Urban Oasis at the Wyndham Orlando Resort

The Wyndham Orlando Resort, a family-friendly resort perfectly perched in the heart of Orlando's International Drive, is a great place if you are looking for reasonable value with access to glittering I-Drive. A variety of restaurants and attractions are mere moments away, many accessible on foot or using the resort's shuttle. If you choose to dine on the property you may choose from Augustine's, a fine dining restaurant with a variety of selections, or Gatorville, a pool-side venue with a sports bar feel and menu.

The resort features private, 2-story villa-like blocks of rooms nestled in a beautiful, park-like setting. Fountains, lagoons and well-maintained garden areas are restful to walk during a sultry, Central Florida night and provide a romantic back drop for couples strolling hand-in-hand along the paths. Family-friendly features include rooms with bunk-beds, 3 large swimming pools with free games and toys available for the asking, 2 kiddie pools, a modest play area, as well as the ability to bring the family pets along for a vacation. There was also a nice fitness room with a variety of machines and free weights and a hot tub spa area.

The resort is very easy to find (although Mapquest gave a wrong turn), but do plan your arrival around traffic patterns. International Drive can be quite a challenge to those not accustomed to city driving and the difficulty is further increased by the herd of pedestrians who often choose to ignore traffic lights and crosswalks. My husband and I did not observe any accidents, but did see a number of close, and very close, calls.

The check-in process was incredibly simple and, although the stated check-in time was 4pm, we were able to check in early and received a room upgrade from queen to a king suite. This could have been because our visit was during the slow early summer season. Since we arrived via car, we followed the bellhop in his golf cart to our room; however, this option allows guests who are without personal vehicles a quick transport without the need to carry bags to rooms that may be a 5-minute or more walk from the main lobby.

We were pleasantly surprised by the room, decorated in typical, yet tasteful, Florida style: light woods, muted pastels and artwork featuring local foliage. Our suite sported the living area with a large television armoire, love seat/hide-a-bed, 2 chairs, desk, small refrigerator and coffee table. A low wall divided the bedroom from the living room. The bedroom also had a large television armoire, reading chair and, of course, a king-sized bed. The bathroom was typical hotel fair, but the shower was a nice surprise with adjustable massaging showerhead and very acceptable water pressure.

The Wyndham offers a "green option" for having linens changed. I'm sure this is both a cost and environment-saving feature, but we didn't see the need to have fresh towels and sheets both nights of our stay. There were more than enough towels, of standard hotel variety, and the complimentary shower products seemed quite nice, although I didn't do more than sniff them.

The resort states it is newly-renovated, but our room showed signs of a leaky roof and when my husband touched the headboard, it fell completely off the wall! They offered to allow us to change rooms, which we declined and the fallen headboard provided a lot of humor for us over the weekend. The faucet in the tub was leaky and very difficult to turn off, but the room itself was comfortable.

Our first night there we explored the 3 pools and dined at Gatorville by the 2 main pools. The prices were what you would expect, nearly $40 for an extremely generous chicken ceasar salad, blue cheese mushroom burger and drinks. The service was slow, but not to the point of feeling we had been forgotten. My husband pronounced the salad delicious and my burger was excellent and large enough that I could only eat half. I regreted the lack of a microwave in our room, as this would have made a perfect late-night snack or lunch.

The main pools, both heated, were quite crowded with a couples and families. The pool-party atmosphere, while fun to watch, was not really what we were after, so we decided to stroll to the secluded 3rd pool. Saturday afternoon was only slightly more busy, possibly the guests were visiting Orlando's many attractions rather than lazing by the pool.

The 3rd pool was perfect! At any time no more than 15 or 20 people were there at one time, possibly due to the lack of a nearby bar or that it wasn't heated. However, in Florida during the summer a heated pool is really a ridiculous requirement! In the evening the pool was the perfect temperature and the relative solitude made it possible to have quiet conversation, take a nap or read a book without dodging beach balls and running children. I would recommend grabbing extra towels from the more popular pools, though, as both evenings presented empty towel closets.

The bed was comfortable, although nothing special, but the pillows and sheets have me scouring the internet in order to find them for my own house. I appreciated the ability to control the climate control as, unlike most, I prefer a cool but not frigid room in which to sleep. The down comforter on the bed was, therefore, a bit too much and spent most of the night on the floor.

Our second evening we decided to explore the nearby dining options and settled on a BW-3 for hot wings, and the Friday's sports bar for actual meals. Both were within walking distance, although the BW-3 would be a bit far for families with younger children. Saturday seemed to be the night the majority of the resort's guests appeared as that night and Sunday morning we seemed to hear more cell phones ringing and, distantly, people talking. None of this was especially troublesome and I was never sure if we were hearing the people below us or if there was someone in one of the neighboring rooms. Apparently the second floor, accessible only through stairs, is not a popular choice.

Check-out was an incredibly simple process, accomplished through a voice mail box set up for that purpose. Check-out time was 11am, but we noticed quite a few guests skirting that time frame much more closely than we had.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable experience that I would be more than happy to repeat. Because we booked off-season we spent almost half what the usual cost would have been, a completely acceptable value.