Regal Palms. Good deal?

[disneydolphin]

Hi all

I have been busy trying to plan our trip to Florida for the last two weeks of August. We are travelling from the UK and have only visited America once before and that was onsite (package deal) at ASMo in 2003.
This year we cannot take the children out of school so are stuck with the more expensive school holiday option. I've read that some American and Scottish schools are due back late August so figured it may be a little bit less busy then. All deals I've looked at are astronomical due to the fact our children, lad of 15 and girl of 12, cannot realistically share a "2 x Queen bed room" with us now. Two rooms cost too much. Ive found my cheapest flight option for 17/08-31/08 at just under £2000.
Gosh, I waffle!
To the point......Ive had a recommendation from a fellow forum user for a 3 bedroomed house to rent through the owner (who lives in UK) Its on a gated community apparently called Regal Palms, Sand Mine Road, Davenport. It is located 2 miles South of the intersection of the 27 and the 192, North of Junction 55 of Interstate I-4 < I pasted those details straight from the website and just wondered
1) How convenient for the surrounding attractions will this location be? We are going to hire a car and wish to explore a lot.
2) Has anyone actually stayed in this resort?

It certainly looks beautiful. There is a pool and short lazy river. Games room and internet access. Restaurant. No pool heating charges.

Oh yeah, the price is £450 per week.

Any advice? Its a bit daunting venturing away from the safe onsite option. That trip two years ago was our first trip abroad full stop so to say we are *newbies* would be an understatement!

Thanks if youve managed to read this lovely long essay.

 

[bonzarella]

hi, we were there in April,week after Easter. The townhouse was great. We had rented a three bed but were given a four bed upon check in. Carpet was stained in a few spots but other than that it was PERFECT. The pool is the best, a nice warm lazy river to float down. We did have some problems with traffic(over an hour to MK) but I think that was the last day b/4 most spring breakers went home. Very convenient to a Publix, Dollar store and nice SuperWalmart right down the road. We went thru Hotelkingdom & got a great price. Best of luck, I'll try to answer more if you have other questions-pm me

 

[JANNYANS]

You can either use the I-4 route or go north to the 192 and then take Sherberth Road to get to the parks either way is good from where you will be .You will be close ,as bonzeralla says top a Publix and the Wal Mart just north of the 192 junction as well as a new Indian restaurant called Sangam near to the lights at Polo Park -again just north of RP.You can travel south to the other wal mart nearer to Haines city where you will find the southern dunes community which has a great restaurant and there are other eating places down that way as well-such as Bob Evans and Cracker Barrell.In addition you are near to Champions Gate which also has a publix and some eating places.

 

[swincha]

i am also looking into this resort. i have read if you rent through the resort your accomodations might not be up to par. i have also read that if you rent from an owner it is a good place(your home) if you know the person i would rent here. the pool looks great and yes all the us kids go back to school by the 3rd week of august or at least most of them

 

[mbb]

The townhomes at Regal Palms are nice, 3 & 4 bedroom...

If you'd prefer a villa holiday, you can rent a villa at Highland's Reserve, and have use of the Lazy River pool and facilities at Regal Palms

The developments are just behind a Publix grocery store and mini mall...Highland's Reserve and Regal Palms are right across the street from one another.

HTH!!

 

[swilshire]

If you'd rather be closer to WDW, there should be lots of timeshare rentals available in late August. There are many within a 10 minute drive of the parks that are very nice and have activities for the family to enjoy.

Sheila

 

[Hensandchickens]

