Marriott Royal Palms/Sabal Palms/Imperial Palms

[lyndeah]

Has anyone stayed at any of these hotels? I would love to know pro's/cons?

We have always stayed @ a Disney resort and are curious about not using the Disney dining, etc.

TIA........

 

[DSLRuser]

Marriott invented the modern time share. That property group was the 1st built in the disney area. It has been upgraded numerous times over the year (a little too much) and it is impeccably managed.

My only complaint is i is now over built. It used to be a destination golf resort, now they have over built the hotel and removed much of the golf course. so it is not as pretty as it was.

 

[Detailor]

Has anyone stayed at any of these hotels? I would love to know pro's/cons?

We have always stayed @ a Disney resort and are curious about not using the Disney dining, etc.

TIA........

Because of the way you phrased your question, perhaps the biggest "con" for you may be that these aren't hotels but, rather, timeshare resorts. That means no daily housekeeping unless you rent through the Marriott hotel reservation system (meaning if you rent from an owner or exchange through a timeshare exchange company you probably won't have housekeeping), no (or limited) room service, no restaurant on the first floor, etc. Instead these resorts' villas have full kitchens and laundry facilities in them, two bathrooms, private bedrooms (2 bedrooms at Sabal and Royal, 3 bedrooms at Imperial), a fairly large living room/dining room area and a screened lanai/balcony. The resorts share an extensive activities program (mostly geared to children) and there's a small (miniscule?) resort store that's located in the clubhouse building at Royal Palms. There are several grills located on the resorts' grounds, arcades, fitness centers, tennis courts, basketball courts, shuffleboard and small playgrounds. Onsite parking is located at or near each guest's villa. Guests at these resorts have access to each of the three resorts' swimming pools and the pools at the Marriott World Center hotel. There are several restaurants, a food court and a few shops at the hotel. There's also a spa that's located between Sabal Palms and the back end of the hotel. A golf course wraps around the Marriott property and acts as a bit of a buffer zone between the Marriotts and I-4. They have a great location that's near an I-4 entrance/exit and less than two miles to Disney property.

Dick Taylor

 

[lyndeah]

OK thanks, we would be booking thru Marriott website (using points actually) my husband has sooo many points that we thought we might use them for Disney but not if it takes away from the convenience of staying on disney properties.....

it sounds like the hotel itself is more convenient (housekeeping services, room service, etc?)

 

[DSLRuser]

dont let the lack of house keeping turn you off.

Time share stays are full fledged, large apartments. The benefit is being able to prepare a meal on your own, versus having to pat for each meal out. This can save a large amount of money.

Also, in room washer and dryer. So you can pack less. And if you run out of towels, just pop them in the washer.

 

[Detailor]

OK thanks, we would be booking thru Marriott website (using points actually) my husband has sooo many points that we thought we might use them for Disney but not if it takes away from the convenience of staying on disney properties.....

it sounds like the hotel itself is more convenient (housekeeping services, room service, etc?)

As you're booking through the Marriott hotel website you would have housekeeping (at least it's listed as a service at that site). While the hotel is is very nice Marriott hotel (and - when compared with a timeshare resort - more like any hotel, including Disneys, that you've stayed in), my advice is to go with one of the timeshares - I'd suggest Sabal Palms as it's much closer to the hotel than the other two. You won't be the least bit sorry that you have to walk for a few minutes (five to ten) to go to a restaurant at the hotel once you've seen how much space you have in a timeshare villa compared with a standard hotel room. A two bedroom villa at Sabal Palms is about three times the size of a standard World Center hotel room (1,360 square feet of space vs. 425 square feet).

Dick Taylor

 

[youalleverybody]

We have the same idea. We have stayed onsite the last two times, but we have 5 children so we have to get two hotel rooms which gets expensive!!

I assume we would need to stay at Imperial palms? The two bedroom villas would be too small for us. My husband also has a jillion Mariott points from traveling for work, so we just can't justify an onsite stay the next time we go.

do I understand correctly that you can walk from Imperial palms to the World center hotel and have access to restaurants/food court/starbucks?

