Timeshare Help Needed

[redrosesix]

We own at Cypress Pointe Resort and we've visited many of the other timeshares. I think most of the negative reviews are by people who paid the per night rate so they didn't feel they got value for their money (because the per night rate for a suite in Orlando is EXPENSIVE!!). You also get a lot of people who aren't used to staying in large resorts like most of the moderate to high rated resorts in Orlando -- sure the crappy places are small, but they have few amenities. Trip Advisor has some negative reviews for CPR, but at least half of them are for a completely different and separate resort on the same road. So you have to take Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt. Btw, we're about a 5 minute drive from DTD and there are a bunch of resorts around ours. Just avoid rush hour traffic wherever you stay off-site and you'll be good.

At our resort, they ask you if you want to go to the "breakfast" when you check in -- even if you own there. You can say no, but you have to balance the time lost with the value of the free tickets you'll get for listening to the spiel. We usually say no and never hear from them again. Many timeshares operate this way.

I also recommend TUG -- a forum like the Dis -- to anyone researching timeshares to buy or rent.

 

[kathy884]

We own at Cypress Pointe Resort and we've visited many of the other timeshares. I think most of the negative reviews are by people who paid the per night rate so they didn't feel they got value for their money (because the per night rate for a suite in Orlando is EXPENSIVE!!). You also get a lot of people who aren't used to staying in large resorts like most of the moderate to high rated resorts in Orlando -- sure the crappy places are small, but they have few amenities. Trip Advisor has some negative reviews for CPR, but at least half of them are for a completely different and separate resort on the same road. So you have to take Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt. Btw, we're about a 5 minute drive from DTD and there are a bunch of resorts around ours. Just avoid rush hour traffic wherever you stay off-site and you'll be good.

At our resort, they ask you if you want to go to the "breakfast" when you check in -- even if you own there. You can say no, but you have to balance the time lost with the value of the free tickets you'll get for listening to the spiel. We usually say no and never hear from them again. Many timeshares operate this way.

I also recommend TUG -- a forum like the Dis -- to anyone researching timeshares to buy or rent.

I belong to TUG and that's where I go for great timeshare reviews / very detailed / and from people who stay in timeshares regularly. You can get a great sense of different places from TUG reviews and rankings. It's $15 a year to join, but if you rent lots of timeshares like I do, it's well worth it. Reviews of the Sheraton Vistana properties are excellent. We've stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Resort four different times too. Great place. I like Cypress Pointe a lot too and Cypress Point Grand Vilas. I also enjoyed our two stays at the Marriott Sanbal Palms (stayed there twice, but that was years ago, before the other Marriott timeshares in Orlando were built). Marriott properties are usually very nice high end timeshares (a safe bet). I haven't stayed in these too often in Orlando mostly because they tend to be more expensive for me to rent and aren't worth the premium being asked over some of the other lovely places. // I don't pay any attention to the Trip Advisor timeshare reviews. So many people have never stayed in a timeshare before and give super high ratings, just because they can't believe what a great bargain it is and how much space they have. But their only comparison might be a Disney Value / Moderate or offsite hotel room. Others give poor reviews because there was no maid service (They didn't know what they were getting into) or because they got talked into picking up an information packet and signed up for the 90 minute information session that is really a 3 to 4 hour high pressure sales presentation (Something I always avoid and would not be caught dead doing. I even skip picking up the information packet, as I don't even want someone asking me to attend a presentation). Very few Tripadvisor reviewers seem to be people who regularly stay in timeshares and people who what to expect in a timeshare condo. It's the rare Trip Advisor review that I would say does a reasonable job of comparing and ranking different timeshare properties. TUG2.net is an entirely different story.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So many people have never stayed in a timeshare before and give super high ratings, just because they can't believe what a great bargain it is and how much space they have. But their only comparison might be a Disney Value / Moderate or offsite hotel room. Others give poor reviews because there was no maid service (They didn't know what they were getting into) or because they got talked into picking up an information packet and signed up for the 90 minute information session that is really a 3 to 4 hour high pressure sales presentation.

