Holiday Inn International Drive Hotel Review

A sub-standard Holiday Inn complex conveniently located at the heart of International Drive. This hotel is popular amongst British holiday makers who want to be at the centre of the action.

Location

There are several Holiday Inn resorts in Orlando as well as Holiday Inn Express resorts. Behind Doubletree we could see a pleasant modern looking Holiday Inn Express, for example. The resort we chose to stay in was slap bang in the heart of International Drive. Wet 'n Wild was across the road (and up a bit - no more than 5 minutes walk), there was a supermarket literally across the road and there were restaurants, amusement parks and gift shops that lined both sides of the road, with the occasional hotel dotted in and amongst these.

Outside

Holiday Inn is distastefully decorated in green and blue and stands out like a sore thumb. Here's what we saw from our helicopter tour:

Naturally we started in the reception area. The outside decor was misleading it appeared as the lobby area looked very clean, tidy and modern. The check-in staff were helpful and we managed to check-in four hours earlier than advertised. Our booking included a buffet breakfast and whilst this didn't show on their computer, our paperwork clearly stated this. We were given a map of the resort, a key card, and buffet vouchers. We were located in the tower - room 7035 on floor 11.

Inside

The room had the basic amenities found in most hotels - beds (naturally), a TV, a coffee maker and mini-bar. The room felt old and dated, which wasn't a surprise given the outside of the tower. It was clean however.

The air conditioning unit (under the window) was noisy and spent most of the time gurgling. There was a notice on it to leave it switched on at all times but unless you are able to sleep through anything, you may need to switch it off at night. Remember to switch it back on in the morning as the heat outside is so hot it's nice to return back to an ice-cold room.m.

One negative aspect of the room itself were the flimsy adjoining doors which meant I heard exactly what our next door neighbours were watching, their laughter and their 3am poker game.

The other was the view. To the left of the window, we had I4, the interstate. The noise from this at times was bad (although it was muffled by the air conditioning unit) although bearable. In the distance we could see Universal Studios and the Doubletree hotel (fond memories!). To the right, we saw International Drive and the lake used by Wet 'n Wild.

Prison?

The worst view, however, was between entering the tower and entering our room. The view was reminiscent of a prison cell block. Netting between the floors was the only thing missing!

We were also greeted by one guest to "the hood" and told about last night's dispute amongst two families that led to the cops arriving.

Needless to say, we spent more time outside of the hotel than in. With the other hotels we lodged in, there were on-site and in-room facilities that meant we could happily spend time there. Holiday Inn on International Drive made us want to get out and stay out, which was disappointing.

Benidorm?

We suspected that ITV's Benidorm programme was actually filmed in Orlando. No stronger was this sense than around the crowded pool area where we spotted "Mel" (or a very good lookalike).

Terrible Buffet Breakfast

The buffet breakfast is around $10 a head which is poor value considering Ponderosa is just across the road and does buffet breakfast for less than half of this.

It was cold despite us being one of the first to eat their in the morning and I did spot a few flies crawling over some of the food which was off-putting.

We were allocated a waitress who we never saw. She did absolutely nothing for us whatsoever.

We asked where we handed in our buffet vouchers and were told that service wasn't included in the voucher. We were told to leave a few dollars on the table along with our vouchers for our waitress. Besides not bringing any money (free buffet breakfast means exactly that to me), we were astounded that we were "told" to leave money for someone who didn't do anything whatsoever.

This bothered us and somewhat ruined the holiday. This was the first time we had been treated poorly by restaurant staff although unsurprisingly this was at the worst hotel we had stayed in.

Our Review

This hotel is located centrally on International Drive. If you want to have everything at your doorstep, this could be your ideal hotel. If you are taking a family break and would prefer to be in a place popular amongst other Brits, this is for you.

If you are the type of person who goes on holiday for the sun but still likes the creature comforts of British food, there was a restaurant across the road serving British-only food.

If you prefer a more modern hotel, you could do better. Ramada was across the road and looked more inviting than Holiday Inn.

To us this hotel was sub-standard and has negatively affected the way we look at Holiday Inn. We would be very unlikely to stay in one again.

Summary

• Prison block look and feel
• Noisy due to roads, adjoining room doors and air conditioning unit
• Located 5 minutes walk from Wet 'n Wild
• Central location on International Drive
• Busy small pool area
• Deceptively posh looking reception area
• Expensive gift shop onsite (go across the road for cheaper gifts and a supermarket)
• Poor quality restaurant with rude staff and terrible, expensive food (go across the road for much better meals at cheaper prices)
• Ideal for families looking for the bare minimum standards or those looking for a holiday in a hotel popular with Brits

Click here for booking information.

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