car_guy1

So I just spent 2 nights at the new Westin Imagine. I'll give it a 7 out of 10. First the biggest problem I had was the valet only policy. First the fee is $16 a day, and there is no choice, its like a cover charge at a club or something. I've been racking my brain to think of any other hotel forcing you to valet that is not a down town city location. The next thing, they upgraded me to a suite, which is good, but I needed 2 beds. So they downgraded me to a regular "deluxe" room with a pool view instead of the 2 bedroom suite which has 2 beds because it against their policy for upgrades to use the 2 bedroom suite. I then asked the occupancy rate, I was told about 14%. Ok….

the rooms were clean as to be expected for a hotel open only 4 months. I only had 1 issue with the room. The balcony was huge (like 10 x 10), but had no furniture. The suites had furniture though, and from my view had smaller balconies.

The staff was great however, Brittney and Janelle were great to deal with. They did end up waving the valet fee for me after a bit of complaining. just for the record, I only complained because its B.S. for it be ONLY valet, and I did reward them with cake from the cheesecake factory for an apology for being difficult. In fact the only business I could think of like that is a topless bar. I'm sure someone on this site will correct me though. Anyway, the location was awesome, close to the convention center and all the good restraints and shopping, plus Disney, universal and wet-n-wild water park
.

bocastephen

They charge the valet fee even if you park your car elsewhere or don't even have a car??

WScottsdaleInsider

car guy,
I am sorry your stay did not meet your expectations. I would like to understand this valet issue. Was it that there was no self parking? or was it a mandatory fee even if you did not have a car. If there was no self parking, I am sorry you were not informed when you booked but as you mention they did take it off.
Also, the next issue with the upgrade is a hard one. As SPG Platinum, they upgrade to select standard suites which are mainly one-bedroom suites. Now since you did want 2 beds, they did have to put you in the room you booked. Seeing that you booked two beds, they should have never put you in the one bedroom suite. I dont know if this hotel has deluxe rooms with better views or on higher floors, but you should have been placed in the nicest room with 2 beds. If you do not feel you were upgraded properly feel free to contact hotel customer service at 1-800-328-6242 or send them an email at [email protected]. I am glad you liked the location and hope you have pleasant travels in the future

W Scottsdale Inisder

car_guy1

sorry for the delay in my response. There would be no charge if you didnt have a car, but there is NO self park option available. I asked if I could park in the large dirt lot next to the hotel and valet told me they would still charge me 16 bucks a night. Its just silly if you ask me. I am going back to that hotel in october and hope I still get that upgrade to the 1 bedroom suite as I only need one bed. I have a feeling the policy may change on the valet by then, or at least i hope so.

KENNECTED

Any pictures?

bocastephen

I still don't understand this - they cannot charge you for parking the car yourself if you elect to park off hotel property. You can park on the street, in a public lot, or in someone's driveway - it doesn't matter. If you're not parking on their property, they cannot charge you. Period.

belynch

Is this property a new build or a renovated reflagged property?

LifetimeUpgrade

I stayed there back in June for a conference. Locatiion is great if you are going to be at the convention center since its across the street. I parked my car in the parking garage, only to be chased down by a man in a golf cart who informed me that it was valet only and i had to pay $16 / day. ridiculous, but i was on a business trip so i didnt really care.

the hotel is nice...its 1/2 condos that people own and starwood rents out and splits profits with owners. I was upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite as a plat and received 2-for-1 coupons for the restaurant. the pool was also nice to swim in at night and when it came time to close the security guard let us stay as long as we were quiet.

very happy with the hotel and would definitely stay there again, although the $16 for parking is pretty insane given the location and the fact that there is a proper parking garage at the hotel so there is definitely no need for forced valet parking

LifetimeUpgrade

brand new. was supposed to be part of a shopping center but from what i heard that part never got built so its kind of sitting there on its own

taylor23

I recently stayed here and the valet only policy is really annoying. This is a hotel where you need a car to do anything else and having to wait for it to be brought around is a real pain. Not to mention the cost.

I also did not care for the restaurant. I tried the calamari and a pizza during my stay. The calamari was OK but the pizza was horrible. How do you mess up pizza? I guess you usually do not find great restaurants at hotels like this so I am not that surprised. There was a tropical storm at the time so I did not have a choice.

On the positive side the staff was really nice and I also liked the room. The bar also had some good drinks.

I would stay there again if not for the valet issue.

BostonPaul

Have stayed here now three times since July. For those that are familiar with the area, the hotel is on the deserted area opposite the rear entrance to the NORTH concourse of the Orange County Conv Center. If you are attending an event at the more popular SOUTH Concourse, it is over a mile walk w/o a real hope for a cab due to the Westin's isolated location.

If you have a car this is a non-issue (except for the ridiculous valet issue as mentioned above) but if you do not have a car and are attending an event at the South Concourse, staying at the connected Omni Rosen or Peabody save a TON of aggravation...although that wont get you any Starpoints...

Overall - loved the full suite with kitchen offered as a Platimun upgraded room. Becuase the property is over 50% timeshare designed units, this is a GREAT option for a suite for me - which is why I keep coming back.

folashade

Just completed a stay here. The room was a typical Westin. Staff is great and enjoyed the spacious room and the Westin Workout room was fine. The only pet peeve is the mandatory valet. Unless I was attending a conference at the convention center I would not stay at this hotel since its just a little out of the way and the $16 fee is annoying

pdxjayhawk

The fam and I are doing a two night stay currently. Given how "tourist trap-y" the rest of the hotels around Orlando can be, we are enjoying being a bit removed from the chaos.

EVERY member of the staff here has been wonderful. Yes, I would say the restaurant food is very average. But you're only a block or two from every dining option you could want, all the way from McDonald's to Capital Grille.

We had originally planned to stay in another Starwood property during this 2nd part of our trip, but after spending one night here, cancelled the other reservation and asked for two more days here.

I would highly reccomend this hotel.

bsdstone

We are headed back to Orlando in April with our two young boys (4 1/2 and 3 at that point). We will mostly be doing the parks, but typically spend a half day at the hotel pool...is this a good option for us? Were you upgraded to a suite as a platinum as well?

HOTguy

This proeprty was built as a condo-hotel by Intrawest who continues to manage it. It was supposed to be one piece within a much larger mixed-use Village of Imagine, but the Village part has been scrapped. A proper convention center hotel will probably get built on the site eventually.