I didn't like the Regal Palms. Our 3 bedroom townhouse was very nice and clean. The pool is super neat. They offer no guest services, none. The staff, when you rarely see someone, is rude. During the week there is construction going on. There was construction garbage laying around. They have two nasty dumpsters at the end of one of the roads, right next to some townhomes, right out in the open. The smell is gross. To get to the pool they have signs that lead you to a sandy, weedy lot and then you go in to the back of the pool. In the pool area there are no lights. Once it gets dark you can't see to swim any longer. Where you check in they have rented a big portable light powered by a genarator. It's noisy and tacky. You could die in one of their units and no one would find you for days. It seemed to me that all they wanted was my money and they didn't care what I did after that. I called to front desk several times and the phone just rang and rang. Then I would get their voice mail. The bar and restaurant are all in one and very small. It's off a lobby, sitting area with about 8 tables. It's very pretty, but strange. My kids had fun in the gameroom. The workout area was not ready for use and I didn't find any kind of spa. It usually took us about 35 to 45 minutes to get to Disney. This will be a nice resort when it's finished and if they get a properly trained staff, but right now it's just weird. I didn't feel like I was a guest. I felt like I was saying at an apartment. I like to have service. I like someone to say goodmorning to me. I like to see other forms of life. I read somewhere that a waiter came around the pool taking drink orders? I never saw anyone working in the pool area. Well, there was a painter up on a ladder who just sat there watching girls sunbathing for hours. Another strange thing is you get no cell phone reception there. You go to the store (like a block away) and you have prefect reception.

Overall it's a clean place with lot's of space and a good value. If you want to be treated like your on vacation stay some place else.

 

[disneydolphin]

Thanks for all of the information everyone.

Hmm, seems Im going to have to do some thinking. We dont expect an awful lot from where we stay, ASMo was ideal for us, no particular desires to stay in a posher place + concierge etc. Just not big enough now.

However, the sound of workmen lazing around and dumpsters smelling DOES concern me, as does the perception that the staff arent interested in you having a nice holiday.
That was a real eye opener to us travelling to America for the first time in 2003. We found Customer Service to be far higher than in Britain...and we liked it!

Did anyone else have trouble with building work? I wonder how long it will go on for and if it will be finished by late August.

Ive been searching a few of the hotel rooms nearer Disney through the Dreams Unlimited (i think) site and it seems that some of the nearby LBV hotels/suites might be ok for us. Do we have to pay extra for booking through Dreams?

Any tips on looking in LBV area? All we want is a two bedroom suite (or two connecting rooms maybe) a pool for refreshing swims and cleanliness. Dont really want to stay on I Drive unless it is one of the better properties tho'..afraid it reminds me of Blackpool!


I shall look into the villas mbb and see if there is something suitable. Guess we fell for the appearance of the lazy river and pool complex and the big plus....SPACE.

 

[mbb]

and the owner is wonderful!! Tell him mbb sent you

http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/1418.aspx

Have fun looking!!

 

[HeatherC]

You could also check out Windsor Palms Resort which have 2 bedroom condos as well as pool homes. It is a very nice resort and nice and close to Disney.

I, too, will be at Regal Palms in a few weeks and hope it will be nice. Since we are going more to relax this trip, I don't care if we are further from the parks. But I do like the place to be clean as well as spacious.

Happy planning!
HeatherC

 

[disneydolphin]

and the owner is wonderful!! Tell him mbb sent you

http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/1418.aspx

Have fun looking!!

Thanks mbb
Thats a little too big for us Im afraid but I agree, its beautiful. Its a shame none of my family want to travel to Florida--they must be mad!

I finally booked our flights and updated my sig accordingly.

 

[cabmom]

I didn't like the Regal Palms. Our 3 bedroom townhouse was very nice and clean. The pool is super neat. They offer no guest services, none. The staff, when you rarely see someone, is rude. During the week there is construction going on. There was construction garbage laying around. They have two nasty dumpsters at the end of one of the roads, right next to some townhomes, right out in the open. The smell is gross. To get to the pool they have signs that lead you to a sandy, weedy lot and then you go in to the back of the pool. In the pool area there are no lights. Once it gets dark you can't see to swim any longer. Where you check in they have rented a big portable light powered by a genarator. It's noisy and tacky. You could die in one of their units and no one would find you for days. It seemed to me that all they wanted was my money and they didn't care what I did after that. I called to front desk several times and the phone just rang and rang. Then I would get their voice mail. The bar and restaurant are all in one and very small. It's off a lobby, sitting area with about 8 tables. It's very pretty, but strange. My kids had fun in the gameroom. The workout area was not ready for use and I didn't find any kind of spa. It usually took us about 35 to 45 minutes to get to Disney. This will be a nice resort when it's finished and if they get a properly trained staff, but right now it's just weird. I didn't feel like I was a guest. I felt like I was saying at an apartment. I like to have service. I like someone to say goodmorning to me. I like to see other forms of life. I read somewhere that a waiter came around the pool taking drink orders? I never saw anyone working in the pool area. Well, there was a painter up on a ladder who just sat there watching girls sunbathing for hours. Another strange thing is you get no cell phone reception there. You go to the store (like a block away) and you have prefect reception.

