Summer Bay Resort HELP!

[krmlaw]

Does anyone have a review about Summer Bay Resort? We are going in 2 weeks and Im getting nervous about staying off site. We have a 2 bedroom condo there. Thanks!

 

[swilshire]

I've stayed there twice and liked it a lot. We stayed once in an older 2br unit, which was in a real nice location but only had a queen-size bed in the master br. The newer units have a king. The last time we stayed in one of the 3br pool houses.

Nice resort. Friendly staff. See if the balloon guy is still appearing one night there. He's a marvel. It's a bit of a drive to Disney, but not bad at all.

Sheila

 

[mickeymousefan]

We just got back from our second stay in a 1 BR condo. Condos and villas are different, and I believe the villas are older and with different amenities. We LOVE the condos and the resort in general.
We were in building 501, which does not have a quiet pool yet (shown on map, but definetly not there). We were a 5 minute walk to the main pool and lake side area and about 10 minutes to the kiddie water park area.

Our unit had a complete kitchen with dishes, glasses and silverware for 4 ,5 days automatic dishwasher detergent, glass baking dishes, pots and pans, garbage disposal, small bottle dish detergent,full size appliances, kitchen utensils, toaster, serving bowl and platter. The only thing they don't have is a cookie sheet. We didn't have one on our previous stay either.

The bathroom has a jacuzzi tub, hair dryer and the small washer and dryer which comes with a starter pack of detergent. If you do laundry every day like I did, you will need to buy more.

The bedroom has a king size bed, tv and nice sized balcony with 4 chairs and table.

Living room has pull out sofa- not sure of size, but large enough for my 2 DD's age 5 and 6. Also has a tv, dvd player and closet with iron and board, broom, sweeper.

The dining area has a table for 4.

The main pool is beautiful. It has no slide, but the kids water park does.
The pool bar is good but a little pricey.

The trampeline and rock wall out on the lake were also fun. It costs $5.00 per person per hour. Everyone wears a life vest. We had a blast on it. Kids loved it. You have to swim out in the lake to get to them and I was a little grossed out with the thought of swimming with fish and turtles, but they didn't bother us and it wasn't as gross as a thought it would be.

Snack bar in the gift shop has OK - lots of fried food though- edy's ice cream served- yummy. Personal and food items in the gift shop were very expensive. Publix is close, but if you have a car, there is a super Wal Mart on Route 27 with good prices. Beware though- we were there on a Sunday afternoon and it took FOREVER to check out. It was extremely crowded and hard to navigate.


We stayed at Summer Bay for 5 nights at 129.00 per night.We then moved over to Saratoga Springs our last night because I got a studio for 169.00 a night and I just had to try it. Well----
We were all sooooo disappointed after we moved. The room at SSR was much smaller. The kitchenette had a small fridge and tiny sink. Our bed was much smaller than the one at Summer Bay, but the pull out sofa at SSR seemed to be more comfortable. We had only 1 tv and the balcony was smaller. SSR is huge and it was a long walk to the main pool. The main pool was very pretty and the resort is gorgeous, but everyone in my family prefered Summer Bay hands down.

To me, Summer Bay has a very floridian/caribbean feel. Being from the north, that is the theme we prefer on our summer vacation.

Sorry so long winded. If you would like, once I download all my pictures to the kodak gallery, I can email you the link to my Summer Bay photos.

 

[ICan'tWait]

mickeymousefan, I would love to see your pictures when they're available. Also, did you book through RCI? How do you get a condo versus a villa? We're staying there in two weeks. I've seen mixed reviews at tripadvisor. Glad to hear a fellow DISr enjoyed their stay there!

 

[mickeymousefan]

Here are my links. First link is 2005 photos. We were in building 402. This is a great location if you have small kids because it is across from the playground, has a quiet pool nearby and is close to the kids water play area.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=27510287/a=8166063/t_=8166063


The second link is to my 2007 pictures. We were in building 501. The furnishings, drapes, bedspreads were different than our room in the 402 building. Both years we had a corner room, which we prefer.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=14me07gj.9oqk8hb3&Uy=mvdr2v&Ux=1

I captioned some of the 2007 photos, so you could tell what the picture was of.

