Want to take my 14 year old Boy to Universal and Sea World. How does Universal stack up for a teen and is Doubletree - the Castle a good choice ? Going in April.

If he likes wild rides (and what teenager doesn't?), he'll never want to leave Universal's Islands of Adventure.

The Castle is a massive hotel on a nice section of South International Drive. I don't know what it costs, but I got the Wyndham Hotel (very nice;quarter of a mile away) for only $25 thru Priceline in January.

We stayed at the Castle a few years ago. The eating area is very small and the price for breakfast was on the high side. Unless it has changed, definitely plan on eating somewhere else.

The hotel itself has a unique theme, with dragons and knights and the pool looked fantastic (didn't have time to swim). They have music piped into every room (you control the channel and volume) which was a neat touch.

You'll be very close to Sea World, less than a mile I would guess.

Your 14 year old (and you) will LOVE Islands of Adventure at Universal. I enjoyed it more than the Universal Studios park. The theming and the rides are great.

the double tree rooms are very "girly" for a teenaged boy
as for universal he will think you are the best mum ever.

Dear Don

Have you tought about staying at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios. If you have an entertainment card you can get 50% off the rack room rates for Hard Rock and the Double Tree Castle. This is a big savings. Go to www.entertainment.com
Call about the rooms first ask for the entertainment card rate if there are rooms available then book it and call and order your entertainment book (your card will be inside). Order the book for the Orlando area. There are some coupons in there. Even if you dont use the coupons you have saved enough in hotel savings to more then make up for purchasing the book. All that said I would chose the Hard Rock. Your son will have a great time and so will you. Hope this helps.


Peace, Robbie