One Night In Orlando - Marriott Grande Vista Or Sheraton Vistana Resort
Jun 6th, 2005, 03:24 PM
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One Night In Orlando - Marriott Grande Vista Or Sheraton Vistana Resort
Hi all - back with another question about our upcoming trip to Orlando.
Just to recap we are from Scotland & there will be 6 of us travelling - myself & my wife, our two teenage boys (17 & 14) and my wife's mother & sister.
We have rented a home in Formosa Gardens just off the 192 but, unfortunately, it was not available for our first night and so we will have to make alternative arrangements just for that one night.
Having scoured the internet I find myself with a choice of renting a 2 bedroom villa in either the Grande Vista or the Vistana Resort, both of which meet our budget thanks to promotional rates currently on offer.
Both seem to offer good facilities and the prices are almost identical, with the Vistana being just a few dollars cheaper. At the moment, however, Grande Vista is just edging it - mainly because it can guarantee a non-smoking unit (which the Vistana can't) but this isn't necessarily an out & out deal-breaker.
Before I book, can anyone offer any opinions on which one is the better bet?
As always, thanks for your help.
Jim
Just to recap we are from Scotland & there will be 6 of us travelling - myself & my wife, our two teenage boys (17 & 14) and my wife's mother & sister.
We have rented a home in Formosa Gardens just off the 192 but, unfortunately, it was not available for our first night and so we will have to make alternative arrangements just for that one night.
Having scoured the internet I find myself with a choice of renting a 2 bedroom villa in either the Grande Vista or the Vistana Resort, both of which meet our budget thanks to promotional rates currently on offer.
Both seem to offer good facilities and the prices are almost identical, with the Vistana being just a few dollars cheaper. At the moment, however, Grande Vista is just edging it - mainly because it can guarantee a non-smoking unit (which the Vistana can't) but this isn't necessarily an out & out deal-breaker.
Before I book, can anyone offer any opinions on which one is the better bet?
As always, thanks for your help.
Jim
Jun 7th, 2005, 03:49 PM
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ttt--I'm interested in any response you might get. We're staying in a 2-bedroom villa at the Marriott Grande Vista in early December. It looked great on the website, but would be interested to hear from anyone who's stayed here.
Jun 8th, 2005, 04:31 PM
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pilgrim - yes I already had a look at disboards but I wouldn't dream of booking accommodation anywhere without checking Fodors first!
klw25 - unfortunately no response here, but I have taken an executive decision & booked the Grande Vista anyway. There have been a number of recent positive reviews on tripadvisor (it's currently rated at 29 out of 278 hotels in Orlando) whereas the reviews of the Vistana are not so impressive.
We will be back home in early July & I will post back here to let you know what we thought about the Grande Vista.
Jim
klw25 - unfortunately no response here, but I have taken an executive decision & booked the Grande Vista anyway. There have been a number of recent positive reviews on tripadvisor (it's currently rated at 29 out of 278 hotels in Orlando) whereas the reviews of the Vistana are not so impressive.
We will be back home in early July & I will post back here to let you know what we thought about the Grande Vista.
Jim
Jun 12th, 2005, 04:47 PM
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klw25,
Sorry to let you down but we have had a late change of plan. While browsing through the Marriott's website I found that I could get a 2 bed/2 bath villa at the Cypress Harbour for slightly less than the Grande Vista (even though there had been no rooms available at the CH when I made my original booking at the GV).
The difference in price is only a few dollars but as the villa at the CH seems to be bigger and the resort also has a higher rating on tripadvisor we decided to go for it. I changed our booking tonight by 'phone direct to the Marriott UK booking office without any problem.
Once again, sorry we won't be able to report back on the Grande Vista but I'm sure you'll have a great time there in any case!
Jim
Sorry to let you down but we have had a late change of plan. While browsing through the Marriott's website I found that I could get a 2 bed/2 bath villa at the Cypress Harbour for slightly less than the Grande Vista (even though there had been no rooms available at the CH when I made my original booking at the GV).
The difference in price is only a few dollars but as the villa at the CH seems to be bigger and the resort also has a higher rating on tripadvisor we decided to go for it. I changed our booking tonight by 'phone direct to the Marriott UK booking office without any problem.
Once again, sorry we won't be able to report back on the Grande Vista but I'm sure you'll have a great time there in any case!
Jim
Jun 12th, 2005, 05:28 PM
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I own a 2 bedroom unit in Grande Vista and think it is quite nice. Much better than most of the time shares in Orlando with the exception of the Disney ones.
