Hilton Grand Vacation Hotels

[akaler2010]

I just won a hotel stay through work at my choice of Hilton Grand Vacation hotels in Orlando, either the Suites at Seaworld, Parc Soleil Suites, or Vacation Suites on International Drive.

Our travel party will be myself and my husband, and we will likely do Disney and Universal or a day or two each and then relax.

I have to pick my hotel in the next few days, so any suggestions of these 3 choices?

Thanks!

 

[bankr63]

I just won a hotel stay through work at my choice of Hilton Grand Vacation hotels in Orlando, either the Suites at Seaworld, Parc Soleil Suites, or Vacation Suites on International Drive.

Our travel party will be myself and my husband, and we will likely do Disney and Universal or a day or two each and then relax.

I have to pick my hotel in the next few days, so any suggestions of these 3 choices?

Thanks!

Well, first question would be which resort will you be attending the timeshare presentation at. At least I am assuming there is a presentation requirement as that's pretty standard when you win a stay at a TS resort. If they are only showing at PS, you might want to stay there.

Parc Soleil is the newest and probably closest to Disney, (although I-Drive has very good Disney access as well). PS is a high rise tower type of accommodation more like a classic hotel. The other two HGVC resorts are lower rise buildings and a bit more spread out (villa accommodations). I would expect a high level of luxury regardless.

I-Drive has good access to Disney and direct connection to the Prime Outlets on Vineland. Access to I-4 is also very good for getting over to Uni. SeaWorld location is just at the edge of the busy I-Drive area - lots to do there (restaurants, shopping, minor attractions) but access to the parks can be a bit more difficult as there can be traffic backups around there at times.

 

[akaler2010]

I'm hoping there is no timeshare presentation. I'm assuming since I work for a state university, it would be extremely sketchy for them to giveaway a hotel stay with a required timeshare presentation.

But thanks for the input about the hotels!

 

[bankr63]

I'm hoping there is no timeshare presentation. I'm assuming since I work for a state university, it would be extremely sketchy for them to giveaway a hotel stay with a required timeshare presentation.

But thanks for the input about the hotels!

Well if you won through work that is probably different (I missed that point on my first read through). I was generalizing a bit, as most timeshare resorts give away or offer highly subsidized stays as a marketing tool to bring in prospective buyers. In those cases free or cheap still has a "cost".

It's not really a problem if you know in advance, and many people even seek these deals out. As long as you know how to say no, and walk away when you have met the required time, it's a pretty easy way to get a cheap vacation.

The flip side of this is that several times in our years of ownership I have seen very upset guests who had no idea that their cheap or free vacation required a timeshare presentation. If yours for some reason does, go knowing that Hilton has some of the nicest properties around, and also knowing that what the salesman is presenting can be purchased for a fraction of the cost on the resale market (although HGVC maintains its value much better than other properties).

 

[Detailor]

I-Drive has good access to Disney and direct connection to the Prime Outlets on Vineland. Access to I-4 is also very good for getting over to Uni. SeaWorld location is just at the edge of the busy I-Drive area - lots to do there (restaurants, shopping, minor attractions) but access to the parks can be a bit more difficult as there can be traffic backups around there at times.

I don't agree that the HGVC SeaWorld location is in a potentially difficult spot. There's easy access to Disney via the nearby I-4 interchange or to both Disney and Universal if you go under the I-4 underpass via Palm Parkway (to the left) to get to Disney and via Turkey Lake Road (to the right) to get to Universal (I don't think that there's Eastbound access to I-4 to go toward Universal from Central Florida Parkway. Palm Parkway and Turkey Lake Road are, essentially, the same road.). You needn't go anywhere near International Drive traffic to get to the parks. I think this resort is likely a little bit closer to Universal than it is to the Disney parks, but probably not by much.

And access to SeaWorld is ridiculously easy - it's across Central Florida Parkway from the resort (we've walked there from the further away Marriott's Cypress Harbour resort that's next to HGVC on Westwood Blvd). Totally different traffic story if you plan to go to restaurants or the attractions along I-Drive but you'd have to deal with that congestion regardless of where you stay.

The SeaWorld HGVC is the oldest of the three resorts but looks like it has been kept up over the years. Parc Soleil, as the PP says, is the newest of the three. We haven't stayed there but the pictures make the villas looks pretty nice. This is a great central location for access to all three of the major Orlando theme parks centered roughly half way between the center of Disney and the Universal parks.

