I just returned from a trip to Orlando, FL. It was our first time to Disney and we were looking for the best deal on a hotel. Through my research, I decided upon the Orlando Vista Hotel because of the price, but also it looked like a great location: close to everything and a shuttle to the parks. I arrived with my best friend of 12 years. We had been traveling all day and night and just wanted to get to our beds. The man at the front desk, who checked us in, was extremely inappropriate and made very inappropriate comments to us regarding our looks. It made us double-think our stay within the first 5 minutes of being there.
For the next couple of days, we went to the parks so we were gone from early morning until late at night. For the rest of our week, we hungout by the pool and tried to get a tan. Although there are several restaurants within walking distance, the hotel is on a major highway and it is a real challenge to cross the street. I would not want to cross this street with children. Other than the restaurants, there is really nothing else to do within walking distance, and a cab would be required to go anywhere else. We went to the shopping outlets which are only a half mile away, and tha cab fare cost us $15 per way.
At the hotel, there were hardly any people that spoke clear english working at the hotel, so it was very difficult to ask any questions. The beds are not very comfortable at all, and the bedding is rough and scratchy. The worst of our experience came upon checking out, where they tried to charge us several unexpected charges. The local calls are not free (like they usually are at hotels), they are in fact $.50 plus tax a piece and beware: they will try to charge you for the safe that is already in your room. They tried charging us an extra $12 upon checking out for "the safe fees" and I questioned that since we didn't even touch the safe. Once I questioned her, she said "oh well I can take that off." But, she did not share with me before my questioning that it was a fee that I could take off. After being in Orlando for a week, we realized that there are many, many other hotels that are closer to the park for the same price as this one. This one is Shady, Shady, Shady! I would not recommend.