Staying at The Point Hotel in Orlando Florida. What to budget for while traveling and how much we spent. Review and experience.
We very much enjoyed our stay at the Point Hotel.
This is a post all about our spontaneous vacation to Florida!
What we thought about our hotel and of course how much we spent.
Our budget allowed us to take a mini-vacation to Florida.
Michael and I decided to take a last-minute trip becuase our vacation days were going to expire.
Normally we would just take a day here and there but this time we thought of something better.
We live in NY and I was craving warm weather.
I looked at the budget and booked us a trip to sunny Florida.
My goal for this trip was to go somewhere warm that wasn’t going to cost us a ton of money.
I chose Orlando because it was pretty affordable.
Many visit the area for the Disney theme parks but our goal was to travel on a budget.
I first searched places near the beach and then realized Orlando was the cheapest.
I always look for places closer to the airport.
This cuts down on transportation costs.
Expedia has been our method of choice when it comes to booking vacations and hotels.
We have been using Expedia for the past 5 years. It might not be the most cost-effective way to travel but it sure does make life easy.
For 5 days, and airfare from Albany airport we spent $1,166.90.
We stayed at The Point Hotel and Suites in a one-bedroom deluxe suite with a kitchen.
This hotel I have to say was very nice.
We have stayed in a timeshare resort hotel on 2 other occasions and both were great experiences.
I specifically was looking for a suite so we could keep the cost low by not eating out.
The suite was a perfect size for two, had a large king-sized bed, dining area, and my favorite part was the spacious bathroom.
The kitchen was stocked with everything we needed and there is also laundry in the unit.
So how about the budget?
As I mentioned the total cost of the hotel and flights was $1,166.90.
There is a resort fee attached which is given to you at the time of booking but not charged until you leave.
It can be really difficult to come up with an estimated budget before leaving on a vacation, but here are a few line items to keep in mind.
- Money for the airport such as baggage fees
- transportation/gas/tolls/tickets
- groceries/eating out don’t forget the days you leave and come home!
- tips and gratuities
- activities/ sightseeing/ souvenirs
- drinks or alcoholic beverages
I tried to budget the best I could and make a game plan of what we were going to be doing even down to the meals we were going to be eating out.
It can be hard to be 100% prepared but a rough estimate is better than irresponsibly spending all your money.
Our total costs included…
Money For Baggage I had budgeted $50, $25 per way.
Many airlines no longer allow a free carry on so we just decided to bring one suitcase with all of our items.
I was off by $10.
Baggage is now $30 per way per piece of luggage.
Baggage Total: $60
Transportation I set aside $100.
It was hard to tell how often we were going to need transportation and how much it was going to be.
Our goal was to use Uber but use them as little as possible.
It cost us $50 to get from the airport to the hotel. When you use Uber or Taxi service from airports or large events like concerts there are fees attached.
We also hit tolls.
To return to the airport we paid $38.08.
For the rest of the trip, we walked or took a free shuttle.
The closest grocer was 1 mile away, and yes we walked there and back…with all the food!
I also tipped with personal money.
Transportation Total: $88.08
Groceries I wanted to include in our normal budget just as if we were buying a week of food for home.
I hope to not be over budget by the end of April.
To not take an Uber and walk we had to go to the closest grocer, which was Whole Foods!
Everyone knows Whole Foods as a whole paycheck and believe me as a trainer I could spend all kinds of money in there!
I planned out the meals we needed and when we were eating out so we could gauge how much food to buy.
- Breakfast coffee, eggs, bacon, cheese, and toast
- Lunch 2 salad kits, burgers, chicken tenders
- Dinner 2 bags of chicken thighs, 2 boxes of rice, 1 box of pasta, one bag of frozen broccoli, one bag of frozen green beans
- Snacks trail mix, cheese sticks, pretzels, crackers
- Other items included butter for cooking and toast, a thing of donuts because you know the balance, and limes and lemonade for drinks.
- We also bought 2 small bottles of wine, a small handle of tequila, and a small bottle of strawberry vodka…yes we drank it all. Buying drinks at the bar is a huge waste of money and we didn’t want that. I had sangria at the pool it was $13 with a tip.
We didn’t end up eating all the pretzels probably 3/4 of the bag.
I took home the trail mix and one sleeve of crackers, we did less snacking then we thought.
We also didn’t use up all the limes, there was a piece of cheese or 2 left as well as a little lemonade.
I felt bad wasting some food but we tried to use up what we had as much as possible.
Food/alcohol Total: $172.49
I planned accordingly for eating out knowing it had the potential to bust our budget.
I planned 3 meals for eating out.
One when we got there for lunch and the other 2 for when we were at Sea World.
We had Starbucks the morning we left in the airport but used a gift card so it costed nothing.
Eating at Sea World we knew would be expensive and it was.
I budgeted for lunch and dinner but we just ended up getting lunch.
Paying for the meal deal is probably the best bet if you are going to eat more than one time at the parks.
Eating out Total: $111.95
The only activity we did was visit Sea World.
We sat by the pool the 2 other days, worked out, read, watched cable because we have been cable-less for a while now, and just relaxed.
Sea World was super cute and totally worth the money.
It is really hard to visit Orlando and not be tempted to visit any parks.
The aquarium was perfect for a one day visit filled with some super cute shows.
We saw manatees, turtles, fish, dolphins, penguins, sea lions, flamingos, sharks, killer whales, and made some serious memories.
Not going would have saved us the $55 in food as well as $140 for tickets. But it was worth it.
Remember just because you go somewhere doesn’t mean you have to try and do everything!
Excursion Total: $140.00
All tips and other alcohol, drinks, or snacks were bought with personal money.
I could have budgeted for them but I knew they would be small enough to pay for with cash.
I also bought myself a new mug from Sea World that I have been loving!
Other Expenses Total: $0
The trip in its entirety cost $1,739.42.
It is important to realize that just because you may be able to pay for a trip doesn’t always mean you can afford to be on one.
Vacations should never be financed or put on credit cards or add to your debt amounts.
If vacationing is important to you start a sinking fund and save over time.
We had such a great time and the hotel was well worth the money.
This was a nice frugal trip that Michael and I really enjoyed.
I say frugal because we usually visit the Caribbean and spend $3-$4 thousand on airfare and all inclusive hotels.
Have you ever tracked how much you spent on a vacation? Have you ever gone into debt to just get away?
Interested in reading more?
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