Nothing is free! (Hotels In Orlando Fl)

As a traveler and ex Orlando area hotel employee all I can tell you is nothing is free; I previously worked at a Loews Hotel, I also worked for a Hilton close to Sea World and all I can say is that nothing is free!

I know it鈥檚 your vacation and most likely you have been saving for your vacation for years, so I鈥檓 sure that you鈥檙e not trying to spend all your money on extra things that maybe are not necessary, you鈥檙e goal is most likely to enjoy your vacation not to go bankrupt while on vacation. Don鈥檛 expect that because you just spent $300.00 a night on your hotel room everything else is free its not. My advice is to get as much information of the hotel or resort you will be staying at before you book, if your vacation isn鈥檛 next month and its in 2010 and its not even 2008 yet, you should wait, and shop around there are many different great hotels in this area so just because you like how the pool looks at that specific hotel, It doesn鈥檛 mean that that is what is right for you, if you have decided that that is the resort you MUST stay at or you will die, don鈥檛 make the reservations online call the hotel and speak to someone who is there they can give you the scoop on what its really like, the amenities the hotel offers and other services and fees that may not be mentioned online. Your goal is to enjoy your vacation isn鈥檛 it? I just want to offer you some advice to save some money on your vacation to Orlando or any large tourist destination.

Transportation:

Some (understand the word some) hotels offer free transportation to the theme parks i.e. Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens etc. some don%26#39;t which is most hotels, the most they charge is $15.00 a day per person which means that if you have a 7 day park hopper pass for 3 people transportation will cost you $315.00 + tax, and in that case you will be better off renting a car for much less. You also have other options for transportation as in the Lynx bus system and the I-Ride (I-Drive Trolley) for no more than $2.00 each time you use it, and you also can get a 7-day pass for about $7.00 online. My recommendations, no matter what Hotel or Resort you go to you MUST call and find out what type of transportation they offer if they offer any.

If you decide to rent a car which to my opinion is probably is the best option, you should call the hotel and find out if there is a charge for parking, some do some don%26#39;t depends where you stay.

Rooming, amenities, fees and taxes:

From my experience as a front desk agent there are many hotels in this area DO NOT offer things like fridges or Microwaves in the rooms and if they do have refrigerators or microwaves they usually charge a fee that averages $12.00 per night (+ TAX!). If you have more people in the room than what you fist announced and need a rollaway bed some hotels have it for free and some hotels charge an average of $25.00 more a night per rollaway up to 2 rollways. There is many many hotels in the attractions area that charge something called a ';resort fee'; this is to cover some ';unknown unseen amenities'; that you most likely will not use, this fee is different from hotel to hotel but is about $10.00 a day + TAX!.

All Items bought or services received at a hotel are taxable, so if you go to the spa you will pay for whatever service you received +tax and in the price you paid for your service sometimes they add a %20 for gratuity and if you don%26#39;t look at the receipt, you might tip them twice!

Few large hotels in the greater Orlando area offer free internet access, by internet access I am not referring to wireless internet, I am referring to a desktop pc with a printer. Larger hotels have Business Centers and THE BUSINESS CENTERS ARE NOT FREE!!!!!!!!!

They charge for renting the computer average $.50-$.75 per minute and there is a charge for printing averages $1.00-1.50 per page, there is a charge for faxing usually $2.00 per page and there is a charge for making copies usually $.25 per page in b/w in color its usually $0.75 per page. About the wireless internet, if you stay at a smaller hotel or motel the wireless internet is free but at the larger hotels wireless internet is about $10.00 a day + tax.

Housekeeping

Remember that Orlando is probably the Time share capital and there are a lot of Hotels that are time shares too, there you will be treated like an owner even if you鈥檙e just a hotel guest , so that means that you may get charged for house keeping up to $35.00 depending on the size of your unit or room, there may be a charge for extra sheets pillows or blankets.

Dinning

Many Hotels offer meal deals is they have restaurants on-site, some offer free continental breakfast which consist of Danish, donuts, cereal etc. and if you鈥檙e lucky some hotels offer buffet breakfast for free which usually consist of eggs, bacon, pasty, etc.

My opinion

If I were a tourist coming to Orlando, I would rent a car, and I would stay in a time share hotel there units are much larger up to 3 bedrooms and much more comfortable, if my hotel did not have a restaurant on site and we had to eat, I would search online for local restaurants that are budget friendly. If you have a laptop at home make sure you bring it with you, I rater pay $10.00 for 24 hrs of internet access versus paying $0.75 a minute for internet.

Nothing is free! (Hotels In Orlando Fl)

These are all things I do-

so does that make me an ex-hotel employee ;-)

Anyway, all reasonable advice, if a bit longwinded.

Nothing is free! (Hotels In Orlando Fl)

No it does not make you an ex employee, this is just a piece of advice and just because you do it doesnt mean other people know these things...

Don%26#39;t get so huffy,

I%26#39;m doing my best to educate the masses too.

Thanks for all the helpful tips Lyramine...can never have to much help from locals/insiders.

Excelent post.Advise from an insider is always welcome and NEVER too long winded.Thank you for taking the time.Please stick around and continue to post based on a perspective that few of us have.