32819 Travel Guide
Orlando Hotels / Theme Park Hotels / Family Hotels / Hard Rock Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Hotel Boats / → All Tags
Inside The Theme Park Rock Hotel
Here's why Hard Rock Orlando is a great home base for a visit to Universal Orlando: The vibe is "cool parents", at least that is what we liked to tell ourselves while we were on the grounds.
The giant pool, complete with sand and water slide is such a hit with kids it may be hard to drag them away from the pool and get them to the parks, so save the pool for an end of day activity.
Real rock music, not "Kid's Place Live", permeates the lobby and the common spaces, as it does at all Hard Rock's, however, as expected, this property is far more family friendly than some of the other Hard Rocks. Aside from the pool, kids will also be treated to magic tricks at dinner (Thursday nights) if you eat at Kitchen, the on site restaurant. Oh, and most important? Your room key serves as an express pass at the parks allowing you to avoid the lines -- sweet.
Econolodges / Orlando Hotels / Hotel Safety / Choice Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Having an 'Undercover Boss' Still Didn't Help the Econolodge in Orlando
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending but it doesn't change the fact that a 16-month old girl slipped and fell from the balcony of the Econolodge in Orlando, one of the biggest Econolodges in the world and also the same miserable property that got poor marks during the Undercover Boss episode back in September.
Miraculously, the toddler was saved by a British tourist who noticed the baby hanging from the fourth-floor railing and ran to catch her before she hit the ground. The girl hit a third-floor railing on the way down but didn't even suffer a bruise or scratch and was even described as happy afterward.
Hotel Bars / Orlando Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Peabody Hotels / → All Tags
Napa Comes To Orlando To Make Business Travel More Bearable
The next time the boss sends you to a convention in Orlando, just think: you're really going to Napa. Kind of. You can at least drink yourself into thinking so if you hit up the Peabody Orlando hotel's new Napa Valley-themed restaurant and bar called, um ... Napa.
You may be familiar with this hotel if you've ever set foot in the gargantuan Orange County Convention Center, right across the street. It's one of the few Forbes Four-Star, AAA Four Diamond hotels in Orlando, and it's about to unveil a $450 million expansion next Thursday.
We're thinking that this bar--and another new lounge at the hotel called Rocks--may just be the best thing to hit Orlando since Britney. (Who, incidentally, might like the hotel's new pool cabanas.)
Hotel Pools / Orlando Hotels / Loews Hotels / Universal Studios Hotels / → All Tags
A Tale of Two Pools at Loews Portofino Bay
Stay at a hotel in a city, and you've got very little chance of hopping into a pool. Stay in a hotel in a vacation destination in Florida however, and you not only are almost guaranteed a pool, but typically you've got your choice of pools.
This is the case at Universal Studios' Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, which sports both an "adult" pool and a "family pool." The latter is where we found all the action when we visited the hotel for a few days recently, and yet no one was at all interested in the quieter, more refined adult pool.
Hotel Boats / Hotel Transporation / Orlando Hotels / Universal Studios Hotels / Loews Hotels / → All Tags
Our New Obsessions: Hotels with Their Own Boats
Yea, we totally snapped this photo and the best moment between storm and sunset
You may arrive to your hotel by limo, taxi, subway or even helicopter, but nothing beats the romance of gliding up to a magnificent hotel by boat. Naturally, when you think of hotel boats, your thoughts first turn to Venice's gondolas and the Hotel Danieli or the tender out to the W Maldives, but we found something a little bit closer to home.
As part of the attempt to inject Universal Studios' Loews Portofino Bay Hotel with all the charms of Italy, the hotel boasts its own water taxi for direct transport over the Universal CityWalk area, which you don't need to have a ticket to the amusement park to enter. Okay okay, so the other two Universal Hotels—Loews Royal Pacific and The Hard Rock—also have this, but only the Portofino actually tries to make it look like you're off the Italian Riviera. Oh yea, and it's free.
Hotel Coffee / Universal Studios Hotels / Loews Hotels / Orlando Hotels / → All Tags
Emeril Lagasse Greets You in the Morning at Universal Orlando Resorts
While some hotels are all about flaunting their Top Chef winners (ah hem Affinia Chicago and Marcus Samuelsson of C-House), others stick with the already established names, like Wolfgang Puck or Emeril Lagasse. You'll find the latter dominating the in-room coffee trays of Universal Orlando's three resorts—Loews Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Studios Orlando, Loews Royal Pacific and Hard Rock Hotel—with Emeril-branded "Jazzed Up Decaf" and "Big Easy Bold" paired with a Keurig coffee machine.
Harry Potter Hotels / Universal Studios Hotels / The Wizarding World of Harry Potter / Orlando Hotels / Loews Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Skip the Lines at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter by Staying at a Universal Resort
Are we in Italy right now? Nope, but this hotel is pretty convincing in its Italian-ness, if only it could decide exactly what part of Italy it wants to be. We're talking about the Loews Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Studios Orlando, aka our base camp during the opening days of the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal's Islands of Adventure.
