AS v/s HIFS

[supercarrie]

My family (mom, dad, sister (8) and I (15)) are debating between staying at the All Stars or the HIFS in January. The All Stars are $77 a night, while the HIFS is $112 a night. It is $210 cheaper to stay at the All Stars, maybe even more with a discount, and we are on a very tight budget. Where would you rather stay?

 

[DebraK]

Hi, We too had to decide between HIFS and All Stars. MY kids are 9 and 12 and we thought the kids themed hotel seemed a bit for the prechool and elem. school age kids.So we
decided to book All Star movies in Jan. We used our AAA card and got it for $61 pretax.$68.99 with tax. My husband and I stayed at All Star Sports 3 years ago and he loved the Diseny bus
to take us to the parks each day. It was very handy. I called HIFS and got a $109 rate for the
same week in Jan. For us the difference in price was great enough for us to go with All Stars.
Hope this was of help. Have a fun trip!! Debbie-Indiana

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad says....................................... Keep trying for AllStars. They had a $59 rate but I think it runs out at the end of the year. See if you can get AAA rate, if you don't belong, join. The money you save on this trip will at least pay for your membership, and you can always cancel at the end of the year. If you really want to save and are SURE of your dates, I hate to say this, but you can get Courtyard by Marriot for $29.00 a night, Sunday to Thursday. And since they are at Hotel Plaza, you still get early entry and are eligible for E nights. I always say stay on site, but we are doing 6 nights at Courtyard because this deal is to good to pass up. I would feel like a sell out but we are useing the savings to help pay for four days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a savannah view!!! Our first attempt at a deluxe resort!

 

[tink2dw]

It all depends on what your family whats? We stayed at both HIFS and All Stars Music.

At All Stars Sports you will get a regular motel room[like any other you have been in] with 2 queen bed,1 tv,about 6 drawers,a table with 2 chairs,there is no sign of character anything in these rooms,you may get 2 wall lights shaped as stars,that give off very glaring light. Your parents will have to pay for every meal.

At HIFS there are 3 sleep areas,the kidsuite with a curtain,the masterbedroom with a door[important if anyone snores]and the fold out sofa in the livingroom. Also,there is a large bathroom with 3 large storage shelves,hairdryer and a area in the end of the livingroom that has a table with 2 chairs,but there are nested end tables that serve as tv trays to eat at,a small refridgerator[collage size] and a microwave and sink.

Now the Really neat stuff,the Kidsuite has Themeing all kinds from Disney to Coka cola to Manitee's,a 25" tv,nintendo 64[games rent for $5.00 for 24 hours] a Cd player,Bunk beds,plus a trundle bed,a cubby shelf, 3 or 4 drawer,a small table and 2 chairs,and a bedtime story phone.

The masterbed room has a door,a 25" tv,a closet with a iron and ironing board,a dressing table with a hairdryer,computer hookup,phone and 2 side tables.

The livingroom has a chair that rocks,a fold out queen sofa bed,a 25" tv, a progamable safe,a phone,3 nested end tables

Plus in the lobby areas they have Family Kareoke[yup even kids] and Family Bingo[can win pizza] and there is a gameroom. And there are 2 swimming pools!!

Breakfast is FREE for everyone,kids 12 and under eat free with an Adult meal purchase at other meals. There is a Pizza Hut,A&W fast food,and a All you can eat dinner buffet.

And there is a shuttle to WDW. You are only 1 mile from the Epcot Rd gates on S R 536, but with a car you are just amile or two from Interational Drive and a Macdonalds,and cheap eats and on S R 535 at Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores with 2 discounted Disney Merchandise[I got Adult Disney Shirts for $4.99!!]

supercarrie, we loved HIFS!! We were very disappointed in the All Stars rooms. My Dd wants to only stay at a Kidsuite now. And she is 15 years old. She loved the privacy of the kidsuite she could go watch MTV or play nintendo 64 [she paid for the game from the money she had saved!!] and relax without sharing a tv!! and having her own space.