^^ This ^^ .

 

[ZehnJahren]

Wow that TUG site is super helpful! Thanks so much! I know what I'm doing tonight.

All we're doing now is waiting for confirmation that vacations are confirmed and then we want to book. I really appreciate all the opinions and am definitely open to any more information you might want to give!

 

[bankr63]

Wow that TUG site is super helpful! Thanks so much! I know what I'm doing tonight.

All we're doing now is waiting for confirmation that vacations are confirmed and then we want to book. I really appreciate all the opinions and am definitely open to any more information you might want to give!

If you decide on Vistana Resort, pop over to a couple of threads on the reviews board:

The Sheraton Vistana Resort Thread
is a newer thread that I started after our March vacation to try to slowly refresh the information from the long running:

Sheraton Vistana Resort Questions


Gina's thread has the best pictures, but there is a ton of information on these other two. Just note that the second thread was started in 2009 before renovations had taken place at the resort, so some of the opinions there are a bit dated.

 

[Detailor]

You're not going to go wrong with either of the Sheraton Vistanas (Resort, Villages) or the tri-Marriotts that are right around the corner and just a little closer to Disney than Vistana Resort.

Distances: Vistana Resort Sabal Palms
Downtown Disney 2.5 miles (about 8 min.) 4 miles (8 min)
Magic Kingdom parking 8 miles (12 min) 7 miles (11 min)
Epcot parking 6.5 miles (10 min) 6 miles (10 min)
Animal Kingdom 9 miles (17 min) 8 miles (17 min)
Hollywood Studios 5.5 miles (10 min) 5 miles (9 min)

(Well, those didn't line up too well. The first set of mileage/time data is for Vistana Resort and the second set is for Marriott's Sabal Palms. Sorry that the text got all jumbled up.)

Vistana Villages is on International Drive, probably 3.5 to 4 miles from Vistana Resort. Like some of the other posters, we like Vistana Villages better than the Resort - it's a bit smaller and seems more relaxing at the Villages but it has all of the resort amenities and activities available.

Both the Marriotts and the Sheratons are nice resorts (Marriotts perhaps a little fancier, perhaps slightly better maintained over time but that won't matter for a single stay). Either should give you a nice vacation.

The villas at Vistana Resort have all be refurbished over the past several years so they should be in good condition. You should know that Vistana was built out over several years and different sections are configured differently (both in terms of size and shape). It's generally a good idea to contact the resort two or three weeks before check-in with any requests you might have regarding building or section placement, if it makes a difference to you.

An advantage that the adjacent Marriotts have is their shared amenities with the Marriott hotel that's also on that piece of property. The hotel has several shops, restaurants, a food court, a huge outdoor pool and an indoor pool. And each of the Marriott timeshare resorts has their own pool areas. Imperial Palm Villas is an all-three-bedroom villa resort, Royal Palms and Sabal Palms are all two-bedroom villa resorts. Sabal Palms is closest to the hotel amenities.

Dick Taylor

 

[dennise]

What is the name of the hotel within the marriott timeshare properties?

 

[Detailor]

What is the name of the hotel within the marriott timeshare properties?

It's the Orlando World Center Marriott - huge resort hotel with an attached convention center.

Dick Taylor

 

[The Grays]

We own at Sheraton Vistana Villages. It is a great place. Lots of activities, easy to get to Disney. Super market very close. The rooms are super, our DD loves staying there. We will be there Dec 27 thru Jan 3rd. Have an extra room right now if interested.

 

[dennise]

What is the name of the hotel within the marriott timeshare properties?

 

[hegsag]

An advantage that the adjacent Marriotts have is their shared amenities with the Marriott hotel that's also on that piece of property. The hotel has several shops, restaurants, a food court, a huge outdoor pool and an indoor pool. And each of the Marriott timeshare resorts has their own pool areas. Imperial Palm Villas is an all-three-bedroom villa resort, Royal Palms and Sabal Palms are all two-bedroom villa resorts. Sabal Palms is closest to the hotel amenities.

