Best Condo (or similar) for SeaWorld stay?

[zilp]

Hi All- I am excited to be planning a family trip next spring to Sea World/Discovery Cove and the sister parks. I need a comfortable place for the 5 of us. Separate bedrooms, kitchen, laundry (in room) and good pools are important to us. We have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Floridays and World Quest resorts. What places would you recommend?

eta, I cross posted in the SeaWorld forum but thought I would post here for more traffic.

 

[lindsmom]

We stayed at Marriott Harbour Lake - king master, and second bedroom has 2 queens. Everything else you are looking for, great pools - one splash pad, one waterslide, and a pirate themed pool.

We also stayed at Cypress Harbour - we liked that development more - quieter, but the 2nd bedroom has a queen and a pull out sofa so it would be tight. Everything else is the same inside the room. Regular pools, but plenty of them.

Both within a block of SeaWorld.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Hi All- I am excited to be planning a family trip next spring to Sea World/Discovery Cove and the sister parks. I need a comfortable place for the 5 of us. Separate bedrooms, kitchen, laundry (in room) and good pools are important to us. We have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Floridays and World Quest resorts. What places would you recommend?

eta, I cross posted in the SeaWorld forum but thought I would post here for more traffic.

The Hilton Grand Vacation Club is at the corner of Central Florida Parkway and Sea Harbor Drive. You can't get much closer to Sea World. The condos are beautifully decorated, very clean, awesome pools and activities, and the restaurant at the pool has a great menu!

 

[robndani]

Floridays and Holiday Inn Orange Lake !!!!!!

 

[Upatnoon]

Hi All- I am excited to be planning a family trip next spring to Sea World/Discovery Cove and the sister parks. I need a comfortable place for the 5 of us. Separate bedrooms, kitchen, laundry (in room) and good pools are important to us. We have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Floridays and World Quest resorts. What places would you recommend?

eta, I cross posted in the SeaWorld forum but thought I would post here for more traffic.

I'd second Harbour Lake. Perfect location and great pools. Lots of activities, too.

 

[spiceycat]

will definitely 2nd Hilton Grand Vacation at Seaworld - you can walk to both SW and DC - although once you are in DC - it is still a far walk - so might take the car.

everything so far is a timeshares - so would check prices on
www.tug2.net
www.redweek.com
www.myresortnetwork.com

 

[GoBears 1980]

Check Marriott Lakeshore Reserve, Marriott Cypress Harbour, Marriott Harbour Lake, Marriott Grande Vista and Hilton Grand Vacations Suites at Sea World.

 

[greenclan67]

We actually live Cypress Pointe or Grande Villas ( if you have a car) it is literally 5 mins via the back entrance. It's awesome. Volcano pool all newly renovated, gmfree mini putt and tons of rest to walk for food.

 

[Breezy91257]

We've been a few times and stayed in a villa in the Windsor Hills resort which has always been great https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoLakefrontVilla?fref=nf If you are renting a car it's brilliant!

Our party was 6 adults and 2 children and it was perfect for what we wanted. We did lots of trips to Sea World, Discovery Cove, Disney and Universal and it was an ideal location. Nothing was more than 15 minutes by car!

 

[minnieandfamily]

We stayed at Marriott Lakeshore Reserve this spring - just a few miles from SeaWorld. I highly recommend it. We have a family of 5 and my mom also stayed with us. It was a two-floor, 3 BR condo with 3 full bathrooms, full eat-in kitchen, living room, washer/dryer, beautiful patio with table and umbrella to dine outside and chaise lounges. The resort had a huge pool area with zero-entry, lazy river (do need to buy or bring your own tubes) and two water slides. There was a kids club with activities, lawn games, casual outdoor restaurant (tasty food), and market on-site. The grounds and landscaping were lush, beautiful, and immaculately clean. Another big perk - you can use the pools and amenities of the JW Marriott (with a fantastic lazy river!) and Ritz Carlton, which share the same property. Easy to get to - walking distance or shuttle.

 

[ArwenMarie]

You may want to check the Seaworld site...some properties offer free front of the line passes and other perks for Seaworld.

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/vacations/hotels/benefits/

 

[GoBears 1980]

We've been a few times and stayed in a villa in the Windsor Hills resort which has always been great https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoLakefrontVilla?fref=nf If you are renting a car it's brilliant!

Our party was 6 adults and 2 children and it was perfect for what we wanted. We did lots of trips to Sea World, Discovery Cove, Disney and Universal and it was an ideal location. Nothing was more than 15 minutes by car!

Windsor Hills is south of WDW. I don't see the point of staying so far south of SeaWorld/Universal with so many other options within just a couple of miles, or even walkable.

 

[zilp]

OP here. This past Disney vacation we stayed at WBC for the first time and loved it, especially the price! I am seeing some lovely accommodations near SeaWorld, but prices are significantly higher. I have checked out the timeshare boards and am not seeing my week available. I am now contemplating if we should just stay at WBC again and do the drive.....what are your thoughts??

 

[N5girl]

We stayed at Marriott Grande Vista in June 2013. We did a week at WBC first in a 1BR and had a 1BR at MGV as well. We switched because we did the whole SW thing - DC and Aquatica. It was fantastic in terms of location for SW (and would have been good for Universal as well). We also did quite a few trips back to WDW and I don't remember it taking more than 15-20 mins (after we mastered the route!). However we were on UK time so were up early.

