Holiday Inn & Suites Orlando SW Celebration in Kissimmee, FL

The room was adequate. This hotel is large and we were told they were at capacity (although, it didn’t seem to be overly crowded). We were turned away from early admission. We discovered there were no unlocked bathrooms on the ground floor. We ended up going to Old Town to find a restroom. We did like the location of walking distance to Old Town, World Food Trucks and The Crazy Mason milkshakes. The pool and hot tub were nice (standard). We did enjoy the balcony. Breakfast was a bit larger than the standard breakfasts we’ve had at other Holiday Inns. For some reason we got a handicapped room - not sure why that happened. Would have rather had bathroom counter space instead of just a sink. From our balcony at the 2nd tower in the back, we noticed someone walking around. She appeared to be on something and came out of the back field (we are guessing homeless). She was singing loudly (we could hear her over the A/C unit on the 8th floor!) and walking around haphazardly. She did try to get into the hotel, but then she was back into the parking lot. (We assume this is why you can’t get into the restrooms on the 1st floor). The next morning they took her by ambulance. There was another person there that appeared to leave going out through that back field. We wondered if there was a homeless camp back there. We felt safe in the hotel and had clear view of our vehicle, which wasn’t touched. It was a little disturbing through. Not sure there’s much the hotel can do anything about it though.

We were staying in the first building and right over the main entrance. Every time someone would pull up to check in or even go through the main entrance we could hear them as clearly as if they were inside the room. This goes for the traffic as well from the street or the helicopters that kept flying over. The noise is not only from the outside. The wall leading to the hallway are not well insulated to prevent noise, every time someone walked past you can hear them. There was also an issue while we were there where the water went out. Now this is not the hotels fault, but it was something that we had to find out then I went to wash my hands and no water came out. There was no call letting us know or text letting us know. Now there are some good things as well. The bed were very comfortable and they had two kinds of pillows on the bed. I really like that I had options. The staff was very friendly and the property looks nice, and it is a good price based off of location. If all you are looking for is a place to sleep this is good, but you might want to request the second building and a room facing away from the street.

The rooms are clean. The staff was excellent.

The Good • We were assigned to a double bed room in the 2nd tower (not the main tower) and I was worried that it would be an old room, but the front desk clerk assured me that it was one of the few newly renovated rooms in the 2nd tower, and it was...but make sure to ask when checking in. • The beds and sheets were comfy and the room was clean. • The wall mounted Dove body wash, hand soap and lotion was a very nice touch as they are good quality products. This is a great amenity by Holiday Inn hotels, as my friend forgot their body wash and lotion at home. • The water got HOT not just warm, and the water pressure was pretty good. • The sliding glass door had a translucent white curtain in between the blackout curtain, which made it possible to open the blackout curtain and let in light, without having people outside view into the room. • We stayed during rare Florida winter days when the temperature drops significantly at night and then gets warmer in the afternoon, but both the AC and heater settings worked well. • The tub/shower was clogged, but the front desk sent someone immediately after I called, and the maintenance guy was able to fix the issue within 20 - 30 minutes. • Our room had a microwave and decent sized mini fridge, which was great since we often had restaurant leftovers to eat. • The website to register for the Disney shuttle was not working on my laptop for some reason, but the front desk lady was able to register us. The shuttle bus arrived exactly on time at both the hotel and Disney pickup. The Questionable • There is only one hook in the bathroom to hang a used bath towel. My friend had to hang their bath towel in the closet. • The room was not very spacious. The walking space between the television, desk, drawers and the beds is very narrow. • I was told there are only two ice machines, one on the 3rd floor and one on the 7th floor. The one in the 2nd tower is on the 7th floor which was inconvenient since we were staying on the first floor. • When we arrived on a Friday night there was a group of boisterous men drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in the back outside of the hotel. They look like they could've been carpenters working on renovating the hotel rooms. This made me and my friend very uneasy. To add to that, someone (possibly a hotel guest) stuck a bottle at the back side door (next to our room) to keep it ajar so that it would not slam shut. I removed the bottle, because with those men outside, my friend and I did not feel safe leaving the door open like that. If they are contractors, the hotel owner/manager really shouldn't let them loiter in the back of the hotel at the end of the work day, especially if they are going to be drinking and smoking. All in all, I would recommend this hotel if you are looking to stay in this area near Old Town as it is a good 3-star hotel a short walking and driving distance to many stores, restaurants, and near Disney. However, the biggest drawback of this hotel is the fact that they charge a relatively high resort fee ($28), when this is not a really a resort quality hotel or area. I'm guessing this fee helps pay for the renovations. Nonetheless, I would only book this hotel if you are able to get it with a discount/promotion that offsets the resort fee.

DO NOT BOOK HERE! Got authorities called on me by the front desk beast, here’s what happened- I had a reservation for Feb 13th that I did with a third party app 3 weeks in advance. When I show up, I provide my ID to show I meet the age requirement, 21. I was told at the front desk that the age requirement is actually 21.5 by State LAW and company policy. And that Holiday Inn had already declined my reservation without notice, so I had nowhere to sleep for the night. I call their number today, I get redirected to a Chinese hotline where a man was asking for my Chinese phone number, and then this hotel wouldn’t pick up my phone again, so I returned after doing my homework (customer support, ToS) to demand an explanation. This time, according to the receptionist, the age requirement is now “3-6 months after turning 21 but if you’re well behaved you can book a month after”. I ask why I was lied to on the 13th. Why Holiday Inn didn’t accept my paid reservation with no notice. Why the age requirement isn’t consistent. She kept interrupting me saying “what I wanted”, how I was holding up the “whole lobby”, and to talk to the third party app. “People are here on their vacation” she said. I was on mine too. I was firm about my complaint because I want answers, not a bandage. I want compensation for the behavior and treatment of their staff, especially NOW. She said I was being aggressive, and as I was saying how she’ll probably call security, she cut me off saying “Oh I’d never do that, I’m calling the authorities”. I didn’t reach at her, I didn’t scream, I didn’t do any body language that suggested I was going to harm, I guess I was just a typical “difficult customer”. Again I said I want an explanation for the behavior on the 13th. She shuts down, said she’s “done”, and left to the back to call law enforcement. I asked what law I was breaking, no response, probably because I’m a hispanic male so she assumed I was going to try something. This was an elderly woman with a big bun hairdo and glasses FYI, if you see her at the front desk, you’re treading on a minefield. TLDR; inconsistent age requirements got me sleeping, customer hotline redirecting hell, and got authorities sic’d on me because this woman cannot handle a “difficult” customer that poses no threat. If you’re a young traveler, BEWARE!