking lot, I do not know...(smokers perhaps?)
The room itself was definitely not one of the renovated ones. It had old carpeting, old furniture, but nothing bad, icky nor insect-infested as I have read about here. The bed was comfy and dressed as a 3 1/2-star hotel should be. The amenities book in the room indicated all the kinds of services one should expect from a 3 1/2 star...room service, business services, etc. It is a convention-center hotel, so many amenities are available, except for one great-big one...there's no internet access in the room! We couldn't find a free nor paid-for version. The bathroom, though obviously old, had a shower with nice-pressure and plenty of hot water. Towels were of 3 1/3-star quality.
A few years ago, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza that is within site-distance of this property. I believe it is also considered a 3 1/2-star property. That lived up to the star-ratings, and I would not hesitate to stay there again. The Wyndham felt nowhere near the same level, imho.
TripAdvisor has this place listed as a 4-star. I strongly suggest that is revised. It certainly has some 4-star characteristics, and is trying hard to fall into that league. Unfortunately, unless they tear down some buildings and re-build, I don't know how they could bring these motel-rooms up to that level. To compare (again): Disney's Coronado Springs, is also called a "resort" and is also really "motel-style". However, the major difference is, there is some kind of security, in the sense that you have to have a room key to get into the parking areas at Coronado Springs. This gives a sense of security that doesn't exist at this Wyndham. I also know that "resort" in Orlando usually means many motel-like buildings on sprawled-out property. It also usually means extra resort fees. Happily, not so at this Wyndham.
Good news: we were not charged a resort fee, nor parking fees. We got a good night's sleep. Driving by other buildings on the way out, I will say that some of the other buildings (such as building 5), looked much better from the outside, with extra fences, and such. My recommendation should you be staying there for more than a night like we did, is to make sure you get a room in an interior, renovated building, instead of an older non-renovated building on the outskirts of the property.
The morning we departed, we couldn't see online how to check-out, so we stopped by the lobby where there were two ladies working the desk. Both were busy with just one customer a piece in front of us. Must of been complicated issues, because it took forever! By the time it was our turn, there was a huge long line behind us. It took us ten seconds to check out, which would've been lovely to accomplish without the long wait. I don't know why we couldn't check out online, but we couldn't.
We love to travel, and most of the time we are sorry to leave a hotel we've stayed in. This time we were ready to go, and would rather not go back. Not because it was awful. It wasn't. It was actually just like these reviews have said. Both really okay and not what it should be. The Wyndham is trying hard to be what it wants to be...however, how they will achieve that without blowing up some old buildings and starting over, I really don't know. My rating would be that this is a 2-star with 3 1/2-star amenities, thus a compromise would be to call it a 3-star. And even then, my estimate would be that you'd still have some happy people and some very unhappy people.
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