Hilton Parc Soleil review Feb 2012

[jeff968]

My wife, 12 year old daughter, and I just returned from a one week stay at the Hilton Parc Soleil in Orlando. This was actually our third visit to Parc Soleil and I’m happy to report that their quality of service and product continues to be at a very high standard.

There weren’t many changes since our previous visits. We were in build 200 again but this time we were on the back side looking west. The downside of that is you are looking out on undeveloped land for the future buildings although the lake is to the left. The good side is you can watch the Epcot and MK fireworks in the distance which we did on a couple of the nights. The room was great and everything worked great. We had friends staying at the Sheraton Vistana villages who we visited one night. Seeing their unit you could see how much bigger the PS suite was. I would say a good 20% larger and even more on the deck.

We stayed at the resort all week and enjoyed the restaurant and activities. The food is still very good and very reasonably priced. I purchased a couple of Parc Soleil burgers which are great and include a choice of salad, fries, or fruit for $10 which I thing is a great deal. The food is very good as well. The fitness room had everything working and my wife used it daily.

Activities were a blast. We spent Saturday night in the pool watching Rio at the dive-in movie. A great time. Jordan, Ryan, and the other PS staff had the kids and us doing all kinds of fun things. We entered pool-side games for prizes and hung out and listened to music. My 12YO took part in the “kids night out” at wonderworks and also did scuba in the pool. She meet a few of her friends from our previous years visit so she had a blast. PS also brought in a steel drum player and guitarist to entertain us with great music. The resort and grounds were very clean.

We did the timeshare tour but didn’t buy (as usual). Low pressure so we got our discounted attraction tickets after our 90 minute visit. Last year our tickets were free but since they’ve raised the attraction prices so much you now get discounts. We went with Blue man group tickets and had a blast at the show.

Of the timeshares I have stayed at the Parc Soleil continues to rank as the nicest one. I really appreciate the location on the Palm parkway which runs parallel to I-drive. We could drive all the way to Universal with little traffic or cut over to I-drive only when we had to.

Time to start planning for 2013.

Jeff

 

[IndyClown]

Thanks Jeff.

Looking at exchanging through RCI into Parc Solei for 2013. (2 BR)

Which bldgs would you recommend requesting?

TIA

 

[jeff968]

There are only 2 buildings now. We like building 200 best and request a room overlooking the pool.

 

[Luv_Disney]

We have stayed many times at the Hilton Grand Vaction Clubs Tuscany one (can't remember the exact name, it's not the Sea World one though) and on long trips we tend to cook out on their grills and use their patio seating with the grills and sun tents overhead. We stayed at Parc Soleil last year but didn't cook out at all. I think they are supposed to have grills out back by the walking path and hopefully some seating. Did you happen to see this?

 

[jeff968]

We have stayed many times at the Hilton Grand Vaction Clubs Tuscany one (can't remember the exact name, it's not the Sea World one though) and on long trips we tend to cook out on their grills and use their patio seating with the grills and sun tents overhead. We stayed at Parc Soleil last year but didn't cook out at all. I think they are supposed to have grills out back by the walking path and hopefully some seating. Did you happen to see this?

I did, in the morning I would do a half dozen laps around the pond. I did see grills located way in the back by the tennis/basketball courts and also up front, to the side, by building 100. I'm pretty sure they are not gas grills so you will have to provide charcoal.

 

[Cloudboy]

The important questions - and the downfall of the other Grand Vacation properties - how were the beds, and how were the walls? Were they as thin as the other hotels?

 

[jeff968]

We've been there 3 times now and I just finalized our 4th visit for 2013. The beds are comfortable and I detected no issues with noise from other rooms. We are not HGVC owners.

 

[Q-man]

We mostly stay on property these days but won a week at Parc Soliel from the kids' school's PTO raffle. A very generous donation from a time share owner to the PTO.

Booked Thanksgiving week and trying to decide whether or not to rent a car or just cab it. When on property we regularly supplement Disney shuttles with cab rides but that is ~$15 max one way. A peak week rental plus WDW parking would be ~$75 a day. Can I cab it for less?

What is getting to the parks from this property like? On google maps it looks Vistana kind of close.
Do they have a shuttle service? I found this is a yes on their website.
If so how frequently does it run?
Any charge for parking at Parc Soliel? I found this is a no on their website.
Any ideas of cab fare from Parc to the transportation center?
MCO to Parc Soliel transportation?

I edited by following some of my questions with the answers I've found so far.

 

[jeff968]

We mostly stay on property these days but won a week at Parc Soliel from the kids' school's PTO raffle. A very generous donation from a time share owner to the PTO.

Booked Thanksgiving week and trying to decide whether or not to rent a car or just cab it. When on property we regularly supplement Disney shuttles with cab rides but that is ~$15 max one way. A peak week rental plus WDW parking would be ~$75 a day. Can I cab it for less?

What is getting to the parks from this property like? On google maps it looks Vistana kind of close.
Do they have a shuttle service? I found this is a yes on their website.
If so how frequently does it run?
Any charge for parking at Parc Soliel? I found this is a no on their website.
Any ideas of cab fare from Parc to the transportation center?
MCO to Parc Soliel transportation?

I edited by following some of my questions with the answers I've found so far.

I can only answer a couple of your questions. Downtown Disney is very close. You could be there in 5 minutes by car if 535 isn't filled up (as you need to be on it for a minute).

Parking is free and as I mentioned, it is garage parking under the building so you won't get wet if it is raining. PS may be the only Orlando resort with under building parking???

 

[jeff968]

Since the reviews are only being maintained for a year now (or less) I am posting my review from 2011 which is no longer available:

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.

 

[auprincess]

I am going to check this place out! 2 questions ~ can you decline the timeshare presentation? And, who did you book through? You can pm if you need to. Thanks so much!

 

[jeff968]

I am going to check this place out! 2 questions ~ can you decline the timeshare presentation? And, who did you book through? You can pm if you need to. Thanks so much!

Yes, you can decline the presentation but they are low pressure (IMHO) and you get food and some great discounts on attraction tickets but up to you.

I have found rentals on eBay. Just look up HGVC. I paid $900 for my President's week rental in a 1 bedroom suite. I typically pay between $500 and a $1000 for this week for my rentals.

 

[jeff968]

We had another great time with our 2013 visit.

Here is a picture of the main pool with the large slide. There is a second, adult reflections pool which is the infinity design and looks out on the large pond. There is also a large hot tub in the adult section as well. Quieter there if you are looking for that.

 

[mcbj]

Glad to hear you review! Just booked a mini three day package to wind down after our 10 nights at Disney! Pool looks awesome! DH hates time share presentations, glad they were low pressure! Looking forward to a few days to explore Orlando, we never leave Disney property!