ttfn3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2000
We booked 8 nights in a 2 Bedroom unit at the Horizons by Marriott in Orlando, using a rewards member discount. We arrived at the resort around 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The check in was the easiest of any timeshare we have ever stayed at in Orlando – no lines! We decided to wait for all of our requests to be met. The staff offered to call us on our cell phone when the room was ready. We got a call around the time we were finishing lunch.
In Orlando, we have previously stayed in these timeshare resorts - Vistana Resort (4 times), Vistana Villages, Marriott Grand Vista, BWV and SSR. We usually spend a LOT of time at the resort, so the amenities are important to us.
Staff - (Ahoy!) were very nice and friendly. A+++, the entrance to the resort has a key card entry and each time we came in a staff member greeted us. Nice security touch.
Pools – 2, one with a larger water slide (very fun slide!) near the fountains play area, one pirate pool area which is the area that more kids hung out during our stay. The water was bit cool for the adults when the temp went below 80 degrees. Good pools for younger kids because both have zero entry areas. The hot tubs were very nice.
Miniature golf course – If you are an owner, it’s free. For rental guests, you can pay a flat $25 fee for everyone in your unit to play for the entire stay. We played almost every day and it was nice course.
Open air pavilion with a pool table, 2 ping pong tables – plus the basketball courts. You can play for FREE. A nice touch!
We stayed in room 1262. We had a top floor unit with a great view of the lake, away from I-4. The unit was in good condition, with no obvious signs of wear. I liked having a safe in the room. The bedrooms were a bit small, with the beds taking up most of the bedroom. We had 2 queens in one bedroom, one king in the master. The master shower/sink area is open to the bed with a separate toilet room. There is no Jacuzzi which I did miss. The kitchen was well equipped, though it needs a baking sheet. I liked the separate pantry area. The balcony was screened in, with a table and 4 chairs. I liked having the sliding glass door open and having a lake view. We also had a good view of Sea World from the front door. We were hoping to see fireworks but there weren’t any the week while we were there. A big perk is the FREE wireless internet access from your timeshare unit!
The resort is very small so it’s a quick 5 minute walk to anywhere on property. The location has easy access to I-4 and to the south end of International Drive. We drove to the Magic Kingdom/Epcot one day and the drive was easy.
Activities – were very hit and miss. We participated in many since we spent a lot of time at the resort. Let’s just say that we were disappointed by the activities. Lots of things didn’t work and it wasn’t very well planned. The activities that were a hit were the cane pool fishing and the scooter races. The kids earn wooden tokens by participating in the activities which they can exchange for small toys that were definitely geared to the under 5 crowd. So far for us, the best Disney area resort for activities is the Vistana Resort.
The one HUGE negative IMHO is that the resort is very close to I-4. We found the noise & view of the traffic distracting. Luckily, when we had the windows/door shut in our unit, we could just hear the traffic faintly.
In planning our stay, we were torn between the Horizons and Marriott Cypress Harbour. We took a look around CH and it looked like it had more for older kids and adults to do. It’s also more lush with more trees and landscaping. CH is also much larger, so it might be a challenge to get a room that has easy access to the pools and activities.
In summary, we would stay here again if we got a good deal. However, I’m looking forward to trying another place first.
In Orlando, we have previously stayed in these timeshare resorts - Vistana Resort (4 times), Vistana Villages, Marriott Grand Vista, BWV and SSR. We usually spend a LOT of time at the resort, so the amenities are important to us.
Staff - (Ahoy!) were very nice and friendly. A+++, the entrance to the resort has a key card entry and each time we came in a staff member greeted us. Nice security touch.
Pools – 2, one with a larger water slide (very fun slide!) near the fountains play area, one pirate pool area which is the area that more kids hung out during our stay. The water was bit cool for the adults when the temp went below 80 degrees. Good pools for younger kids because both have zero entry areas. The hot tubs were very nice.
Miniature golf course – If you are an owner, it’s free. For rental guests, you can pay a flat $25 fee for everyone in your unit to play for the entire stay. We played almost every day and it was nice course.
Open air pavilion with a pool table, 2 ping pong tables – plus the basketball courts. You can play for FREE. A nice touch!
We stayed in room 1262. We had a top floor unit with a great view of the lake, away from I-4. The unit was in good condition, with no obvious signs of wear. I liked having a safe in the room. The bedrooms were a bit small, with the beds taking up most of the bedroom. We had 2 queens in one bedroom, one king in the master. The master shower/sink area is open to the bed with a separate toilet room. There is no Jacuzzi which I did miss. The kitchen was well equipped, though it needs a baking sheet. I liked the separate pantry area. The balcony was screened in, with a table and 4 chairs. I liked having the sliding glass door open and having a lake view. We also had a good view of Sea World from the front door. We were hoping to see fireworks but there weren’t any the week while we were there. A big perk is the FREE wireless internet access from your timeshare unit!
The resort is very small so it’s a quick 5 minute walk to anywhere on property. The location has easy access to I-4 and to the south end of International Drive. We drove to the Magic Kingdom/Epcot one day and the drive was easy.
Activities – were very hit and miss. We participated in many since we spent a lot of time at the resort. Let’s just say that we were disappointed by the activities. Lots of things didn’t work and it wasn’t very well planned. The activities that were a hit were the cane pool fishing and the scooter races. The kids earn wooden tokens by participating in the activities which they can exchange for small toys that were definitely geared to the under 5 crowd. So far for us, the best Disney area resort for activities is the Vistana Resort.
The one HUGE negative IMHO is that the resort is very close to I-4. We found the noise & view of the traffic distracting. Luckily, when we had the windows/door shut in our unit, we could just hear the traffic faintly.
In planning our stay, we were torn between the Horizons and Marriott Cypress Harbour. We took a look around CH and it looked like it had more for older kids and adults to do. It’s also more lush with more trees and landscaping. CH is also much larger, so it might be a challenge to get a room that has easy access to the pools and activities.
In summary, we would stay here again if we got a good deal. However, I’m looking forward to trying another place first.
I would hope for a lakeview too!
