Best hotel near to Downtown Disney?

[disneymom]

Not booking anything yet but maybe soon

We spend a lot of time at downtown disney and I was wondering about that strip of hotels between downtown disney and crossroads. Which is the nicest hotel down there?

I mentioned it to a cab driver and he said they were all crumby but then he was pretty opinionated anyway

[catrancher]

Why not consider Disney's Port Orleans resort? Either French Quarter or Riverside.

They both have regular boat transportation down the Sassagoula River to Downtown Disney!

Riverside just happens to be our favorite resort.

Tom (... y'all come back now. Ya hear!)

[Keith]

Tom's so right, Port Orleans is brilliant and great value too!

I've also stayed at the Wyndham which is right opposite Downtown Disney and I thought it was truly superb It has some Disney characters at its buffets and is a walk away from the downtown disney bus stops which means you can get to any resort easily! It also has buses to the parks.

Of course there's also saratoga springs which is a walkable distance as well

[Slowhand]

We stayed at the Hilton on our 2nd trip to WDW ages ago. It was fine at the time, and being within walking distance of DTD [or the Marketplace as it was then called], it was very convenient as we didn`t have a car.

As catrancher said though, staying at one of the true on-site resorts is a much better prospect.

[Johnie]

I've stayed at Courtyard by Marriot (which is now a Holiday Inn), Hotel Royal Plaza and the Regal Sun (which used to be Grosvenor). All were fine. Actually the Courtyard was superb since we got the $20.02 rate per night back in 2002.

Most often though, their rates aren't that great. I've only gotten good deals with the above mentioned rate and by using Priceline.

[gwennie81]

I've stayed in probably most of those along Hotel Plaza Dr. but I find that the Disney hotels are just so much better in terms of value, upkeep, ambiance, convenience, and food choices.

I like Port Orleans for a Downtown Disney hotel. As was stated before, there are boats that connect to DD. They do close them down if weather is bad and they only run certain hours of the day.

[Tink]

We stayed at the Double Tree Suites one time (at the very end of Hotel Plaza Blvd, near Crossroads). It was clean, and the staff were friendly, but the hotel itself was a bit shabby. Nothing to fret about, but nothing to rush back for either (and we haven't)!

I know the Comfort Inn in that area has an excellent reputation for value, cleanliness and service.

Within reason, the rate would be the driver for the decision, eh? The rate would have to be low enough to compensate for the other perks (if they are perks to you) of staying on site in a WDW resort.