Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Lake Buena Vista by IHG — Hotel in Dr. Phillips

I stayed alone at the Holiday Inn Resort Lake Buena Vista in November 2024 for a total of 16 nights for a holiday from the UK booked through Virgin Holidays. Overall it was a great stay and I would stay again without question and have already recommended the hotel to others.

My more negative comments are only meant to help the hotel improve further and assist other guests so they can be prepared.

Advantages

• Friendly staff and always a speedy response at the reception desk

• Large room which was very clean on arrival

• Comfortable spacious room – furniture dated but in good condition

• Room was quiet overlooking the car park - although the air conditioning unit was a bit noisy.

• Super comfy beds and pillows – had the best nights sleep I have had in years

• Great location

• The on site Applebees Restaurant is good but the menu choices are a bit limiting for a long stay – lots of alternative restaurants nearby many in walking distance but footpaths can be a bit dark at night.

• Requests were speedily dealt with – such as a replacement hairdryer

• WiFi was excellent

• Nice large closet and chest of drawers

• Was nice to have a refrigerator with a small ice box so I could take cold water with me to the parks. Disney charge $6 a bottle but I got a pack of 24 bottles from 7Eleven for $7.99

• Charging points in the base of the table lamp on the desk were very useful

Disadvantages

• I didn’t get allocated the room I requested and had been confirmed in advance. I asked for a King Size Accessible room on an upper floor, with a sofa so that I had somewhere comfortable to sit, close to a guest laundry, with a balcony as I spend more time than average in my room. I was actually given a Ground Floor accessible room with 2 Queen Beds, no sofa or terrace/balcony, which was nowhere near a guest laundry. Given my disabilities this was difficult for me.

• The bed height is a little too high as I am quite short.

• The Accessible Bathroom is not ADA compliant – I was unable to reach the shower controls from the seat, and unable to get wet if using the seat! There was plenty of hot water but sometimes it took a long time to run through, so I had to leave the shower running before I got in. The shower pressure could be a bit stronger.

• Overall the room needs a lot more lighting – I am partially sighted and found the room to be rather dark even with all the lights on. There particularly needs to be a light in the closet – I had to use a torch to be able to see even in the daytime! The room would also benefit from having a night light as the room is pitch black at night if you need to get up to use the bathroom.

• The microwave was a useful extra for most guests to have especially as so many meals in the USA are so big it means you have leftovers; however, travelling alone I was unable to reach it to use it! There also needs to be some low level food storage area – the space provided above the microwave was even less accessible than the microwave.

• There needs to be an electric kettle in the room not just a coffee machine or an indication that one could be requested if needed.

• Housekeeping was a bit hit and miss – some days the trash wasn’t emptied, or towels were taken but not replenished. One day cleaning products were left behind on my bedside table which could have been a safety problem if a young child was in the room. I would also have appreciated the room being vacuumed at least once during my 16 day stay.

• Shuttle Bus –it is great that it runs to Disney 3 times a day. Unfortunately, the bus was invariably very full when it arrived (standing room only) as it stops at other hotels as well. I booked to use this service every day during my stay but on one occasion the ramp wasn’t working for my mobility scooter, and often a lot of the other passengers had to disembark so my mobility scooter could be loaded before they could then reboard which I found embarrassing. One driver didn’t secure my scooter down and made me travel facing backwards so I felt a bit unsafe. In the end I gave up using the shuttle and used Lyft/Uber instead, which obviously was an extra expense I wasn’t expecting. One of the bus drivers Larry as others have said is quite a character 

• There needs to be more coat hangers for those on an extended stay – I only had 6 in a huge closet

• The room curtains were for display purposes only – you had to use the blackout blinds and net curtains which was a bit odd, and difficult for me to see.

• There were no obvious plug points or place to use to re charge my mobility scooter in the room, which seems very strange for an accessible room. In the end I had to plug it in behind the chest of drawers and TV.

• The guest laundry’s have recently been refitted with new machines which is great, but they cost $3.50 for each machine load (washer and dryer), which is almost double the cost of other hotels I have stayed at

• The fire alarm going off one evening was interesting as there were no instructions in my room about what I should do or where I should go. I evacuated to the parking area with some other guests but no staff member checked on us or told us when we could re enter the building.

Other Information

The on site shop is currently closed for refurbishment but there is a 7Eleven next door and a Walgreens over the road.

