Best places to stay in Orlando, Rosen Plaza Hotel Review
Rosen Plaza Hotel International Drive Orlando, Florida Review
Welcome to the first blog post of our ‘Best places to stay in Orlando, Florida’ series. On our travels, we have stayed in many hotels up and down International Drive, sometimes multiple trips a year for the past 16 years. We thought it would be a nice idea to put together a list of the best places to stay on I-Drive and give you our opinion from our previous hotel visits, to help you make your decision of where to stay in Orlando a little easier. First up on our list and hands down one of our favorite hotels to stay at is the Rosen Plaza Hotel.
Picture of the Rosen Plaza Hotel from International Drive
The hotel review
We were going to start off the review with an explanation of the layout of the hotel, but then we found this great video by the Rosen Plaza staff and thought who better to explain the hotel layout better than the staff themselves?
Check out this great virtual tour of the hotel below.
Every time we have stayed at the Rosen Plaza hotel we have thoroughly enjoyed our vacation.
The staff
One thing to point out about this hotel is that the staff are incredible, they are so helpful and nice, and there is literally no request too big or small that they can’t handle. You are always greeted with a smile at the check-in desk with a warm welcome to the hotel.
My favorite of all the staff at the hotel is the servers at Cafe Matisse. I like to enjoy a big breakfast when I am on vacation, as it fills me up right till lunch and sets our family up for heading off to the parks or shopping. The servers at cafe Matisse look after you really well and are so friendly and can’t do enough for you.
Hotel Cleanliness
Cleanliness for me is a big thing when it comes to hotel stays. In all the years staying at the Rosen Plaza I have never had a problem with the cleanliness of this hotel. The staff always seems to be cleaning or tidying around, it’s one of the cleanest hotels I’ve stayed at.
The Food
One of my absolute favorite restaurants on I-Drive is Jack’s Place Restaurant in the lobby. The steak and lobster tail off the menu is just amazing. Check out my review here of the best restaurants to visit on International Drive.
Cafe Matisse is great for breakfast, and Lite Bites in the lobby is great for a lunchtime or evening snack, particularly the Pizza, and the sandwiches are also great.
Lunch by the pool is also a fantastic option, check out the freshly made guacamole if its still on the menu!
The Pool
The pool at the Rosen Plaza hotel is one of the biggest I’ve been at in Orlando, it’s never overcrowded and you always find a sun lounger. The hotel also supplies free towels to guests. The pool has an area for smaller kids to splash around and a small hot tub with a small waterfall feature. On the pool deck, there are plenty of tables and chairs to sit and enjoy lunch from Lite Bites or 39 poolside bar.
The Rooms
The guest rooms are large enough and all come with 2 twin size beds. The beds are not the biggest but are sufficient for two people, I guess I just like a big bed. The bedrooms have air conditioning, a flat-screen T.V, a small desk, and all the usual amenities you will need to enjoy your stay. The rooms I’ve stayed in are always cleaned thoroughly and I’ve never had any issues.
The Location
The location of the Rosen Plaza hotel is another major plus for our family personally, we love to hang out at Point Orlando. Some of our favorite restaurants and bars are right across the street and we just find it so easy to get around I-Drive from here.
We will go into further detail about the location below.
International Drive Orlando, Florida
The main hotspot for tourists to stay while on vacation in Orlando, Florida has to be World Famous International Drive.
The location is right in the heart of everything you need to enjoy your vacation with excellent hotels, shopping, restaurants, theme parks, and other fun local attractions lining I-Drive.
International Drive is about a 20-minute drive away from Walt Disney World Florida. If your vacation is centered around attending the Disney theme parks then maybe a location closer to those parks is a better option especially if you have young children and don’t want the commute every day.
If however, your vacation is centered around the other theme parks such as Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay Water Park, SeaWorld, Aquatica Water Park, etc. then staying on International Drive is for you. By the way, if you like rollercoasters, check out our blog post on the top 10 roller coasters you must try while on vacation in Orlando.
International Drive is also a mecca for shopping and is lined with strip malls. Both the North and South end of International Drive have Premium designer shopping outlets. At the North end of International Drive, you will find easy access to the Mall at Millenia. The Florida Mall is also only a 15-minute drive away from I-Drive.
Rosen Plaza Hotel Location Map
Th Rosen Plaza Hotel is ideally located at the heart of International Drive, across the street from Pointe Orlando. Pointe Orlando is an entertainment, shopping, and dining complex, that features bowling lanes, an arcade, and a 20-screen movie theater with IMAX and 4DX screening rooms.
The Orange County Convention Center is just a short walk away and is connected by a convenient sky bridge, which makes the hotel perfect for convention attendees.
Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay theme and water parks are only 4 miles away.
Walt Disney World Orlando is 5.7 miles away and about a 20-minute drive.
SeaWorld Orlando is only 2.4 miles and a mere 8 minutes away.
International Drive is served by the I-Ride transport trolley/bus, which stops right outside the Rosen Plaza at stop 20 South, if you would like to go Northbound stop 18 is a short walk across the street. See the I-Ride trolley video below the location map.
Check out the location map below to see where the Rosen Plaza is conveniently situated in the heart of International Drive.
I-Ride Trolley serves International Drive
Rosen Plaza Hotel Contact Information
Rosen Plaza Hotel contact details:
Address:
9700 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819.
Website:
Phone Numbers:
Check out the Rosen Plaza hotel on Instagram
We hope you liked our review of the Rosen Plaza hotel, the first in a series of blog posts about hotels we’ve stayed at while on vacation in Orlando.
Please share this post with your friends or family who may be thinking of taking a vacation to the area, we really can’t recommend the Rosen Plaza enough. You won’t be disappointed with your stay here.
If you have stayed at the Rosen Plaza hotel please leave a comment below and tell us how you got on with your stay. Or if you have another hotel you would like to recommend please let us know below.