Hilton Grand Vacation Club @ Seaworld review and pics

[JenDaveBrendan]

Stayed at the HGVC Seaworld the second week of our stay at Disney. We LOVED this resort!! Stayed in the Pembroke building.Room was great - we had a 1 bedroom with a lockoff studio bedroom attached. Big screen TV in the living room with a DVD player (also another DVD player in bedroom), very comfy beds (most comfortable I have had at a condo/hotel), large jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom where the water comes out like a waterfall, and very clean and well kept. I liked the Crabtree and Evelyn products in the bathrooms - they supplied shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion. Extras were complimentry and they brought me a big bag full which was nice. Staff were very courtious and polite.
Attached you can find some pictures I took of the main pool area and our room. There were 2 pools next to each other (waterfall and fountain pools) and 4 hot tubs. The pool area was great - one day they had a live band playing for about 4 hours and had bingo/limbo/hula hoop contests which my son enjoyed (he even won the limbo contest!!) I could have sat out there all day every day. They also have another "adults only" pool that we didn't see. There is a poolside restaurant and bar (Coral Reef bar and grille) that had GREAT food and drinks. We ate there a few times. They also had an activity center my son really enjoyed where the kids can pick from a bunch of different crafts for a nominal fee, like tye-dye t-shirts, painting a birdhouse/sandollar/starfish, bags, making soap and candles. The staff working in there were great with the kids. They also offer "kid's night out", but we didn't use this service.
We can't wait to go back!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/jdb2000100

Jen

 

[kilee]

Thank you for the great review!!!

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Hi There~

Out of all the Condos we stayed in (many) we thought the Hilton Grand Vacation Club was the best.

Rooms clean, friendly staff. Just loved it, had hard time to find fault.

The Most important, was fact that I could lay out, & watch my DD at all times. Even the playground (fenced) was located next to the pool. The location of the kids club & restrooms was also in the pool area. It just seemed like, no matter where you child was, you could turn your head & find them. I could really relax, & enjoy myself.

During the day, the kids club seemed to have lot's of activities, every hour. (fee) It was great. DD loved the make your own ice-cream sundaes. Make tee shirt. She even went to Sea world with her group & met up with Shamu.

At night, they had great activities, for the Adults (small fee) while next room was, DD in the kids Club movie theater with her friends, that she met at the pool.

We only left the condo, 3 times in one week. HGVC truly is a great place.

Had lot's of good memories there.

Patricia

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Thank you so much for the review. I booked a one-bedroom for my parents stay at the end of this week. It was so nice to read a recent, great review!

 

[Tinkrbell]

It sounds like you had tons of fun at the Hilton Resort. I've heard soooo many great things about this resort. We signed up for the timeshare sales pitch to get a good room rate there, but I have a few q's?

The standard room is a studio, should I upgrade for $150 to get a 1/br? Package price w/salespitch is $150/3nghts. so $300/3/ngts?

How much does it cost (extra) for all of the kids activiies at the pool?

Is the resort huge and crowded? ie. is it a long walk from room to pool?

Is there shuttle service to Sea world and Universal?

Anything else worth knowing before we book?

Thanks for any help at all!!
Tinkrbell

 

[PURTYPAT1]

It sounds like you had tons of fun at the Hilton Resort. I've heard soooo many great things about this resort. We signed up for the timeshare sales pitch to get a good room rate there, but I have a few q's?

The standard room is a studio, should I upgrade for $150 to get a 1/br? Package price w/salespitch is $150/3nghts. so $300/3/ngts?

How much does it cost (extra) for all of the kids activiies at the pool?

Is the resort huge and crowded? ie. is it a long walk from room to pool?

Is there shuttle service to Sea world and Universal?

Anything else worth knowing before we book?

Thanks for any help at all!!
Tinkrbell

Hi Tinkrbell,

It has been a 2 years since we went to the Hilton, but I can tell you what the prices were then. It was about $5.00 an activity. The make your own tye dye tee shirt was a bit more. The Casino night was $10.00 & at the end of the night we all won a prizes. I had won a fruit basket, which I loved. I felt like I got my $10.00 back with that. I don't remember what I spent on DD going to SeaWorld. She also went for dinner & to a magical museum with the Club one night. I think that was about $30.00 she loved that. They were bused there & back.

We went Presidents Week, & it seemed like most people were going to the Parks & not taking advantage of the actives. We had plans to go to the parks, but DD was having so much fun (as well as myself) that we stayed in the resort, & took advantage of all the fun. Great music & lot's of things going on all day. I actually ordered Dominos Pizza by the pool one day. Not sure if that was allowed, but no one said anything to me. In between the 2 pool are picnic tables to eat at.

