Marriott Vacation Club, lakeshore reserve or grand vista

[chimommy]

Hello-

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on these 2 resorts. My parents joined MVC last year... we stayed at Cypress Harbor and really liked it, but we want to get a three bedroom for our next trip. I have heard that lakeshore reserve is not "kid friendly". we will be traveling with our 2yr old and 1yr old... Also, does anyone know out of all the MVC which is closest to disney?

Thanks!

 

[happymommy]

The closest to Disney are Royal Palms, Sabal Palms and Imperial Palms. The first 2 are all 2 bedroom units, and Imperial is all 3 bedroom units. They are at the Marriott World Center resort.

Definitely they look fun for kids, since you can use the huge pool complex at the Marriott, and there would be lots of dining options right there too. Look it up on Marriott's website for more info, and you can google map it to see how much closer it is than the other two you're looking at.

 

[Taratink]

I have a 9 and 11 year old. We are trying the Grande Vista this year. The resort is huge and has 4 pools. I didn't book Sabal or Royal Palms because I was told that it was a hassle to walk to the main pool each day. There are a lot of business people staying there and I have heard that gave the resort a strange feel. We like the Sheraton Vistana resort and the Vistana Villages. Grande Vista and the Vistana Villages are close to Seaworld. We like staying in that area.

 

[creampuff317]

The new Lakeshore Reserve is very nicely built, next to JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton Hotel. I believe you can go pool hopping to the 2 hotels next door. However, the location is not as convenient compared to other Marriot timeshares. The older Marriot timeshares are closer to the themeparks.

 

[Detailor]

I didn't book Sabal or Royal Palms because I was told that it was a hassle to walk to the main pool each day.

That's certainly true for Royal Palms (and the adjacent Imperial Palm Villas). It's walkable but you have to walk past the convention center to the hotel's front entrance. It may be a mile or so from Royal Palms to the hotel's doors, depending on where you're staying within the resort. But, then, that's what they have the resort shuttle for - it runs from the timeshare resorts to the hotel's entrance for timeshare resort guests who wish to use the hotel's amenities.

Not really true for Sabal Palms. Sabal Palms is located right behind the hotel just beyond the Spa building and, IMO, an easy walk to the hotel's pool complex - a 1/4 mile?, a 1/3 of a mile?

There are a lot of business people staying there and I have heard that gave the resort a strange feel.

That's true when there's a convention going on at the hotel's convention center but the hotel is so big that there's always a pretty good mix of business and leisure guests staying there. And there's little reason for business people to be there when there's no convention going on.
From what I could see, there are always people wearing business suits in the lobby area but many of them are hotel staff.

I agree that it's fairly odd to see people in swim wear walking into the hotel on their way to the pool when there are a bunch of suits walking around but who cares? They all have a legitimate reason to be there.

Again, this doesn't really affect people staying at Sabal Palms as they can just take the short walk from the back of the hotel and walk directly to the pool area never seeing the hotel's lobby area.

Dick Taylor

 

[dioxide45]

We own at Grande Vista and do love our home resort. However we stayed at Lakeshore Reserve for two days in November. It was fantastic. Much more up scale than what we were used to. On our next trips to Orlando we will be looking for exchanges in to Lakeshore reserve before going after Grande Vista. The only problem is that Lakeshore Reserve isn't as large, so there isn't as much inventory up for grabs there through Interval International.

Lakeshore Reserve may not be as kid friendly, but it does have a couple of water slides that the kids will enjoy. There is also a lazy river. You also have access to the pool facilities at the JW Marriott, but not at the Ritz Carlton. You have access to the restaurant facilities at either hotel.

 

[DisneyDreamn]

We love Grande Vista. The staff are so friendly! Great pools.