Regal Palms Going Down Hill!!

[HeatherC]

Hi - Just wanted to post that we are just back from 10 days at Regal Palms Resort in Davenport. Had an awesome trip with great weather.

This was our 4th stay at Regal Palms Resort. We rented a 4 bedroom direct from an owner for $690 total. So with that in mind, it was a great deal. But there were several things I wanted to let people know about before they book there. IMO the resort is going downhill very quickly and with all the other places to stay in Orlando, I'm not sure I'll be booking here again.

The unit itself was very clean and basic. With 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths, it is a great value. But here are the downsides.

1. It is not a gated resort. We saw people from the adjoining property (right behind our unit) walking across the lawn and using the Regal Palms pool. Did not exactly feel very secure with this. Anyone truly has access.

2. The pool area while very pretty is entirely too small for the number of people using it. They also allow people who are renting homes at Highlands Reserve to use the pool. There was no parking and many days it was a complete free for all ...especially in the lazy river. At times the river seemed very yucky!

3. Never had clean towels at the pool.
4. Not enough help...this runs from security, to waitresses, to bartenders, to front desk staff. They had one person servicing the entire pool complex in 98 degree heat.
5. Unbelievably long waits at the bar and restaurant. Many people complaining about that.
6. We locked stuff in our safe and it took 2 complete days of calling and cajoling the staff to open it up.
7. AC - supposed to be set at 72 degrees kept climbing. Had to keep calling maintenance to have them reset it.
8. Microwave kept shorting out and not working. Finally ...after 3 days of mainentance calls, they brought a small table top one. But...still didn't fix the one installed above the stove!
9. The units are cheaply furnished and don't even have a clock or broom in them. We always stay in villas and "self-catering" resorts, but this was ridiculous.

So...just wanted to give people a heads up on this resort. I have recommended it many times in the past, but after our experience this time, I think that there are probably better managed properties to spend your money at.

HeatherC

 

[spiceycat]

complaint to the person you rented from. there should be some organization that she should be able to complaint too. most of these places have a home owner (or condo owners) association. So they go to a new management company. Of course if that happens you can forget $69 a night - EVER.

but for $69 a night during summer - you got a real great deal.

plus with Orlando real estate on a downwards turn - this might be the way things are - until they turn around again.

putting up a fence would cost money. making it a gated community will cost money.

to spend money - they got made it.

 

[spiceycat]

boy I was rude/

sorry your vacation was not up to the standards you expected from Regal Palms

yes, it would be very upsetting to see someone coming and using the pool that didn't pay for that right.

just ask a WDW deluxe resort guest how they feel about other guests - WDW and offsiters - hopping to their pool.

 

[dougsmom98]

We were just there in February and had a great time, but we also could hardly get clean towels at the pool. We had to wait for a half hour or more for them. I did mention to my DH that although I absolutely loved the pool complex and the kids had a blast, I couldn't imagine how chaotic it would be there in the middle of the summer heat. You are right, it is not big enough for the crowds that would want to use it at that time of the year. They also seemed short staffed in February - some days they would have a waitress taking drink and food orders by the pool but other days they wouldn't. We got a week for $600 including taxes at the time but since then, the owners have increased their price by $100 and the resort charges $10/unit per day resort fee. We liked it there but it wasn't really worth an additional $170 per week to us. Sorry you were disappointed with your stay there but I am glad you had a nice trip.

 

[Darcy03231]

A co-worker of mine stayed there in April and had the same issues you did. While she really liked the unit she was and didn't have any issues there, she did say she didn't think she'd stay there again.

 

[HeatherC]

Spiceycat - I did email the owner to let them know. The problems are definitely with the management company. FYI- it is Superior Management ...isn't that ironic? Definitely not superior.

I also forgot about the $10 a day resort fee. We did not have to pay this ...the owner paid it for us...so it was an even better deal I guess.

We truly did have an awesome trip, but wanted to get the word out about this place. After all, people save a long time for vacation and I hate to see someone stay somewhere where they will be disappointed. Since it wasn't our first time, we kind of knew what to expect and for the money we spent it was fine. But I'll definitely look for another resort next time.

Hope this helps others out.

HeatherC

 

[cey]

You are right on the money with your report HeatherC The resort was having these same type of issues, when myself, DH and DSs stayed in a 4 bedroom townhouse in January 2006. It appears that your vacation stay is very hit or miss when you book with this resort! We also would not return because of a similar experience and even with the reasonable price, there are much better locations and safer rental units. Trip Advisor also has some very scary reviews about townhouse break-ins and thefts which occured after we stayed at Regal Palms. I certainly would take a pass on this resort until the management company literally does something about the safety issues and cleans up its act!

 

[HeatherC]

Just wanted to give an update of another example of how Regal Palms is going downhill.

Just checked my credit card bill and found that they charged me $22.37 after we came home last week. So I call them and they tell me it was part of the "resort fee".

I then tell them that I gave them a copy of the letter from the owner ...who I paid directly...that the rental price included the resort fee!!! And...the resort fee is $10 a day...so how did they get $22.37? Had to argue with them about this and they finally said they would credit my credit card. But I had to argue the case. Just more time wasted on my part.

So heads up about this resort.

Heather

 

[mbb]

Ugh.
That's too bad that their standards of service are just not good.
It's a beautiful property, great location - but staffing/service overrides all of that, IMO.

But glad you had a good vacation, and thanks for writing a great review, to let us know
That you've been there multiple times, and can see those standards slipping, makes for a really balanced review

I'll move this over to the Review Board

 

[4eyedbuzzard]

Too bad. It's a nice place overall with lots of potential. We stayed there in Nov 2004?(or Nov some year - drain bamage is a terrible thing) and it was pretty good for the price - 89/night for a 3 bdr, and have recommnded it to others. Perhaps we shouldn't anymore. They were just roofing the new clubhouse at the time, so whenever that was, that's when we were there. The pool was great in Nov. but we also though it was a bit small and would be very crowded in the summer. Other issues we had were a dead telephone, inefficient check-in(could hardly find the office), and no one was much help from a service standpoint(not a big problem though as it is a TH rental not a motel) We considered renting a pool home at Highlands for our past trip but we wanted to be closer to WDW.

 

[jdybnsn]

I know what you mean about the slow service - one time we waited over 2.5 hours (!) for our lunch time food, when we stayed there back in Feb 2006. It wasn't even that busy and we never did get to the bottom of what the hold up was.

The front desk always seemed chaotic.

What a pity, apart from this, the place was really great back then.