This may seem like a really unusual way to end your vacation – after all, why would anyone finish a vacation at an airport hotel? Well, that is exactly what we did on our recent vacation that included one week at Disney World, followed by a 7 day cruise on the Disney Fantasy. As we were staying on Disney property, we took advantage of the transfers that Disney offers which meant we didn’t need to hire a car the entire vacation. Although this worked well for us and was extremely convenient, we did hit a slight snag on our last day. As is usual with cruise disembarkation, we got off the ship very early and our arranged transfers got us into Orlando airport around 9:30am. However, as we had an evening flight scheduled back to the UK this meant that we would be hanging around the airport for 11 hours, with a 15 month year old and the grandparents! So we decided to book a standard day use room at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport.
The Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport hotel is located within terminal B – before you pass through security. In fact you may well have walked past it many a time without realising it was there. The hotel obviously doesn’t have the theming or grandeur that some of the Disney resort hotels would have, however it was a very well presented and stylish hotel with a business feel to it. We found the room to be clean, well maintained and it came with complimentary WiFi, a good selection of TV channels and video on demand. It also had a work space area with charging points. Although we didn’t need them all, the hotel has a full range of additional services that includes baggage retrieval and delivery, airline check-in counters, airline baggage claim carousels and car rental counters. The amenities include a fitness centre and a small outdoor heated pool with a lounge area. The pool was simple in its design and not very large however it was also quiet, which meant you could have a relaxing swim which was nice. The hotel has two restaurants, The Hemisphere Steak & Seafood Restaurant and McCoy’s Bar and Grill. We ate lunch at McCoy’s Bar and Grill and had a lovely meal for under $30 for the three of us which was a lovely change from the expense of dining at Disney World!
Some of the rooms at the Hyatt Regency overlook the terminal in the airport.
So here are some of the things we enjoyed most about this hotel and the main reasons why we choose to book a standard day use room:
- The convenience of where it is situated. The hotel entrance located in terminal B was only a few minutes walk from where the Disney cruise line bus drops you off (also in terminal B) so it was very manageable with luggage and the hotel was well sign posted and easy to find. It is located beside the airport shopping mall so you are able to leave the hotel to do some last minute shopping if you needed to and when you are ready to go to your boarding gate for your flight, the security checkpoint is also right there.
- The security of the hotel. The elevators to access the hotel rooms and amenities must be operated with a guest room key card so it makes it very secure from the rest of the airport’s passing traffic.
- The hotel amenities. Being able to make use of the additional facilities like the swimming pool meant our last day still felt like we were on vacation and not waiting at the airport for our flight to depart.
- A place to chill. Just having a room that we could go back to, away from the general hustle and bustle of the airport was great and worked really well with having a baby that needed nap time.
At the time of our booking (September 2015) the cost of one standard day use room was $109 + tax. In my opinion it was money well spent and we really did have a great last day of our vacation. So if you know that you will have a long wait at the airport for your flight to depart, and you have seen all you need to see of Orlando, bought enough souvenirs and just want to chill for a few hours before your flight home then I would definitely recommend this hotel.