We found WBC v. busy (way too much for us) and MGV much quieter in a good way. At WBC we could hear noise in our room and we were on the 6th floor I think. At MGV we were in a condo that was about a 5 min walk from the main pool. However we had another pool just across the parking lot with a bbq which was absolutely perfect. Our section was on the right after you come past the security gate and seemed less busy than some of the more central sections.

The accommodation at MGV was a significant step in terms of quality from WBC - although I think the size was comparable. However I think the price was almost double too (we got a v good rate at WBC). However I would have said it was still worth it for us. One thing I can't comment on is the 'theming' of the pools. Our son was v young so we just wanted a pool. I don't remember seeing any particularly cool pools at MGV but then again I wasn't really looking either. We didn't go to the main pool because the local one was fine for us.

My partner said that she thought the grounds were maintained a lot better at MGV than WBC but maybe that is because it is a golf course. It was certainly immaculate.

At MGV they also had a soft play centre (handy in the rain) and had quite a few kids activities that were really good. One time someone came in to show the kids (and bigger kids like me) all the local wildlife - I never thought I would get to meet a gator up close.

My partner doesn't really do the theme parks and she loved MGV because it was a lot more chilled out than WBC - the pool in our section was generally very quiet in the morning. It was also very useful being able to park in front of our condo. At WBC we had a real battle each time trying to get into the parking. A small thing but something that did bug us.

I don't remember MGV having a huge amount of stuff around it - however we planned all of our meals out at certain restaurants based on reviews so knew we would be driving regardless - most of the places were only a 15 min drive away. It was actually quite easy from MGV to find our way to places like 4rivers in more suburban areas.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We stayed at Marriott Grande Vista in June 2013. We did a week at WBC first in a 1BR and had a 1BR at MGV as well. We switched because we did the whole SW thing - DC and Aquatica. It was fantastic in terms of location for SW (and would have been good for Universal as well). We also did quite a few trips back to WDW and I don't remember it taking more than 15-20 mins (after we mastered the route!). However we were on UK time so were up early.

We found WBC v. busy (way too much for us) and MGV much quieter in a good way. At WBC we could hear noise in our room and we were on the 6th floor I think. At MGV we were in a condo that was about a 5 min walk from the main pool. However we had another pool just across the parking lot with a bbq which was absolutely perfect. Our section was on the right after you come past the security gate and seemed less busy than some of the more central sections.

The accommodation at MGV was a significant step in terms of quality from WBC - although I think the size was comparable. However I think the price was almost double too (we got a v good rate at WBC). However I would have said it was still worth it for us. One thing I can't comment on is the 'theming' of the pools. Our son was v young so we just wanted a pool. I don't remember seeing any particularly cool pools at MGV but then again I wasn't really looking either. We didn't go to the main pool because the local one was fine for us.

My partner said that she thought the grounds were maintained a lot better at MGV than WBC but maybe that is because it is a golf course. It was certainly immaculate.

At MGV they also had a soft play centre (handy in the rain) and had quite a few kids activities that were really good. One time someone came in to show the kids (and bigger kids like me) all the local wildlife - I never thought I would get to meet a gator up close.

My partner doesn't really do the theme parks and she loved MGV because it was a lot more chilled out than WBC - the pool in our section was generally very quiet in the morning. It was also very useful being able to park in front of our condo. At WBC we had a real battle each time trying to get into the parking. A small thing but something that did bug us.

I don't remember MGV having a huge amount of stuff around it - however we planned all of our meals out at certain restaurants based on reviews so knew we would be driving regardless - most of the places were only a 15 min drive away. It was actually quite easy from MGV to find our way to places like 4rivers in more suburban areas.

We liked Marriott Grande Vista too. The units are really spacious and nice and well-kept, housekeeping was fantastic, parking was good. And yes, it is remarkably quiet for such a large complex. We were there on a full occupancy weekend and we didn't hear anything between units. I agree on the pools, if you're looking for a fun pool, MGV is not your place. The main pool is rather boring and can get crowded but it does the trick.

 

[CesD]

We stayed at Marriott Harbour Lake - king master, and second bedroom has 2 queens. Everything else you are looking for, great pools - one splash pad, one waterslide, and a pirate themed pool.

We also stayed at Cypress Harbour - we liked that development more - quieter, but the 2nd bedroom has a queen and a pull out sofa so it would be tight. Everything else is the same inside the room. Regular pools, but plenty of them.

Both within a block of SeaWorld.

We loved Harbour Lake so much.

 

[NavyDad]

We stayed at Sheraton Vistana Villages ( I think that is the right one) when we went to UO.

We really, really liked it. The prices were great. I think we used a discount code from allears.net which helped a bit. I think they have all the things you are looking for.

Honestly if you really liked WBC you may be better off just staying there if you don't mind a little drive (like you mentioned in another post). It is probably one of the best timeshares in the area and if you are already comfortable there it takes away some of the stress of finding a new place.

 

[zilp]

Hi all. I really appreciate the responses. I went through various websites to bring the price down for accommodations near SW/DC. Ultimately, I decided to go with WBC because I was able to get a quote of $1075 for 9 nights for a 2BR condo. We can definitely use the savings to purchase our DC tickets (dolphin swim tickets for 5 people sure add up quick ! ). I will probably continue to look periodically for deals on properties closer to SW, but at least for now we have a great place booked for a great price.