Click this link to go to the HIFS website to check it all out!!

http://www.hifamilysuites.com/index.html? and Mom or Dad should check out this link and join FREE to get lower rates to HIFS! [I saved $200. by watching here annd 3 weeks before we left my rate went down!!!]
http://www.sixcontinentshotels.com/holiday-inn?_template=res.html&_innCode=DISFS

Hey good luck! OH,and watch for a Nov to Feb discount at HIFS!!
http://www.sixcontinentshotels.com/holiday-inn?_template=promos.html

 

[MrsMud]

Supercarrie: When comparing prices, be sure to take into account that HIFS has free breakfast every day for all of you, and free lunch and dinner for your (under 12) sister. I don't think you could buy breakfast each day for 4, and lunch and/or dinner for your sister for less than $35 (your price difference). Bottom line, you probably would save very little if any money by staying at AllStars, so if that is your only consideration, I vote for HIFS!

 

[CDisney]

Also, check the corporate Holiday Inn site regularly for specials. The last couple of years, they've had a buy one night, get one night free special which would significantly cut your costs at HIFS.

 

[supercarrie]

Thanks everyone! You have convinced us! I think if we can get the $59 rate at the All Stars, we would go for that, but if we are going to have to pay rack rate ($77) we would be much better off going with the HIFS.

But about the $29 rate at the Courtyard...I thought it was only good through December 25? That is what the post at the top of the board says. In that case, it wouldn't work for us to stay there, as we are going Dec. 31-Jan 7.

 

[Rpsemont]

If budget is the rule, then I'd vote for All Stars. A couple other things to keep in mind. If you have a car, you save the parking fee at the parks if you're at All Stars. It's also important to consider how you spend your days there. My husband and I and DD (age 6) have gone for three years in a row in early February and even when we say we're going to take it easy, we end up leaving the hotel no later than 9Am and never get back before 9PM. The net, net is we never spend any time at the resort!

 

[ozarkbill]

What about disney transportation? Is HIFS on the "approved" list for disney transportation and Early Entry mornings? Anyone know?

 

[Robinrs]

ozarkbill,

The HIFS is not a Disney Resort so it does not participate in the Disney perks.

Supercarrie:

I will also be in Orlando Dec 31-Jan 7th. I stayed the same days last year at the HIFS and All Stars. This year I have the Dolphin and the Portofino Bay reserved. My son BEGGED to go back to the HIFS! It is such a kid magnet! He loved the bunk beds, having his own room, the Nintendo and the VCR. When we went this year Orlando was having a cold snap so we did spend alot of time at the room and what a pleasure to have our own space.

Right now the HIFS is offering the Buy One Get One night free deal from 11/15 to 2/28/02. This can REALLY change the deal. Check them out at http://www.sixcontinentshotels.com/holiday-inn?_template=night_free.html

Good luck!

 

[supercarrie]

Robinrs - THANKS so much for pointing this out! We could save a lot of money by booking this. My only question is, since we are staying for 7 nights, and the buy one get one free deal is only allowed for two nights (up to five nights free though) how do we make the reservations for all 7 nights? Do we make 4 seperate reservations, and then link them all together somehow? I don't know if every other night we would be willing to move to a new suite at the hotel lol. How would we accomplish this? Thanks!

 

[mareed]

If you call to make the reservation, they will actually make seperate reservations for each 2 days but will just give you a single confirmation number. If you book on-line, I think you'd have separate confirmation numbers. I did ask about having to switch rooms when I talked to them on the phone, and they said to just explain the situation when you checked in and they would make a note of it and you would not have to switch.

 

[leechie]

robinrs....... i've just been reading your thread and can't find the HIFI on the buy one get one free night???? it list other holiday inn hotels but not the HIFI. can you through some light on this one? thanks.

 

[Robinrs]

leechie:

The deal is only for certain Holiday Inns on certain nights. I checked for several nights and got a different group of HIs each time.

HIFI, do you mean the Holiday Inn Family Suites? It's possible they are not available on the nights you chose.


I got the same info as mareed. I was concerned about the booking only 2 days at a time on the website, so I called to make sure we would not be moved. I am staying at three different hotels as it is and don't want to be moved FOUR times! I got only one conf# for all four of my days.

 

[leechie]

YES. the holiday inn family suites. i'll try other dates.