jeff968
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Messages
- 1,255
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 tubs 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 inflateable 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 “soul” 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 activity center was great with lots to do for the kids. My daughter reported they had the latest Wi and controllers and she loved the free-use PCs (with parental controls installed) so she could show things to her new friends.
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 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, 535, 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.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Jeff (from CT)
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 tubs 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 inflateable 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 “soul” 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 activity center was great with lots to do for the kids. My daughter reported they had the latest Wi and controllers and she loved the free-use PCs (with parental controls installed) so she could show things to her new friends. 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 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, 535, 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.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Jeff (from CT)
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