Hello all,
My family will be staying at this resort in May for the first time. There will be 11 of us, one 6 year old. I have a few questions before we arrive.
We will be arriving early, around 12pm. Can we still check-in and use the pools if our rooms are not ready?
Yes, you can go directly to the check-in desk and do a "pre-check-in," making any building/villa requests that you might have. The staff at the desk will take your cell phone number and let you know when your villa is ready and they'll let you know that you can used the common facilities at the resort while you're waiting.
Is there a place to store our luggage and to get changed into swimsuits?
I think that they have a small storage area behind the check-in desk area. However, when we've stayed at the resort and used one of the pools we've just put swimsuits in a carry-on bag or on the top of a suitcase to get to them easily and left our luggage in the rental car. Personally, I feel that locked in the car is more secure than in an unattended storage room where people are coming and going.
There are changing areas in the large restrooms at the Plaza del Sol pool area and I suspect that's the case for the original pool area, too. Restrooms with changing spaces at the two smaller area pools, too.
Which buildings are newly refurbished?
I'm not sure on which buildings have been completed and which are scheduled. Buildings 77, 78, 79, 84, 85 and 86 (collectively the West Village) were brand new in the mid-00s. When we were there in March 2008, there was visible work going on in Building 92. If they've continued to refurb villas constantly since then I can't imagine that there's much left to work on. I'd agree with disneyfanjan that this is something best addressed to staff at the resort - 407-238-7676.
Also, which pool area has the kids pool?
Both of the main pool areas have childrens' pools. The pool at Plaza del Sol includes a couple of small towers with water guns. That pool complex is built in a slightly more compact space, I think, than the original pool area so that one always seems to me to be the busier of the two.
Do both main pools have a bar/grill?
The Copa Loca bar and grille is located at the Plaza del Sol pool area. They usually have a limited wait-staff that services the near-by tables or you can go up to the bar to order.
The clubhouse pool area (that's probably not the official name but it's the pool area that closest to the reservation building (Building 80) has a Marketplace store with a deli and something called the Grande Cove. The Grande Cove wasn't there during our last visit, instead there was a Pizza Hut Express/resort grille/ice cream shop located across the hall from the Marketplace store and a bar located in the nearby Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is now a sweet shop and I suspect that Grande Cove is the bar/grille.
Are there any Walmarts or grocery stores near by?
There are two relatively close WalMarts and a Super Target that's not much further away. There's a relatively new
WalMart on Turkey Lake Road, about 5 miles from the resort, and a slightly older WalMart on SR 535 toward Kissimmee, about 6 miles from the resort. The Target store is in the same direction as the SR 535 WalMart down on SR 192 (past WalMart, left at the traffic light, store ahead on the left), about 7.5 miles from the resort.
There are also two Publix supermarkets fairly close by. One is at the corner of International Drive and Vineland Avenue in a shopping center behind a Walgreens store that front on I-Drive. That one is about 2.5 miles from the resort. The other one is an older, much smaller Publix that's on Central Florida Parkway in the Williamsburg Shopping Center (at least I think that's the name), go right onto I-Drive from the resort and then turn right onto CFP at the traffic light, the store is ahead on the right. It's about a mile and a half from the resort. Because of the significantly wider selection and nicer condition of the store, we find it well worth going the extra mile to the Publix at Vineland Ave.
Is there a business center where we can get on the internet and print tickets if we need to?
There is a business center in the clubhouse.check-in building. I can't remember if they also have a couple of computers available for printing airline boarding passes, too, like they do at Cypress Harbour but I'm certain of the business center.
Go
here for a resort map.
This is a really nice resort. Enjoy your stay!
Dick Taylor
