Marriott Grande Vista

[mike14450]

We are staying at the Marriott Grande Vista in March. This is our first visit to the GV and we are wondering about the pools. Our kids (5&7) love swimming and water slides - how do the pools fare for kids? What kind of kid activities can we expect? I've read other comments about the resort and they all sound very positive.

Thanks!

[MulanMom]

I haven't been yet, but we are staying at the Grand Vista for an upcoming trip. From info I've gathered, there are about 3 pools there, a main and two "quiet" pools. There is a kiddie pool as well as an interactive water play area (I'm thinking much like the ones you see at the Marketplace and in Epcot, fountains that the kids run through and play). Also, there is a kiddie play area along the lines of a McDonald's. Keep in mind, this is all hearsay!

Sharon

[lex.carter]

Why did you both choose the Grande Vista over the Marriott Cypress Harbour? I can't decide which one of those two properties to stay at. I would love to hear your imput.:p

[MulanMom]

Hi lex.carter,

My main reason for selecting the GV was the price. Also, all we need is a 1 bedroom villa as my children are still toddlers. From the research I've done, I've heard Cypress Harbour is comparable in quality. However, CH has only 2 bedroom villas. GV has a mixture similar to DVC...studio, 1BR, 2BR, and 3BR.

Hope this helps!:)

Sharon

[lex.carter]

Hi Sharon,
Thanks for the reply. I have a 10 year old who wants his own bedroom. So we definately need a 2brm. We got a rate of $185 a night through the Marriott Vacation Club for a 2brm. I feel better when I can rent directly from the hotel. Unless I know the discounter, like expedia and travelocity. We know someone who buys points every year from a reputable disney vacation club owner. We could have stayed at the old key west resort. We almost did that and we would have paid around $110 a night for a studio, but we needed the space.
Take care,
Diane

[freqfly]

Hi,

We'll be there in less than 2 weeks. Any recommendations for what type / location of room to ask for?

[MulanMom]

Freqfly,

Disclaimer: I have not stayed at the Marriott Grande Vista. However, my own research found that bldgs. 80 and 81 are near the main pool, which can be noisy. Bldgs. 91 &92 are the newest while bldgs. 97 & 98 are near a quiet pool. If you made your res at the Marriott website, the room preferences they list deal primarily with smoking or non, and room locations ground, lobby level, near elevator, high floor, etc. Not pool view, golf view, etc.

Hope this helps! Please let us know how you enjoyed the resort and post a message after your visit!

Sharon

[MulanMom]

lex.carter aka Diane,

Recently I rechecked the rates on Marriott.com. They have Cypress Harbour advertised for $157/night. If you are an AAA member, the cost might be lower. For the GV, we were at a $143/night promotional rate but a recheck revealed an AAA rate of $122. I rebooked quickly!

Just FYI,

Sharon

[lex.carter]

Sharon,

What an amazing deal! Well, I booked through hotelkingdom.com for the Sheraton Vistana Village at $135 a night. They have a 10.90 a night cancellation fee, so I think I'm stuck with what I have. I'm going the first week of March. Please let me know how the Marriott was and I'll let you know how the Sheraton is.
Take care,
Diane

[MulanMom]

Originally posted by lex.carter
Sharon,

What an amazing deal! Well, I booked through hotelkingdom.com for the Sheraton Vistana Village at $135 a night. They have a 10.90 a night cancellation fee, so I think I'm stuck with what I have. I'm going the first week of March. Please let me know how the Marriott was and I'll let you know how the Sheraton is.
Take care,
Diane

It's a deal!:D BTW, I did visit inlaws that were staying at Vistana back in '95. LOTS of space! Of course, I don't know how many different sections they have within Vistana, but I know they were pleased. Have a great trip in March! We'll be coming there the second week.

Sharon

[spiceycat]

dumping!

[spiceycat]

okay try again dumping!

[freqfly]

I just got back yesterday from a week at the Grande Vista. WOW! Even as a traveller with platinum status with Marriott, it far exceeded my expectations! The rooms were huge, the ceilings were about 8' tall at least, and the location was exceptionally quiet. (I had a top-floor, end room).