Although Steven Spielberg initially conceived of making this hotel in the spirit of the Italian Riviera town of Portofino after spending his honeymoon there, a wander around the grounds reveals that it's smushed a bit of Venice, a dash of Tuscany, a dollop of Sicily and a pinch of Naples together to form a complex that exudes more La Dolce Vita than actual hotels in Italy. And if you guessed that last night, the plaza was serenaded by an opera singer performing "O Sole Mio" from a terrace, then you'd be correct.
New Year's Eve 2009 / Homewood Suites / Orlando Hotels / → All Tags
Thaw Out from Orlando's Icebar NYE Party at Homewood Suites
Looking to say goodbye to the craptastic year that was 2009 and still in need of a hotel room somewhere? We've already told you where to book in Miami, New York and the important timezones but we'll be hitting up more cities today for New Year's Eve. Did we miss a city? Want a better deal? Let us know and we'll help you out.
There's no contest on where to go for Orlando's coolest New Year's Eve party. Made of more than 50 tons of ice, Icebar Orlando is decorated with ice sculptures and frozen thrones, where you can sip libations from ice glasses. There's actually only one section completely made of ice, but don't fret about freezing in your skimpy NYE dress; the bar lets you borrow a parka and gloves so you can enjoy your drink in the 27-degree frostiness.
For New Year's Eve, the bar will host the Ice Ball, which includes live entertainment, some vodka—which doesn't freeze—in the icy section of the bar, bubbly at midnight and a breakfast buffet at 1 a.m. for $75 or $150 per couple. If you can't shake the cold in the bar's regular-temperature section, the Fire Lounge, book a room at the Homewood Suites Orlando-International Drive/Convention Center.
Hotels Doing Good / Pink Hotels / Hard Rock Hotels / Hotel Concerts / Pinktober / The Bangles / → All Tags
The Bangles Burn 'An Eternal Flame' for Pinktober at The Hard Rock
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating, do you understand?
It's always good to see The Bangles are still out there performing their greatest hits from our pre-adolescence. It's even better to see The Bangles performing for such a good cause like Pinktober at the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando.
Pinktober is the Hard Rock's month-long breast cancer awareness program where guests can book special guestrooms that are outfitted with pink sheets (embroidered with little guitars) and pink bathrobes. Twenty-five percent of the room rate will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Hotel Openings / Orlando Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags
Hilton Confuses Us by Opening a New Hilton Orlando that's Not Bonnet Creek
While we wait for Hilton’s mammoth Bonnet Creek development to welcome its first guests Oct. 1, another new Hilton Orlando opened shop last week, which we had forgotten all about. Confusing! (Seriously, who opens two hotels with pretty much the same name, during a recession?)
This Hilton Orlando is the more “serious” property, with a covered open-air walkway to the Orange County Convention Center and a host of supersize features: 1,400 guest rooms (counting 53 suites), 175,000 square feet of meeting space, seven dining options, and rec amenities designed to help weary biz professionals wind down, including a resort pool, quiet pool, whirlpools, cabanas, lazy river, 15,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, jogging track, and basketball/tennis/volleyball/bocce ball courts.
Introductory rates for the Hilton Orlando Convention Center start at just $129, a significant difference from Bonnet Creek’s $179 intro rates. Maybe we can keep the two straight after all.
Hilton Hotels / Hotel Openings / Orlando Hotels / → All Tags
A Massive Hilton Is On Its Way to Orlando
The Hilton gang are obviously quite determined to push forward and open new hotels at the moment (let's not mention the D word that rhymes with, uh, Zenizen), and here comes another one: the Hilton Orlando is set for a grand opening on September 12.
This'll be a 1400-room Hilton targeting both vacationers and business travelers, with attractions like Sea World and Disney World nearby, and the Orange County Convention Center right next door. In fact, Hilton's particularly proud that theirs will be the "very first hotel" with a covered walkway leading to the convention center.
If you're there for fun, you'll probably want to make use of the two pools, "lazy river", and six restaurants on site. Business people can look out for the 24-hour business center, and WiFi and wired internet throughout the whole hotel complex.
Grand opening might be set for September 12, but they're taking bookings starting from September 1. Rooms are still available for that very first night, starting at $99 for a double ($119 if you add breakfast). If you want to upgrade to an executive floor, you'll need to add $40 to those rates.
Family-Friendly Hotels / Orlando Hotels / Themed Hotel Rooms / Loews Hotels / → All Tags
Loews Portofino Hotel Will Serve You Green Eggs and Ham
Didn't get a chance to celebrate what would have been Dr. Seuss' 105th Birthday last week? There's still a way to pay tribute to your favorite children's book author at the Loews Portofino Hotel in Orlando, Florida.
The hotel unveiled its Dr. Seuss Suites over the summer which come with a king bedroom for Mom and Pop and a kids' room with two twin beds and plenty of Dr. Seuss decor. And recently, the hotel used the suites to host a Read Across America event with children from a local elementary school (pictured above.)
Now the hotel has created a Dr. Seuss package which includes a three-night stay, a breakfast of green eggs and ham in Trattoria del Porto for two daily, a special children's welcome amenity, a set of four Dr. Seuss books, and a set of four mini Dr. Seuss themed plush characters plus a souvenir Cat in the Hat photo frame.
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