Nickelodeon Suites Resort: A Review

We broke with tradition and decided to stay at the Nickelodeon Suites hotel on our recent Orlando adventure instead of staying with the tried and true Disney Resorts. You live, you learn.

Let me start by saying that the Nickelodeon Suites hotel is awash with false advertising.  Before we decided to book, we checked their website and talked to some people who said there was "so much to do there,  you may not want to leave the hotel." I don't know what these people did there, because we really did not understand what the "so much" stood for.

Yes, there was a water park.  It looks fancier on the TV commercials and website, but it consists of four slides, low level water area for young kids and deeper pool area for older kids and adults. Every couple of hours they have teams compete to get slimed. Honestly, I have been to water parks in Virginia and Florida that provided more. The other thing I have to say about this water park is that if you are going just for the water park feature and you are planning days at the theme parks, don't bother. We only used the water park one day and it was cut short because it was a bit chilly due to the tropical storm. In their defense, the water was kept warm.

What else? Well there is this area called "the Mall". It consists of the Nicktoons Cafe, a food court (serving Subway, UNO's Pizza, Burgers, hot dogs, etc), a shop and convenience store, Studio Nick and a 4D Theater. The food left much to be desired.  I'm not saying it was bad, but there just was not any variety. Maybe it's just me but the thought of eating pizza etc, over and over for 7 days does not appeal to me. The NickToons Cafe featured character meals with Nickelodeon characters. New this summer was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character dinner. It was an Italian buffet and this appealed to the kids since 3 out of 4 of the kids in our group are in martial arts. Each kid got a ninja turtle mask which they thought was cool. I cannot speak for the character breakfast.  I do know that they had different characters show up for pictures. I saw Squidworth and Patrick  from Spongebob Squarepants. None of our kids took pictures with them because we were barely at the hotel. Also, I know that if you plan to go to Universal Studios, you can take pictures with the Nickelodeon characters there.

Studio Nick was where they held the Double Dare show and some other nightly entertainment.  We went to the Double Dare show being a favorite childhood show for the parents and the kids really liked it.  But again their advertising is misleading. They make you think you need reservations, but we walked in about 10 minutes late and there was plenty of seating. There were also other shows to take in, but they cost $40-$60 per person.  For that, we could take the family to Disney Quest and know that expenditure would be worth it.

The 4D theater shows about 6 different 4D movies throughout the day. Each movie is $6.95 or you can buy a wristband for unlimited films for $12.95. It sounds like a great deal and we considered it, but we didn't do it.  We got to thinking that if you spend the entire day at the theme parks, you get back to the hotel exhausted and the last thing you want to do is catch a 4D film. There's just is no time for that. Our kids did play at the arcade multiple times and enjoyed it.

The hotel itself? In my opinion, they took condos, painted them in Nickelodeon Colors and slapped character pictures and character statues throughout the hotel and added a water park.  This does not compare to the thought and process placed into the Disney hotels and their landscape. The suites were spacious, but they felt worn and while it was not dirty per say, it felt that way. The suites are either 1-3 bedrooms. The 2 & 3 bedroom suites come with a king size bed in 1-2 of the rooms with a kids room being themed with Spongebob or the Rugrats and containing bunk beds. The bunks were hard as a rock. Our kids complained about that. Each suite has a kitchenette with a sink, microwave and 3 foot refrigerator.  Disney has a new hotel that just opened called the Art of Animation that features the same set up. I have not been, but something tells me that it will be better than this hotel.

Last but not least, let me mention the crowd.  On several occasions, I just sat in the food court observing.  I am not fitting everyone into this category, but there was a fair share of lower class folks here than I have seen at other resorts. By this I mean, I would not let my kids play with or associate with these other families' kids.  One night, my brother had to go scour the area because someone somewhere was having a party in their room at 1 am and we could hear everything coming from their suite. They are probably annoying neighbors in their hometowns too. And it was not the night that the Heat won the championship - that would have been excused:-)

Overall, I am not going to say it was the worst experience, but it was certainly not the best. If you have never been to a Disney Resort or the Gaylord Palms, you may have a different experience. But once you have been to either of these other resorts, all others pale by comparison and you are bound to be somewhat disappointed.

Disclaimer: This is only my opinion based on my experience.  Feel free to experience it for yourself and make up you own mind.