I found the staff to be especially helpful. And the kids (aged 3 to 13) went nuts for the pool complex. Plus, there were a lot of extras I didn't expect, like the fun quad bicycle my wife and kids rented for a ride around the property.

I give the place my highest recommendation.

[mike14450]

freqfly - thanks for the update. We will be in a 2 bedroom 3/13-21 (our first visit) and are happy to read your post. BTW, does the GV have a shuttle to WDW? Do you have a recommendation on the building to stay in?

Thanks - Mike

[MulanMom]

Freqfly,

Glad to hear you had such a good time there! Thank you for coming back and posting about your experience. BTW, which building did you end up in?

Sharon

[freqfly]

I believe we were in building 91. The buildings closest to the main pool were not being rented out at that time.

I don't believe there is an on-property shuttle to WDW; we had rented a car (we used L&M, a local agency and had a brand-new minivan for $cheap!) I was happy with how little traffic we encountered when driving around Orlando. We zipped to WDW in about 18 minutes or so.

[Fºoºz]

Originally posted by freqfly
I just got back yesterday from a week at the Grande Vista. WOW! Even as a traveller with platinum status with Marriott, it far exceeded my expectations! The rooms were huge, the ceilings were about 8' tall at least, and the location was exceptionally quiet. (I had a top-floor, end room).

I found the staff to be especially helpful. And the kids (aged 3 to 13) went nuts for the pool complex. Plus, there were a lot of extras I didn't expect, like the fun quad bicycle my wife and kids rented for a ride around the property.

I give the place my highest recommendation.

Just a few questions if you don't mind ...
- is there maid service?
- how convenient was it to IOA/USF?
- was it clean?

[freqfly]

Maid service is provided for those paying a daily rate. This was a pleasant surprise, as I had heard there is no maid service. There is none for timeshare owners.

The whole place was completely clean - if you don't count the daily whirlwind that my family produced!

It was about a 15 minute drive to Universal Orlando (Islands/Studio).

[MAKmom]

The Grand Vista called me this week...our friend bought a timeshare. They offered us a 1 bedroom for 4 nights for $249.00. Then hearing we have 3 daughters they offered a 2 BR for $449. total for 4 nights. Then she said if ew come before the end of May we can have teh 2 Br for $199.00 total plus if we do a 90 min tour get free Seaworld or Univeral ticket. Now we just got back from WDW 2 weeks ago.... we have an AP.Hmmmmmm.:smooth:

[MulanMom]

MAKMom...do you have to be referred by someone to get the $249 for 4 nights rate for a 1 bedroom? We are going in March and staying there, but renting on a nightly basis. Would you receive daily maid service?

TIA,

Sharon

[Boots]

Mike, we you do a trip report for us when you get back to let the rest of us know how you liked it? Thanks.

[MAKmom]

Mulan I'm not sure but I will call & find out.

[MulanMom]

Thanks! It's awfully kind of you to call and find out the information. Look forward to your reply.

Sharon

[MAKmom]

They were not available on the weekend I will call monday.

Does this resort have waterslides.

[mike14450]

I am at the GV in March and will provide a trip report when I return. I am staying on a referral from a friend who purchased a Marriott timeshare. We have a 2-bedroom for $299 for 4 nights. We will go through the 90 minute tour/information session. I will let everyone know how things went. We are then staying at the Boardwalk Villas for the remainder of our visit.

[HookedOnDiz]

Just be aware that according to Marriott.com they are doing renovations to the activity center at Marriott Cypress Harbour. I think the dates ran from June through the end of August. I don't know how this will affect your stay but thought it was worth posting.

[MAKmom]

MulanMom I am sorry it took so long for me to find this out...Yes you need to be referedn by someone. The girl who called me was only working at nights & its crazy in my house at night.

[MulanMom]

MAKMom, Thanks for getting back to me on that. No problem with the delay...I was looking for a response after the first day or two, then it slipped my mind!;)

From Mike's recent post, it seems a time share presentation is part of the deal. I think I'll just skip it and stay with my AAA rate.

