Quality Inn International, Orlando

...was booked.

Quality Inn International sits almost plum in the middle of International Drive, just past the crossroads at Sand Lake Road. If you've seen the world's largest McDonalds (and how could you miss it?) then you've seen the Quality Inn, which is right next to it.

* Checking in *

After an eight hour flight, the last thing I needed was a lengthy check in but I only had to give my name at Registration ...
...a free buffet dinner. Already Quality Inn was racking up some points with me!

* The room *

As we entered, there were two large double beds in a spacious, air conditioned room. The bathroom was tiddly - just a bath/shower and a toilet and all very, ahem, compact. The sink was outside, along with a hairdryer on the wall, a safe, coffee maker and a microwave (so near the sink - a good idea?!). There was also a fridge which ... more

Mack was on the lookout for a holiday in September, and just by pure luck she saw an ad in one of the Sunday papers for half price holidays with Virgin. With frantic text and phone calls to her travel buddy, within the hour a 10 day trip to Orlando was booked.

Quality Inn International sits almost plum in the middle of International Drive, just past the crossroads at Sand Lake Road. If you've seen the world's largest McDonalds (and how could you miss it?) then you've seen the Quality Inn, which is right next to it.

* Checking in *

After an eight hour flight, the last thing I needed was a lengthy check in but I only had to give my name at Registration and the lady had everything ready for us, including two key cards. She also gave my friend and I some little 'extras' including a voucher for a free drink at the bar, two free buffet breakfasts *and* a free buffet dinner. Already Quality Inn was racking up some points with me!

* The room *

As we entered, there were two large double beds in a spacious, air conditioned room. The bathroom was tiddly - just a bath/shower and a toilet and all very, ahem, compact. The sink was outside, along with a hairdryer on the wall, a safe, coffee maker and a microwave (so near the sink - a good idea?!). There was also a fridge which was most handy for cold drinks which were much needed as the weather topped 90 degrees most days.

There's a phone and alarm clock by the bed and also internet access which buzzed for no apparent reason.

There was no wardrobe, only a pole which hung near the sink. When sharing the hangers, my friend and I only had three each. Pretty measley *and* they were attached so that you couldn't nick 'em. Snigger - who'd want to? Anyway most definitely one star off for that - I had about 5 things hanging on each hanger before I gave up and folded the rest in my (broken) drawer. Ahh .. didn't I mention that? The runner was bust and the drawer didn't push in properly. However there were 4 drawers so more than ample space for li'l ole me.

Another niggle was the outlook. The rooms are set out in three separate blocks. They don't look too fetching, very plain from the outside but nice enough inside. We were on the second, and top, floor. All the rooms have net curtains which is just as well as we kept ours drawn most of the time. This did keep the room in darkness for most of the time though. As we had the end room and were near the stairs, people just lurve to have a gawp in if they see someone in their room, as it looks out onto the walkway. We were even lucky enough to have some jokers knock on our door in the middle of the night but it was our first night and fortunately we were too tired to go and tell them to go away. It didn't happen again.

* Bathroom *

As mentioned, it was pretty small and the shower head was also rather low for me. I'm tall, but not exactly a giant, and I couldn't stand under it as it came halfway down the wall. The towels were changed regularly and the lotions/soaps etc topped up daily.

* Restaurants *

As mentioned, our 'free' meals were just that and not too bad at all. Located in the Apothecary Restaurant, the buffet wasn't as extensive as some of the other 'all you can eat' jobs but there was still a choice of bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit and bagels for breakfast (coffee and fruit juice were included making it even better value!) and things like chicken and beef, cheese ravioli and salad for dinner. Kids also had a good choice of chicken nuggets, cakes and ice cream. How rather healthy! I did also note that when not having a free buffet, kids eat free (11 years and under) with 2 paying adults.

Hours were 6.30-10.30am for breakfast.
5.30-9pm for dinner.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to claim our free drink in the Topsy Turvey lounge but it's worth a look as we had our welcome meeting in there the first day and it's rather unusual in that the tables and chairs are on the ceiling! Luckily there were some on the floor for us to use too …! Happy hour is from 5-7pm and there's a juke box, pool tables and a big TV screen. It was quite popular at night, you can sit outside and it was always packed when we walked by.

Snacks like sandwiches, coffee and pizza are available in the Garden Café which is open from 6am 'til midnight. I can vouch for the hot choccie in there as we had a very early morning start to get to Kennedy Space Centre and we grabbed one on the way out as we didn't have time to have breakfast.

* The lobby *

There are guest services on the left - this is where guests can book the free shuttle to Universal, Wet 'n' Wild or Seaworld. We used this on our last day and it wasn't a problem. Don't expect a limo to turn up, it's a rickety old bus and we had to stand all the way! Guest services give you free coupons for discount attractions and is very helpful if you want maps/directions or just some ideas about where to go and what to see.

On our last day we left our luggage as we had an evening flight and had to be out of the room by 11am. We checked out and left the cases with the lady at the Business Center who gave us tickets which we needed to claim the bags back.

All the restaurants are in the lobby and everything is in a small space, including the gift shop. There are also 4 email terminals which cost $5 for 15 mins, 3 pay phones and an ATM so you won't need to search to get cash out!

* Outside *

The grounds are beautifully kept, there's a fountain and two outside swimming pools surrounded by gates.

There is 24 hour security and the men were always around in the car park. Free parking is available although we didn't have a car. The I-Tram stops outside the hotel and is very easy to use, costing $1 one way. As this is a Flagship Hotel for Virgin a rep comes in daily. Quality Inn is a 'pick up' hotel - ie guests from other hotels will come here and leave their car for the day and be picked up by coach for their excursion.

* Overall *

This wasn't the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in, but I'm lucky to have been to some excellent locations and accommodation over the years and consider myself to be a bit fussy. Quality Inn International was comfortable and near all the attractions. The location is a big plus, and we were more than pleased with our free meals as you can plan them around your itinerary.

I think it would be a great hotel for friends, couples and families alike as there is something for everyone around here and a lot of the restaurants can be walked to.

This is a large hotel, with around 728 double rooms, yet the staff remain helpful and friendly at all times. Despite a couple of niggles with the wardrobe space, I'm still going to give it four stars. I had no trouble sleeping and the place was fairly quiet. All in all I couldn't really ask for more - apart from some more hangers, of course!

Recommended.

* Other info *

7600 International Drive
Orlando
Florida 32819

Check in: 3pm
Check out: 11am

Caters for customers with disabilities (roll in showers, apparatus for hearing, vision or physically impaired guests).

Airport approx 20 mins drive away
Wet 'n' Wild 10 mins walk away
Seaworld and Universal both 3 miles away (hotel provides free shuttles there and back but you must book in advance in the hotel lobby).

Restaurants nearby: Denny's next door, IHOP opposite for the pancake cravings and Big Mac(k) recommended for midnight hunger pangs - just sneak out the back door to McDonald!

Walgreens drug store 5 minutes walk away. It sells Krispy Kreme donuts - say no more.

Our holiday cost £349 for 7 days which was half the brochure price. We added on an extra 3 nights at approximately £20 extra per night. Obviously the price of the hotel is dependent on which month you travel but I did notice that when we were there in September the local rates were $50 for the first night followed by $40 for every night after.

Hope that's covered everything! Thanks for reading. 

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