Dick Taylor

Dick, are you saying that if I were to stay at the Sabal Palm resort that I have access to the Marriott Hotel pool with the big waterside? I ask because I just booked at the Marriott Harbour Lake resort for the pool for my kids but think that they would love the pool at the Marriott Hotel just as much. My kids are ages 7 & 11, which would you recommend for their ages: Harbour Lake or Sabal Palms? Thanks

 

[jeff968]

Dick, are you saying that if I were to stay at the Sabal Palm resort that I have access to the Marriott Hotel pool with the big waterside? I ask because I just booked at the Marriott Harbour Lake resort for the pool for my kids but think that they would love the pool at the Marriott Hotel just as much. My kids are ages 7 & 11, which would you recommend for their ages: Harbour Lake or Sabal Palms? Thanks

You have to take a shuttle to the world resort or walk it. I stayed at Imperial palms and the walk was a good 10 minutes. I think Sabel is a 10 minute walk as well. The shuttle is a pain to wait for and you have to wait in the main lobby at the world hotel with everything going on around you. It stops at all 3 timeshares around the world. I've been to Harbor lake and the world resort a few times along with Imperial. I would stick with HL if I were you. The size of the place is better IMHO.

 

[Detailor]

Dick, are you saying that if I were to stay at the Sabal Palm resort that I have access to the Marriott Hotel pool with the big waterside? I ask because I just booked at the Marriott Harbour Lake resort for the pool for my kids but think that they would love the pool at the Marriott Hotel just as much. My kids are ages 7 & 11, which would you recommend for their ages: Harbour Lake or Sabal Palms? Thanks

Yes, guests who stay at Royal Palms, Imperial Palm Villas and Sabal Palms may use the facilities at each of those timeshare resort and at the World Center hotel - big slide at the pool and all.

Jeff is correct that there are shuttles from the timeshare resorts to the hotel, or you can walk. It's about a half mile or so from Imperial Palm Villas and Royal Palms, so that's probably a 10 minute walk. But it's much less than that from the walkway from Sabal Palms around the back of the hotel to the pool area - maybe as much as a quarter mile/5 minutes. (I would not recommend allowing your children to walk on their own between Sabal Palms and the other two Palms resorts as the road is behind the hotel and there are service trucks taking that route toward Sabal and the hotel's parking garage is back there, too).

One thing to consider is size of the villa - the Sabal Palms villas are big - 1,360 square feet versus the typical Harbour Lake villa at 1,074 square feet. The themed water features at Harbour Lake are pretty nice but your 11 eleven year old might be a little aged out of the pirate ship theme.

Harbour Lake has two pools (plus the pirate ship water feature), fitness room and mini golf and most of the features and activities that are present at the major Marriott timeshare resorts. And, of course, it's all self-contained in a fairly concise area. Sabal Palms has a pool, fitness room, basketball court, tennis courts, arcade, a little playground area and the Spa (massages mainly, I think) is located at Sabal, too, plus access to Imperial Palm's pool and Royal Palms' pool and the very small resort store that's at Royal Palms, in addition to the facilities at the hotel. One limitation is that the childrens' activities programs are scattered between the three Palms resorts as opposed to Harbour Lake's centralized programs.

Both of these properties will provide a very nice vacation experience so, in my mind, it really boils down to what your family might prefer - the level of diversity of facilities at the Palms/World Center complex or the more theme-oriented Harbour Lake resort. Difficult not to recommend both.

Either way you ought to have a great time.

Dick Taylor

 

[hegsag]

Thanks for your input Jeff & Dick. Sounds like I can't go wrong with either resort so I'll stick with my initial thoughts of HL.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Well we booked too! We're staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort! Very excited; now I need to go read all those threads about the SVR!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Well we booked too! We're staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort! Very excited; now I need to go read all those threads about the SVR!

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!

Great choice! I hope you love it as much as we do!

 

[ZehnJahren]

So disappointed, but it looks like our reservation was cancelled for that week. We don't know why yet, but it looks like we're without a timeshare again.

