1 stars

StephanieLea 10/10/2011

Monumental POS Hotel… Do not waste your

Monumental POS Hotel

Do not waste your money here.

From the outside, you can see what used where the new owners have ripped the old sign off the exterior of the building. Black dirt smears down the side of the building; pieces of the exterior decoration have broken off and failed to be replaced. Upon arrival you park out front under the overhang and walk all the way through the hotel looking for the check in desk, all the while trying to ignore your better senses saying run away from the disgusting smell. It literally smells like you've walked into a restaurant serving spoiled goat in a third world country. Because I'm an idiot, my better judgment did not prevail and check in ensued. I give them props for the check in; it only took them a minute or two to take my money and send me on my way, floundering to locate my room. Did I fail to mention there's no concierge service or even little rolly things to put your luggage on? So we trek all the way back out front to the car and have to find the parking area, which is all the way in the back of the hotel behind the swimming pool. We park in the remote parking lot, where again my better senses are screaming for me to just go somewhere else because there are only 3 other cars in the entire lot; but I'm an idiot, as I've already said. We walk behind the hotel, dragging our luggage and enter through an unsecured back sliding door that does not lock at night and anyone can just walk right in.

Up to the room...it doesn't look bad at first...big bed, slightly outdated but appears clean. Appears being the operative word. The bathroom is missing handles on the fixtures, the fan doesn't work in there either (which makes me think there's a hidden camera or something), the wallpaper is yellowing, the towels are so rough they could sand a car, and a few little black gnat-like bugs are buzzing about. It's cheap, it's relatively clean, 10 hour drive, dear god I just want to sleep...yeah, you're not getting any sleep here. The AC is motion activated, and it's 78 degrees when we walk in. It takes 6 hours for it took cool down to 77. The AC clunks away all night long whilst the huge gap under the door lets in blinding light from the hallway and the mini fridge sounds like it's about to crap out at any moment.

So on night 2 the AC quits working. The girl working the desk is having a little party and is entertaining a group of friends. Terribly sorry to interrupt, but we need AC. The girl has the nerve to explain the motion sensor AC and ask if we left the room. Yes, we left the room in our jammies, eye crust and all at 1am…so we are given another room next door, which has less broken fixtures, no bugs, but still no fan in the bathroom, and the AC is even louder and clunks all night long.

Next Day, do not disturb sign on the door. tap tap tap housekeeping Of course I'm not answering the door, so we just yell no thank you. mumble mumble through the door So we yell again no thank you, and she finally goes away. I don't know about you, but do not disturb means leave me alone. I'm busy.

Last Day…they were so kind as to put a last minute bill under the door for an unexplained service fee of $6.75 per day minus the day we had AC problems with no explanation for the fees and no forewarning.

Overall, the hotel is very far away from everything, except for Sea World. It’s remote location and creepy isolation are not overcome by it’s shoddy, outdated décor nor it’s funk. I wouldn’t waste your money or your time here.

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5 stars

MrsCoffee 10/18/2010

Excellent off site Hotel !

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The Crowne Plaza was just a great place to stay for our family of four. Large rooms with ceiling fans that were very clean. The pool was nice, our boys used it plenty. The bathrooms are large, with a great shaving or makeup mirror which is lighted. The windows have white wooden shutters and our room also had a porch. The rooms have an Hawaiian flare to them and tastefully done. We also had a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and a small kitchen sink in room. We have stayed at the Contemporary Resort, Polynesian, and Wilderness Lodge in the past. We will return here again.

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5 stars

GuestBoom 10/11/2010

A Nice Hotel

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I stayed here with my wife and young daughter and found it to be a very nice and well kept hotel. The staff were very friendly and always ready to help. The pool and deck facilities were nicely done and we enjoyed swimming in it. Overall I would recomend this hotel.

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5 stars

Virgo567 10/06/2010

Absolutely Impeccable

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Exceeded my expectation- NICE! It is close to Sea World. You do need a vehicle to get to the place. However, it has a nice pool, spa, internet service throughout the hotel, room has a small fridge, very nice and clean. Bedrooms and bathrooms were impeccable..

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5 stars

SalsaDancing 10/03/2010

Great Hotel!!!!

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We stayed the weekend at the Crown Plaza right off International Dr. I would highly recommend staying at this hotel! The rooms were VERY clean and the beds were VERY comfortable!!! Great Hotel

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5 stars

handy2525 09/21/2010

Das Monumental Hotel Orlando liegt in unmittelbarer Nähe der

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Es ist ein sehr schönes Hotel, habe von einem anderen auf das umgebucht und ich sage nur es lohnt sich. Man kann alles innerhalb von 20 min. Autofahrt erreichen, eine Bussstation ist sonst auch da und das Hotel liegt an einer wichtigen Strasse von der man schon viele Sehenswürdigkeiten oder Attraktionen erreicht. Nettes Personal, saubere Zimmer. Einfach schönes, nettes kleines Hotel mit einem schönem Pool und Essen kann man dort auch zu bestimmte Zeiten, es lohnt sich.

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5 stars

Simply Divine 09/09/2010

Terrific Orlando Hotel!