Personally, I don't like the location of the International Drive resort that's next to the Premium Outlets - it just seems a bit less of a resort location to me than its sister HGVCs. And, while Vineland Ave. connects I-Drive to the Lake Buena Vista area, the opposite end of Vineland Ave. which empties onto SR 535 can present a traffic challenge at certain times of the day - when staying in that area we usually just go down I-Drive and then take World Center Drive/Epcot Center Drive to the Disney parks. But everybody has their own preferences so that location might work for you.

The location advantages of one of these resorts over the others, in my opinion, is negligible. It's about three miles from the I-Drive location to the SeaWorld location and about two miles from the SeaWorld location to Parc Soleil.

My two cents - if Parc Soleil is available for your dates, I'd take that one as my first choice.

Dick Taylor

 

[akaler2010]

Thanks again! If we have to sit through a presentation, it won't be the end of the world, but we'd like to avoid it

I'm glad you both say that they are all about the same, makes our decision less stressful!

 

[carrie1626]

I'm hoping there is no timeshare presentation. I'm assuming since I work for a state university, it would be extremely sketchy for them to giveaway a hotel stay with a required timeshare presentation.

But thanks for the input about the hotels!

I booked a stay at HGVC International Drive online in 2012 and we did NOT have to do a TS presentation. If they would have asked, I'd had given them an firm NO

BTW, We liked the International Drive location. We could just walk to the outlet mall. That was a nice +. We enjoyed the pool bar watching a college football game and another day we did the foreign beer tasting poolside.
'The only downside I can think of is : parking was at a premium. Spots were hard to find close by to our building (more often than not).

There was grocery store, a McDonald's and a Panera Bread right down the street which was nice. I thought getting to WDW property was relatively easy. YES there was traffic but that didn't bother us. I planned our time accordingly

 

[jeff968]

All great resorts but the Parc Soleil is our favorite. We've been to the Sea world location as well but they really got it right with the Parc Soleil. I posted the review below (which has since cycled off). Good luck and have fun.

My wife, 11 year old daughter, and I just returned from a one week stay at the Hilton Parc Soleil in Orlando. My family and I have been staying in Orlando-based timeshares for 10 years now and I have to say that the Parc Soleil may very well be the nicest resort we have every stayed at. To be fair, it is also the newest but they got everything right.

Currently the resort has two buildings, 100 and 200. I believe there are seven buildings planned in total but they have not started on the third one yet. They also have nearby retail development planned but that is on hold per the economy. We were set up in a one bedroom suite on the 14th floor of building 200 with a spectacular view of the pool and surrounding area (you need to be in building 100 facing away from the pool if you want to see the nightly fireworks at Disney). The room was fantastic. It was very modern and open. The kitchen had everything that was expected; granite countertops, stainless appliances, a garbage disposal, even all wood flooring. The living area had a larger flat screen TV and nice sleep sofa that my daughter used. We had a large master bedroom with a very comfortable king sized bed with plenty of pillows and another flat screen TV. The single bathroom had the huge shower, tub, and a dual sink. One side was connected to the master bath and the single toilet was in a separate area connected to both the master bath and the kitchen with a pocket door to give you privacy. The coolest thing is a soaking tub with the water filling from the ceiling!!! It is interesting to see that the “in-room” whirlpool tub is all but dead. The older resorts we’ve stayed at had them but they were rarely used and took up a lot of room. Here we have the latest resort which doesn’t have them at all. I think it is a smart move and the soaking tub is very nice. The unit had a very modern euro décor to it with lots of wood. Very sharp. The patio was huge with a table and four chairs and a cushioned lounge chair. It was great to be out there for breakfast and just taking in the beautiful view. It was not screened in, just a railing.

The resort is beautiful and nicely set up with a very large zero-entry pool in the center with water fountains all around and a good size slide to the rear. Everyone enjoyed the pool and the bar/grill is right in front of it which is not too close. This works great as you look out on the beautiful pool area. You can enjoy food or drink while watching your kids play in the pool. You can also move back into the lounge area which has more tables, many TVs, and a quieter atmosphere or if you are looking to escape the sun. The main pool is no deeper then just over 4 feet. Everyone of every age enjoyed it. There were three good sized hot tubes surrounding it as well as the adult quiet pool and another hot tub to the side near the pond. There are two large towel units where you picked up your towels and got rid of them when you were done. There were always plenty of towels and comfortable lounge chairs.