They had a bus, that took you for free to SeaWorld. Actually SeaWorld, is directly across the street from the Resort. Down the block was a great Supermarket. I am not sure, if there was a fee for bus to Universal, since we never got there.

We also had the 1 bedroom with a lockout studio bedroom attached. Keep in mind, that, if you go with the 1 bedroom, the couch turns into a queen size bed. You can also request a cot too. I would go with the $150.00 & use the rest of the $ on your trip. That's just me. It is really up to you. We had asked to be near the pool, which you can do, (we called a week or two before your trip & requested it)

Anyone else who has stayed there, might want to join in on any info.

I have a quick question for you Tinkrbell?? Where did you get the 3 day rate for $150.00 with the timeshare?? DD is off from school in Nov 2006 for Jersey week, & need a place to stay for 3 days. Would love to go back. Any info would be great.

Hope this helps.

Patricia

 

[helens042266]

Thanks for the great review and pics! We are staying in June for a week and I cannot wait! We planned on spening a few days just playing around the resort and it is good to know that there will be plenty for the kids to do. Thanks!

Helen

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

It sounds like you had tons of fun at the Hilton Resort. I've heard soooo many great things about this resort. We signed up for the timeshare sales pitch to get a good room rate there, but I have a few q's?

The standard room is a studio, should I upgrade for $150 to get a 1/br? Package price w/salespitch is $150/3nghts. so $300/3/ngts?

How much does it cost (extra) for all of the kids activiies at the pool?

Is the resort huge and crowded? ie. is it a long walk from room to pool?

Is there shuttle service to Sea world and Universal?

Anything else worth knowing before we book?

Thanks for any help at all!!
Tinkrbell

As far as upgrading the room goes, how many will be staying in the room?? I think this will make a big difference. The studio is small- smaller than a hotel room, with one queen size bed and a pull out sofa, but space is tight. It's nice, just small. The one bedroom would give you alot more room, plus the big screen TV, jacuzzi tub, and of course a seperate bedroom. I think the studio would be really tight with more than 2 people staying in it. So if you have more than 2 staying, I think upgrading to the one bedroom would be worth it.
As far as the walk to the pool, I think all the buildings are within walking distance, a few buildings moreso than the others. It is not a huge resort, and everything is centralized. You could request at booking to be in one of the buildings closest to the pool so you wouldn't have to walk so far. We stayed 3 buildings away from the pool and it was a 1 minute walk. The buildings are close together. I didn't think it was crowded at all, but then again, we were there during off-season.
The kids activities: painting the birdhouse was $7, painting the starfish/sandollar was $4 - I think they were all pretty much in the $4-$10 range. Except the "build-a-buddy"(you make your own stuffed animal) was $25.
We stayed here 2 years ago also, and this year they had built a new playground to the left of the fountains pool that is more for the bigger kids than their other "tot spot". My son had fun there also.
As Patricia said, the shuttle to SeaWorld is free, and I am pretty sure they have a shuttle to Disney (costs though), I am not sure about Universal.
You will have a great time!!!

Jen

 

[mbb]

Thanks Jen!
Great review and pictures - it sounds like you and your family had a wonderful time Your little guy is too cute

 

[Tinkrbell]

Thank you for all of your answers. This makes it really helpful. I'll talk to dh about the upgrade since there will be 4 of us.

We got the deal through Hilton Honors. Just go on the website and sign up (its free) and I think you can click on a link or something. My husband is always signing us up for those "sales pitch" things, you can find them all over. We've gone on some pretty nice vacations this way, but its really kind of a drag to sit there for 3 hours.

Hope this helps and thanks again,
Tink

 

[HappyLawyer]

does anyone know if this is an rci exchange resort participant?

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Hi HappyLawyer,

Yes, I did an exchange. My family owns the Vistana, & I ended up at the Grand Hilton Vacation. I also have gone to The Big Orange, & many others.

Grand Hilton Vacation Club, has been our favorite.

Hope this helps.

Patricia

 

[Grumpy23]

I am sooo happy to see the good reviews of this place. I am staying there 4/27/06 through 5/7/06. Can't wait!!

 

[Scottish-Helen]

Hey Grumpy23,

We'll be there at the same time as you, we are there from 30 April for a week

 

[Grumpy23]

Hey Grumpy23,

We'll be there at the same time as you, we are there from 30 April for a week

Hi Helen, that is so cool. I'm sure we will be running into each other, and probably not even know it!! I hope you enjoy your stay there. I'm really looking forward to it. Counting down the days and ready to start packing!