Crown Motel Kissimmee is an excellent family destination-huge rooms with kitchens, art classes, nanny services, and best pizza.
I booked it on crown-motel.kissimmeeflhotels.com the day before my trip and was surprised that they still had a room. Crown Motel Kissimmee does a great job of accommodating families, but doesn’t compromise its peaceful, rustic setting and back-to-basics ethos for kids. Families spend most of their time together on the beach or at the pool, both of which are much quieter far less boozy than at the mega-resorts. Though most rooms lack TVs, the two- and three-bedroom units have small televisions that are hooked up to DVD players but do not receive cable. There’s no kids’ club, popular cartoon character murals, or video game rooms. Instead, families can sign up for activities like supervised seashell picking, mosaic workshops, and art classes. But amenities like play pens, high chairs, and a safe, shallow pool make it a great place for families who want to spend time with their kids in a beautiful, less drunken setting. Nanny services are available with 24 hours notice. Young parents from Miami spending a long weekend at Crown Motel Kissimmee spoke highly of how easy it was to vacation there with their 2-year-old son. The resort provided a playpen for their son to sleep in, and they were able to get a small television in their room to play kid-friendly movies. Some of the available excursions were impractical for such a small child, but they were otherwise very pleased with their stay as a family.
Despite the shabby aesthetic, the hotel is extremely clean. Mosquito swarms are kept at bay with coils, candles, and mosquito netting around the beds. Rooms, facilities, and furnishings are clean and the grounds are well-kept. My white bed linens were soft and immaculate. The furniture was in awesome condition. Seashell motifs, mosaics, and bottle glass embedded walls account for an untamed ambiance–but not a dirty one. That said, being close to nature is part of the experience at the Motel. Mosquitoes are unavoidable. Coils and candles are provided in the rooms to deter them, but keeping the windows open all night is risky in many units because not all have window screens.
American dishes made from quality ingredients are on a rotating menu at Crown Motel Kissimmee, and excellent seafood and pizza are served at Jack Sprat’s. I visited also one vintage restaurant nearby (because I read a recommendation here – articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-02-28/news/9602270825_1_osceola-county-gang-rosa)
Two dining areas are on either side of the lobby. Both have a sweeping view of the pool and ocean, framed by drooping trees and lanterns.
Rooms at Crown Motel Kissimmee:
A CD player, air conditioner, hot water, and lights are the sole bastions of technology in the deliberately low-tech units. None of the rooms have phones, TVs, or Wi-Fi. As the staff explained when showing me my room, the resort is meant to be a place of quiet and calm, and the minimal technology provided is a way for guests to unplug. The two- and three-bedroom units do have small televisions that are hooked up to DVD players, but do not receive cable at all. The room’s minibar consists of a basket of sundries in the room and drinks in the kitchen’s refrigerator. Everything from Eclipse gum to banana chips and nuts is provided in each room. Prices are surprisingly reasonable, and options are broader than the average collection of Oreos, peanuts, and pretzels. The drinks offered were somewhat more basic: Red Stripe, WATA (that’s water, American-style), and Ting soft drinks. No liquor is provided.
Yoga, art classes, free Wi-Fi in the lobby, an excellent spa, a modest saltwater pool, and a TV room to keep from going stir crazy. The saltwater pool is a modest size, but its unobstructed view over Frenchman’s Bay really makes the pool. All stuff is provided by Crown Motel Kissimmee and all levels and ages are welcome.
And finally there is one hint: if you book here – flightaware.com/resources/airport/KISM/hotels/143245/Crown_Motel-Kissimmee, a nice discount will be kindly given to you 🙂