Sharon

[2minnies]

We did the timeshare presentation for free tickets here and it was very low key. No pressure at all and out in less than 90 minutes. Our rooms were very, very clean....and they did clean early on the days we asked them to. Enjoy!

[mike14450]

Well, we're back from our trip to WDW and the Marriott GV. As requested, I'm posting my trip report. Let me preface by saying that we are a Disney family and have been to WDW four times in the past 7 years. We prefer to stay on-site, and on our most recent trip in May we stayed the week at the Disney Boardwalk. This trip spans 03/13-03/21 with five nights at the GV and the rest of the time at the Boardwalk villas.

To begin with, I booked my flight arrangements w/USAirways. I was going to do FF points, but I was able to get a fare of $151 RT from Rochester, NY. We flew Wed-Thur, and midweek travel makes a big price difference. Downside is USAir no longer flies direct to MCO from ROC. Flying from MCO, we arrived at the airport 2 hrs before our scheduled flight. The line to check in was very long - it looked to be about 20-30 min wait. We had e-tickets so a USAir rep directed us to another, much shorter line for e-ticket kiosk check-in. My wait was less than 10 mins. Think about e-tickets on your next trip...

I booked a compact car with Avis using a promotional code I picked up on the transportation discussion board. My weekly rate for a 4-door Cavalier w/unlimited mileage was $110. W/O the promo code, I was looking at $260+ for the week at pretty much all of the other carriers. Avis is on-site, and this made a big difference for us. A smooth check-in/return and walk to our car/terminal. It beats having to take a shuttle. The promo code was valid and I had no problems w/the rate (I confirmed all prior to our trip). Check the transportation board before you next trip to pick up any tips/codes.

The Grande Vista was terrific! My wife's cousin purchased a GV timeshare last year and gave our names as potential customers. Marriott offered us a 4 night 2-bedroom rate of $149, along with 3 single day guest tickets to Disney. Pretty good deal. Our room was great. We were in bldg 87. It was a short walk to the main clubhouse/pool, and there was a quiet pool across the parking lot. The kids (7 & 5) preferred the quiet pool and so we spent most of our time there. The clubhouse/lobby has a great indoor kid playground that entertained the kids quite a bit. The layout of the 2-bedroom was great. Master BR w/jacuzzi & bath, full kitchen, W/D, other BR had a King bed w/pull-out couch. Unit was in great shape and was great. We'd stay there again.

As part of our deal, we had a 90 min timeshare presentation. The meeting was very low-key and not pressured at all. My only complaint was that it went long (2 hrs) but that was because our rep was too chatty. We told them we weren't interested right now, and that was all that we had to say. Went much better than we anticipated.

A few tips: The first day I took the car and hit Int'l Drive and got a bunch of take-out/kids menus from 7-8 restaurants. Every food type and chain avail on Int'l Drive. We mostly did take-out for dinners, which was more relaxing. The Kids Club has a supervised program for kids that includes activities and dinner. My In-Laws were with us, so we were able to get one night out by ourselves, but another couple that we spoke with did this program and the kids and adults had a good time. The GV gives you two $25 vouchers for a variety of dining, attraction options. We used ours for trade on a one-day WDW pass.

Sorry this was so long. We had a great time and would stay at the GV again. Getting back and forth to the Disney parks wasn't as convenient, in our opinion, as staying on-property. The non-Disney attractions and dining options are much better at the GV, and Sea World and Universal are very convenient to the GV.

Mike

[jaybird]

Thank you MIKE for your trip report! We are booked at the Grande Vista in October for the Timeshare Presentation also. We have 3 kids (6, 4 & 2) and my DH's Aunt and Uncle. We just got back from staying at the AKL for 8 nights in February so I am a little concerned about the driving to and from the parks. We are doing Universal and Islands of Adventure this time, so we have rented a minivan to go back and forth!

Thanks for all the tips! If you have any more about short-cuts to the parts, roads to avoid, restuarants to try, etc... please let us know!

Thanks for your time.

