International Plaza Resort and Spa - Page 2

So you see this great picture of the hotel, right? There is a wonderful part of the hotel for full priced guests and beautiful grounds, and then when you see where your room is, the old portion, you realize that you have just rented the red-headed step sister. There were holes in the walls where pictures were ripped down. A piece of old sucked on candy was stuck on the bedside table. the curtains were worn and old. It was a bad deal for sure. These are the rooms that you will get with "deals" so don't be fooled.

A coworker and I recently traveled to Orlando, FL on business and chose to stay at International Plaza Resort and Spa. Before booking this hotel we read numerous bad reviews and were hesitant about making a reservation here, but decided to give it a shot after seeing a response on a review site from the hotel's Director of Sales. The fact that he took time to respond to reviews showed us that he cared about the success of his hotel and that they were working on fixing the problems brought up in some of the earlier reviews.

Upon arriving at International Plaza we were very impressed with the hotel lobby. It had so much character and was nicely furnished. We went up to the counter and were greeted by Anna, who was very professional and courteous. We checked in at 10:00 am on Monday morning, (much earlier than the check-in time of most hotels) and were expected to be told that there were no rooms ready and that we'd have to wait until the afternoon, but Anna smiled and handed us a key to one of the tower rooms. The bellhop was also readily available to assist us with getting our bags to our room, which admittedly was a short walk away from the front desk.

When we arrived at our room we were hesitant to open the door due to some of the poor reviews we had read. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we entered the room and found a well-decorated room with two queen beds (each with 4 pillows), a nice desk, and a mini refrigerator. The beds were very comfortable and we got a great night of sleep every night we were there.

After checking in we took a quick stroll around the property and were very pleased. There were three beautiful pools amidst lots of gardens. The main pool was where we spent our free time (thanks to the convenience of having the pool bar there), but the two other pools were inviting as well. They were more intimate and quiet than the main pool, allowing someone to get away from it all and enjoy a good book or a quiet nap. There were fountains with chairs setup around them that provided a wonderful setting for small group gatherings. There were two oversized hammocks placed in a shady lawn that called my name several times (though I didn't have enough free time to enjoy them unfortunately). We also saw the "motel type" lodging that surrounds the tower, and though we didn't see the inside, they looked quaint and not at all like how they were described in earlier reviews.

The fitness center was pretty nice with a good mix of cardio and weight exercise options. I took morning walks around the property and enjoyed the many beautiful flowers and birds that I came across. The spa had a lot of nice amenities as well, such as facials, massages, manicures and pedicures. Again, I didn't have enough free time to enjoy these services but I would have loved to take advantage of them.

We only ate in the restaurant one time, but they happily made substitutions to my meal (I wanted a grilled fish sandwich which was not on the menu). I got the best blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich I've ever had! The server was very friendly and chatted with us about our stay and seemed genuinely happy. We did partake in beverages from the pool bar throughout our stay and the Bloody Mary was as good as I make at home (complete with celery salt, worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and olives)- not the typical watered down bland Bloody Mary that one typically gets from a hotel bar. The only downside is that two days in a row the housekeeping staff failed to leave coffee in our room. We called the front desk though and they gladly sent us up replacement coffee packs and apologized for the inconvenience.

We stopped at the concierge desk because we had a little free time and they were also very friendly. They told us of several options and even gave us discount passes to some of the local attractions. We ended up going to Universal City Walk and had a wonderful time.

When we checked out we were impressed with the genuine concern for our stay exemplified by the representative (Julio) when he asked about our stay. We were very sad to leave because we had thoroughly enjoyed our visit and both of us agreed that this is definitely the place to stay when traveling to Orlando. The hotel was close to most of the attractions, though a car is still required for ultimate flexibility, (however, the I Ride Trolley stops right out front of the hotel and is pretty convenient for those without their own transportation). I definitely plan on returning to the International Plaza Resort and Spa again, although I hope to bring my family along next time and to enjoy some of the spa amenities that are offered.

I give International Resort and Spa "two-thumbs up" for its hospitality, uniqueness, furnishings, features and amenities and I strongly encourage you to book your Orlando stay at this hotel.

Not good, hotel didn't have the right checking information despite me ringing up the day before we went to confirm. Room was filthy when we arrived, got moved to a different one and everything was greasy and clammy. Asked to be moved again and was told no more spaces, due to circumstances couldn't afford to move hotels otherwise I would of. Maids were rude and didn't understand a word of english so trying to ask them to come back later took forever. Receptionists were condescending and patronising.

Not near anything. One restaurant with poor food. Rooms don't even mention checkout time much less provide a room service menu. No shampoo. Tattered furniture. Internet constantly down and can't be more than 2400 baud when up. Dial-up is better, but you get charged $1 after 7 rings whether you connect or not.

