Cypress Pointe Bankrupt? Should I try Star Island? Other suggestions?

[kapeppy]

DH and I leave in less than five weeks and I got a phone call from HotelKingdom stating that my reservation for Cypress Pointe had to be cancelled as they have filed for bankruptcy! The gentleman from HotelKingdom was wonderful and spent a lot of time with me giving me other options and the one that SOUNDS the best was Star Island (I know there is a timeshare presentation required but I am really good at saying no!). Has anyone ever stayed here? I would like to know as much as I can before I actually commit to anything but I don't want to wait too long and not be able to get a room somewhere! I want the nicest room possible for no more than $60/night. It's just the two of us and the only things I am really looking for are a nice pool, microwave and refrigerator. We will have a car so we don't have to be "right next door," just close to the action. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Kris

 

[Big V]

We stayed at Star Island in Feb. 2001 and booked it through HotelKingdom and I would go there again in a minute! It was a very nice place and the timeshare presentation was mild compared to some of them we have done in Orlando. The condo we had was very clean and had a nice patio that overlooked the pond and fountain. It is right off of 192 and not very far from Disney. The only problem we had was they were working on 192 and the construction was terrible, but I think it's all done now, so you shouldn't have any problems! If you have any questions, just let me know!

 

[emmalgin]

www.skyauction.com and if not ready to bid, try Ready Set Go and type in dates you need. We got Orange Lake Country Club 2 BR for $299..... 15 days and counting....

 

[klynn]

why not try Oak Plantation? I think with the Entertainment discount the price was under $55. I booked a 2 bdrm/2 bath for $72.50. This rate does NOT require a ts tour!

 

[Bearak27]

I'm staying at Comfort Inn, Lake buena Vista and it looked really nice when we passed by it in March from a previous trip. The rate is 35.96 plus tax and 2.50 phone fee a night-internet rate. I just went to wwwcomfortinn.com and that's what pulled up for Lake buena vista. It has 23 acres and I have non smoking, refrigerator and microwave for that price. You might want to check it out. Betty

 

[Lisa P.]

This is very strange. Sunterra (the parent management & development company for Cypress Pointe) filed their bankruptcy at least a year ago. It has not affected day to day operations at all. They are currently renovating their volcano theme pool area and the other two quiet pools are open. Regular maintenance, upkeep and refurbishments are ongoing. I would really wonder at this statement by HotelKingdom. Sounds like some kind of excuse for overbooking???

Anyway, Star Island is a lovely resort with a very nice main pool area and plenty of good resort amenities. I'm sure you'd enjoy a stay there. The traffic has reportedly eased up in that area since road construction was completed. It also goes by the name Fairfield at Star Island. There are many great resorts in the area. If you post some more names, we can give opinions.

 

[kevind65]

Me, dw and dd stayed at Star Island Resort in July 2001. I will give you the lodow as best I can remember it:
ROOMS: gorgeous! we stayed in a 1BR condo. living room, kitchen w/seperate dining area and private bedroom w/jacuzzi and huge shower. fully equipped kitchen and also washer and dryer in the unit(this was awesome)! The unit had a balcony with ceiling fan off the back side. The unit was done in a roman/Italian reneissance theme with the columns and marble(wow)! very clean and well kept. no maid serivce I think?
POOL: A very nice pool area(can be a pretty good walk depending on which building you're in)with two pools side-by-side and very nicely themed. excellent zero-entry pool if you have kids. One warning: the deck of the pool area is these marble tiles and they are exremely slippery when wet..if you have kids--make sure they do not run of this stuff!! also a hot tub. They have daily activities for the kids at the pool....and live music pool side during certain times.
RESTAURANT: The do not have a restaurant on the property. They do have a poolside(actually upstairs)cabana that serves drinks and some light food items. Also, they have certain nights when they offer a free meal to guest up there...don't waste your time on that...yuch! You have literally hundreds of restaurants within 1 mile of the resort out on HWY 192.
OVERALL: very nice place. we would stay there again..one problem we noticed was there didn't seem to be enough parking spaces for each building. If you come back to the room late at night, you may have to park some distance from your building. hope this helps..

 

[kapeppy]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I knew I could count on the DIS to come through!
Kevind65, thanks for that awesome review! It does sound wonderful! I have my choices narrowed down to Star Island and Ron Jon. Anyone want to sway me one way or another, feel free!

Thanks again!

 

[Lisa P.]

That's easy. If you want a more adult atmosphere, choose Star Island. It's got one of the better fitness centers in the area, a nice cabana lounge, rental boats and tennis courts. It's got the more elegant rooms, of these two resorts, particularly if you get a 1BR deluxe (with full kitchen, not mini- or partial) or a 2BR or 3BR.

If you will have children under age 10 in the group, choose Ron Jon. The Liki Tiki Lagoon pool area with all the little water slides and play features at the pool is a huge hit with younger kids. And the tropical atmosphere near the pools is nice too. Enjoy!

 

[Carrickdisfan]

Hi

I have stayed at both Star Island and Ron Jon (Isle of Bali) through exchange with Interval International.

Star Island was excellent and very close to PUblix, TGI Fridays, Super Walmart etc. We were talked into going to a Timeshare meeting which was a waste of time and in future we shall just say a definite no - they make you think it is a maintenance check. In fact I sometimes think we know more about how timeshare works than the reps who are trying to sell it.

However, we stayed at Ron Jon in l998. The previous week we had stayed at Marriott Cypress Harbour and what a shock we got when we were shown our townhouse at Ron Jon.
It was probably because we were through exchange and sometimes I think because we come from Northern Ireland they think we are not likely to complain. Well the townhouses are quite old and there was no way I was going to stay in one. Although they were probably as clean as could be due to their age I did not think the kitchen cupboards etc could be hygienic with the state of them. After much complaining in the lobby in front of prospective guests they gave us a room in the newer part of the complex which was fine and acceptable. Our children really enjoyed the Pool area which is like a mini water park. There are several timeshare properties in the Orlando area which are now getting old and you need to be careful which you choose. I would go back to Ron Jon if I could be sure if being in the new part. Also it is West 192 and not so near the WDW entrance however there is a good Publix nearby.

 

[sammi]

My cousins from the UK are owners at Cypress Pointe and it's definitley not bankrupt! A couple of years ago they filed under Chapter 11 but with many changes in management have been coming along really well. In fact we are booked there for 2 weeks next March/April 2003. Here's the web site for anyone interested to have a look at all the improvements etc.
http://cypresspointe.net/index3.htm

 

[RAMWDWFAN]

Kapeppy,

My DS and I stayed at Star Island in July/August 2001 and we were miserable. We stayed in a 1 bedroom without the washer/dryer and other extras. We could hear every word being spoken by the folks in the adjoining suite. We could also smell everything they cooked (they got in late every day so they were cooking when my DS and I were trying to go to sleep).

We are Fairfield owners and were used to the Fairfield Cypress Palms which is right down the road. That facility is absolutely wonderful. Maybe the bigger units are fine, but I would not recommend staying in the smaller one bedroom.

 

[B3LM]

We stayed at Comfort Inn LBV for our trip over Easter. It is a very old hotel. It's not fancy, but it was clean and the location was great. We had a family suite that had 1 queen bed, and a kid's area that had walls almost to the ceiling, bunk beds, and a junior bed. The kids even had their own tv/vcr in their little area. It also included a fridge and microwave. The price was $67 per night plus tax. We were very pleased with our stay there.

Beth