Hilton Grand Vacation Club /Vistana Resort

[Lizhorgan]

My husband and I are planning to take our kids to Disney World for the first time in Florida. My head is spinning from all of the choices of places to stay!! We really like the description of accomodations at timeshares, with 3 kids the 2 brs and washer/dryer, kitchen would be wonderful. We were ready to commit to Vistana Resorts, now I am getting cold feet from some of the reviews I have read elsewhere. Feedback seems positive about this Hilton, but I don't see it listed as an option at as many booking sites.

Any tips on how to book it for the best deal, or the best/worst times in October to go? Any thoughts on Vistana Resort versus Hilton?

Thank you!!!

Liz

 

[Local_Girl]

Hi Lizhorgan,

First of all, welcome to the DIS boards!!

Regarding your question, I don't know anything about the Vistana, but I can give you a bit of info about the Hilton (HGVC). We (me, DH, DS9 and DD6) stayed there the week after Thanksgiving and loved it. Though we really didn't take advantage of the pools (except once) or onsite activities, I was really happy to have the kitchen, extra space (we were in a 2 bdrm), and jacuzzi tub.

The best part for us was the price! My DH is retired military and we took advantage of the Armed Forces Vacation Club (www.afvclub.com), available to active duty and retired military, among others. I understand there is a similar "club" for government workers. If you qualify, or know someone who does, you can get some great rates on several timeshare properties. The caveat: it is based on space availability, which means you'd need to be flexible and your best chance to get what you want would be in the off season. What we did was make other reservations elsewhere that we cancelled once we locked in a AFVC reservation. I have seen a few properties come up that have pretty good reviews here--Silver Lake, Orange Lake Country Club, and HGVC among them.

Another option might be to try Skyauction. Many have reported similar deals to what we got through AFVC, though I haven't tried it myself. If you do a search, you might come up with some useful info. Good luck--I hope you find a great deal and have a wonderful trip!!

 

[blairjen]

You may also want to consider Marriott Vacation Club. They have three properties near the Hilton VC. They are Cypress Harbour , Grande Vista and Horizons. We've stayed at the Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista. I would recommend either one (2br with full kitchen , washer/dryer , kids programs).

 

[DianeV]

The link for the government employees site is www.getravelop.com and its for local government and up.

We have stayed at HGVC and thought it was really nice. Vistana is nice too if you get in the better sections.

 

[jeff968]

Hi Liz, I have stayed at both resorts. The Vistana resort in 2001 and the HGVC in 2002. They are both nice resorts. The Vistana has some older sections where the HGVC units are all the same (oldest is 1995). The Vistana has the gated access which is nice. The pools are great at the Vistana but the HGVC is classier in design. We also liked the programs and the movie theater. The food was better at the HGVC. We stayed in the cascades section of the Vistana. It is the newest. The units were similar in size. Let me know if you have any other questions. Given the choice, I would choose the HGVC but it is more expensive and the Vistana is nice as well. We're off to Orange lake this year. Another place to compare.

 

[ljsmom]

I would highly recommend the Vistana Villages.