Favorite Off Property Timeshare Resorts

[wed100105]

Hi guys,

We are owners at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and like our resort. What are some of the other resorts in the area that you like and would recommend?

 

[darrius1st]

It has to Be Marriott's Harbour lake

 

[Detailor]

Our favorites are Marriott's Cypress Harbour and Marriott's Grande Vista.

I'd be very comfortable recommending...
the brand new Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve,
any of the three Hilton Grand Vacation Club resorts (SeaWorld, International Drive, Parc Soleil),
any of the Disney vacation club resorts,
Sheraton Vistana Villages,
any of the tri-Marriotts - Royal Palms, Sabal Palms, Imperial Palm Villas,
Cypress Pointe Resort,
Orange Lake Country Club Resort,
Sheraton Vistana Resort.

Dick Taylor

 

[Kat&Dom]

I really enjoyed the Grand Beach and Sheraton Vistana Resort. They are both so close to Disney. We had a 2 bed/2 bath condo at Sheraton Vistana Resort and a 3 bed/3 bath condo at Grand Beach - I loved having the full kitchen and laundry in the units plus all that space for everyone to relax in.

I have also stayed at the Villas at Fortune Place in Kissimmee and it was fine. I did a trade through RCI for it. We had a 3 bed/2.5 bath - it was quite spacious and clean.

We will be staying at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas in November so I am excited to check it out.

 

[DisMomAmy]

We stayed at Sheraton Vistana Resort in April/May and plan to stay there when we visit WDW next year. We've stayed at Marriott Grande Vista but loved how close Vistana was to the parks. We were in a renovated 2BR unit in the Lakes section (I think most should be renovated soon if they aren't already) and it was beautiful!! There was also plenty to do at the resort - DH took DS9 to play minigolf one day and they played basketball a couple times too. We all enjoyed the pools almost every day. I said "no thank you" to the sales breakfast and only got one voicemail message reminding me of the date/time if we decided to attend. Otherwise they left us alone!

 

[TotoToo]

Cypress Pointe Resort - the original - is our favorite. The second phase - called Grande Villas - is also good but not as upscale as the original. Both share what may be THE best location in all of Orlando for access to all the parks & attractions as well as nearby quality restaurants & services of all types.

Others we have enjoyed are the various Wyndhams besides Bonnet Creek, Celebration World Resort (but ONLY if you're bringing a pet - the resort itself is so-so at best but very nice to have your pet friend along for the trip), most of the Marriotts as mentioned by others, the many Hiltons and some of the smaller independents. We have found the mega-resorts like OLCC (too large & too far out 192), Vistana (units too variable & resort WAY too large), the Westgates (way too large and the sales pressue is off the chart) just too big & cold to enjoy. We prefer smaller, upscale resorts with the ability to walk to most everything the most enjoyable type of stay in Orlando. The high rises can be beautiful but just don't fit the Orlando style we remember of low, more cottage like buildings around a pool or other features. Having to drive or ride elevators to things around our resort & to everything we want to do doesn't make for an enjoyable stay for us.

 

[kathy884]

The Orlando / Lake Buena Vista area is timeshare heaven. There are so many good ones. I belong to TUG2.net, a timeshare users group, and in Orlando stay at ones that have a rating of an 8 out of 10 or higher on TUG (just because there are so many good ones -- other places I look at 7 or higher, but anyone can afford to be pickier in Orlando as there are just so many good properties). There are including Disney onsite condos, 76 different timeshares rated an 8 or higher (unbelievable). To date, I've never been disappointed in Orlando and have stayed at about a dozen different ones. I've heard great things about the Marriott properties (some mentioned in above posts), but it's been many years since I've stayed in any of these. Wyndam Bonnet Creek that you mentioned as where you own is rated an 8.41 and seems to be a favorite on these boards (sounds like it has a great pool (almost mini water park setup) and is super close to Disney). I haven't stayed there before though. Ones I've stayed at most recently are Cypress Pointe (super easy to get a three bedroom), Cypress Pointe Grand Villas (also super easy to get a three bedroom), and Sheraton Vistana Resort. All these were very nice and had a great Lake Buena Vista location, not far from Downtown Disney. Next March, we'll be at Orange Lake to try something different. I haven't stayed there yet. My parents stayed there many years ago and really liked it. What we choose typically on top of having a solid TUG.net rating is that the unit is either 1) readily available for the week we want for an RCI trade -- my parents have a timeshare week in Sedona, AZ that we sometimes trade for Orlando or 2) available to rent for the week we want from an owner for a good price.

 

[Iott Family]

It has to Be Marriott's Harbour lake

Was this called Marriott Horizons at one time? Thanks!

 

[ttfn3]

For offsite timeshares, we have stayed at the Marriott Harbour Lake (formerly the Horizons), Marriott Grande Vista, Vistana Villages, Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and Vistana Resort. Overall, my family's favorite is the Vistana Resort. We love the newly renovated units with a waterview. Plus, the activities for our active family are overall the best of the resorts where we have stayed.

Frankly, there are so many nice timeshares in Orlando, we enjoy trying new ones - especially when we can find a good deal for the week we are traveling.