Marriott Vacation Club

[KJWA]

Hi...
Looking for opinions about the Marriott Vacation Clubs in Orlando. We are currently booked for Grande Vista for a week in May. Starting to second guess myself after reading some negative reviews about this location going downhill.
Would love Lakeshore but it's not available. So now I am considering Harbour Lake or maybe Sabal Palms.

We have two kids, ages 4 and 5. We plan to do some days at Disney but also some resort days.

The positives of Harbour Lake would definitely be the pirate themed pool/kid-friendly atmosphere. But I have read some reviews along the way that seem to say this property is not as nice as other Marriott time shares since it was originally a different brand.

The positive of Sabal Palms (or Royal or Imperial) would be proximity to Disney. Don't know much more about it though.

Or I can just stick with Grande Vista.

I appreciate any input!

 

[chalee94]

harbour lake is the go-to choice for young kids due to the pirate ship. but you generally don't get granite countertops, if that is a dealbreaker. it is a great location if seaworld and harry potter land will divide your time with wdw.

the palms resorts are the closest to disney for a wdw-focused trip, yes. i can tell you royal palms has been refurbed in the last couple of years, but sabal is the closest to the world center.

i'm afraid i don't know anything about grande vista, but i have stayed at harbour lake and royal palms and would recommend both, depending on what you want to accomplish.

 

[Monykalyn]

Have stayed at Grande Vista (last year) and Harbour lake 10 years ago. Our younger kids loved Harbour Lake for the the themed pool but the rooms were smaller I felt and just a bit awkward in layout. Grande Vista has been our favorite so far! Great activities around the main pool, we were in a newer building overlooking golf course (so farther from main pool) and on a top floor-beautiful place, quiet, snack bar at the pool, separate splash area for littler ones...

Grande Vista wasn't available for our weeks this year so we are at Sabal Palms (Haven't been on this property since the early 90's...but the new World Center amenities convinced me this time for the kids who are now older...

We are longtime timeshare owners (not Marriott specific) and we frequently trade into Marriott properties and have yet to be truly disappointed by a place. You can always ask for a newer or refurbed building-I always ask for a top floor as well (even with a hassle of elevator or stairs) as it tends to be quieter If you have any questions about Grande Vista feel free to PM me.

 

[Northernlites]

We looked at the Harbor Lake, the Pirate ship looks great, very similar to the one at the sheraton Plantation in Myrtle Beach, but since my 5 yo has been to many indoor water parks I think he would be bored after a while. The other marriotts and vacation clubs with the lazy rivers look great.

 

[jennib5426]

We stayed at Grand Vista last spring break and it was great for doing Sea World stuff but traffic could get crazy if there was an event at the convention center. We happen to be there the weekend of Comic Con and all roads around that area were complete grid lock.
The rooms were nice but room location is key if you want to use the main pools. Resort is very spread out and the rooms on golf coarse side are FAR AWAY from main building. We thought the Grand Vista pools were boring and so did our 11 year old boy.
We are trying Royal palms in April because we can use the pool at Marriott World which has 4 water slides.

If you are going to WDW you may want to reconsider locations, Grand Vista is a little bit off I-4 plus you have to get on I-4 for a few exits to go to WDW, with traffic this could get time consuming.