Alison_in_Wonderland
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
- Messages
- 154
Just got back from a quick 3 night trip over Marathon weekend. I booked the Grande Villas through VRBO (through a 3rd party, not an owner) for $92/night for a 2 br/2 ba condo. With taxes and the $10/night resort fee it was only $334 for 3 nights (they didn’t charge a cleaning fee – though it was very clean!) All Star Sports was $430 for the 3 nights – so even paying for parking at the parks, it was much cheaper…with a TON more space!
I found the exterior to be a very generic Florida apartment complex. It was clean and kept up, but nondescript. There are 2 smaller pools (not themed), a tiny playground, 2 mini golf holes, an activities center, and a mini-mart/take out restaurant on site. It was all clean and well maintained, but just looks like the apartment complex I lived in many years ago.
But the interior was great. There was lots of room (1300+ sq/ft), 2 br/ 2 ba. It felt like a great deal for the price I paid! The beds were comfortable, ample linens (including pool towels), and a fully stocked kitchen. TVs in the bedrooms and one in the living area (though not much seating in the living area.) It was immaculately clean and felt very safe.
My only complaint was the last night there was a lot of noise coming from the condo above us. I could hear them walking/running around, opening and closing sliding doors, and talking. It was so loud that even with having a white noise machine going next to my bed, it woke me up around midnight. I heard them talking the next morning (it was loud enough that I thought it was my friend on the phone in the other bedroom.) But other than that, it was quiet.
The complex is in close proximity to several chain restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores. It took less than 10m to get to Disney Springs and about 15m to get to MK and Epcot. We never felt pressured to talk about the timeshare – the only mention was when checking out they said the guy at the other desk has a departing gift for us, but I simply said ‘no thanks’ and walked out. No calls to our condo and I never was made to feel like a 2nd class citizen for not entertaining the timeshare spiel.
For the price, I would certainly stay there again. I’ve decided that even though I want to be one of those people who loves on property hotels, I love the extra space too much to give that up (and I can’t afford the 2br grand villas at the deluxe resorts!) I am not a fan of waiting for/riding the buses and much rather have a car at the end of a long day at the park.
The only other off site condo I’ve stayed in is Windsor Hills – which I loved. It feels much more like a neighborhood vs an apartment complex and the pool is great – but if it came down to price point, I would definitely come back to Grand Villas (but then again we don’t tend to spend much time at the resorts themselves.) If I was looking for luxury and great theming, I would look elsewhere. But for a large clean condo near the parks, it was perfect.
I found the exterior to be a very generic Florida apartment complex. It was clean and kept up, but nondescript. There are 2 smaller pools (not themed), a tiny playground, 2 mini golf holes, an activities center, and a mini-mart/take out restaurant on site. It was all clean and well maintained, but just looks like the apartment complex I lived in many years ago.
But the interior was great. There was lots of room (1300+ sq/ft), 2 br/ 2 ba. It felt like a great deal for the price I paid! The beds were comfortable, ample linens (including pool towels), and a fully stocked kitchen. TVs in the bedrooms and one in the living area (though not much seating in the living area.) It was immaculately clean and felt very safe.
My only complaint was the last night there was a lot of noise coming from the condo above us. I could hear them walking/running around, opening and closing sliding doors, and talking. It was so loud that even with having a white noise machine going next to my bed, it woke me up around midnight. I heard them talking the next morning (it was loud enough that I thought it was my friend on the phone in the other bedroom.) But other than that, it was quiet.
The complex is in close proximity to several chain restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores. It took less than 10m to get to Disney Springs and about 15m to get to MK and Epcot. We never felt pressured to talk about the timeshare – the only mention was when checking out they said the guy at the other desk has a departing gift for us, but I simply said ‘no thanks’ and walked out. No calls to our condo and I never was made to feel like a 2nd class citizen for not entertaining the timeshare spiel.
For the price, I would certainly stay there again. I’ve decided that even though I want to be one of those people who loves on property hotels, I love the extra space too much to give that up (and I can’t afford the 2br grand villas at the deluxe resorts!) I am not a fan of waiting for/riding the buses and much rather have a car at the end of a long day at the park.
The only other off site condo I’ve stayed in is Windsor Hills – which I loved. It feels much more like a neighborhood vs an apartment complex and the pool is great – but if it came down to price point, I would definitely come back to Grand Villas (but then again we don’t tend to spend much time at the resorts themselves.) If I was looking for luxury and great theming, I would look elsewhere. But for a large clean condo near the parks, it was perfect.