 

[Detailor]

We have the same idea. We have stayed onsite the last two times, but we have 5 children so we have to get two hotel rooms which gets expensive!!

I assume we would need to stay at Imperial palms? The two bedroom villas would be too small for us. My husband also has a jillion Mariott points from traveling for work, so we just can't justify an onsite stay the next time we go.

do I understand correctly that you can walk from Imperial palms to the World center hotel and have access to restaurants/food court/starbucks?

Yes, you can walk from Imperial Palm Villas to the hotel but please be aware that it's about a mile walk from that resort (and from Royal Palms), less than a quarter mile from Sabal Palms. There is, however, a shuttle service that runs between the resorts and the hotel. Both Royal Palms or Sabal Palms sleep six (King in master bedroom, Queen in second bedroom, Queen sofabed in the living room), so they may be options for you in addition to Imperial (sleeps 10, King in master, Queen in second, two Doubles in third, Queen sofabed in living room).

Dick Taylor

 

[youalleverybody]

Thank you for your response.
I think we will need the extra space of Imperial palms, so we will deal with the distance. A small price to pay indeed!

 

[MikeP22]

I felt that the location in proximity to WDW was very convenient, with a caveat.
We stayed at the Royal Palms (09/10) which is located towards the back of the complex. While we really loved the place, we felt that the drive to our unit from the entrance of the complex grew into something of a bear when we had to make it several times a day. From what I understand the drives between the other two and the entrance are much shorter/easier.

Someone with a stronger memory could most likely better expand on this, but part of the drive to Royal Palms goes down a road that feels more like a service road, and I think that there are a few frustrating (location-wise) stop signs and speed bumps, combined with curves and a low speed limit.
This might not be as frustrating for everyone else; for us it was at times (it was crazy hot and we had two kids in tow).
You'll likely be happy whichever one you pick; if they've all been renovated at this point they'll all be really nice.

 

[Detailor]

I felt that the location in proximity to WDW was very convenient, with a caveat.
We stayed at the Royal Palms (09/10) which is located towards the back of the complex. While we really loved the place, we felt that the drive to our unit from the entrance of the complex grew into something of a bear when we had to make it several times a day. From what I understand the drives between the other two and the entrance are much shorter/easier.

Someone with a stronger memory could most likely better expand on this, but part of the drive to Royal Palms goes down a road that feels more like a service road, and I think that there are a few frustrating (location-wise) stop signs and speed bumps, combined with curves and a low speed limit.
This might not be as frustrating for everyone else; for us it was at times (it was crazy hot and we had two kids in tow).
You'll likely be happy whichever one you pick; if they've all been renovated at this point they'll all be really nice.

Some Royal Palms buildings are the closest to the entrance to the Marriott property, the first RP building is about 0.2 of a mile from SR 536. Imperial Palm Villas are next closest - about 0.3 of a mile, then the remainder of Royal Palms - even those at the back (just under a half mile). Sabal Palms is the furthest away from the property entrance, between a half and three quarters of a mile depending on which building you're in. And the road that leads back to Sabal Palms is, indeed, a service road that also serves the back of the convention center, the back of a part of the hotel, the hotel's parking structure and some other storage and maintenance areas.

Dick Taylor

 

[MikeP22]

Some Royal Palms buildings are the closest to the entrance to the Marriott property, the first RP building is about 0.2 of a mile from SR 536. Imperial Palm Villas are next closest - about 0.3 of a mile, then the remainder of Royal Palms - even those at the back (just under a half mile). Sabal Palms is the furthest away from the property entrance, between a half and three quarters of a mile depending on which building you're in. And the road that leads back to Sabal Palms is, indeed, a service road that also serves the back of the convention center, the back of a part of the hotel, the hotel's parking structure and some other storage and maintenance areas.

Dick Taylor

Yep, sorry... I misspoke; we stayed at Sabal Palms and not Royal Palms. I got the names mixed up.

 

[papertraveller]

Thanks for the information in this thread - we've booked here for Christmas, and the resort looks great!