Review of the Orlando International Drive La Quinta

Orlando is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Near Orlando is the most popular of all tourist spots in the world, Disney World. So there are lots of hotels near Orlando that you can stay at. Many people will want to be close to the many tourist attractions they wish to see. Many people will also want to find the cheapest hotel they can because they will be spending so much money once they get to those tourist attractions. This article will review one of the many budget hotels in the Orlando area.

The La Quinta located at 5825 International Drive, Orlando Florida is a cheap hotel option. Prices vary by season but on my most recent visit in February rooms were only about $60. Being so cheap you might wonder how it compares to other La Quinta locations and how it compares to other hotels.

One thing that many Orlando area tourist are looking for is a place near the attractions. This La Quinta is very close to Universals Studio. In fact you can walk to the parks. The walk to the Universal Resorts is just under 1 mile. However if walking in the warm and humid Florida sun does not appeal to you then you can always take the free shuttle service.

Shuttle service is also a major draw for Orlando tourist and La Quinta offers it for free. But you get what you pay for. To take the shuttle to Universals there is only two times that the shuttle leaves at 7:40 and 9:30 Am. neither are good times. The park open at 9 meaning a 9:30 will get you there after the park opens and a 7:40 time will have you waiting for the park to open. The shuttle only has one return time at 8PM regardless of when the parks close. Getting done with both parks early I choose to walk back to the hotel instead of stay an extra 4 hours until I could catch the bus.

La Quinta also offers a free shuttle to the Disney Parks. Here you are offered 3 departure times at 7:50, 9:40, and 11:45. Again the times are either to early or to late. The hotel is somewhat far from Disney so the earliest will not get you there to early as it does at Universals. The shuttle return times are 4, 7, 9, and 10:30 or 11:30 depending on park closing times. The shuttle also only takes you to the Magic Kingdom where you will have to take Disney transportation to other properties which will add to your time and you will need to take into account when returning.

The shuttle service is good to have but it has many problems and you do get what you pay for. You also do not get a free shuttle to or from the airport. Other negative aspects of the hotel is that it is unbearably hot in the halls. The pool looked nice with some statuary and plants around it but it was also blocked off and closed too. There was free wi-fi but it was slow if you have Internet on your phone you will want to stick with that instead. They do have an area where you can buy park tickets at a reduced price but the times you can do this are limited. The hotel was very loud at night. As far as I know there is no elevator in the hotel.

The water never got very hot in the shower. The shampoo was small and you barley got enough for two people in the room to use it for one shower. They did have soft tissue paper but it was single ply.

While it may sound like there is nothing fully positive about this location that is not true. Once you got out of the sweltering hall the room could get very cold if you wanted. It is very close to food. They offer you a large free continental breakfast. The rooms were fine nothing fancy but what you would expect from a cheap hotel.

Overall I would not highly recommend the La Quinta at 5825 International Drive in Orlando. It is cheap and if you are going to be staying a short time or if you plan on going to Universals it is not bad. You do get a great price and you do get a great free breakfast which can help save you money at the park. However I would not want to spend to much time here and would go somewhere else if I was going to Disney World.