If the links don't work, let me know.

 

[mickeymousefan]

mickeymousefan, I would love to see your pictures when they're available. Also, did you book through RCI? How do you get a condo versus a villa? We're staying there in two weeks. I've seen mixed reviews at tripadvisor. Glad to hear a fellow DISr enjoyed their stay there!

HI..
The first time we stayed in 2005, we were given the week by an RCI member. This was not his home resort- he exchanged his week for us to Summer Bay so we could stay in the Orlando area. We were given a 1 BR condo.

I booked our 2007 trip through bookit.com. I booked a 1 BR condo, then called Summer Bay to verify I was getting a 1 BR condo. I called them twice to verify- once when I booked in February, and then again a week before the trip.

A lot of the mixed reviews on trip advisor are from people who "win" the time share promotion and are given a room at the Inn at Summer Bay across the steet. What do people expect for free??

We did meet a family from England who were here with an RCI exchange. I asked them how this resort compared to others they stayed in. They said that other resorts (resorts in Europe) provide cleaning/towel services throughout the week. Not a big deal to me- but different things matter to different people.

 

[krmlaw]

Thanks for the info! Will look at your pics now. Ive heard that the condos are better than the villas. We have a 2 bedroom condo. Dont know where yet. Do you remember what time they let you check in? Im hoping to check in a bit early, noonish. Any good restaurants around the complex? The website says try Giordinos.

 

[krmlaw]

Mickey Mouse Fan - besides the fact that your kids are adorable ... the place looks really nice. Im sure my DH and DS will love it. He is 14 and looks like he can wander around a bit too. Now Im even more excited! We leave Saturday!

 

[mickeymousefan]

Thanks for the info! Will look at your pics now. Ive heard that the condos are better than the villas. We have a 2 bedroom condo. Dont know where yet. Do you remember what time they let you check in? Im hoping to check in a bit early, noonish. Any good restaurants around the complex? The website says try Giordinos.

We got there around 1pm. We didn't want a ground floor room, so we put in a request for 2nd floor and above. The room was not ready, so we headed to Walmart to shop. By 3-3:30 pm, the room was ready. It seemed like a lot of the ground floor units were available, so maybe we would have gotten a room earlier if we had taken one on the ground floor.

There are a ton of restaurants on 192, but we didn't eat at any of them.
We saw a Red Lobster, Carrabas, Shoneys, IHOP, Ponderosa, Houlihans and Denny's along with many others. The condo had a listing of restaurants near by, along with take out menus from Papa Johns and a chinese place.

If you have a car, there are a ton of restaurants within a 15-20 minute drive.

On route 535 there is lots of restaurants to choose from including a Kobe steakhouse, Joes crabshack, Macaroni Grill, Hooters, Waffle House, Golden Corral and Bahama Breeze.

 

[mickeymousefan]

Mickey Mouse Fan - besides the fact that your kids are adorable ... the place looks really nice. Im sure my DH and DS will love it. He is 14 and looks like he can wander around a bit too. Now Im even more excited! We leave Saturday!

Thanks.... have fun. I hope you have nice weather. The past week was HOT. We swam every day. The pools are heated o a nice temperature, the kiddie water park is not heated, but it didn't feel cold at all.

 

[krmlaw]

Thanks for the check in and restaurant info. Im going to call them to confirm we'd like an upper floor too. Never even thought of doing that. We are splitting our time between disney restaurants and outside. We are going to hit Boma, Ohana and Raglan Road and probably somewhere in DTD. Bahama Breeze, Steak and Shake and Maragaritaville on the outside. I cant wait!

 

[agentpleakley]

we absolutely fell in love with the resort in 2004 and bought in. The theming was beautiful and the staff and amenities were terrific. However, since then we have been staying on-site at Disney (not because of anything Summerbay did). We just paid off our timeshare in May and now are planning on using it (the fact that Disney messed with the dining plan sealed this deal ).

