Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites – Waterpark

Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites – Waterpark (formerly known as Holiday Inn Family Suites, Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn, Nickelodeon Suites Resort, and simply the Nick Hotel) is an all-suite hotel in Orlando, Florida, United States, near the Universal Orlando Resort and one mile from Walt Disney World Resort. It is a Holiday Inn Resort. From 2005 to 2016, the hotel was themed after the cable television channel Nickelodeon.[8]

Holiday Inn Suites Orlando – Waterpark
The Holiday Inn Suites logo, used from 2016 onward
The final logo for the Nickelodeon Suites Resort name, used starting in early 2010 to 2016
General information
Location14500 Continental Gateway
Orlando, Florida[1]
OpeningJuly 7, 1999[2] (as Holiday Inn Family Suites)
March 9, 2005 (as Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn)
Early 2010 (as Nickelodeon Suites Resort)
June 1, 2016 (as Holiday Inn Resort Suites Orlando – Waterpark)[3][4]
OwnerUrban Commons[5] (UCCONT1 LLC.)
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
DeveloperMiller Global Properties[6]
Other information
Number of suites777[7]
Website
www.hisuitesorlando.com

The resort features one-to-three bedroom suites and two waterparks, the Lagoon Pool and Oasis Pool.[9] A "4-D" film theater using SimEx-Iwerks technology,[10] 3,000-square-foot arcade,[11] golf course, multi-level basketball court and family game shows are held at the hotel, and "Nick After Dark" event locations were also previously held at the hotel. The resort formerly contained a shopping area with a Nickelodeon-brand retail shop and a buffet known as the "Nicktoons Café",[12] among other restaurants. Near the entrance of the resort was a time capsule formerly buried outside the former Nickelodeon Studios complex at nearby Universal Studios Florida.[13][14]

Nickelodeon Suites Resort was named one of the AAA's top ten family vacation spots in 2010,[15] and in 2011, the hotel became the first to receive the AHLEI's Certified Guest Service Property Designation.[16]

On January 18, 2021, the debranded Holiday Inn Resort filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[17]

History

The original hotel opened on July 7, 1999,[18] and was branded the "Holiday Inn Family Suites". At an October 7, 2004 press conference in New York City,[19] Holiday Inn and Nickelodeon announced a partnership and renovation of the hotel, which would transform it into the Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn. The announcement followed a two-year deal in which Holiday Inn promoted SpongeBob SquarePants at its locations.[20]

Before licensing the Nickelodeon name to Holiday Inn, Nickelodeon had considered opening a hotel on its own.[21] Nickelodeon decided against it, since they had observed recent troubles with their competitors opening themed locations (such as Club Disney). The company opted instead to give Holiday Inn the permission to use the Nickelodeon name and characters. Nickelodeon and Holiday Inn had further "hopes to add at least four more [Nickelodeon-branded hotels] in other tourist areas during the next few years,"[21] but they did not materialize.

In 2005, the hotel's $25 million[22] renovation ended with a Memorial Day event to promote the hotel's reopening. At this time, the resort began hosting two nightly game shows, titled Nick Live and Who Knows Best[23] (a Double Dare-themed game show was added in May 2012).[24]

In November 2007, the resort hosted "Noggin Month", a month of events themed around shows on Nickelodeon's sister channel, Noggin. Donovan Patton (better known as Joe, the second star and live-action host of Blue's Clues) made special appearances, and hotel guests were given plastic puppet eyes from the Noggin show Oobi.[25]

Nickelodeon Suites Resort started offering customizable wedding packages in 2009.[26] In 2014, the hotel promoted the premiere of Dora and Friends: Into the City! with a preschool-themed event featuring costume characters from Bubble Guppies, Dora the Explorer, Little Bill, The Backyardigans, Wonder Pets! and Team Umizoomi.[27] Also in 2014, the resort launched a laser maze area.[28]

In 2015, marked the resort's tenth year under its Nickelodeon name and the hotel hosted weekly celebratory events from March 6 until November of that year.[29]

