Ramada Plaza and Inn Gateway

[manny007]

Has anyone stayed in one of the Plaza rooms at the Ramada Plaza and Inn Gateway? If you win a Priceline bid for this hotel, you are placed in one of the Inn rooms, but if you call the hotel, they will upgrade you to a Plaza room for $20.00 more per night. Does anyone have any thoughts to share on whether there is a big difference between the Inn rooms and the Plaza rooms? Thanks

 

[pdzabe]

The "plaza" part is the hotel so rooms are in a tall, enclosed building with elevator service. I didn't go in there to see if the rooms would be worth the $20 difference. The "inn" where I stayed is a two story, motor inn type set up with rooms facing either an interior courtyard where the pool is or outer rooms facing the parking areas. If you stay in the "inn" part, ask for a courtyard room near the pool area, preferably on ground level so you don't have to carry luggage up. I thought the courtyard area was very quiet, more families there compared to the outside rooms facing the parking lots which, when we were there, were filled with alot of groups and more noisy. Our room wasn't anything fancy, but it was clean and large enough (we were two adults and two teens) and the bathroom was separated in two sections so that one could be using the toilet/bathtub with the door shut while another could be washing at the sink area which was nice. The only thing I didn't like was that the air conditioning was noisy as there were not individual air conditioners but a rooftop unit which when it went on and off, to me it was loud. Didn't eat there at all so I can't tell you about that. Liked the close proximity to WDW and easy access. Paid $25 a night, so I guess I really can't complain at all.

 

[manny007]

Thanks, pdzabe, for your reply. Would you mind telling me a little about the grounds of the property? I have only seen one picture of the pool, and it seemed to have nice landscaping. What is your impression of the upkeep on the grounds?

 

[pdzabe]

The courtyard area was kept very clean in my experience. It is completely tiled in the inner courtyard and everyday all debris was picked up and then leaves, etc. blown off with a leaf blower. There are flowering plants and palm trees; very pretty. Also a good number of round tables with umbrellas and chairs surrounding the pool area which is very large. I did not go in the pool but my husband and daughter did and felt it to be clean. There were alot of people using the pool; mostly families. I think there is another pool for the hotel area, but I did not see or use that area. From the outside when pulling into the place you cannot see any of this, so it looks like your average motel, but the inner courtyard was nice. I hope this helps.