Two day, one night stay at Horizons by Marriott

[mama03]

We had some family come in from Italy and we decided to take a quick trip to Orlando and go to SeaWorld. I get a friends and family discount rate through Marriott and decided to stay at Horizons since we last stayed at Residence Inn and my kids wanted to see the Pirate Ship pool. So I got lucky and was able to get a Two Bedroom Two bath unit, which has a full living room, a circle bench dining area, full kitchen, and washer/dryer. We live in Tampa and arrived in Orlando around 9:15. I got lucky and we were able to check-in upon arrival. In the bld. for check-in they offer concierge service, you can make dinner or show reservations on site. Toward the right of check-in is an area that has seating and a large tv, which on Movie night they pull down a big screen. I will apologize now, I thought I took more photos of the hotel, but alas I did not, but allot of the pool areas. You can get a pretty good idea of the rooms on the Marriott website. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcoho-horizons-by-marriott-vacation-club-at-orlando/ we had Bld. 10 which was great, it was close to everything. The only bld. I would not recommend is the one off of I-4. The ones facing the pool would be fine but the other side is all I-4. The main pool area has the pirate ship, Two very large hottubs, ahh was very nice at the end of day. Just off of the gated main pool is an arcade and full bar with food service. The main pool is open til 11pm and food is served until 10pm, bar til 11pm. The food was actually very good. On the pics you will see a pirate dude with a list. That list is a days worth of activities for your kiddos. They start from morning until 9pm. It changes everyday. From the Main pool you will cross over a little road and see the second pool area. These are the pic of the very large water area with dump buckets. To the back of this area is another small pool area with a waterslide. To the left of this water area there is a mini golf course ($5.00 pp), basketball courts, pool tables, ping pong, and foosball table. During the day they have a boat that will take you fishing on their small water area. Our rooms was very clean and the balcony was very large. Off of the side of check-in is a locker/bathroom with showers. I really liked this aspect, we spent the day of checkout at the pool and we were able to take a shower and clean up prior to leaving. I really was very splendidly surprised with this timeshare/hotel. My kids had sooo much fun, we will definitely will be staying here again. Mind you we are DVCr's too. Check out the pics and If you have any questions I would be glad to respond.
http://www.box.net/shared/lzgvl4j4so

 

[dougsmom98]

Thanks for the review. Glad you liked you stay. The pirate ship sounds like a blast. My kids would love it.

 

[moopdog]

We'll be there for a week and I was wondering what specifc bldg you would suggest if 10 is not available... I plan to call and request today. Also, how close are the best/cheapest restaurants, groceries, etc. Did you have trouble in traffic going to Disney?? What times to avoid? Thanks!

 

[mama03]

Well, most of the buildings are fine. I dont recall what the building number is that is on the I-4 side. When you check in just request that you are not facing I-4. You will have easy access to I-4 and International drive. So there are plenty of restaurants. The bar food though is really good,best burger we have had in a long time. There is a Publix really close, when you leave the resort exit to the right and turn another right onto International dr., Turn right on Vineland and its right there along with some other shops and restaurants. You cannot miss it and very easy to get to. We only went to SeaWorld, but have been to Orlando many times. Traffic on I-4 is just like any other highway, it is more crowded during rush hour times. Have fun, the Horizons is great and your kids will want to stay onsite longer I guarantee it.