pictures of summer bay

[mickeymousefan]

Hi all.....

Does anyone have any pictures of Summer Bay Resort they would like to share???

TIA

 

[hellorobbo]

Here is a link to someone's photos of the Summer Bay Homes:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EegNWjJoyaNGMS&open=1&sm=0&sl=0

and some 360 views of some of the resort's facilities

http://www.vacationstationflorida.org/amenities/amenities.htm

We'll be there in a month and all my research has come back very positive. The only negative experiences I have read about were from people who stayed there on a timeshare promotion and were placed in the motel section and not the condos or villas.

 

[mickeymousefan]

Thanks..... we will be in a 1BR condo Aug 13-19th. It is a time share exchange, so I dont think we will get the sales pitch. I am glad to hear all your research has come back positive......

Thanks

 

[susieeQ]

wow, what great pictures. I will be there in early december so I appreciate an early look. We too will be there on a timeshare trade.
thanks again

 

[crjack]

I don't have any pictures yet but we just returned from a one week stay at Summer Bay. We won a 2-bd villa through Skyauction and it was our first stay there. We liked our unit and the resort very much. The commute was a little further out than we have done in the past but certainly manageable with a car. Are there any specific questions that you have?

 

[mickeymousefan]

Yes, I do have some questions (if you don't mind). I have been reading some negative things about the resort, so I am looking for some reassurance. I know we have a one bedroom unit (timeshare trade), so I am not worried about being in the hotel part. Is the resort really that big, and is it right on the highway? Are there activities for kids? How much are the rentals at the lake? Are the units nice? Is it really a gourmet kitchen? Do the bathrooms have showers only or a tub too? Is the Publix on site overpriced because it is in the resort?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated...... TIA

 

[shoney]

i would love a reply....I don't really care about "pricey super markets" because no matter what it is always cheaper than eating out. I will only cook on vacation if it is grilling other than that it is take out!
How are the kids activities? How is the atmostphere at Summer Bay in general?
can we take a cooler down to the pool (with chardonney and bass ale) ???
Let us know....

 

[crjack]

We liked the size of the resort - not too big not too small. Our villa had 2 bed. and 2 full baths. Both baths had a tub and the master bath was a jacuzzi tub. The vanity in the second bath was nice and long (about 48 in.) so I actually used that one more often. Our master bedroom had a king sized bed, the second bedroom a queen bed and the living room sofa was a pull-out. The kitchen was smaller, galley style with a breakfast bar for two people, plus a table for 4 off to the side, but it had a full size stove, fridge, microwave, toaster and coffee maker. It came fully stocked with dishes, etc. We also had a stacked washer/dryer off of the kitchen area. Each bedroom had a t.v. as well as the living room. The living room was small but fine for the amount of time we spent in it. Having the 2 bedrooms with tv's was really nice. The unit came with starter packs of laundry detergent and also 2 dishwasher cleaning kits.

We liked the main pool and one day the kids tried the lake/water area. There are water trampolines and rock walls in the shallow end of the lake. The cost was $5 pp for an hour or $10 pp for all day. They also had jet skis available, mini-golf and surrey bikes right there. The activities club was a little disappointing. Not as much in there as we thought (ping pong table and a few arcade games) but they did offer a schedule of childrens activities everyday. They had a scavenger hunt, mini golf tournament, ice cream sundae event, face painting, etc. We did a few things but mostly used our free time swimming in the pools.

The staff was very friendly and it really seems like a family oriented resort. There are several pools there and plenty of shallow areas for younger children or toddlers. There is also a small playground area (always empty probably due to the heat) and tennis courts, etc. It was easy to find - entrance is right on 192 after Orange Lake. There was an Inn at Summer Bay across the road that only looked "ok" and I think many of the reports I read on trip advisor related to time share tour packages where people were placed there. Our unit was very clean when we arrived and fairly new.

We grabbed a few things at Publix but actually stopped at the one at Orange Lake on our way back. (There is another one, along with a Denny's right at the back of SB) We know the prices were higher for some things but we really didnt need much so you pay for the convenience at any of these stores.

We did get a call about attending a presentation but we declined. We did see lots of people walking around on tours though. They were asking for in-put from people who had traded into SB for ideas on how to make the resort stand out. We actually went through Skyauction - we didnt trade in from anywhere and we dont own a timeshare.

We got a great deal through Skyauction and the resort worked out well for us. My only wish is that it was a little closer to the parks. We stayed at Windsor Palms before and thought that was a great location. SB was further down and that added some time for our commute but we still managed it even with mid-day breaks. We usually go in April and dont always take breaks so at another time of year it may not even be an issue.

There is a great road to take from Orange Lake or Summer Bay called Black Lake. It is on your left coming from those resorts and it takes you behind 192 to Sherbeth Rd. I copied directions down from another post before our trip and it worked great. Cut down on the commute and there was never any traffic on it.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. Let me know if I missed anything!

 

[Maddle]

We stayed at Summer Bay last December. It was a wonderful resort overall, and I am looking forward to a return visit. The condos were spacious, tiled floors, adequate kitchen, pretty grounds, a number of pools. We did not participate in activities, but we did go over to Kareoke Night. (Oh, that was pretty bad, but that's kareoke I guess.)

It is just a little further out on 192, so a bit more of a drive to WDW, but not that much of big deal.

In addition to the Publix, there is a brand new SuperWalmart very close by. Prices were better, and hours were more accomodating. It is maybe another mile and a half, but it was worth the effort. (I am an early riser, and I wanted to get some odds and ends before the day started. When Publix wasn't open, I dashed over to Walmart - I had shopped, home, and all put away before the official Publix opening.) Just go north on US-27 toward Clermont about a half mile, and it is on the right, set back from the road a little. It had just opened when we were there in December.

In the Publix shopping strip, there is/was an internet cafe, and a nail shop. I didn't personally use these, but they were recommended on other bulletin boards.

Maddle

 

[riu girl]

I was just wondering if anyone had used the childrens activity area (scavenger hunt, face painting etc) at SB? If so, do you attend with your chidren or simply drop them off? Also, is there a fee associated with this?
Thank you
Suzy V

 

[crjack]

Hi Riu girl,

One day our children did do some activities through the clubhouse and they were free for us as guests. The clubhouse is right behind the main pool area. Our children decided to do the scavenger hunt and we had to help them with several of the items.

We let them go in and play some games in the clubhouse since we were right there at the main pool. It's not that big but they did try and schedule quite a few activities for children such as ice cream socials, face painting, ping pong and min golf tournaments, etc.

Since we were there in July it was hot to do a scavenger hunt for too long out in the sun.....they lost a lot of kids to the pool early on!! Same with mini-golf. The ping pong table is inside where it's air-conditioned.

Summer Bay is smaller than many other resorts like Orange Lake so the number of activities may be less or dictated by how many other kids sign-up. Overall, it was free and the staff was nice so if it works out for you its a nice option.

 

[riu girl]

Thank you for the info.
Can anyone tell me about the "evening entertainment"? Is there a fee for this and what does it consist of.
Also is there any calypso type music anywhere on the resort (perhaps during the evening entertainment?)
Thank you
Suzy

 

[Aliki]

There is some evening entertainment. They have a tikibar where you can get drinks, and karaoke which is fun. They have a gameroom with pool tables, table tennis, and you can always play arcade games too.

They also have social events like "ice cream socials" where you can get icecream for cheap during happy hour. There are also a lot of pools located near villas and condos, including a children's pool that seems like lots of fun!