Closest Marriott Timeshare to WDW?

[KCMiller]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me which of the Marriott timeshares is closest to WDW?

Thanks,

KC

 

[spiceycat]

Imperial, Royal, Sabal - all end in Palms. they are in the marriott world center.

www.marriottworldcenter.com

the Royal gets the worst reviews - although heard it was rehab and better now.

Cypress Harbour which is maybe 10 minutes away from these - gets some of the best reviews.

 

[spiceycat]

you can see them at

http://www.timeshares.marriott-vacations.com/ownership/theme-park-resorts.jsp

 

[Detailor]

The tri-Marriotts - Royal Palms, Imperial Palm Villas, and Sabal Palms - are closest to Disney property, located on SR 536 next to the Marriott World Center hotel complex. Cypress Harbour and Horizons by Marriott are next closest (they're across the road from one another) and Grande Vista is a bit further away - all of these three resort are quite near SeaWorld.

The three smallish resorts near the World Center are the oldest Marriott timeshares in Orlando and share facilities at the nearby hotel. I believe that at least some of the units amongst the three resort have recently been refurbished. These resorts are about 10 to 15 minutes' drive away from the Disney parks.

Horizons is aimed primarily at families with young children and is the newest Marriott there (it's still be built out). Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista are, in my opinion, the nicest Marriott resorts currently in Orlando and among the very best that the Orlando area has to offer regardless of resort name. I think that GV to Disney parks would be a 20 to 25 minute drive depending upon the park that you're going to. Cypress Harbour and Horizons are about five minutes closer.

Dick Taylor

 

[hegsag]

Dick, I remember your reviews of the Marriott resorts from last year. I didn't like CH; however, I am interested in your thoughts about GV.

Thanks

 

[Detailor]

Dick, I remember your reviews of the Marriott resorts from last year. I didn't like CH; however, I am interested in your thoughts about GV.

Thanks

Well, let me fully disclose that my impression of CH is different than your's. We like the resort very much, have had great experiences there in units both before the recent refurbishment and after. And we'll be going back for a week next winter. So use that disclosure to weigh how you interpret my Grande Vista comments.

Grande Vista is a much larger resort and is newer than Cypress Harbour. The newest buildings have villas that have features that Marriott resorts like CH are upgrading to. The older GV buildings are in the process of refurbishment. We've stayed in older villas a couple of times and a refurbished villa once (this past March). We've enjoyed the resort in our two winter visits and one late spring visit (middle of June). I like the fact that the resort has two main pools areas (the new West Village area and the main resort pool area that are across the lake from one another) and smaller pool areas for the more remote buildings (5 to 10 minute walk from these buildings to the larger pool areas). I also like the food options at GV and think they're better than at CH. At the west village pool there's the Copa Loca bar and grille where you can get either bar service or table service (though when we've been there there's never been more than one waiter/waitress regardless of how many tables are occupied and that can make service a bit slow) and there's Nick's more traditional restaurant at the golf clubhouse where they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner - a nice change of pace for a timeshare resort.
As at other Marriotts that we've been to, the resort has resort maps that show possible walking/jogging paths of various lengths - that's important to me as I like to get in a two hour walk before I start my day of leisure at a resort or at a higher pace in a theme park. I think that's a nice touch.
Grande Vista is renovating some of their common space. I believe that the video game arcade area is currently closed and the lighthouse bar is being repurposed (can't remember what they were planning to do there). I might also be having a false memory about changes to the fitness center as that's in the same general area as these other features. Grande Vista also has an advantage over CH in that it has some Spa features. They offer a few different types of massages at GV - my wife always makes a massage a part of our GV stays and says they're pretty good for the money (wildly lower than the cost at Disney's Grand Floridian or Saratoga Springs spas).
The two resorts are in the same general area of Orlando near SeaWorld so getting to theme parks is not much different timewise. Both are conveniently located to SR 528 from and to the airport. Another GV plus (if you play golf or would like to learn) is the on-site golf course and the presence of a teaching pro. The biggest drawback for me with GV is that they never seem to give me the requests that I make for location or building level (we like lake view from a high floor and I usually ask for two or three specific buildings but we never get what I've asked for) while at CH they have honored by request exactly both times we've been there.
Grande Vista has some features that I'd like Marriott to replicate at Cypress Harbour but realize that they're limited in space at CH and can only do so much in that space. I think that Grande Vista is a very nice resort and we're always happy when that one comes up as a option for us.

I hope that some of that helps.

Dick Taylor