Is Cypress Pointe Grand Villas the place for us?

[GEM]

We are planning our 11th trip to the Orlando area for this coming May. Although we have been to WDW many times, we have always stayed on-site - and it has always been just me and my husband. This time, we will be traveling with my mom and dad and our baby, who will have just turned one. I've been doing some reading and checking, and it seems like the Cypress Pointe Grand Villas might be the place that best fits our needs. The price is definately right!

Here is what we are looking for -

- two bedrooms (one for mom and dad and one for us)

- full kitchen

- washer and dryer

- something that is nice and clean and not worn out, run down,
etc.

- easy driving to Disney parks

- recreational activities (We plan to spend lots of down time at the resort. Do they have bike rentals, games, etc?)

- fun pool area and hot tub (Is there a zero entry pool? Is the volcano pool too far from the GV section for us to use?)

- within walking distance to some restaurants, attractions, etc. (Hotelkingdom.com says CPGV are in walking distance to the Crossroads shopping center. Does anybody know how long a walk this would actually be?)

Also, I thought I read that they had screened in porches or balconies and an area with grills for cooking out. Is that right? That sounds nice.

I would love to hear any opinions. If you can think of someplace that might be better for us, I would love to hear that, too!

 

[snoopy]

Hi Gem!

DH and I and our two sons (ages 8 and 4) stayed at CPGV this past July. I'll try and answer your questions.

1). The two bedrooms are good size, with two full baths, however, the second bedroom has twin beds. Fine for my two boys, not sure if that will matter to your parents or not. Also, the jacuzzi tub that is in the room is off the master bedroom with no door, so if one couple wanted privacy in the jacuzzi, that would mean no one else could be in the bedroom.

2) We loved the convenience of having a full kitchen and a washer and dryer, and I'm sure with a baby you will too!

3) We found the CPGV to be impecably clean inside our villa as well as the grounds.

4) 10 minute drive to WDW parks from our front door to the parking lot. The only hassle was when we went to MK, where you have to do the tram to the monorail -- we've never stayed offsite before and weren't prepared for that, but it wasn't too bad.

5) Lots of recreational activities by the pool. My sons loved the hula hoop contest as well as the limbo contest. They even had an adult hula hoop contest, which I won, LOL! Also, the main clubhouse has board games, movies for rent ($6 each, or $18 unlimited for the week), a pool table, and a few video games/pinball machines. Also, there is minature golf onsite.

6) The pool itself is o.k., there is a few "quiet" pools that are just pools, nothing elaborate. Then there is the "volcano" pool with a slide, perfect for young children. None of the pools are zero entry. We never used the hot tubs at the pool, since it was July and besides, we had one in our room.

7). You could walk to the Crossroads shopping center, but it would be sort of a hike alongside traffic - perhaps 1/2 mile? There is a liquor store, an Eckards and a Winn Dixie about 2 blocks away that we walked to twice during our stay - an easy walk.

8) They do have screened in balconies - they are good size with a full table and chairs out there. We loved our balcony, it was perfect to have breakfast on in the morning, and I loved reading out there at night. There is also a ceiling fan, so its quite comfortable sitting out on the balcony for hours at a time, if one is so inclined. There are no grills on the balcony, although there may be some around the resort. I never saw any though.

We so enjoyed our stay at CPGV, and would highly recommend it. I am notoriously picky about where I stay, and I was really quite concerned about staying offsite. Now I doubt I will ever go to Orlando without staying at the CPGV!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[sammi]

Hi GEM. If you are lucky enough to get the "search" feature to work you'll find a ton of great stuff on CP.

We've been staying at CP for the past 10 years as my family are owners there and we love it.

If you'd like to PM me your email addy I'd be more than happy to send you the photos that we took from our recent trip this past April.

Snoopy has given you a really good aspect of CP and it's all that she says it is.

Also congratulations on winning that hula hoop contest Snoop!

Oops.....also there are grills for BBQing all around the grounds but you'll have to buy a bag of charcoal and cook the "old fashioned" way!

 

[GEM]

Thanks for all the great info! Do you happen to know if there is a sidewalk that would take us to Crossroads if we decided to walk it? We love Pirates Cove mini golf!! Also, will we have to drive around the complex (to the main pool, clubhouse, etc.) or is it small enough that we could walk? Any good locations to request?

