Which Marriott is best/closest and more suited for younger children?

[moopdog]

I decided to give up on the DVC site through II, as suggested in my previous thread. I do have some Marriott's pop up, so I thought I'd just grab one of those. Which is best suited for someone with younger children...which is closest and why are there two listings with different codes for Marriott Grande View?

Thanks in advance! This is more confusing than I expected it would be.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi! We are staying at the Marriott Grande Vista October 4th - 10th. Our boys are 4 & 6. We did an exchange through II. It turned out that Marriott Grande Vista was our only choice because we had to flexchange (traveling party larger than our home resort) but before we made the exchange I did a lot of research. I believe there is no difference between the two codes for Marriott Grande Vista. When we did our exchange we weren't assigned a specific room - it just had a room code on it that specified the type/size unit we exchanged for. I called to make a request to be near the new kiddie pool and was told that in fact we were not pre-assigned to a specific room (which is often the case with an II exchange) and could make a request.

I have heard that we are as close as 10 minutes from MK and as far as 20 minutes...

Our other top choice was Horizons by Marriott. The units are smaller and may not be as nice, but with small kids it appears to be a top choice due to the awesome pool area. You can check out more info on the Marriott website - there are floor plans, square footage, pictures of the pools, etc. I also found a lot on tripadvisor.

I don't know much about any of the other Marriotts.

Hope that helps!
Amy

 

[spiceycat]

how little - for real little one

horizons by marriott
http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/ho/default.jsp
most little kids love that pirate thing and will spend hours playing if allowed


not so little

marriott's cypress harbour
http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/cy/default.jsp

just had a rehab in 2006 - so it should still be nice.

marriott's grande vista - tries to be for all ages - so it doesn't do a great job for some of them
http://www.vacationclub.com/resorts/gv/default.jsp

all the pictures are of the older part for MGV. So far no new pictures of their latest add on has appeared at this site. So unless an owner shows up with a newer site this is your best.

 

[moopdog]

Mine will be 5 (almost 6) and 7 (almost 8) when we go. They like a big people pool, but if any of them have a water slide or water jets area, that would be fantastic! Playgrounds are a plus too...

 

[Detailor]

Sabal Palms, Imperial Palm Villas and Royals Palms are the closest to Disney. But I think they're the oldest and have fewer amenities on property.

Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista are the nicest of the Marriotts in Orlando.

Horizons is best suited for families with young children but not quite as nicely appointed as CH and GV. CH and GV have a lot of childrens' activities and amenities that are suited for a broad range of ages.

If I remember correctly the two different GV codes distinguish owners and has no reflection on where within the resort that you'd stay. Marriott owners tell me that you're just as likely to stay in any section or room with either code.

Dick Taylor

 

[littlestar]

Horizons by Marriott is the only one with themed pools and slides (2 actually!). There's also a pop jet mini water park play area. It's a really cute resort - a lot like the Disney resorts. We like to stay at Marriott Horizons and Cypress Harbour when we're not staying on our DVC points. My sister likes the Grande Vista.

 

[spiceycat]

I though the latest updates included a pool with a slide at GV - it is a fort?

 

[Graeme]

The two codes for GV are a mystery. I'm an Interval International member though and sometimes on the flexchange there's different prices for each, but you get the same room!. Sabal Palms, Imperial Palms and Royal Palms are the oldest and are currently undergoing major refurbs, so I'm told. We've stayed in GV a few times and love it. Cypress harbour is slightly older but is just as good really. We're staying there in two weeks.
Horizons is the one for kids though. We had a look in last time we were over and the pools are amazing. All pirate themed with a big shipwreck, similar to the Beach Club one.
Look on www.tripadvisor.com though. All the marriotts are well reviewed by recent guests.

 

[Lisa P.]

With kids between 5-8 years old, I'd definitely choose Horizons by Marriott, hands down. Those pools look like so much fun!!!

My second choice would be Grand Vista, for its pools and other activities for them.

Then Cypress Harbour, for its wide variety of activities and beautiful grounds.

With adults or older teens, and the shuttle van to the Marriott hotel's pools and activities, I'd think the resorts connected to the hotel would be great. But Sabal Palms, Royal Palms & Imperial Palms seem so quiet, if you have kids too young to go over to the main hotel area on their own.

These are all nice places to spend your vacation week. But these would be my preferences due to the ages of your children. Have a fun trip!!!

 

[twinmomplus2new]

I stay at both properties GV and Horizon's . we stayed at Horizon's for the 3rd time in August. and my kids loved it. including the 13 year old.

The pool areas can simply not be beat.
While we where there they had.
An outdoor dive in movie
treasure dives
water tag
water relay races
scavenger hunts
tie die shirts
sand dollar painting
magnet painting
mini golf. $25.00 for the entire family for the week, and it's a great little course.
Basketball courts
those are just the ones we particiapted in.
Now GV's unit are more plush and the landscaping is beautiful. There are extensive kids programs. more so than horizon's/ I think that however is due to the fact that horizon's offers the outdoor pools w/slides.
There are no water slides at GV the new pool is small( IMHO) and has a few shooting water cannons. My boys were not interested enough to go into the pool.
We spend much more $$$ onsite at GV, don't forget those kids activities cost $$$.
I am a huge fan of grand vista. However for an all around family vacation. I would choose horizon's first.

 

[utahkennedys]

We have stayed at GV before and enjoyed it, but the week we were there the main pool was freezing so not good for dd3. This Feb. we are staying at CH which I decided on after tons of reading and research. I could have chosen CH, Horizons or GV. Horizons has "scaled down" rooms with less nice furnishing, no jetted tub, smaller, etc. I want a grand vacation feel when I am there. CH seems to have lots of activities and pools, which is all we need for the kids. My kids would even be happy in a little square pool if that is all there was, but I want to come back to what I feel like is a "resort" at the end of the day. Having said that, I would still someday like to try Horizons maybe for part of a trip.

 

[jeff968]

Cypress Harbor is our favorite but my kids range in age of 10 years but were things to do for each of them. For the youngest Horizons looks great. I've toured it twice. The rooms are smaller. I like the layout of CH resort much better and the rooms are huge. I hope we get to go back in 2008.

 

[karmann]

We stayed at GV once and CH twice and now own at Horizons. Our boys are 7 and 10 and absolutely love it. No comparison. All three are nice but Horizons is built for kids.

 

[Surgie]

I currently have a reservation at Marriott Residence Inn but after looking at Cypress Harbor it seems really nice - but a little further to the parks. Is it possible to rent direxctly from an owner rather than from the Marriott site?

 

[Detailor]

I currently have a reservation at Marriott Residence Inn but after looking at Cypress Harbor it seems really nice - but a little further to the parks. Is it possible to rent direxctly from an owner rather than from the Marriott site?

Sure, there are a number of websites that handle rentals for owners. I'd suggest looking at the rental classifieds at www.tug2.net to deal directly with an owner. Ebay also has some rentals from time to time. A number of sites - www.redweek.com and others - broker rentals for owners. A google search for timeshare rentals will likely pull a whole bunch of results. Regardless of which source you use you should verify that the person you're dealing with is the owner as there can be problems with timeshare owners exchanging for a unit that they don't own and then renting it (that's against the major exchange companies' rules). Renting timeshares requires a leap of faith (from both ends) that the transaction will go well, but in my experience of renting from owners several times I've never had any problems.

Dick Taylor