Bear N Mom - Travel - Orlando, FL - Rosen Shingle Creek Resort

Rosen Shingle Creek is a beautifully laid out resort off Exit 2 in Orlando, Florida. The entrance has a gated entrance for security. The main entrance of the hotel which appears to be pale orange stucco with darker orange tiled roof is approximately an eighth of a mile up a driveway boasting lush green lawns and beautiful palm trees and bushes. The beauty of the resort cannot be mistaken and the entire setting is in itself relaxing.

Upon arrival early in the evening I descended from my shuttle with 2 suitcases and 2 carry-on pieces of luggage. This was my first encounter with disappointment at the hotel. Not one bellman appeared to help with my luggage. After dragging all my luggage into the hotel, I found the registration desk off to my right.

I was greeted with warm smiles and my registration went smoothly. They acknowledged that I had handicapped type accommodations and asked for a credit card for incidentals which is common practice and all hotels. I prefer to prepay my hotel bill so that I can express checkout at the end of my stay and the whole process took me less than 5 minutes and I was handed my room key.

Second disappointment, again I was not offered bellman help. Upon asking for help the registration clerk called the bell desk for a helper.

This started what seemed like a mile long hike to my HANDICAPPED accommodations. I had stated that I had a walking disability and when we got off the elevator on my floor the bellman proceeded to lead me down not 1, not 2, but 3 long hallways to my room. I told the bellman that this would not do since I could not walk this distance approximately 6 times a day just to get to other rooms and dining. He advised me to call the front desk and left me with my bags in the room.

The room was beautiful and the bathroom boasted a walk in shower with no door supplied with seating for a person who would need to be assisted with entrance to their daily shower needs. It was beautifully laid out and was luxurious to say the least.

After the bellman left me with my bags I called the registration desk and asked to be moved to a room closer to the elevators. They voice at the other end was very nice but said they had no more handicapped rooms that were closer and did I actually need a handicapped room. When I answered in the affirmative, I was informed there would be over 500 checking out the next day and that they would move me then. After I hung up, I called them back and said I could step into a tub as long as there were rails in the tub and they moved me to a room that was only four doors away from the elevators.

This room was exactly laid out like the first room except it had a tub in the bathroom area with the hand sink in an anteroom. There were no rails either at the commode or in the tub. At this point, I decided to cut my losses and just stay in this room that had easy access to the elevators.

The bedroom was luxuriously linened with 4 pillows and a bolster on each queen-sized bed. I'm guessing that because we were in Florida, the hotel assumed we did not need any blankets on the bed. Instead there was a decorative blanket across the bottom portion of the bed that when used to lay on top of the bed could be moved to cover the shoulders. It reminded me of a lap rug that went from one side of the queen bed to the other instead of having a bedspread.

We had daily maid service and the bedding and towels were changed daily. This is something that ecologically is not the case in a lot of hotels. Some other hotels expect you to put the towels on the floor if you want them changed. If the towels are hung up, you will use them again the next day. The maid service was never at the same time of the day. If they had a lot of check outs, the people who were staying did not get their rooms done until late in the afternoon. Otherwise, the rooms were done mid morning.

There were amenities available for an extra fee.

Internet access cost $9.95 per day. As a result I only used my laptop on two occasions to read my email and take care of banking needs.

As in any other hotel, you need to give them a credit card in order to have any of the extra fees billed to your room such as Internet access, room service and dining at the restaurants and cafes or shopping at one of the various in house shops.

There are shops for every kind of luxury item you wish to purchase from candy to clothing and gifts to be taken home.

There is a golf course on the property and a walking path for those who like to exercise. There is also a spa and exercise equipment room which is pretty standard for most hotels.

What was outstanding was their pool facilities. There are 4 gated pools none of which has a life guard. On the left is an Olympic pool with 4 lanes. In the center there is a pool that goes from 0 feet to 5 feet in depth. Along the side is a hot tub and an additional gated children's pool. In the center of this area is a changing room facility. The fourth pool is a luxurious pool in the shape of a double kidney which also has a hot tub at one end of the pool. The only bad feature of the pool area is that there are no shaded areas during the day to protect you from the brutal Florida sun.

I used the hot tub for 10 minutes at a time in order to not get sunburned. I prefer to swim at night but unfortunately for me I didn't have time to do that in the evenings when the sun was down.

We were very fortunate to have one of the most impressive rooms in the resort for our Hospitality Room. Pennsylvania had the Presidential Suite which was most luxuriously funished. It was one of the few rooms that had an outdoor balcony that overlooked the pool area and golf course.

The suite had the usual bar facilities with a microwave and refrigerator under the bar. The chairs were elegantly upholstered and the walls had a bookshelf with beautiful bric-a-brac.

What was most impressive was the foyer opened up to a baby grand piano in the middle of the suite. The middle area had two seating areas on both sides.

Their food goes from very good in their restaurants to horrible in their banquet rooms. What makes the difference I don't know.

There were two finer restaurants in the hotel and the first offered dinners starting at $35. The second restaurant boasted a breakfast and dinner buffet. The dinner buffet cost $25 per person.

As a result I ate at the hotel 18 Monroe Shop which boasted three cafeteria lines for different types of foods. You could purchase bagels, giant muffins and croissants for breakfast in one line. At that line you also purchased your desserts such as carrot cake, key lime pie, brownies, etc. Each individual dessert was garnished with a different type of chocolate shaving.

The second line had selections of sandwiches and wraps for a lighter fare and dinners such at meat loaf. The third boasted a pizza shop atmosphere with lasagna and hoagies.

We had two meals in the banquet room. Neither meal was worth the price of the ticket we purchased to attend these functions. The breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon with fruit that were tepid to cold when served. I ate my breakfast because I was hungry but some did not. There was a selection of danish in the middle of the table and each table boasted individual jars of jellies for the breads.

Due to the disappointment of the breakfast meal, we were given a selection of cheeses and fruits at each table the night of the State Banquet. I'm sorry to say but that was the highlight of the meal we received. The chicken tasted like it was boiled with rosemary garnish. The green beans were hard and not even what I would call a dente. The only tasty part of the meal was the mashed potatoes, individual breads and the key lime pie we were served for dessert.

Let's go back to the 18 Monroe Shop. I ate two meals from that shop and both were very tasty and affordable. The lasagna cost $10.95 and was served with garlic bread. The piece of lasagna was large enough to feed two people and the sauce did not leave an acid problem. The other meal I ate from there was meat loaf, costing $6.95, which they served with green beans and mashed potatoes. They were the same green beans we had eaten at the banquet but these were cooked and edible.

They also have a Hagen Daas Ice Cream Shop in this area which serves malts, sundaes and milk shakes. The rest of the shop has selections of cookies, fruits, drinks, a coffee and soda stand, refrigerated quick meals such at tuna croissants and a selection of toiletries and medicines that you may have forgotten to pack. You can also purchase various sun tan lotions and gift items.