“Magical Stay at Sonesta ES Lake Buena Vista!”

This hotel is located centrally and conveniently close to a bunch of restaurants, theme parks and shops. It is clean and comfortable for a family visiting Disney World, sea world and other tourist attractions! Will stay here anytime when visiting Orlando ♥️! From, Lorna Espiritu

“Stayed in Sept/Oct 2024 and had a great time.”

We stayed at the Sonesta from 25/09 - 17/10/24 and had a really great experience. We were on the top floor facing the pool and could not fault anything during our stay. There aren’t any lifts which makes taking your suitcases up a challenge but we knew this before booking and thankfully, we only ne… more

We stayed at the Sonesta from 25/09 - 17/10/24 and had a really great experience. We were on the top floor facing the pool and could not fault anything during our stay. There aren’t any lifts which makes taking your suitcases up a challenge but we knew this before booking and thankfully, we only needed to do this once at the start and at the end of our 3 weeks. The hotel is a little dated but they have started the upgrade process and whilst there were certain parts that were dated, they were clean and functional. Everyone we met was pleasant and friendly both to us and each other. We were there for hurricanes Helene and Milton and were kept well informed by the management team. There are grounds men/women who are up bright and early keeping the property tidy and cleaning the pool. The maids came Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays to empty trash and replace towels, and the apartment had a full clean on Wednesdays. If we wanted anything, we only called to reception and it was provided to us within minutes. I took tea towels from home following an earlier review and these were handy to have. There is a full kitchen with ice maker/dishwasher and enough crockery/cutlery for 6 people. They don’t have teaspoons though, handy to know if anyone drinks tea/coffee with sugar in. We used the pool most evenings, there are plenty of washing machines and driers. There are fresh clean towels provided daily for the pool and a small arcade area which takes tokens. There isn’t a lifeguard which didn’t bother us as we would never allow our children in the pool without one of us there to supervise. There are plenty of food places within walking distance of the hotel and it is ideally situated for the parks and shopping places. Overall we really enjoyed our stay here, even more so than our villa stay the previous year. We would definitely return to the Sonesta and have no hesitation in recommending it as a place to stay for other families.

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“No elevators. But otherwise a basic affordable hotel. We enjoyed our stay thanks to the friendly staff.”

So, let me start by saying there are NO ELEVATORS! I want to make that clear for those who may be impacted by that. I am disabled and chronically ill and this was not well advertised at all when we booked online so we were initially given a third floor room which would have been lovely had there be… more

So, let me start by saying there are NO ELEVATORS! I want to make that clear for those who may be impacted by that. I am disabled and chronically ill and this was not well advertised at all when we booked online so we were initially given a third floor room which would have been lovely had there been elevators but without them that was impossible to manage. The stairs are pretty steep and even lugging one single suitcase up would have been difficult for a healthy person let alone 4 of them plus our pram and all the other things we need for me and our toddler. That needs to be made more apparent on their website and the other booking sites. The staff were great and upgraded us to a first floor suite because of that and the next day were able to put the seniors travelling with us on the first floor too thankfully once a room was turned over. The room was very dated but lovely and clean. We wiped down all the surfaces with antibacterial wipes as we do in every hotel since covid and they all came off clean, no dirt or grime. The toiletries are in large pump bottles in the showers which I love, no need to bring any shampoo, conditioner or body wash and no rationing those tiny bottles that some hotels provide. Plenty of clean towels, toilet paper, paper towel and washing up supplies. Good location with a dollar tree, Wawa, Pizza Hut, kfc, walgreens and a few other outlets just across the street. The rooms are nothing amazing but like I said, ours was large, clean and had plenty of supplies. The bedding is very thin which isn’t a huge deal but the air conditioning is either warm or arctic so the bedding isn’t enough to keep warm and if you turn down the AC you are pretty hot. We ended up requesting extra blankets from the front desk who were very friendly and accommodating, I’d request some at or shortly after check in to save yourself going back in the evening as they don’t leave them avaliable in the rooms like other hotels do. Our AC was leaking very badly on the kitchen floor by the second day and after having to move and adjust everyone’s luggage to new rooms already we tolerated it so we didnt need to move again. They did send someone to check it out and bring us the bucket we requested to catch the water but they didn’t know what was wrong. The issue did resolve on its own after a couple days. This place is certainly ok for the money but we realised shortly after booking that we had actually meant to book the newly renovated Sonesta on international drive and ended up here by mistake so double check if you are booking and make sure you have the right one. That’s on us for not double checking the address. It’s not terrible, if you have already booked it then it will be fine but It’s mediocre compared to what we thought we were booking. They also slug you an extra $15 a day for parking which is just unnecessary and a bit of a cash grab. If they did away with the parking fee and maybe updated the rooms a little then I could see myself staying here again. I would have given it a 3 but the friendly staff and cleanliness of the place really gave things a boost. They are the backbone of this place and seem to really take pride in their jobs and keep things running smoothly.

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“Too Noisy”

Great hotel and location. Downside was that we were on a ground floor and we could hear every footstep from the people above who were walking or jumping around in their apartment until the early hours of the morning. Also the lounge area could benefit from a more comfortable sofa and maybe a small… more

Great hotel and location. Downside was that we were on a ground floor and we could hear every footstep from the people above who were walking or jumping around in their apartment until the early hours of the morning. Also the lounge area could benefit from a more comfortable sofa and maybe a small side table to put a drink on. I would possibly return but would certainly get a top floor apartment.

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