Marriotts Horizons ? Worth the $? Pools?

[rapunzal]

How is Horizon's? Have a 8 and 5 year old who loves pirates...what is the pool like? And the interactive area? Is the pirate ship big enough for my kids? What is the ride to Disney like? Would love a AP rate...if they ever come along. Want to relax at resort some of the time. What is a good area to request? And price? Thanks

 

[spiceycat]

these site has some of the best prices for the general public

http://www.condodirect.com/iw/cs?a=0

but only a month or two in advance

if you belong to II - go to their getaways (what the above is - without the extra charge)

you can also get a member recommendation

go to

www.tug2.net

if you can't get into the
owner referrals - then go post on the BBS (their bulletin board) - you have to join to post - but you don't have to pay for a member ship fee until you need to see the reviews.

you want to post on the state where you want to visit = in this case either Florida or the Marriott bulletin boards. ask for a referrals there.

 

[wuv tigger]

We own at Horizons and love it. Your 5 year old will be in heaven and your 8 year old will like it. The pirate ship is good sized and has 4 slides off of it. The water park is fun, but the water is not heated so it is not a good winter option. There are plenty of activities miniature golf, pool table, ping pong table, foosball, basketball court, arcade games etc. They also have breakfast with the pirates and lunch with the pirates where the dress up as pirates and have a meal.

The quietest building is 12, which overlooks the lake. It is very nice. 13 overlooks the pool and has more actions. Drive to Disney is about 15 minutes. You are 1 mile off of I-4, so it is very convenient. Pricing from Marriott ranges from $158-$225 per night depending on season. For condo direct it is $849 per week usually. There is no cancellation penalty from Marriott up to 24 hours, but condodirect charges 30% after reservation and 100% 14 days prior. You can take a tour to offset some expense. Ask for $100 disney dollars and you will get it. The tour is pretty low key and they will not keep you for 4 hours unless you want to stay.

Hope this helps.

David

 

[ohiodad]

have you used condo direct and are they reliable,also is there a resort fee when you use them or just tax. And can you make requests before arrival if you book through them

 

[denisenh]

Here is a cut and paste of an old post I made. We stayed at Horizons in May 2004 Hope it helps!

We returned last night from a 2 night stay at Horizons. We also had a 2 bedroom 2 bath in building 12 on the 3rd floor (#1231).
We decided our location was perfect because our screened balcony faced the lake. It was private and quiet when compared with those facing the pirate ship pool area.
I could open the sliding door curtains and look out while preparing meals. I had a perfect view of waving palms which I love, and I also spent early mornings and eves sitting out there.
Our unit floor plan was nice. The kitchen was at the entrance, washer dryer in a closet to the left, one full bathroom to the right, which also had an entrance to the double bedded room. There was an additional entrance to the double bedroom off the living room.
Straight ahead past the kitchen was the dining area and then the living room with sliders to the balcony. Off the living room on the right was the door to the king bedroom and 2nd bath. The bathrooms had soap and shampoo (pantene) and had hairdryers as well. Plenty of closet space. Iron and board, broom, dust pan, carpet sweeper and laundry basket in a closet.
The decor throughout was nice with shades of greens and corals.
The bed had down pillows, soft sheets and pillow cases and duvets (no blanket, but I saw at least one in a closet). We were all very comfy with these covers.
The kitchen was fully equipped with all you would need to make full meals. (Publix grocery store a couple of minutes away, an easy drive) Nice fiestaware dishes. Under the sink were dish soap (liquid and dishwasher powder) and extra paper towels/trash bags. Housekeeping came to take our trash and change towels while we were out. I had made the beds and cleaned so I am not sure if that would have been done by them. (I prefer no housekeeping anyway, but that was fine)
We used the outdoor grills our last evening there but had to call for assistance because the ignitor didn't work on any of them and we had no matches. Someone came along within 2 minutes and lit it.
The resort is clean and the staff friendly.
The pirate ship pool was so much fun. It was never crowded and the weather was beautiful....maybe most people head to theme parks? There is also the "water works" water park and my kids enjoyed that also. It has squirters and sprays mostly but also has 2 forts with huge buckets on top. They dump a massive amount of water every few minutes so watch out!
We played miniature golf after dinner on out first day. $5.00 per person plus tax...$21.30 for the 4 of us. It was worth it and we had a lot of fun.
The arcade is not the best I have seen but it is sufficient.
As far as other activities, you get a schedule at check in and there are plenty of things to do.
There is a nice walkway with swings and benches along it. Also a deck out over the lake with nice sitting areas. (Look for the crocodile to the right of the entrance)
Plenty of parking. We checked in at 11:30 am or so without a problem. The entrance is gated and DH was asked his name. We were greeted by name when we walked in to the lobby... a nice thing. We checked out late (1:00pm) for a $25. fee.