I'll never stay here again.

After reading all of the horrible reviews and the plea from the hotel's sales manager we went to this hotel fearing the worst (and carrying the phone number of the sales manager just in case). I told my wife that we would give the place a chance, ask for a tower room as soon as we checked in and, in the worst case, ask for a refund and go home 2 days early. We pulled into the hotel and asked for a tower room but the desk clerk said that the tower was full and gave us a room in building 5 right near the pool. We decided to check it out before we took anything out of the car and went in, cell phone in hand, ready to call and complain. Well, there was no mold. There were no ants crawling all over the place. There was no musty odor. What we saw was a king-sized bed with 6 pillows on it, a small couch (not sure if it opened up into a sleeper, there were only the 2 of us), a refrigerator, a safe in the closet and a moderately sized bathroom. Not scary in the least and the bed turned out to be very comfortable. It looked as if the room had been recently refurbished. Housekeeping had left a generous assortment of towels, fancy soaps and other toiletries. It was far more than we expected and better than other hotels of the same rating we had stayed in while visiting Orlando. The pool was heated, the spa gave out plenty of bubbles and was hot enough to be barely tolerable for me. At night the palm trees were lit up with christmas-type lights going up the trunks. It was really a lovely place and we wouldn't hesitate to go back there. I even left a message for the sales manager telling him that I had shown up looking to go to war with him and ended up very satisfied.

Some other reviewers have said that the location isn't very good. That depends if you have a car or not. I would hate to have to depend on the buses or shuttles to get around but if you have a car it's actually a lot more convenient than it looks. You have easy access to the hotel from exit 72 off of I-4 and that same expressway that gets you to the hotel will also get you to Universal Drive if you go up 1 more exit. Universal Drive parallels International Drive so you can go all the way up to Universal Studios without putting up with the I-Drive traffic problems. If you want to go to Disney instead you can get right back onto I-4 in a minute or take a right on International Drive and end up at 535 which goes to either Lake Buena Vista and Downtown Disney or Irlo Bronson Highway (192), depending on which way you turn. We had no problems whatsoever getting around but we (1) had a car, and (2) had been to Orlando enough times to know our way around fairly well.

All in all I gave this place an 8. I'm sure the tower would have been better but our room was fine and we had access to the same resort facilities the tower folks had at 1/3 the price.

Greetings future guests of the International Plaza Resort and Spa. This hotel takes these reviews very seriously and efforts are well underway to target and cure reasons for these issues. It is important to understand that we take each and every complaint we receive very seriously and our guest satisfaction is our top priority.

Our property has never looked better and our future is very bright. Our transformation is well underway and we welcome you to come experience our beautiful property. Please contact me directly, as I would love to share with you the current state of our property and our future vision.

Thank you for considering and we look forward to you being our guests.

Bryan Bruce

Director of Sales

International Plaza Resort

407-354-5026

Bryan.Bruce@intlplazaresort.com

www.intlplazaresort.com

below is the note i sent to the hotel:

PS: this hotel is not located near ANYTHING. stay much father down international drive so you can be near restaurants and attractions.

Hello

Now that it has been a few days and I am home and in my right mind I wanted to write you about my experience with your hotel.

We booked rooms with a large group from Massachusetts. My first impression was that it looked like an old motel. After checking in I noticed the room had a horrid smell. My 8 year old wanted to stay because this was where her friends where, so we stayed.

We went out that night down to a meeting at the crowne royal. We all started talking and other's said they checked out already. We all noted smells and a few said they saw bugs.

We went back to the hotel later that night and noticed that the sink was full of bugs. They were all over everything. We had NO food in the room, our toothpaste hadn't been opened yet they were on my face cream, toothpaste, tooth brushes (brand new). They were crawling on our soap.

Due to the hour we stayed the night. The noise was horrid. We didn't sleep all night. Then I started having trouble breathing. We found a lot of mold in the room. The next morning after 2 hours of sleep we packed and checked out.

I was so upset it wouldn't not have been a good time to have brought anything up.

The floor was damp, the mold was horrible, there were bugs in the room. I can not believe you rent these rooms out to anyone.

I have been to the doctor who has confirmed that my breathing issue is from mold, nothing a few weeks on a inhaler won't cure.

Shame on you. Tear these outer building down.

room 1639

As the owner of an insurance company, I seriously think the Health Department in Orlando needs to visit this property. I believe that the property has what we call in the insurance industry as "Sick Building Syndrome". Generally caused by poor and inadequate construction methods, it results in just the type of horrors present in this hotel (I use the term loosely). Foul smelling water, drains that wont drain, no cold running water in several floors (Of the Tower), poorly trained and lazy staff, some of who border on downright dishonest. This property needs to be shut down and condemned. I have been ill for the entire week since returning and fully intent to contact the local health department and sanitation inspectors.

