We arrived in Orlando with no plans of visiting parks and were only here for the Brazil vs. USA game. As our budget was stupidly tight, we needed something close to public transport, supermarkets, and a pool (Megan’s demand). This being the USA, and everyone drives everywhere, trying to find somewhere that meets our criteria was difficult, but out popped the Rosen Inn Buena Vista, and we quickly booked. This is our honest review of the Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, FL.
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Where is Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista – Orlando, FL?
8442 Palm Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32836
- 2 miles from the Disney Parks.
- 20 minute walk from a supermarket
- 20 minute walk from a Dollar Tree/WaWa
- 15 minute walk from a Starbucks
- Walking distance to tons of restaurants
- Walking distance to Disney Springs
- Shuttle service to parks outside the front door.
Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista – Amenities.
Rooms
The hotel is split into 3 blocks, all on the hotel grounds. During our visit in June 2024, one of the blocks was being renovated. We were in room 1213 on the block directly to the right of reception; the block beside us was being renovated, but that caused no noise.
The room had two large double beds, a large TV, a decent-sized bathroom, and a small kitchen area with a microwave and fridge (no freezer), but weirdly no kettle.
Even with the large turn-over of customers, I was genuinely surprised at how clean the rooms were.
Now, we could hear people in the room next door shouting. However, that was only once, and I couldn’t hear anything else the rest of our trip.
Pools
There are two pools in the complex and a small splash park for small kids. They advertise this splash park everywhere, but there was nothing special about it, and small kids would only be interested in it.
The two main pools are massive, and there are plenty of sunbeds around the place. They only got busy when people left the park or arrived for their weekend stay. The pool without the splash park was our private pool for most of our stay. (This might have been down to Megan firing her look if anyone came near the pool!)
Pools were spotless our entire stay and had a towel booth, so we didn’t need to bring one down from your room. Both pools have sun throughout the day, but the downside is there are only a few umbrellas, so we did need to come and go at times, so we were not in the roaring sun all day.
Food/Bar
We didn’t eat in the hotel as it was outside of our budget and got microwaved food from the ‘Dollar Tree’ or hot food/salad from the nearby supermarket.
However, the food in the hotel wasn’t badly priced in the two restaurants there. I would avoid the shop; it was expensive, and if you are looking for snacks and are on a budget, I would go to ‘Dollar Tree’, which is not far away. I still can’t get over the price of that beer.
It would have been cheaper to go to the bar and buy a pint than what I paid for that small can – $6.39! (I’ll never get over this).
Laundry
Coin operated machines can be found on the 3rd floor of each building. We needed powder, and we purchased that from the ‘Dollar Tree’ for $1.25. The total cost for washing and drying was $6, if you have a dirtier wash this will cost slightly more. A wash took 30 minutes, and a dry took an hour.
We were warned by the receptionist to be careful when buying tokens. He told us we needed the correct change and to know exactly how many tokens we needed as they are non-refundable. However, the laundry is popular and always busy, so I’m sure if you mess up, someone will purchase the tokens from you.
Games Room
Just beside the reception we found a small games room with a pool table, air hockey, and a few arcade machines. Myself and Megan are competitive and we had to have a game of pool and air hockey. Nicola left the room at this point as it always turns into a competitive argument lol. The machines operate by buying credits on a card. The minimum you could buy is $4, which gets you 16 credits. A game of pool and air hockey cost 8 credits each.
I won at pool, and we drew at air hockey. Disappointed to draw at air hockey, as I absolutely hammered her in Thailand the last time we played.
Decking
I thought this was a nice touch—a deck overlooking the lake. Nice area to chill out in, eat lunch, have a beer, or do some work. The decking is covered and has fans, so it is a nice place to get away from the sun. I liked sitting here in the evening and having a beer and chilling out.
WiFi
The hotel WiFi was free and for the best part worked all over the hotel complex. A couple times it didn’t work around the pool, and when Disney emptied and everyone returned the speed dropped for a bit. However, overall we had no real issues with it, I actually loved working on the deck with a beer.
Shuttle Service
We didn’t use these, so we have no idea how they compare to shuttles on the street, getting a ride share, or driving. However, the hotel offers a shuttle service to and from the parks and retail outlets in the area, from right outside the doors of reception.
If you need to use buses in the area to go further, they costs $2 for a single journey on the Lynx buses, and they provide a timed transfer if needing to change. We went from the hotel to the Camping World Stadium, and it cost us $2 each for an hour-long journey, a lot cheaper than an Uber.
Would we recommend Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista – Orlando, FL?
100%. We arrived wondering why this hotel was the cheapest in the Orlando area; it was on a public transport line, there were supermarkets within walking distance, and it had all the amenities we needed. We entered worrying about what we were going to find. However, over our 4 days in the hotel, we found the place spotlessly clean, and very family-friendly. If you were going to the parks, it is handy for them and has everything a visitor would need. While I still shudder about how much I paid for a beer in the shop, I didn’t want to leave.
Another positive of Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista, and their other hotels within the chain, they do not charge resort fees which can be as high as $50 per night in hotels in Orlando.
We enjoyed the hotel so much that we booked another one of their hotels beside Universal Studios. We would have extended our stay at Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista, but it wasn’t available.
Thank you for taking the time to read our honest review of the Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, FL. If you do plan to book, please click on our link to booking.com; it will help us out and will have no impact on you.
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The Lewis family.
