Best western lake buene vista is a good hotel. They charge depending on season. I booked through an agent and paid through him. Found they are renting rooms at half the rates across the countrer. Felt very bad. Otherwise it is a good hotel.

We stayed here for one night over Thanksgiving week, before moving to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We liked the landscaped parking lot and it was easy to find the hotel. Good location to Downtown Disney and outlet mall. Room was clean and comfy. Had drinks at the bar and service there was good. Service at the front desk was as in previous review: we were barely acknowledged any time we went. Very aloof and indifferent to guests. We used AAA rate and did not pre-book. We plan to stay there again when we do not have our pets and aren't staying on Disney property. Just wish they were dog-friendly. :-(

Jan 2-13/13: We fell for the "pay up front" deal for a cheaper rate - BIG mistake. I would have left after the first night if I could have. Arrived to a room with no a/c and no safe. Reported the room problems the next morning and the staff did have it fixed by that night. However, the thermostat on the a/c did not appear to work at all. It was either on and running full tilt and you froze, or you shut it off.

Tried to have dinner in the restaurant the night we arrived - smelled horrible in there and only one staff member working. Waited around for about 15 minutes and finally left to walk to the various restaurants available at the corner of I-4. Found a TGI Friday's there and that was great.

Upon our return, I gave the room a closer inspection - it was NOT clean. A big spider had taken up residence behind the bathroom door. The bathroom fixtures are old and stained, including the bath tub - really disgusting. Hair and ick around toilet and on bathroom floor from previous guests. I cleaned that mess up myself because I was too tired to wait for someone from housekeeping to come up. Big sticky spot at the foot of one of the beds - this remained there the entire stay - every day I had to put a big towel over the spot so my feet would not stick there.

Taxi service is a rip off. The hotel has it's "own" taxis that you are forced to use when you need one. They have no meters - you just pay what they quote you. First experience was reserving the hotel van to go to Universal for 7 people a day prior to going. Prepaid $4.00 - we were told this was required to show you are "serious" about wanting it. Arrived the next morning downstairs at the designated time - no van. Showed them the receipt for the deposit we paid - didn't matter. Waited about half an hour and they finally called us a van from another taxi company. They were persistent that we prepay for the return trip for $60.00 - claiming this would save us money. After the fiasco of prepaying to reserve the van, we opted not to do this. Guess what? Taxi service one way to Universal was $33.00 + the $4.00 reservation charge - from the hotel. Going home in an off-property cab from Universal cost us $24.00. Nice rip off Best Western. The $4.00 prepayment is a commission to the hotel bellman for setting up the reservation - what a joke.

Second taxi experience - the husbands went golfing to a golf course just a few blocks from the hotel. The cab driver got lost - didn't know where it was. The guys were quoted $10 at the hotel and ended up being charged $15.00 by the cab driver because of the time he spent driving around lost in his own neighbourhood!

The phone in our room didn't work properly. We were unable to retrieve messages the entire time we were there. The alarm clock could not be set either. The room remained questionable in the cleanliness department. Big stickly spot on carpet was still there when we left.

Front Desk staff seemed extremely annoyed each time we wanted to cash in traveller's cheques and made the process slow and painful. Sorry! Every other hotel I've stayed in has been happy to do this for me. By the end of our 12 night stay they seemed to come around somewhat in this area. Or maybe we just figured out which front desk staff to approach with the request?

Tried ordering Pizza Hut one night after a long day at the parks - 1 staff member working (again) and he was out on a delivery. Finally managed to get Pizza Hut ordered & delivered another night and it was good, and prices were reasonable. The next night they even warmed up our left overs for us, which was more than we expected.

Positives: Beds were comfortable and bedding looked clean; pool was nice and kids enjoyed it while the temperatures were cooler. Once it warmed up they shut the heaters off and the kids froze; proximity to Downtown Disney and good selection of restaurants on I-4 was great - easy & pleasant 10 minute walk either way. Clerk at check-out didn't charge us for fridge without even having to start in on the negatives of our experience. I did appreciate that. We paid extra for the Disney View and that was a nice bonus. Took advantage of the free parcel delivery from the Parks, and that worked great. Buses to Disney Parks were good for the most part. At the end of the night, they are beyond over-crowded, so try to avoid staying till the bitter end if you can.

Overall, I had a big case of hotel regret and wished I'd just spent the extra money to stay at a newer Disney resort. You really do get what you pay for but in this case, I still felt like we overpaid.