Can anyone recommend any of the Marriott's? They're all looking wide open at this time. We want to rebook asap so we get the best place possible. Ugh, back to the drawing board!

 

[Missyrose]

So disappointed, but it looks like our reservation was cancelled for that week. We don't know why yet, but it looks like we're without a timeshare again. Can anyone recommend any of the Marriott's? They're all looking wide open at this time. We want to rebook asap so we get the best place possible. Ugh, back to the drawing board!

We spent a week at the Marriott Imperial Palms, it was really nice!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We spent a week at the Marriott Imperial Palms, it was really nice!

How far was it to WDW from there? Is this one in any of your TRs? I've read them all I know, but I don't remember.

 

[Detailor]

So disappointed, but it looks like our reservation was cancelled for that week. We don't know why yet, but it looks like we're without a timeshare again.

Can anyone recommend any of the Marriott's? They're all looking wide open at this time. We want to rebook asap so we get the best place possible. Ugh, back to the drawing board!

The Marriotts that are CLOSEST to Disney are the tri-Palms resorts - Sabal Palms, Imperial Palm Villas, Royal Palms. They were also the first Marriott timeshare resorts built in Orlando. Sabal and Royal have dedicated two-bedroom villas, while Imperial is an all three-bedroom villa resort. Royal and Imperial are side by side, Sabal is about three quarters of a mile away, accessed by the road that goes behind the Marriott World Center hotel (and to the hotel's parking garage). Sabal is an easy walk to the hotel's amenities/facilities, Royal and Imperial are also walkable to the hotel but probably best served by the shuttle. Children's activities/programs are spread out between the three timeshare resorts so not all activities will be present at whichever of the three that a guest stays at. When we were deciding between the three a few years ago we decided against Imperial because we didn't have enough people to make three-bedrooms sensible for us. We ended up choosing Sabal Palms because of the slightly extra size of the interiors of the villas and the proximity to the hotel amenities. Guests staying at any of these resorts may use the amenities at any of the other resorts there or at the hotel.

The NICEST (in terms of luxury, at least in my opinion) of the Marriott resorts is probably the newest one - Lakeshore Reserve - that's located adjacent to Ritz Carlton and Grande Lakes JW Marriott hotels. But it's also the one that's furthest from Disney (fifteen miles or so).

The BEST Marriotts (also in my opinion) are Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista. These are two high quality resorts that provide the whole Marriott timeshare resort package. Grande Vista is the larger of the two resorts, featuring two main pool areas and two additional "area pools" for the buildings that are the furthest from the central part of the resort. In addition to all of the standard Marriott resort features (Marketplace store, Spa, Bar and Grille, hot tubs, great children's activities programs, fitness center, tennis courts, basketball, etc.) Grande Vista has a couple of unique features - a sit-down restaurant on site and a golf course (I think it's a 9-hole course). Grande Vista has three-bedroom, two-bedroom and one-bedroom villas and maybe 11 to 14 miles from the Disney parks. Cypress Harbour is an all two-bedroom villa resort with mature landscaping and a laid-back resort feel to the property. A bit smaller than Grande Vista, Cypress Harbour has two primary pool areas as well as a smaller area pool location at the far end of the lake. Like GV, this one has all of the standard Marriott timeshare resort features listed above plus surrey bike rentals, an odd assortment of manually operated water craft for rent and a small mini-golf course. Of the Orlando Marriott timeshare resorts, Cypress Harbour has become my family's clear favorite. It's eight to ten miles from the various Disney theme parks via the I-4 entrance that closest to the resort.

Then there's Harbour Lake resort. This resort seems to be keyed to young families or families with younger children. Furnishings in the villas aren't as nice as those in the other Orlando Marriotts but the Pirate theme of the water features and other resort amenities is both rather cool and quite popular for appropriately aged children. Mini-golf, bar and grille, fitness center also at the resort. If your family is at the right age for the themed water features then this resort could be right for you. Harbour Lake is located across the street from Cypress Harbour.

Dick Taylor