My daughter had a great time and enjoyed the many resort-sponsored activities. These included daily poolside events including the timed slide races on Saturday. She took part in the kid’s night out at Wonderworks and had a great time. One of the best events was the poolside dive-in movies on Saturday and Wednesday. The resort purchased a huge, 20 foot tall screen and using a rear-projection unit and a good audio system we watched the movies in the water! We saw “Despicable Me” and “Toy Story 3”. A lot of fun. You could also grab chairs from the bar-grill tables and watch from there if you wanted to stay dry. The resort staff played well with the kids and made the events a lot of fun. After all, they put the “sole” into Parc Soleil  as they would always say. My daughter made many friends and they would meet at the pool daily. Ice Cream Sundaes were offered often (not as good as the Marriott’s but okay). Even the adults got into the fun. I competed in the slide races and won a free drink at a poolside event.

The resort offers many other things. The market place has all you need including a good selection of wine. The food at the Grill was better then I expected. We ate there twice, for lunch and dinner and the both meals were very good and priced very reasonably. There is a nice walking path around the large pond in the back. It is one half mile around and I would do laps every morning. It was nicely landscaped. The wife and I played Tennis four times. There is only 1 court but we never had to wait. There are also basketball courts there as well. All of these are a good walk from the resort buildings. The wife enjoyed the fitness room and never had to wait for a treadmill. Another Orlando resort first for us was the under-building parking garage. Very convenient keeping your car cool and dry (although we didn’t have any rain during our trip  ). Elevators worked well and quickly. Grounds were clean and neat.

The resort’s location also turned out to be a plus. It is by itself on the west side of route 4. It is a little desolate but the plus side is it is still a quick drive to anyplace you would want to go. Also, the Palm Parkway, where the resort is located, offers a neat driving alternative. You can take a left out of the resort and the Palm Pky runs parallel to route 4/I-drive. You can follow it up to the various cut over roads to get to Seaworld (in minutes) or drive all the way up to Universal avoiding Route 4 or I-drive if you want to. Very convenient.

Our timeshare tour was low pressure. We did our 90 minutes, got our two free attraction tickets, and were on our way (we did not buy, we never do). We have stayed at many of the nicer Orlando resort locations and Parc Soleil definitely rates at or near number 1. We love the Marriott Cypress Harbor. It has a great configuration and is beautiful but it was built in 1992 and you can see how resort design has evolved since that time and Parc Soleil reflects the latest in every aspect. Our Orlando trips are spent largely at the resort (we come for the sun, we didn’t even hit Disney this time, just one day at US IOA for Harry Potter) so we look for a resort that helps us relax and Parc Soleil delivered. We would definitely go back in a minute.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I think any of these resorts would be great - I lived in Orlando for awhile and was very near the Seaworld location.

I drive location -
close to the outlet mall (Premium South), across the street from a Publix supermarket and near some fast food restaurants, also access to the i-ride trolley

Seaworld location -
near Seaworld and Discovery Cove, CVS pharmacy, gas station may be a restaurant nearby, access to i-ride trolley, easy access to I -4 - Disney without getting bogged down in too much local traffic.

Parc Soleil -
Very new, no really close neighbors, so I would guess very quiet, short drive to Walmart on Turkey Lake Rd, also Winn Dixie not too far on Lake Road or Whole Foods nearer to Walmart. Might have more local traffic but probably not too bad.

 

[dennise]

Jeff968 - How did you get the offer to do the timshare deal?

 

[jeff968]

Jeff968 - How did you get the offer to do the timshare deal?

I rented the week from a HGVC owner that I found on eBay. When we got there we got a call for the tour. We said yes. We've done a ton of these and never buy. We get the first appt in the morning, usually 7:30. They feed us breakfast and we are out by 9am to enjoy the rest of our day but not before collecting our free (or highly discounted) attraction tickets. Worth it IMHO.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Hello, you have probably chosen your hotel by now as I have on.y just discovered this thread. Just wanted to say that the Parc Soleil is absolutely beautiful. I could live there! Going back again in July. We are from the UK so never get offered a timeshare presentation, I can't fault the place, it's wonderful x