I will never stay at this hotel again. It reminded my of a Motel 6 I stayed at in the 70's. Only worse, much worse. Room was dirty, tub took forever to drain, maid service was bad. Not at all what I thought I was paying for.

I did not enjoy my stay here. The room was dirty, the floor was sticky, and the roof had mildew all over it. We had to ask a maid to come to our room and vacuum it. Plus our shower would not drain so by the time you were done, the disgusting water was up to your knee. Whenever you took a bath the disgusting hair and mold stuck to the bottom of the tub would float to the surface and you could barely see the bottom of the tub through it. Also, the water smelled like poop and saltwater mixed. There was trash behind the beds and the sheets had stains all over them. The beds were unkept and the maids were to lazy to even keep our room clean. One day we had happened to make the sheet fall off the bed and the maids were to lazy and mean to even put it back on the bed. Please do not waste you time and money at this hotel, trust me it is not worth 100$.

We stayed 4 nights and 5 days in Orlando and the whole time the toilet was giving us problems. The handle broke on the toilet and it wouldn't properly flush. Also, the water on the bathtub would not adequately go down so by the time you are finish with your shower you have water up to your calf. Also, the maid took one of our waters and did not tell us so if we did not notice it we might have gotten charged. After coming back from Universal Studios we ordered pizza hut which is in through their hotel and they did not even cook the dough all the way. As we were leaving we spoke to the manager and that was an ok experience but we were already leaving.

They had comfortable nice rooms and a good location. I had problems with the room key and I had to get a new one almost every day, even after they sent a service man to check the lock.

This place should be ashamed to be called a resort and spa hotel. The rooms on the resort side resemble 50 year old Days Iin rooms. After complaining about the room, and explaining that those rooms weren't even pictured on their website, they moved us to the tower where the rooms are much better, however, the first room they moved us to had such a foul odor in it that people walking down the hall would comment "What is that smell?" while they covered their noses. Once again calling the front desk, I asked for someone to come to the room to check it out. One of the bell clerks came up, and he was already commenting on the smell once he got off the elevator. They finally moved us to another room, which was sufficient, but my wife and I will never stay here again.

The descriptions showed a nice tower but what I got was a room in a one of several motel like buildings. The rooms were motel like... The water control handle was broken, no hot water, the bath tub did not drain and the toliet did not fill properly with water. Also there is a real estate rep thatr leaves voice messages to try to get you to buy property. It was listed as a 4 star hotel, perhaps on the tower, but where I placed was a one star.

The staff was extremely friendly. There were lots of attractions nearby within easy walking distance.

This hotel made me feel welcome: The check in staff seemed genuinely excited to see me. They were very warm and willing to help in any way they could.

They were always up to exceptional standards. The employees were great. I stay at Sheraton hotels exclusively.

This hotel made me feel excited: I was treated politely. The rooms were ready on time. The restaurants were excellent. Check in was speedy and correct.

The staff was very helpful.

This hotel made me feel content: I had all of my questions answered. They provided great service.

This hotel was really great when we went. My daughter went for an FPS state competition there, and the hotel was very kid friendly. They made her, her team, and the other 199 teams there feel welcome. The room was very clean, and the food was fantastic! I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone.

This hotel is not as bad as the reviews have stated. My room was very clean and did not smell, and I did not see any bugs. Everyone was very kind and helpful.

The grounds were nice and the pool was nice as well. It is not a top notch luxury hotel like the website says, but it was comparable to a Holiday Inn. The beds were very comfortable. The location was good. We took advantage of the trolley and the shuttle to Disney and airport. I believe that the service you receive is a reflection of your attitude to the people that will be serving you.

They are doing some major improvements to the hotel and the grounds and everyone seemed to be working very hard to make the hotel a nice place to stay. I would stay there again and as long as you get a good deal, it is well worth the price.

After reading the online reviews, I quickly told my parents make sure we get a tower room. Unfortunately, the room was already booked and we did not have a tower room.

The room was beyond disgusting. It smelled and did not look comfortable. There was hair all over the bathroom floor and the shower was moldy and dirty. We ordered a cot and did not receive it for eight hours. When we could upgrade and were ready to switch to a tower room, the bellman took forever to come. There is no elevator by the outside rooms so he had to leave our luggage outside while transferring someone else's off the luggage cart. This made my dad beyond nervous because anyone could walk up and take his golf clubs.

The tower room we stayed in was much cleaner and nicer, yet nothing like the luxury that was expected by my family.