Just Back--Summer Bay Resort

[kimber-lilly]

Hi--

We just returned after a week at summer bay--we had a two bedroom condo which we rented privately thru another time share owner. It was very nice, super clean and had a washer and dryer in the condo--. Had a jacuzi tub in the master bedroom and a small (i thought unuseable) patio with table and chairs.

We were unfamiliar with the place, so did a bit of poking around--there are three, plus a big kids interactive pool thingy with slides and tubes--like a pool with playground equipment! It was nice, but UNHEATED and thus, no one used it while we were there--too cold! The other pools have those mushroom looking fountains and a wade in end which is nice with little ones. The clubhouse pool caters to older kids and young adults, as the tiki bar is at one end. The lake is nice, they have bikes and paddle boats avail. for rent. They also have an inflateable rock climbing wall thing and a huge water trampoline in the lake. Nice sand beach but I saw a few cats hanging around, so I wouldn't let my son go there to play in the sand! There is one playground area.

The set up is that we had to cross the main drive thru way to get to the pools. They are in and amongst the villas, not the condos, so that was kind of a pain, but just a quick walk. There is mini golf, but I thought 6 bucks a piece was stupidly expensive. It was right outside our door.

The condo was nice, the beds comfy, but the upstairs people clomped around most of the late night/early morning and that was kind of a bummer, since we are early to bed, early to rise type of people.

The traffic on 192 and 1-4 was terrible the whole time we were there. Took forever to get anywhere.

We did get two calls from two different people from the sales dept while we were there--even tho technically, we were owners--i just told them we were really busy and not going to have time to sit down with them this trip.

The Inn at Summer Bay is across 192--my husband and I said several times how mad we would be if we had to stay there--just a hotel and a parking lot and like I said before, the traffic was unbelievable. The holiday inn is just inside the resort property.

Glad to be home, it was a good experience. Would go back again, but wouldn't pay the going rate--we got a great deal from the owner we rented from.....

 

[HappyLawyer]

i stayed there also but i got my deal off skyauction, it was very nice a total of 261.00 for the 7 days, give them a try next time,

 

[crjack]

Hi, we recently won a week stay at Summer Bay for a 2-bedroom unit and I had two questions if you don't mind. I'm pretty sure the answer is "no" for this but if you stay through Skyauction are you required to do the sales presentation? I don't think so but wanted to confirm because we are definitely not interested. Second, we have stayed at Windsor Palms which was near the Splendid China entrance on 192. Is Summer Bay more than a few miles down from there? We will have a car and dont mind driving but I know people have encountered traffic situtations on that road. Ironically, we stayed at WP the week following Easter in 2003 and never hit any. The area has built up even more since then though. Thanks very much for your help.

 

[HappyLawyer]

ok you do not have to do the presentation, we do it for the coupon for free groceries, 50 bucks wort, they give you a breakfast, it is nothing special but it will do,
next the traffic is not an issue, unless you go out of the main entrance, when you leave the property there is a side street that takes you around near publix, there is a light where you can turn onto the road so we never had any problesm, we never exited from the main entrance way, the front desk or guards can show you the sreet it is not hard at all
have fun

 

[kimber-lilly]

The main entrance to Summer Bay is a few miles west of where you stayed by Splendid China--not a big distance, but a pain because of traffic. We didn't have any trouble exiting summer bay onto 192--you can only turn right and we just zipped into the Publix entrance to turn around. No problem there.


Like the happy lawyer said, I don't think you have to sit thru any presentation at summer bay--just be prepared for the phone to ring at least once while you are there, and for them to ask you to sit down with them.

Hope you have fun. We didn't use skyauction--just bought the week from a friend of mine who is an owner. Have a good time! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

 

[crjack]

Thanks so much for your help. We are excited about visiting Orlando again and we love to try new places. We were planning on staying at CPGV through Hotelkingdom but won Summer Bay through Skyauction - our first one. We are planning on having some down days to just relax and the resort looks like it has a lot to offer. Thanks again.

 

[kimber-lilly]

I am just curious about your auction--does it specifically say you will stay at a condo or villa? The villas are in and amongst the pools--the best location, the condos are across the street. I would hate it for you if you got stuck at the motel across 192......

Just curious....

 

[crjack]

My Skyauction voucher does specifically say "villa" but it also indicates that these are a little smaller than the condos. It's definitely a 2-bedroom and based on the sq. ft listed it seems like it will be fine for us. It sounds like the villas will be a great fit for us as far as location. The pools are one of our priorities. As long as the unit is clean, we're pretty flexible with things like furnishings, etc. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[kimber-lilly]

Oh Good! The villas are the perfect location--I had villa envy--ha ha

they are on the right hand side of the main road that runs thru Summer Bay--taller than the condos on the left.

I admit, I looked in windows as we walked thru to the pool--the furnishings looked very similar to ours and ours were very comfy and clean. Be sure to take your own beach/pool towels--or be ready to wash what is supplied in the condo--they are very particular about "towel count" after you leave--if the count isn't on, you will be charged for them! We brought our own...

To get out of the 192 area, we went north on I-4 to sand lake road-we had dinner there at the Melting Pot. Very fun, upscale dining experience and my son (age 5) loved it. We were there mid week and it was slow--the food was great--kinda pricey but a nice splurge for us, as we have no nice restaurants around here! There are other nice restaurants in that area. And the Florida Mall is on the east side of I-4, down a ways. Has Saks Fifth Ave, Burdines, Nordstroms....

We also checked out Gatorland on the one chilly rainy day. It was really fun and our son loved feeding the gators the frozen turkey hotdogs that they sell as "gator food". Lots of photo ops there!

Have fun on your trip--Summer Bay is a great location!

 

[crjack]

Thank you so much for the directions and traffic tips. We have never really been much futher down than the Windsor Palms entrance. I will also keep the Melting Pot in mind. Now that flights and accomodations are set I want to check out some new restaurants to try while we're there. Chain restaurants always go over well with my kids but we live in Boston so there's never a shortage of choices. I like the idea of trying something new for all of us. We're also pacing ourselves more for this trip so meals wont necessarily be planned around park visits. I'm so glad to hear a positive review of Summer Bay. I was a little nervous about it and starting second guessing myself for not just booking CPGV through Hotel Kingdom. That sounded nice as well but we still got a 2-bedroom but for less money with SB so we figured it was worth a try. Thanks again.

 

[Straitlover]

crjack, whne you are leaving Summer Bay headed to WDw, be sure to take the back way to the parks, Once you pass Orange Lake, you will come to a stoplight at Black Lake Rd. I think the store is a 7-11; its right before the Chic-fil-a. Take a left there and go til you hit the stop sign at Sherbeth Rd (will pass Silver Lake Resort, and the Holiday Inn will be on your left at the stop sign). Take a left on Sherbeth Rd and that will run into Osceola Parkway. Take a right on OP (a left will take you to Animal kingdom Lodge). If you are going to AK, get in the left lane and look for a quick left turn lane to take you to the toll plaza (no sign there - grrr!). otherwise, keep on straight and follow the signs to the other parks or I4. Going this way will get you out of some of that traffic on 192.

 

[crjack]

Thanks so much for the info. We took the Sherbeth Rd. route when we stayed at Windsor Palms and wound up the AK lodge - we never quite figured out what we did wrong and by the time we made our way to MK it didn't seem like much of a time saver!

 

[Straitlover]

Sounds like you took a left off Sherbeth rather than a right. First time I went that way, I went straight across Osceola because there were no signs and I was following a Disney bus (we were trying to get to AK) and ended up in the Cast Member parking!!