Marriott Sabal Palms & Royal Palms

[spindoctors]

Has anyone stayed here? Would you recommend or not? Which is better? I can get a great rate - $136 per night for a 2BR villa - but I always hate to try a new place.

 

[Detailor]

Has anyone stayed here? Would you recommend or not? Which is better? I can get a great rate - $136 per night for a 2BR villa - but I always hate to try a new place.

These are two of the three timeshare resorts that are on the Marriott World Center hotel property bordered by SR 535, SR 536/World Drive that leads right on to Disney property, I-4, and the Sheraton Vistana Resort. I believe that these resorts are the original Marriott Vacation Club resorts in Orlando.

Both Sabal Palms and Royal Palms have two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas that sleep a maximum of six guests. The Sabal Palms villas are a little bit bigger than those at Royal Palms, which is the larger of the two resorts. The Sabal Palms buildings are all two-stories high with separate entrances from the ground to each villa (no elevators) while the Royal Palms buildings are four-stories (there might be some that are just three-stories) with both stairs to each floor and elevator access. Both resorts have a pool area, though the Royal Palms pool is larger and better landscaped, playgrounds, a small arcade, fitness rooms, gift shops, tennis and basketball courts, and the Royal Palms has a small Marriott Express Marketplace resort convenience store. Guests of the resorts may use the amenities at the hotel including the huge outdoor pool area, the smallish indoor pool, the food court and boutique shops inside the hotel and the spa that behind the hotel (next to Sabal Palms). There's a resort shuttle for transportation both between the resort and between the resorts and the hotel.

Sabal Palms is located right behind the hotel and access via a service road that goes behind the convention center and leads to the hotel's parking garage (parking for Sabal Palms is at the resort in front of the villas). It's an easy walk from Sabal Palms to the hotel amenities. The resort is basically surrounded by a golf course on three sides and the hotel on the fourth.

Royal Palms is located at the eastern most part of the property, separated on one side by a wall from the Sheraton Vistana Resort and on another by a wall that closes in the resort from the busy SR 535. The other two sides are on the golf course. Royal Palms is a half to three-quarters of a mile from the hotel.

Of the two, I think that Sabal Palms is the quieter - probably because it's a smaller resort than Royal Palms. So, if you're looking for a laid-back resort experience you might want to choose Sabal. Childrens' and adult activities are dispersed between the three resorts (Imperial Palm Villas is the third resort in this group) so if activities is your, or your family's, thing then it wouldn't really matter which resort you stay at.

We really liked our stay at Sabal Palms in 2009 and would consider Royal Palms in the future, too. But though these resorts have been updated through recent refurbishment, we prefer the newer Marriotts: Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista. If one of those were available then I pick them over either Sabal Palms or Royal Palms but those older resorts offer a perfectly fine resort experience.

Dick Taylor

 

[mermaidmona]

I've not stayed there but I have had good luck with Marriot in general.

 

[spindoctors]

These are two of the three timeshare resorts that are on the Marriott World Center hotel property bordered by SR 535, SR 536/World Drive that leads right on to Disney property, I-4, and the Sheraton Vistana Resort. I believe that these resorts are the original Marriott Vacation Club resorts in Orlando.

Both Sabal Palms and Royal Palms have two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas that sleep a maximum of six guests. The Sabal Palms villas are a little bit bigger than those at Royal Palms, which is the larger of the two resorts. The Sabal Palms buildings are all two-stories high with separate entrances from the ground to each villa (no elevators) while the Royal Palms buildings are four-stories (there might be some that are just three-stories) with both stairs to each floor and elevator access. Both resorts have a pool area, though the Royal Palms pool is larger and better landscaped, playgrounds, a small arcade, fitness rooms, gift shops, tennis and basketball courts, and the Royal Palms has a small Marriott Express Marketplace resort convenience store. Guests of the resorts may use the amenities at the hotel including the huge outdoor pool area, the smallish indoor pool, the food court and boutique shops inside the hotel and the spa that behind the hotel (next to Sabal Palms). There's a resort shuttle for transportation both between the resort and between the resorts and the hotel.

Sabal Palms is located right behind the hotel and access via a service road that goes behind the convention center and leads to the hotel's parking garage (parking for Sabal Palms is at the resort in front of the villas). It's an easy walk from Sabal Palms to the hotel amenities. The resort is basically surrounded by a golf course on three sides and the hotel on the fourth.

Royal Palms is located at the eastern most part of the property, separated on one side by a wall from the Sheraton Vistana Resort and on another by a wall that closes in the resort from the busy SR 535. The other two sides are on the golf course. Royal Palms is a half to three-quarters of a mile from the hotel.

Of the two, I think that Sabal Palms is the quieter - probably because it's a smaller resort than Royal Palms. So, if you're looking for a laid-back resort experience you might want to choose Sabal. Childrens' and adult activities are dispersed between the three resorts (Imperial Palm Villas is the third resort in this group) so if activities is your, or your family's, thing then it wouldn't really matter which resort you stay at.

We really liked our stay at Sabal Palms in 2009 and would consider Royal Palms in the future, too. But though these resorts have been updated through recent refurbishment, we prefer the newer Marriotts: Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista. If one of those were available then I pick them over either Sabal Palms or Royal Palms but those older resorts offer a perfectly fine resort experience.

Dick Taylor

Thanks so much for your detailed response! How far are Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista from WDW?

 

[Detailor]

Thanks so much for your detailed response! How far are Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista from WDW?

Both are in the general SeaWorld neighborhood. Using Disney Hollywood Studios as your destination, it's about 8 miles from Cypress Harbour (on Westwood Boulevard) and about 9.5 miles from Grande Vista (off International Drive) - just shorter than that to Epcot, about a mile or so further to Magic Kingdom, a couple miles further to Animal Kingdom. And, as there are multiple routes that can be taken, you might be able to make the distance a little less or little more depending on which way you go. Regardless of which route you choose, Disney is easily accessible from these resorts. It's maybe 4.5 miles from Sabal Palms/Royal Palms to Hollywood Studios.

Dick Taylor