hilton grand vacation club question

[2minny]

I'm trying to find pictures of the Hilton Grand Vacation club at Int. Dr. (not the one at Seaworld) and I can't seem to find any pictures. There's only one picture of the front of the place...I want pics of the grounds, rooms, etc.

 

[Local_Girl]

Hope this link works for you...I think you can click on dial up if that's what you have instead.

http://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/ownership/panorama_internationaldrive_high.html

 

[2minny]

THANK YOU!!!! I'm so impressed that you found those! It looks so nice!

 

[sln88]

we stayed there in Oct if you have any specific ?

 

[disneydenisel]

we stayed there in Oct if you have any specific ?

We are thinking of staying there in 4 villas for Thanksgiving this year. Did you like the place? How far was the drive to the Magic Kingdom? Was there a shuttle or did you have to rent a car? Was the pool nice? We have a 3 year old and a 6 year old...will they like it, or would the WL at Thanksgiving be better? Thanks for your help.

 

[2minny]

Yes, please let me know abou the place, were you pleased? Pros/cons! Do you know how far it is from the convention center and how far to Magic Kingdom? Isn't it new?

 

[MNSusan]

We stayed at the new HGVC last weekend with some friends who have a timeshare there. We got a deal on the room in exchange for listening to their sales pitch.

We had a one bedroom suite which was very large and spacious. It had a balcony that overlooked the pool and spanned both the living room and bedroom. It had the biggest jacuzzi tub I've ever seen in a hotel (or anywhere for that matter). We rented a car so I'm not sure about shuttle service. We were within a few minutes of all of the WDW parks and getting back and forth was no problem.

The pool is beautiful, although it was a bit chilly for us to enjoy it. We did have drinks at the pool bar one evening which was very nice. There's also a nice "quiet" lounge that would be great for reading, etc. The exercise room had all the latest machines and looked terrific, too. Our friend played bingo one afternoon and won some nice bottles of wine. The kids liked the pool and the basketball court.

I can't really think of any "cons." We have always stayed onsite and were a little apprehensive about being "off world." But it is a really beautiful resort and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions.

edited to add:
I just looked at the photos from the link posted above. The one bedroom suite is the one we stayed in! We had heard it was a model.

 

[2minny]

Oh, that's great! Thank you for the details, I made reservations for June, but I'm still looking around to be sure this is the place we should be. Our room is $199 for 2 bedroom suite, decent price if the place is nice. My only concern is last trip we stayed at POR for $90, we got two connecting rooms. I may go that route again to be on the property...I'm so fickle! But I'm not sure I can get that deal again, and my husband is going to conferences and I was trying to find something near the conference center, but can't find a suite large enough until I found this one.

 

[MNSusan]

I think you'll like the HGVC. Our friends had a two bedroom suite and it was HUGE. The whole place is brand new so every room is in great condition.

We thought we wouldn't like being offsite, but we were just fine with it. As it turned out, we opened and closed the parks everyday and were ready to go after the fireworks each night. We kept the magic going by visiting Downtown Disney at night. Instead of having packages sent to our resort, we had them sent to the front gate. And we had PSs for at least one meal in each park.

Staying onsite is great, too! Good luck with your decision.

 

[spiceycat]

I have stayed at the one new SW - and I asked people who were using their bus.

they didn't like the bus service.

so I would go with a car rental.

besides these places have a full kitchen - going to the grocery store is nice.

then when you come home beat from going to the parks all days - you can eat without having to go out.

 

[sln88]

sorry- I don't come here too often- did not know there was a question

we had a nice one bedroom with a full kitchen and whirlpool tub, plus a studio lockoff that had another mini kitchen in it. Both units had screened in porches. The rooms were very nice. We would never have been able to afford it if not for Skyauction(and I doubt it will ever show up again!)

the front desk was not overly nice- not rude, but not wonderful

Pool was cold, but were were there in Oct. There did not seem to be alot of activities for the kids, but again, it was off season, and most of our days were park days, so we did not have much time to do what was offered.

Washer and dryer in room. parking was kind of scarce at night.

We had a car, but I think they did have a shuttle. Also close to public busline if you want to go somewhere else. I may not be remembering this right, but I think the shuttle to Universal and seaworld was free, but you may have had to pay for one to WDW. Very close to Publix and Walgreens and some fast food. They have a little place for food right there.

Our trip was mainly US and SW this time- only went to WDW once and I don't think it was too far, but there are definitely closer places to WDW.

Would stay again in a heartbeat if it showed up again!

 

[Rhonda922]

I'm about to book the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on Int'l. Drive but there's something I just have to know....Does the staff bother you about attending timeshare presentations. That's something I do not want to do and of course I wouldn't if I were asked. It's just that those timeshare people can be so annoying and pushy. I don't want to be hassled every time we happen to stroll thru the lobby.

thanks!

 

[SammieG]

I think they WILL try their luck at getting you along to a presentation. We actually enjoyed the presentation, but had decided to buy there anyway before we went along.

They did ring us and leave messages on our answer machine inviting us for an update lunch, but we never responded. THey certainly didnt hassle us at all.. but they did try to encourage us - it most certainly would not put me off going there!

it is the nicest resort we have stayed in!

btw MNSusan - ALL the apartments look like the one in the picture! It could well have been your apartment, but ours was EXACTLY the same!!!

 

[Rhonda922]

Hey thanks SammieG.

You're putting my mind at rest. We've been to a couple trips to Vegas and the timeshare people are everywhere out there. The minute they see you coming, they're right in your face bugging you.

 

[sln88]

I don't remember them calling us about that stuff at all while we were there.

 

[Rhonda922]

I don't know why I'm hesitating in getting a Studio at the Hilton GVC. It has the small fridge which is fine for us -- It's just me and DH. It's $200 cheaper than the one bedroom suite. I feel like I should just go for the one bedroom but I just don't know why. Are the one bedrooms decorated nicer than the studios? I know they have the full kitchen but I don't think we'll be doing any cooking. This is vacation and I don't want to cook or do dishes.

 

[sln88]

I would say the studio would be fine for the 2 of you. Our 2 bedroom was a 1 bedroom with a studio lockout. Much smaller, but decorated just the same. even had the screened in porch.

 

[Rhonda922]

Okay, I went ahead with my reservation. I called the Hilton GVC a couple hours ago. Now I'm really e-x-c-i-t-e-d!!!!!

Let's all do the dance...

 

[KerriKaden]

You will not be disappointed in the HGVC. It is SO pretty. I wish it would come up on skyauction again. We had a 2 br, and it was huge. The pool area is great. My kids loved it.