Horizons By Marriott

[cwnhokie]

Thanks, I'll give them a call and make sure to ask for a crib and the two queen bed set up.

 

[darrius1st]

this place was the best

 

[cwnhokie]

We had a great time. My boys said that it was the best vacation ever. And we only went to disney a couple of days.

 

[summerrluvv]

LOVE it there!!! They have so many planned activities, awesome pools, the location is great, so close to SW and a short drive to everything else. We stayed in a studio last year and a 2 bedroom in January. The rooms are nice and spotless!

 

[3kidsfordis]

this place was the best

So funny to see this thread pop up after a year. I had made three comments on it about how much I loved the place in 07 and 08. In fact, I just returned from my third stay there 4/19-4/24. Still love the place. Went to the Hard Rock for a few days after. It was a nice hotel but I really missed the large space and the washer/dryer at Harbour Lake.

 

[darrius1st]

Trying to go back but can't seem to book it on II this year and I can't afford regular price are there any discounts out there for it.

 

[bwilcox]

Trying to go back but can't seem to book it on II this year and I can't afford regular price are there any discounts out there for it.

I'm not sure when you're going, but I just booked it for $110 a night for our trip in Oct. When I checked for the same time last year, the same room was $265/night!

 

[bwilcox]

Can I jump in and ask a question? I read on their website that they have something called Rise and Shine with the Pirates and Lunch with the Pirates. Can anyone tell me anything about these? I've found tons of pictures and info on the awesome pools, but nothing on these 2 activities.

 

[mom2372]

I would love to know where you found it for 110 a night in October. I would love to get it for that rate and was that for a 1 bedroom or 2? We are planning for late October early November. Thanks!
Tammy

 

[summerrluvv]

Can I jump in and ask a question? I read on their website that they have something called Rise and Shine with the Pirates and Lunch with the Pirates. Can anyone tell me anything about these? I've found tons of pictures and info on the awesome pools, but nothing on these 2 activities.

I think the Rise in Shine is where they come to your room, get your kids and take them to play while you "sleep in". There is a charge, I don't remember. I bet if you called they would fax you the activities list. I'll see if I have mine

 

[bwilcox]

I would love to know where you found it for 110 a night in October. I would love to get it for that rate and was that for a 1 bedroom or 2? We are planning for late October early November. Thanks!
Tammy

That price was for the guest room (1 king bed, 1 sleeper sofa). The 1 bedroom was $155 a night, which is still cheaper than the guest room was when I checked last year. This is directly from Mariott's website:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcoho-marriotts-harbour-lake/

 

[bwilcox]

I would also check out Ebay. People sell their timeshares there when they can't use them at great prices. There is one for a week at Harbour Lake for $650. If you buy from a high rated seller and you pay with Paypal, you are completely protected. I have bought multiple hotel stays this way and never had a problem.

 

[Detailor]

Trying to go back but can't seem to book it on II this year and I can't afford regular price are there any discounts out there for it.

I'd suggest checking out www.redweek.com for timeshare rentals at Marriott's Harbour Lake. Currently there are available rentals for 2 bedroom units starting at $107/night [there's a listing for the 4th of July week for $200 for the week or $29/night but I suspect that the lister meant it to be $200/night].

You may have to join Redweek for a small fee in order to use their owner rental system.

Dick Taylor

 

[Brer Brett]

My grandma has a time share at Marriot's Cypress Harbour, but we are toying with the idea of exchanging a week there for a week at Harbour Lake (formerly Horizons) in later October. It will be me, my wife, my son who will be 3 at the time we go, and my daughter who will be 1. My wife's parents may join us as well. With our group in mind, I'm wondering which resort you experienced people would recommend.

Also, I have been to WDW many times but this will be my first off-site stay. Does anyone have any advice on how best to travel to and from MK, DHS, AK, Epcot from these resorts? I'm thinking a rental car will likely be needed, but I am not really looking forward to paying for parking every day at the parks (although we may very well end up not going to a park every day, given how young our kids will be). I also assume these resorts do not have a shuttle to the parks?

Thanks for any insight/recommendations you have.

 

[Detailor]

My grandma has a time share at Marriot's Cypress Harbour, but we are toying with the idea of exchanging a week there for a week at Harbour Lake (formerly Horizons) in later October. It will be me, my wife, my son who will be 3 at the time we go, and my daughter who will be 1. My wife's parents may join us as well. With our group in mind, I'm wondering which resort you experienced people would recommend.