I've read lots of negative comments about Summerbay... we have none ... actually - I was just checking to book for next year.

Oh, when we were there in 2004, they had a free shuttle to Disney ... it was worth it to us -- the shuttle (despite the fact and making 3 other stops -- was not crowded).

 

[crjack]

We stayed at Summer Bay back in July 2005 and liked the resort. We won a 2 bedroom/2 bath villa through Skyauction and although we normally don't stay that far down on Rt. 192 we were fine with the ride, especially for the price.

The villas are a little smaller than the condos and they also do not have a balcony. Both offer 2 full baths, full kitchen and washer and dryers, which is great. We also had 3 t.v.'s.

I thought there were some recent posts about a new access road. It might be worth searching to see if that's true. We did 192 to Sherbeth Rd and that was fine for us but we did need to allow travel time for any reservations that we had.

We are a family of 4 and our two children liked the resort as well. It was a little too hot to do anything except for swimming most days but they had scheduled activities available too.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are owners too!
We bought ours back in 2005. We stayed there once and traded once for Williamsburg and will be back in Nov.
We loved it though it is a little further drive down 192 than what we had been used to. (We used to rent pool homes in the Formosa Gardens area.) Overall, though it's soo worth having that extra space, tvs and Jacuzzi.
I believe the new access road you're talking about is Rt. 429. It's a shortcut that takes you along Coronado Springs into WDW. It's a $1.00 toll even though you take the 1st exit.

 

[montyz81]

I am staying here in April. I have been put in the Villas. I own a resort at the Flamingo in St Martein. I traded and got this one so I do not have a choice. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how easy it is to move to the Condos once you are there. I haven't heard many good things about the Villas but have heard allot of good things about the Condos.

 

[krmlaw]

I would call the condo directly. We actually traded for a 1 bedroom but upgraded to a 2 bedroom condo with the resort for a small fee.

By the way .... WE LOVED THE RESORT. It was amazing. The Clubhouse was beautiful. Great music and pools. The beach was nice too. The condo itself was huge and well equipped.

Didnt like the 4 pm check in and the pans werent non-sitck and that was a pain. But I am VERY picky and if I can only find those 2 things to complain about, it says alot!

 

[materdawg]

I will be staying there in Oct. I lucked up and got one of the individual houses. A 3 br with a screened in patio with it's own swimming pool and hottub!! I can't wait. materdawg.

 

[gjw007]

My worst timesharing experience was at the Villas at Summer Bay. The tub sprewed junk so back that I ended up using the bathtub in the 2nd bedroom. There was water damage on the walls between the bathtub and toilet. The carpet throughout the unit was worn to the point that you would catch some of the threading when you walked around. It is the first unit that I've been in with a dedicated 2-bedroom unit that I didn't like the layout. To be fair, Summer Bay acknowledged that the unit needed repairs and reported that my comments were frequently heard. The only thing is that since I traveled there during a slow time during the year (2nd week in December), I would have expected to have been put into an empty unit that didn't require repairs. The building that I was in was scheduled to be renovated after the first of the year. Other guests that I talked with also expressed disappointment with Summer Bay. In addition, I went on the timeshare tour and this may be his view and not the resort but the salesperson commented that the resort treated owners and exchangers differently. It is the only resort that I have been in that anybody would say something as stupid as that. You will notice that other people love Summer Bay but it was a major disappointment for me. The units at the House at Summer Bay that I looked at during the tour looked nice.

 

[swilshire]

The Villas at Summer Bay are a different resort/section and is the only one I've heard a lot of complaints about.

We stayed in a pool house on our last visit and the kids LOVED it! The units are huge.

Sheila

 

[materdawg]

Sheila, good to see you chime in. I almost had a heart attack with that last review. Here I'm known as Materdawg. Clue: I have 2 pugs, one named Monkey & one named Mater (yes, I watched Cars once to many times Hugs, tis me, your buddy , Shaggy!