Which should I choose, Sunterra Cypress Resort, Portofino Bay, Vistana Resort/HGVC?

[devotedchristian]

Hi All, I am new to this board so bear with me as I have a few questions I'd like to ask. My family (DH and DD 10yrs old) will be going to Universal Studios in May 2003. I have searched throughly onsite and offsite hotels. For Onsite, I thought about Portofino Bay since they are offering a deluxe room for that time at $180 per night (an awesome deal), For Offsite, I thought about the Sunterra Cypress Point Resort who is offering a 2bed/2bath at $129 per night, actually Hotelkingdom.com is offering it at $89 per night. I know the PBH is an experience on its own, but I am too moody to share one room. I keep thinking to myself what if it rains and we are unable to go to the park and the three of us are stuck in that one room. Sunterra definetly sounds like it has all the amenities of a home away from home. My only problem is maid service is not provided. It would be $35 per day extra. Is it me but I don't want to cook or clean while on vacation. After a long day at the park, I want to come home to a neat and orderly room. I guess I will just have to pay the extra $35 for the maid service. My questions are if you have stayed at this resort can you please tell me everything you can about it. Are the rooms nice? Is the staff friendly? I want to eat Breakfast before we go to the park, is there any nearby restaurants? Also, I read that in the Master Bedroom, there is not a door that closes to the bathroom, is this true. Please help!

 

[sharbear]

I wasn't going to reply but then I had to come back. After staying at a Universal Hotel and experiencing Universal Express I would not stay anywhere else. The feeling of walking past everyone else and going to the front of the line is a perk beyond everything else.

If you don't want everybody to stay in the same hotel room you could think about 2 rooms at the Royal Pacific Hotel. I think that you can get a standard room with an entertainment rate for around $99.

Go to the Universal Board and you will find lots of info on the Universal Hotels. About the rain, it rains a lot in Florida. My advise, just put on a Poncho and go to the parks. Last year it rained non-stop on my trip to WDW and I had the best time ever. Don't let the rain bother you, embrace it.

 

[sammi]

Hi devotedchristian We've stayed at Cypress Pointe for the last 10 years with my family from the UK who are owners there. They own in the Grande Villas section but the older section has just had major renovations done and really looks nice too! We stay there for about 2 weeks and there are always about 6 of us in the 2 bedroom unit and we've never needed housekeeping and really other than picking up papers, magazines etc. have never needed to do any cleaning! There is a dishwasher, washer and dryer for laundry so other than that we never need cleaning done. There is a fresh towel exchange once a week (I think it's Wed.)

The resort is really lovely and the staff have always been very helpful.The villas are laid out perfectly with loads of room if you are travelling with others. Here's a couple of links for you to take a look at. One even gives you a "virtual" tour of the premises including all pools and villas!

There are tons of restaurants nearby and you are only about a 2 minute drive to the main gates to WDW! Bathroom.......there is a huge jacuzzi tub right in the master bedroom and yes there is a door separating the toilet area from the rest of the bedroom. There is also a door in the bedroom that separates you from the living room and the balcony (you have sliding doors off the bedroom to the screened-in balcony) Here's the links and hopefully this info will help you make your decision. We're going down in March ....can't wait!

http://cypresspointe.net/index3.htm

http://www.sunterra.com/resorts/regions/resort.asp?resort_code=CPR&region=florida

PS: Do a search here on the DIS as there are lots of comments on the resort!