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I'm a travel agent and stayed at the Crowne Plaza Resort and I can tell you that it is a terrific property. I was not given any upgrades -- I stayed in as basic a room as everyone else -- and I thought it was one of the best values for the price I've had in a hotel. I've seen pricing as low as $99 for this hotel and it feels a great deal more luxurious than that, even akin to a Four Seasons. Hallways have a tropical feeling and are very clean. The rooms also have a tropical feel, pastel colors, also exceedingly clean. When I was first checking out this place on TripAdvisor and elsewhere on the net, I saw some photos of the rooms where the bedspreads were these ugly green things with palm trees, and I saw some with what looked like plush white comforters. In my room, and from the look of the others I passed by in the hall that were being cleaned, all appeared to have the white ones. That added a lot to the feel of the room. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it were still those outdated ones. As it says in other reviews, bed comfort is indeed wonderful. And Crowne Plaza now has some kind of ""better sleep"" program where they give you a little packet with an eye mask, sleep enhancement CD and other stuff. I played the CD on the player they provide in the room and it was great. But, more importantly, since I am very sensitive to light in the morning, I was appreciative of the heavy curtains and the little clip they provide to make sure the curtains completely block out the light in the morning. I haven't seen any other hotel do this and I thought it was great. At least one or more others who have reviewed this said that parking is too far. I don't know what they're talking about. I was able to park in the front of the property and it was steps away. The parking at the back of the property is the same way. If you want a long hike from parking, try the Omni -- gorgeous resort -- but definitely a hike, especially in the heat. Also, someone said something about there being a problem that this is half timeshare and half regular hotel. Well, the main building, the first one you see when you drive in, which looks like something in Key West, IS the main hotel building. The timeshares are off the right and a little farther off from the main entrance. So I personally didn't see what that other reviewer's problem was. If there is one problem with the hotel it's that the pool area is in the middle of construction and that affects the back entranceway, and not a pretty sight if you have a pool-view room! Also, you have to use the pool at the timeshare (ok, for that earlier reviewer, there's the one inconvenience -- but it is by no means THAT far away!). However, the front desk told me that the pool will be done by the end of August (?) and that there is also a restaurant going into the main hotel. Mind you, I slept, got up, and didn't come back until the night's end. I stayed at Crowne Plaza during a house hunting trip and found it to not only be comfortable, clean and quiet, but VERY convenient to everything in the city. As a matter of fact, I ended up getting housing only blocks away from this hotel. International Drive can be a busy street, but it has three wide lanes in each direction, so it is not a hassle at all, and at night is not busy at all. And -- for you Disney-going folks, this is also very convenient to the theme parks, both Disney and Sea World. I would have stayed here the night prior to my move-in -- but they don't allow pets.

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5 stars

howdyooo 09/06/2010

Awesome Hotel and THE POOL IS OPEN

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We booked this hotel based on the price, pictures and location to Epcot. I didn't read the reviews until the night before we drove to Orlando. I am so glad that I gave it a chance, it was extremely nice and yes the new pool is now open August 11th. Sweet room and very very clean. We were very surprised based on the price that this hotel was pretty empty and very quiet. They have a nice piece of property and no other hotels are cramped close (lots of green space and small lake on the west side). This is definately a more adult hotel and we loved that (left the kids home for this weekend) definately. Bathroom was clean and looked new. The bed was comfortable and all white (nice). We looked very hard for those bugs that one of the other reviewers said they found and low and behold we found them, OUTSIDE (ha, ha). I just didn't understand that comment. The only negative for this hotel was the $8 per day resort fee. This fee must be paid (no option). It includes two small bottles of water and coffee and use of the facilities. This is definately a disappointment for us. We brought our water so guess what that was pretty expensive water, but I would definately return again and again. RECOMMEND THIS ONE>>...

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5 stars

The Bright Side 08/31/2010

excellent hôtel qualité/prix

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Nous sommes restés 3 jours sur Orlando pour visiter les parcs d'attraction ( Seaworld et Universal), l'hôtel est magnifique, grande piscine, pdj non compris dans le prix mais pas cher et de qualité. Les chambres sont très grandes et et très propres. Le prix est très correct ( 55 euros la nuit pour une chambre de 4 personnes avec 2 grans lits) Hôtel très bien placé ( sur international drive, avenue de tous les restaurants ), à 2 kms de Seaworld Attention, l'avenue fait environ 15 kms, voiture indispensable !

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5 stars

AboveandBeyond 08/24/2010

Room was larger than many rooms

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Quiet atmosphere, hotel was half full and off season. Room was larger and amenities were plentiful than many rooms that ive stayed at, and at a fraction of the price aswell. Staff was very courtious about giving local information and such.

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5 stars

Lookofit 08/22/2010

Great find

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This is a really great find....clean....friendly...good food....great beds.

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5 stars

jinxjinxer 08/18/2010

Awesome!!

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I really enjoyed the hotel stay. The pool is amazing. The only thing is the entrance is a bit confusing. But everything else was great.

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5 stars

oompa8789 08/15/2010

Very nice hotel

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The hotel was clean. The rooms were large and comfortable. No wireless internet in the rooms. The pool is large and comfortably warm. Nice jacuzzi. Very nice hotel.

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5 stars

chappys 08/10/2010

Kids love the pool I loved jacuzzi

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The stay was pleasant hotel staff friendly & helpful - would recommend. The staff was friendly & helpful. Kids love the pool I loved Jacuzzi.

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