Rebranding

On January 29, 2016, Nick Hotel posted an official statement on their website stating that starting on April 18, 2016, the hotel would be rebranded back into a Holiday Inn. Nickelodeon experiences were set to be discontinued after April 30, 2016,[3] but were extended until May 31, 2016, after the rebrand was pushed back to June 1, 2016.[4] Sometime before the resort's closure, the time capsule previously held at the resort was moved to Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California, leaving Orlando for the first time since its initial burial.[30]

After the debranding, the hotel continued to struggle. With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 affecting tourism in the area, the hotel lost 300 jobs in April 2020. The hotel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 18, 2021.[31]

See also

References
  1. "6 Amazing Resort Pools in the US for Families". Huffington Post. 10 November 2015.
  2. "Holiday Inn Family Suites – Orlando, FL". Holiday Inn. Archived from the original on 1 March 2000.
  3. Dineen, Caitlin (29 January 2016). "Nick Hotel to become a Holiday Inn". OrlandoSentinel.com.
  4. "Hotel in Orlando | Nickelodeon Suites Resort | Orlando Resort". www.nickhotel.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  5. "Can $250 million and a Ferris wheel finally turn the Queen Mary into a Long Beach tourist destination?". Los Angeles Times.
  6. "Global Holdings – Nickelodeon Hotel". Miller Global. Archived from the original on 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  7. Daly, Sean (19 February 2013). "Orlando Nickelodeon Suites Resort awash in everything SpongeBob". Tampa Bay Times.
  8. "Hotel in Orlando – Nickelodeon Suites Resort – Orlando Resort". Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  9. Pittman, Craig; Robinson, Sherry (22 September 2005). "Soak it in...Orlando's Nickelodeon-themed Holiday Inn makes a splash". St. Petersburg Times.
  10. Gaudiosi, John (27 December 2012). "How Video Gamers Are Influencing the Way Carnival Designs Cruise Ships". Forbes.
  11. Allen, Aimee (11 February 2020). "20 Amazing Arcades in Orlando Where the Fun Never Stops". Westgate Resorts.
  12. "Nickelodeon Suites Resort closes the summer with a preschool celebration". Business Wire. 16 July 2014.
  13. Mejia, Paula (11 January 2015). "The Coolest Time Capsules Yet to Be Opened". Newsweek.
  14. Dineen, Caitlin (20 March 2016). "Nickelodeon resort's time capsule on move". orlandosentinel.com.
  15. "AAA Inspectors Pick Their Favorite Places for Family Vacations". American Automobile Association.
  16. "The Nickelodeon Suites Resort is first hotel to receive Certified Guest Service Property Designation". Marketing Weekly. 22 October 2011.
  17. Witthaus, Jack (January 19, 2021). "Breaking: Hotel owner near Disney seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  18. "Holiday Inn Family Suites - Orlando, FL". Holiday Inn. Archived from the original on 1 March 2000.
  19. "Nickelodeon Family Suites". Archived from the original on 10 October 2003.
  20. "SpongeBob coming to a Holiday Inn near you". www.travelweekly.com.
  21. Company, Tampa Publishing. "Welcome to SpongeBob Inn". Tampa Bay Times.
  22. Jackson, Jerry (28 May 2005). "A resort with character(s)". The Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016.
  23. Spencer, Terry (27 June 2005). "Nickelodeon Hotel: Where green slime is a selling point". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013.
  24. "Be Part of the Act This Summer with Double Dare Live at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort", Marketing Weekly, 26 May 2012
  25. "Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando: Noggin Month, November 2007". Nickelodeon Suites Resort. Orlando, FL: Viacom International, Inc. October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007.
  26. "SpongeBob now available as the best man at your wedding". Attractions Magazine. 3 August 2009.
  27. "Nickelodeon Suites Resort to Hold Preschool Celebration". Entertainment Close-Up. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017.
  28. "Nickelodeon Suites Resort to Launch 'Summer of Shell'". Travel & Leisure Close-Up. 13 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017.
  29. "Nickelodeon Suites Resort Marks Its 10th Birthday with a Yearlong Celebration". Business Wire. 19 February 2015.
  30. Roseboom, Matt (February 26, 2016). "Nickelodeon Time Capsule to be moved to new Nick studios in California". Orlando Attractions Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  31. Witthaus, Jack (January 19, 2021). "Breaking: Hotel owner near Disney seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2022.

28°21′24″N 81°30′40″W

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