First of all, let me preface this review by stating that my wife and I are members of the Disney Vacation Club. As such, we've become..."spoiled", shall we say...by the quality of the accomodations that we've enjoyed at the Disney resorts. Bearing that in mind, I shall try to be as open-minded and objective as possible when offering this review of the Ramada Maingate West.

We booked this hotel a for a spontaneous weekend get-away (2/1/08 - 2/3/08...Disney had nothing available).

The hotel is very conveniently located for those traveling to / from the theme parks. Restaurants, shopping, and other attractions abound and offer many other possibilities for the traveler within walking distance. The lobby is quite dingy and poorly-lit. The staff at the front desk were pleasant enough, and quite helpful. The smell of chlorine from the indoor pool was there, but not enough to cause any real discomfort. A walk through of the atrium area showed that this was clearly a place that was past its prime, but still could be fun, with a pool, hot-tub, an arcade, snack bar, tiki bar and nightly karoke. We asked for a room away from the karaoke and were given a room at literally the farthest point in the hotel (third floor with a view of the outdoor pool). As the only elevators are located in the lobby at the front of the hotel, this made for QUITE a long walk. The hallways are long, dim and non-descript. There are ice and vending machines on every floor.

Upon opening the door of our "Non-Smoking" room, the smell of stale smoke assaulted our nostrils (please note that I don't blame the hotel for the actions of the previous, inconsiderate guests who were obviously thinking that they "weren't hurting anyone" by smoking in a Non-smoking room). When I phoned to have my room changed, the staff at the front desk were very apologetic...but were booked solid, and so had no other room to offer me. Their solution(?) to the problem was to immediately send up a porter wielding a can of cinnamon air-freshener, who promptly sprayed the entire room from top-to-bottom. The smell was unpleasant and overpowering.

The room itself was spartan, but clean. The only two gripes with respect to the room were: First, the television carried sound, but no picture for The Weather Channel (channel 48), making it difficult to know what to bring along for a day's fun. The second is the lack of hot water in the shower (it could best be described as tepid).

The meals at the on-site restaurant are adequate (the breakfast menu is better than the dinner menu), but truthfully, with so many other less-expensive, better buffets in the immediate area, the only real benefit to eating there is the convenience of not having to make an extra stop during a busy day.

The parking area along the sides and rear of the building have inoperative security lights, so be aware when going to / from your vehicle during the night.

In all fairness, I did not expect the Ritz for a paltry $59 a night, but I know that with so many other hotels competing for guests in and around the Orlando area that there must be nicer places to spend your money.