 

[snoopy]

GEM, not sure about the sidewalks. I do know that when we were there in July they were doing construction at the intersection right in front of CPGV, and if they are still doing, it might get a little messy trying to walk around all that. Perhaps they are done by now though.

We stayed on the 5th floor, in the Porpoise Cay building (I think that is the right name, sorry, I can't put my hands on my literature at this moment!). We had an ideal location, no one over top of us, so it was very quiet, and we had a great view of the quiet pool. A car is not required to get around - we walked to the main building almost every night to get a movie, and walked to the Volcano pool pretty much every day, even though the quiet pool was right below us.

Sammi, I was surprised that I still knew how to hula hoop, let alone hula hoop with 3 hoops at a time! I have to say it was your great recommendation that led me to book CPGV, so thank you so much for always being here to plug this great resort!

 

[sammi]

Ginny I hope you got the photos ok and you enjoyed them.

LOL Snoopy my Scottish cousins (who are the CP owners) were over here for a visit 2 weeks ago and I told them how much I rave on about CP and they said I should be given a compimentary week at CP for being such a good "spokesperson"!

I can't say enough about the resort as we have such a nice time there each and every time we go......which this time won't be until Nov/Dec 2005. But that's still ok as I love the planning!

Snoopy 3 hoops?????? WOW I don't think I could do that now at my old age! Good for you!

 

[GEM]

Sammi,

Right after you sent the pics, our email went down - again. They say it won't be back up until this afternoon. I can't wait to see the pictures, though! Thanks for taking the time to send them. You guys are the best!

 

[sammi]

Hope your email is up and running for you by now!

 

[GEM]

Thanks so much for the great pictures! You have both been so helpful! One more question -

Do you think there's much difference between the Grand Villas and the older part of the resort? Which do you reccomend? I was thinking of going with the GV because they are newer and the price difference doesn't seem to be much. Any thoughts?

 

[sammi]

Yes the GV are the newer and if you can get in there I would say go for it. The older part of this resort has been undergoing a full renovation too and would probably be nice also but I'm a little "biased" as we always stay in the GV part.

 

[disneymom3]

Well, I am going to go off the beaten path here and say perhaps you should try somewhere else.

I have stayed at CP and liked it. It was fine. The villa features of the space and kitchen and laundry facilities are wonderful luxuries at the majority of resorts in the area.

I would however suggest checking out Sheraton's Vistana Resort. The activities and amenities far outweigh CP in my opinion. You will have your choice of zero entry pools and over half a dozen jacuzzis. Having swum (is that a word?) at CP and also at VR, with little ones, Vistana wins hands down. Honestly there is no contest. It is the difference between having to hold the baby the whole time they are in the pool or being able to let them sit and splash and toddle about. Much more fun for them and you!

There are also bikes to rent as well as surry bikes like they have on the Boardwalk at Disney. There is a whole calendar of activities to choose from and gorgeous paths to walk with lots of water features and wildlife--mainly ducks and other random birds--with little machines where you can get some stuff to feed them which was the highlight of our one year olds trip. (He also loved the tram in all WDW parking lots!)

It is in fact a bit of a shorter drive. Very easy to get to the parks and still convenient to restaurants etc and in fact there are three restaurants on site as well as a very nicely equiped little store.

Also, in my opinion, the screened porches are much more relaxing and private. Ours at CP looked out on the parking lot and we didn't use it at all. They have grills as well and there are at least two, but I am thinking three little playgrounds at Vistana as well.

For me what it comes down to is way better pools, I lkie the layout of the villas better, and the resort seems so much more secluded and as though you are getting away from it all. And while the staff at CP was all fine, the level of service at Vistana is much more Disneylike. There are just special touches that make the difference, like the stuffed animals arranged funny when you come home or the guy in the snack bar who makes your child's simple ice cream order into a funny face extravaganza.

Something for you to think about, anyway.

 

[snoopy]

I'd love to try Vistana - unfortunately, Hotel Kingdom doesn't offer any great rates there like they do CPGV. I'm quite sure there are nicer timeshares with more amenities in Orlando, but that $88/night rate is a steal and hard to pass up. CPGV is most certainly worth that rate and then some.

Next trip I am going to check out Sky Auction, I'd like to see if I can get Vistana at a steal on an auction.

GEM, I'd stick with the Grand Villas - we toured the older units, and while they were o.k., they were older, with an older looking decor. Since the price difference isn't real significant, we decided to go with the Grand Villas and we ended up being glad we did.