Karen

[sunsets]

I've been reading that Marriott has been offering these great rates for 4 nights with the agreement to go to a timeshare presentation. How do you contact someone to get these great deals? Thanks

[jaybird]

Sunsets,

My DH received our offer through the mail. It was supposed in conjunction with USAir Dividend Miles (He is a Silver Preferred Member). The total deal was 4 nights/5 days for $199 if we could travel before May 20th or up to 12 months for $299. We chose October 12 - 19th so it is a total of $299 for 4 nights plus 2 nights at $149/night plus the extra night at rack rate of $224. This brings the total for a two bedroom villa for 7 nights split between two families (ours and DH's Aunt and Uncle) to $58/night! What a deal!

My Dh also gets 10,000 miles deposited in his frequent flyer account.

Pretty good deal not to take advantage of. We really like staying on-site, but we will give the Marriott a chance! I just hope that the driving to and from the parks isn't a huge hassle.

Karen

AKL 2/2002
Marriott Grande Vista 10/2002
CBR & AKL 4/2003

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

I can't decide where to stay for our August trip. Because we are bringing along my son's girlfriend, two rooms would be necessary at whatever resort we choose on site. The Grand Vista looks great and you can't beat the AAA discount price of $134/nt. However, we are used to staying on site and I'm not sure how I'll feel about driving back and forth from the Disney parks.
I emailed Misti at Dreams Unlimited today to get rates for Coronado Springs. She was able to obtain a rate of $119 per night, so for two rooms we'll be paying almost $240. And this is just for a room while the Grand Vista has a full kitchen, washer dryer, jacuzzi, etc.
I would welcome opinions about the drive from this resort to the Disney parks. Thanks.

[MulanMom]

When we stayed at MGV in March, we didn't find the ride to the parks to be difficult at all. MGV is located on the southern end of International Drive, away from the most congestion. We went during spring break, so I can't imagine there'd be that much more traffic in August.

I'm a DVC Old Key West owner, so I've gotten used to staying onsite with the amenities. We didn't know how we would feel being so far off-property in another timeshare setting. We loved it and were very impressed. With the current deals and the situation with your son and girlfriend, now might be a good time as any to try staying off-site.

Just MHO,

Sharon

[mike14450]

I agree with MM that the ride to the park is very straight forward and easy. With the location of the GV away from the high traffic stretch of Int'l Drive, getting out of the complex and onto your trip to WDW is a breeze. A co-worker is going through the same dilemma - he is taking his girlfriend, her twin 6-year olds, and her sister to WDW so he has to get two rooms. He's looking at 2-BR suites or 2 on-property hotel rooms. I personally feel that one of the best amenities for on-site is the ease of getting in/out of the parks for the mid-afternoon break. This is more important w/younger kids (mine are 5 & 7) when things are hot and little legs (and big ones!) are tired. When there is one car and a mix of ages, it isn't as easy to bail out of the park to hit the pools - not impossible, just not as easy.

Having said that, I also haven't ever had to pay for two hotel rooms. That makes a huge difference - double the cost (yeah, I took a lot of math). The GV is great - very relaxing and the units have a great floorplan. You won't be disappointed at all w/the GV. If your kids are older (sounds like it) and you don't plan to go in/out of the parks, you can't beat the GV price. I really liked being able to run out of the complex, get good take-out food from a number of restaurants on Int'l Dr., and have a relaxing meal at a table on the pool deck. Now that's a vacation!

MHO also.

Mike

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

Thanks for the information. Since my husband will probably not be coming with us and I will be the only driver, it's good to know the drive is not long or difficult. However, being able to leave the parks in the afternoon and return in the evening is definitely a benefit to staying on Disney property.
I think that we will try the Grand Vista this year. Frankly, I'm getting tired of paying a lot for only an average room on Disney property. I think that with a little extra planning, the older kids can still go off on their own if they choose. We just need to plan for when and where we will meet later for the return to the resort.
Thanks everyone for the input. I'll let you all know how the vacation turns out.

[mike14450]

One other tip that I can pass along is that we used a two-way radio in the parks and it worked out quite well. Our's had a 2-mile range, which was sufficient. Lots and lots of folks have them there. With a mix of ages, you can easily keep in touch.

Mike