I think that the adults would enjoy Cypress Harbour over Harbour Lake. The villas, IMO, are much nicer and the resort itself is nicer, too. However, your children might like the water features at Harbour Lake better than those at Cypress Harbour. But, because of their ages, they'll not be at the pools without someone in your party watching over them so it might not be that big of a deal for them. And, of course, they won't know the difference between the two resorts anyway.

Also, I have been to WDW many times but this will be my first off-site stay. Does anyone have any advice on how best to travel to and from MK, DHS, AK, Epcot from these resorts? I'm thinking a rental car will likely be needed, but I am not really looking forward to paying for parking every day at the parks (although we may very well end up not going to a park every day, given how young our kids will be). I also assume these resorts do not have a shuttle to the parks?

Staying at one of these timeshare resorts may spoil you as the accommodations and resort amenities are pretty nice.

I think that the easiest travel to the Disney parks would be via rental car and it's pretty easy to get to the parks as you're close to an I-4 West entrance and there are well-marked exits - all of which are within 7 or 8 miles of the resorts - for the various parks. The two resorts are across the street from one another so it's the same route and distance for both of them.

With your grandmother's timeshare exchange your lodging cost plus the $14 daily parking fee should be a lot less than your cost for lodging/bus transportation on-site.

I don't know if these Marriott's have a shuttle to the Disney parks as we've always had a rental vehicle, but I think they may have a shuttle that goes to the nearby SeaWorld theme park.

Have a great 2011 vacation!

Dick Taylor

 

[Graeme]

No, they don't have shuttles, and taxis to the boardwalk were about $30 each way, and $25 to Universal. The I-Ride trolley picks up from out the front of them and gets to within a mile of Universal but it's a looong walk with kids and that trolley doesn't go anywhere near Disney.

You could park a rental car for free at Downtown Disney then use the Disney transport to get you to the parks, but is the hassle worth the ten bucks parking??

As far as the resorts go, The rooms in Harbour lake are a LOT smaller than Cypress Harbour, but the kids play area in HL is excellent. My personal choice would be Cypress Harbour everytime. Even over Boardwalk Villas and Old Key West which are the only onsite ones I've stayed at. Huge apartments and the two pools are quiet, so good for kids anyway, but nice for chilling days.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm thinking a rental car will likely be needed, but I am not really looking forward to paying for parking every day at the parks

I would not stay offsite without a car, myself. There might be a shuttle, but if there is it will be on a schedule, and that might not be your schedule. I get that paying for parking is a pain but it's much less expensive to do that than it would be to stay in a 2BR DVC unit.

 

[Brer Brett]

Thanks Detailer, Graeme, and Brian for the thoughts and insight. I'm leaning toward just staying with Cypress Harbour....my only hesitation is better water action at Harbour Lake for my 3 yr old son, but I'm thinking he will love the pool at Cypress just fine, and the main attraction for him is going to be all of his Mickey, Toy Story, Nemo friends, etc., anyway. Plus, we might just go to one of the water parks for a day and I'm sure that would make up for any water area difference which might exist between Cypress Harbour and Harbour Lake.

I'm also seeing that the rental car is probably a necessity when staying offsite. And I do like the flexibility it will provide, and with a 3 yr old and 1 yr old, we will need flexibility. In fact, while I've always felt spoiled by the onsite bussing, now that I'm thinking about it more, I think there's an advantage in being able to throw my 3 yr old in a rental car rather than keeping him occupied at a resort bus stop. While the onsite resorts drop you off right in front of the parks, the travel time difference might not be all that different considering the rental car takes the waiting at the bus stops out of the equation.

And finally, while I have you here, here's another offsite question: is the ADR restaurant reservation system available to offsite guests, or is that only available to onsite guests?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[3kidsfordis]

I have stayed at Harbour Lakes three times. The commute to Disney is easy. You will appreciate having a rental car for your stroller, extra clothes etc. The pool area at Harbour lakes is Pirate themed. Large pirate ship with slides that is in about a foot of water. Your three year old will love it. Never stayed at Cypress Harbour but they are right across the street from each other. My last visit was April 2010 and I was able to make ADR's. Have fun!

 

[happymommy]

Just returned, and it was wonderful. The room was super clean (got a recently renovated room on the top floor), and it was nice and big - second bedroom had two queen beds.

My one regret was after two days, we moved to a one bedroom at the Boardwalk Villas (got a rental from redweek, and like that area). The room was tiny compared to the Marriott! Plus it was quite worn, and didn't seem clean. I won't do that again. Would have just stayed at the Marriott the whole time.

I definitely would stay at this Marriott again - in my opinion, the room was much nicer than our stay last March at Grande Vista (probably since it was recently renovated).