BriarRose0708
08-04-2015, 04:20 PM
It can be difficult to find reviews of some of the less popular good neighbor hotels, so I thought I'd write some thoughts, observations, pros and cons from my recent stay at the Best Western Raffles Inn and Suites. Hope you find it helpful!
The hotel is located at 2040 South Harbor, it was a block south from the Toy Story lot and took me about 8 minutes to walk to that lot. I kept walking and clocked the time it took from the hotel to the DLR bag check at 20 minutes. It was a long trek, especially at the end of a long day, I should have taken a Toy Story lot shuttle and walked the much shorter distance back. The hotel is directly adjacent to the Travelodge and there is an ART station in front of the Travelodge. Parking in there is tight! They have self-park or valet, but beware, I saw many vehicles double parked so you may be blocked in when you want to leave, or be forced to use valet if there are no available spaces when you arrive. Parking is not free, I think it is $15 per day. I didn't have a car so I can't confirm.
I booked on Hotels.com for $100 a night for 2 nights. After taxes, etc. it added up to $230 for a king bed room. The room had a minifridge, microwave, and coffee maker. The pictures and room descriptions online say hardwood floors, but I had carpet in my room. I was on the third floor in a corner room, which allowed for more square footage so even with the king size bed there was a lot of available floor space. The room and bathroom were very clean and the housekeeper did a good job Monday night. Both nights I fell asleep without hearing noise from neighboring rooms, and no one was above me which I appreciated. My room was on the opposite end as the pool so I didn't hear noise from that, either. It is set up motel-style though like the All Stars and Pop at WDW so you will hear people talking or kids being loud as they go by your door. I just cranked the AC fan up and left it on!
The front desk area is really bright and well maintained and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. They do sell park tickets there and they have maps of the area and a list of restaurants that are close by or deliver. Check in and out was very easy.
One of the reasons I booked here, in addition to the good price, was the free breakfast offered in the morning. It's pretty basic continental breakfast and some hot foods like "eggs" (the fake powder kind), sausage patties, and a waffle machine. It was decent and I liked I could make an egg sandwich and eat it on my walk to the park. Breakfast was available from 6:30 - 11 am, I think.
I did not use it, but I did walk by a small fitness center here, which I haven't noticed many Best Westerns to have in the past. Just a couple treadmills and an elliptical and a couple hand weight sets.
So, really there are a lot of pros to this hotel but the major con for many is the distance from DLR. Most people staying here will not want to walk that far and if your car is blocked in at the parking lot you will have to wait for valet to unblock it before you can drive to one of the DLR lots. That being said, I would probably recommend walking to the Toy Story lot and getting the shuttle from there. Other than that, if you just need a place to rest your head and aren't looking for deluxe amenities, this is a perfectly fine hotel and I would stay here again.
The hotel is located at 2040 South Harbor, it was a block south from the Toy Story lot and took me about 8 minutes to walk to that lot. I kept walking and clocked the time it took from the hotel to the DLR bag check at 20 minutes. It was a long trek, especially at the end of a long day, I should have taken a Toy Story lot shuttle and walked the much shorter distance back. The hotel is directly adjacent to the Travelodge and there is an ART station in front of the Travelodge. Parking in there is tight! They have self-park or valet, but beware, I saw many vehicles double parked so you may be blocked in when you want to leave, or be forced to use valet if there are no available spaces when you arrive. Parking is not free, I think it is $15 per day. I didn't have a car so I can't confirm.
I booked on Hotels.com for $100 a night for 2 nights. After taxes, etc. it added up to $230 for a king bed room. The room had a minifridge, microwave, and coffee maker. The pictures and room descriptions online say hardwood floors, but I had carpet in my room. I was on the third floor in a corner room, which allowed for more square footage so even with the king size bed there was a lot of available floor space. The room and bathroom were very clean and the housekeeper did a good job Monday night. Both nights I fell asleep without hearing noise from neighboring rooms, and no one was above me which I appreciated. My room was on the opposite end as the pool so I didn't hear noise from that, either. It is set up motel-style though like the All Stars and Pop at WDW so you will hear people talking or kids being loud as they go by your door. I just cranked the AC fan up and left it on!
The front desk area is really bright and well maintained and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. They do sell park tickets there and they have maps of the area and a list of restaurants that are close by or deliver. Check in and out was very easy.
One of the reasons I booked here, in addition to the good price, was the free breakfast offered in the morning. It's pretty basic continental breakfast and some hot foods like "eggs" (the fake powder kind), sausage patties, and a waffle machine. It was decent and I liked I could make an egg sandwich and eat it on my walk to the park. Breakfast was available from 6:30 - 11 am, I think.
I did not use it, but I did walk by a small fitness center here, which I haven't noticed many Best Westerns to have in the past. Just a couple treadmills and an elliptical and a couple hand weight sets.
So, really there are a lot of pros to this hotel but the major con for many is the distance from DLR. Most people staying here will not want to walk that far and if your car is blocked in at the parking lot you will have to wait for valet to unblock it before you can drive to one of the DLR lots. That being said, I would probably recommend walking to the Toy Story lot and getting the shuttle from there. Other than that, if you just need a place to rest your head and aren't looking for deluxe amenities, this is a perfectly fine hotel and I would stay here again.