Homewood Suites by University of Central Florida - Sorry I Had to Leave
Written: Aug 29 '08 (Updated Sep 23 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: excellent accommodations and service, great staff, good location
Cons: could fine-tune procedures for some issues
The Bottom Line: This was a place I could stay with no worries while I helped my freshman settle into college.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Homewood Suites by Hilton Orlando-UCF Area |
When my daughter was accepted to UCF, I was optimistic and immediately looked at hotels in the area. I put no pressure on her at all, but I can't say that I was disappointed when that became her college of choice. When we drove down for her to go to orientation and move into the dorm, we stayed at the Homewood Suites Orlando-UCF Area.
LOCATION
The Homewood Suites Orlando-UCF Area is located on North Alafaya Trail just a block south of the UCF campus. It's about twenty minutes from Orlando International Airport, and about 45 minutes from Orlando area attractions.
There are plenty of shopping and dining options a short drive away. Either on University Blvd. Or down at Waterford Town Center Shopping Area there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. Right next door is a Walgreens which is fine for a few supplies.
ROOMS
I was put in a queen studio room. Although the property has one and two bedroom units, that wasn't what I stayed in. That was fine, since for the most part it was just me. My daughter stayed with me the first two nights until we moved her into her dorm room.
Entering the studio, the kitchen was on the right. There was a full-sized refrigerator as well as two-burner stove (no oven) and dishwasher. A microwave oven is above the two burners. There is a sink in here as well. in the cabinets are a set of plates, cups, and bowls. In the drawers are utensils and some kitchen utility items. A 4-cup coffee maker was on the counter and there was a basket with what was needed to make that, plus packets of creamer and sweetener, and a package of microwave popcorn. Each night we had the microwave popcorn, it was replaced the next morning.
Entering the main area, the fold-out couch was first. My daughter was fine sleeping on it, and it folded back up each day easily. There was an iron-framed coffee table that was a bit heavy to move out of the way and back each time we opened the bed, but it was fine. There was a desk with an office chair, but I spent most of my computer time at the table in the kitchen because that way I faced the television. If I sat at the desk, my back was to the television. The television was on a swivel stand, so you could move it depending on whether you were sitting on the couch or laying in bed. It wasn't conducive to someone in each place being able to watch television at the same time. There was a decent selection of channels, although no Sci-Fi Channel, and The Weather Channel came off of the satellite. This is a problem as there is no dedicated local forecast, something important if you are watching the storm tracks which is a frequent occurrence in Florida.
The queen-sized bed was quite comfortable. On either side was an end table and a lamp on the wall. There was a telephone on one nightstand and a clock radio with an alarm on the other. It was quite a comfortable place to curl up with a good book.
The sink was outside of the bathroom, something I really like and appreciate in a hotel room. There were bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion on the counter-top. I took these bottles and soaps each day to put in my daughter's emergency bag, and they were replaced with no issues. There was also a hair-dryer over here.
The closet had an ironing board in it and plenty of room to hang clothes. I set up my suitcase on a rack in here, although I moved my clothes out to the three drawers in the living room which the television sat on. The toilet and tub were behind a door. The tub was a really good size.
The service was really good. I was there for a week and there were no days that the service in my room wasn't terrific. One day I happened to be there when they came and I was impressed by how efficient they were.
AMENITIES
Florida weather worked against me. I was here for a week and never got to swim in the pool or use the jacuzzi. These are both outdoors. For the first three days it rained, filling up the pool completely and then some. I was impressed that after Fay left they had the pool back in swimming condition in less than 24 hours. However, it seemed that every afternoon after that when I came back to the hotel there was a thunderstorm. One day I spent 2 hours in my bathing suit waiting for the storm to pass before I gave up and went to bed. There's also a sports court out by the pool with a basketball hoop ready to use and a volleball net that can be set up.
The breakfast that they served was fine. There were hot items which changed each day. While I was there I saw eggs with peppers, onions, and ham, scrambled eggs, egg and cheese omlets, French toast sticks, sausage, bacon, and potatoes. There is a Belgian waffle maker out every morning for people to make their own waffles. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more fruit available. All that was out were halved oranges and grapefruit, this being Florida. I really like the cut fruit salad. There were three different kinds of dry cereal available, plus oatmeal. What there wasn't a lot of were bread items and bakery items. That was fine for me as I was staying away from those things.
Monday through Thursday evenings was a manager's reception with drinks and food. There was beer and wine available. The one night I was around for it, there were soft taco shells, chicken meat, refried beans, and salsa available. My daughter made herself a chicken salad with the salad items out and some of the chicken. It wasn't a "real" meal but for most people it would be plenty to fill them for the night.
MY EXPERIENCE
The staff was excellent for the most part. Chris at the front desk was there almost every afternoon and did a terrific job talking to people and being pleasant. My only complaint came one of the nights during the storm. Our room was all the way at the back of the hotel, far from the front desk. Every time the wind blew, one of the cars parked back there had the alarm going off, which was all the time. I was away from about 2 in the morning, and after an hour I called down to the desk, mainly to be sure they knew about it. I've had plenty of times when people have come down the next morning to complain about noise that they were sure someone else called to complain about, and we hadn't ever heard anything about it. I wanted to make sure they knew what was going on. Well, I have to say I was a bit disappointed by their response to this alarm going off and when the night clerk offered me a comp for the night I took it. I saw which car it was and when I checked the next morning, there was a sticker on it for a rental car company along with their phone number. If it were me, I would have called the company and told them to get over here and do something about it or I would have the vehicle towed. I know at the Disney Resorts, they tow cars like this to the back lot at EPCOT.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Other than that one disturbance, my stay was fine. Everything was pleasant and I was more than pleased with my stay. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. It was very convenient to everything in the area. There was plenty of shopping and dining options available. Even getting to Disney World wasn't terribly hard. It made a great base to send my daughter off to college and be close enough for a few days if she needed anything until she was settled in. The staff was excellent for the most part and very friendly.
© 2008 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
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AliventiAsylum
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
Reviews written: 1849
Trusted by: 658 members
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God protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise
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