I did not use the hotel pool area or bar so can’t comment on that but it is open till 11pm at night and was well used even during the cold snap we had while I was there.

There was an A4 printed programme available of the weeks scheduled activities but again I was unable to read it as it was not...

This hotel is in an excellent location and minutes away from Disney, Disney Springs, Premium Outlet mall and a little further away, Universal Studios. Access to the hotel is great as there is a light controlled left turn to get into the hotel parking lot and close enough to the freeway for access but far enough away that noise is not overly intrusive. The hotel features a large central outdoor pool and with the all-important beverage bar, an attached restaurant for breakfast and a few other amenities that you would expect from a large resort style hotel. There is ample parking that requires a room card for access - it won't stop thieves but ensures that when you get back from a long day at the park that there is a parking spot for you.

We stayed during the spring break week and the check-in queue was quite long but the front desk staff were super efficient. Kathy Smith checked us in and was amazing. She apologized for the longer wait time, acknowledged our IHG status and was super knowledgeable about the hotel and the area. She gave us clear instructions on how to park and get to our room. She did everything to make sure we could get settled in quickly and answered all of our questions. She did all of this with a smile and I'm sure was a long day checking in many people and lots of school sports teams (there were several buses in the parking lot).

Our room was spacious and clean. However, the decor was a little dated. We had a room that opened out into the outdoor hallway facing the parking lot (as opposed to the pool). This was a good thing because it was a bit quieter with all of the families, kids and sports teams at the hotel that week. My bed while comfortable made some weird sounds when climbing in and out of it. Overall the rooms could be updated. Also the sound insulation could be improved as we could hear our neighbours talking. We had a tub with shower in our room which is ok but we prefer a shower with glass door as opposed to tub and shower curtain (Who takes baths in a hotel these days?) Overall as good as can be expected for a hotel of this relative age.

While we were there, the elevator in our wing of the hotel was not working so it was a bit of a walk to get to our room from the set of working elevators. Thank goodness for Kathy's map and detailed instructions! The working elevators were slow and old and we felt sometimes that it wasn't moving but the doors didn't open! We did not get stuck but it sure felt like it the first night. Fortunately, the stairs were nearby our room and opened right to our parking area.

Overall the stay was good but not exceptional for these reasons. Aside from the lobby, the hotel could use an update. In particular, the elevators definitely should be on the list for immediate replacement. Hopefully that is what they are doing.

In summary, great service, great location, good amenities/pool but could use some updates.

Will definitely check it out again next time we are in the area and hopefully it will get some...

I've stayed at this property for 50+ nights the past 3 years and have always found it to be like a 2nd home.

The resort staff is the primary reason I come back especially those who work at the front desk. I've always had a pleasant interaction with everyone. I would also like to spotlight Elaine who works the night shift. Not only is she very knowledgeable about the area attractions but she is great interacting with guests and remembering frequent ones such as myself and their preferences/plans.

The location is another one. Disney World is a 10 minute drive away but there are many restaurants and convenience stores are within walking distance. There's a shuttle that takes you to the parks; most of the time it drops you off at Epcot and you need to use Disney transportation to get to the other parks. But this resort also has a direct shuttle to/from Universal and SeaWorld as well, no other resort/hotel I know of in the area provides their guests a complimentary way of going to those parks.

The resort recently added an arcade which has a wide variety of entertainment options. Don't use it but the pool is located at the center of the resort so you're not a far walk from your room. There are also multiple entrances around the perimeter of the resort so if you are parking a vehicle you are a very short walk away. Also plenty of elevators at each section of the resort.

Rooms are probably due for a makeover but I personally never had a problem with them. Always found them clean, there's lots of space and are equipped with a refrigerator and microwave. When housekeeping comes they knock early in the morning (like 8 am) on check out day so have the door sign on if you don't want to be woken up.

I've eaten at the Applebee's on-site a few times it's open until midnight during the week and later on the weekends if you are coming back late from the parks and need something late night. There's a store now at the front desk as well as vending machines on the 1st floor of the rooms.

Be prepared to wait a few minutes to turn onto State Road 535 during rush hour because it can get very busy but it's also a short drive to get back onto I-4 in either direction. About a 20-25 minute drive (using the toll road) in normal traffic conditions to Orlando International Airport.

This is a property I recommend if you want to spend on other parts of your vacation while still being close to...