Overall it's a clean place with lot's of space and a good value. If you want to be treated like your on vacation stay some place else.

I agree with everything you said! I did not enjoy our stay there, and would not stay there again!

 

[onlyoneforme]

WE LOVED IT!!! AND RECOMMEND IT TO ALL I TALK TO!!!
We rented from a private owner who happens to live in the U.K., he was FANTASTIC to deal with, very prompt, courteous, organized, and gave us an AMAZING deal for his 3 bedroom townhome. Which was IMMACULATE!

The resort was still in construction mode with many more units being built while we were there in late January. We never encountered any of the previous posters mention of the garbage situation.

We had daily encounters with a member of the maintenance team that collected our trash and updated our supply of bags T.P. etc. Very polite, didn't speak much english, but a great smile and personality.

The front office was not rude in anyway...granted we did not need much but they were helpful when we did. I will give a thumbs up for the bar and grill waitstaff, very polite and helpful! Gave my daughter tokens for the game room while we waited, offered to bring our lunch out to the pool area, and we did see a waitperson taking drink orders while we used the FABULOUS pool area!

As far as phone service...our unit's phone worked, as did our cell phones in our unit.

The location to the grocery store was very handy!

We never waited in traffic going to disney during our stay,January/February, which I know is the low season. It took us probably 20 minutes tops to get onto Disney property.

Overall, my impression of the Regal Palms is A+! I agree with another poster that when all is said and done the place will be amazing and with that new resort image comes increased rates. So we look at our $70 tax included price for a 3 bedroom townhome a great introductory rate and look forward to seeing the completion of the property next year!

 

[themuses]

You could stay at the villas at the Marriott World - they have 2 and 3 bedroom villas - i would recommend the 2 bedroom for your situation - plenty big - it has a large master bedroom with bathroom, shower and big jacuzzie type tub, the other bedroom has a single bed and a double bed, the rest of the place has a kitchen, dining room/living room (large), screened in porch - its fantastic - the property has several pool with the large pool with waterslide being located at the big hotel - you can walk to it from the Sabal Palms villas and they offer shuttle service from the other villas - check out their website - its very close to disney (5 minutes) - its a lovely property - we stay there every year if you have any questions. good luck

 

[JenniferW]

Did you look at booking Cypresss Point or Cypress (Grand Villas) on hotelkingdom.com? We've stayed at those twice now and have been happy for the price. We got 3 bedroom units for around 105 a night total.

Jenn

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

It's been mentioned that it's great to rent directly from owners, and although I've never done it (have only stayed offsite at condos), it sounds good.

But this is a place I had picked before I got our condos through Skyauction. Friends of mine also used villadirect.com and didn't have any problems.

I use this site to search for exactly what I want. I had heard a lot of good about Windsor Palms (they have some more economical options like townhomes and condos, not just houses) and the pictures look great, especially the pool area. My friends had a great time (despite the hurricane )

For you, I put in 3 bedroom, Windsor Palms (but there are many developements to choose from....I would ask people on here to help steer you away from any "not so great" ones). I also chose "townhouse" being that is a little cheaper, but you could search for homes or condos, ofcourse.

http://www.villadirect.com/nvd_summ...Year=2005&dpDay=31&dpMon=8&dpYear=2005&agID=0

I love that you can look at every room that you are renting so there are no surprises, and I can even search by how it is decorated.

What JenniferW said about CP is a good deal. I haven't checked Hotelkingdom.com for availability for your dates, but if they have it, that is a good option if you want more of a resort "feel" to it. We are due to stay at the newer section of CP........CP Grand villas (2 bedroom) this December and I can't wait. Other friends of ours stayed there last Nov. and LOVED it!

Good luck in your research. People on this board are great for bouncing ideas off of. They have helped me really stretch the Disney dollar and we actually prefer off-site now to on-site, dollar for dollar.