The buildings are in cycles of renovation but newer upgraded units and new units have granite counters and better furniture. There is a lot to do at the time share and they have nice pools. The golf course is good and has excellent instructors. It is overseen by Nick Faldo.
LMF
The buildings are in cycles of renovation but newer upgraded units and new units have granite counters and better furniture. There is a lot to do at the time share and they have nice pools. The golf course is good and has excellent instructors. It is overseen by Nick Faldo.
LMF
Jun 13th, 2005, 07:10 AM
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Jim - Thanks for the update. Glad you found a place that is bigger--sounds like you'll need it with the size of your group. We've got 3 young children, so that shouldn't be an issue for us. Have a great trip!
LMF - Glad to hear that you own a timeshare at Grande Vista and that you're happy with it. We've always been very satisfied at any Marriott property we've stayed at. The rooms looked beautiful on the Marriott website--I imagine that they were pix of the renovated rooms. Hopefully, we'll get one of those. We're going at a slow time of year (early December) and my DH is a platinum level Marriott member (he stays there 80-100 nights a year), so we usually get upgraded or a preferred room when available. DH will be really glad to hear your comments on the golf course! And I'm glad to hear the pools are nice and there's lots to do. We'll be there 10 days and are planning 5 1/2-6 days at Disney parks, so that will leave us a few days to just relax and enjoy any activities at Grande Vista.
I do have one question for you LMF. Don't know if you have younger kids, but I saw something on their kids clubs/activities while booking the villa. I haven't looked into it yet, but was wondering if you'd had any experience with these activities. My kids will be 8, 6, and 3. Thanks!
LMF - Glad to hear that you own a timeshare at Grande Vista and that you're happy with it. We've always been very satisfied at any Marriott property we've stayed at. The rooms looked beautiful on the Marriott website--I imagine that they were pix of the renovated rooms. Hopefully, we'll get one of those. We're going at a slow time of year (early December) and my DH is a platinum level Marriott member (he stays there 80-100 nights a year), so we usually get upgraded or a preferred room when available. DH will be really glad to hear your comments on the golf course! And I'm glad to hear the pools are nice and there's lots to do. We'll be there 10 days and are planning 5 1/2-6 days at Disney parks, so that will leave us a few days to just relax and enjoy any activities at Grande Vista.
I do have one question for you LMF. Don't know if you have younger kids, but I saw something on their kids clubs/activities while booking the villa. I haven't looked into it yet, but was wondering if you'd had any experience with these activities. My kids will be 8, 6, and 3. Thanks!
Jun 13th, 2005, 11:47 AM
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You might want to check out tripadvisor.com for some reviews and info, i use it before I book ANY hotel, ever!
http://everythingtravel.blogspot.com/
http://everythingtravel.blogspot.com/
Jun 15th, 2005, 02:55 AM
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we haven't had kids at the timeshare but the resort exists primarily for families visiting the theme parks and there are lots of activities at Grande Vista so parents can have a night out or a game of golf.
Jun 15th, 2005, 08:42 AM
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Well, we're off to Orlando tomorrow morning. The first night at Cypress Harbour & then 13 nights at the villa in Formosa Gardens. We're hoping to make a trip to St. Augustine while we're there & I'll post back when we return.
Jim
Jim
Jul 17th, 2005, 05:37 PM
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Wagonwheel,
Sorry for delay in reporting back but things have been rather hectic since we returned - I feel as though I need another holiday already!
Just to say that we were very pleased with the Cypress Harbour. It would be silly of me to make too much of our stay since we were there for less than 24 hours, but we were certainly very impressed with what we found. We had a top floor villa in the Tavernier (I think) block, with a lovely view of the lake. This was pretty far from the resort centre & although my sons & I strolled round to the centre the following morning it wouldn't have been possible with luggage.
I don't think we had a refurbished villa as the furnishings weren't as fancy as those in the website photos but that wasn't a problem. The villa was spacious, clean & well appointed & my MIL & SIL were paricularly delighted with the Master Bedroom. We had 2 adults in the Master Bedroom, 2 in the second bedroom & the 2 boys slept in the sofa bed in the lounge. Although this arrangement worked out fine I think we might have found it a little cramped if we had stayed there for any length of time.
Just after we arrived there was a spectacular thunderstorm & as we sat on the screened balcony looking out over the lake we were very happy with our choice. We had a couple of pizzas delivered to our villa that night & at no time did anyone contact us regarding a timeshare presentation - although perhaps this was due to the shortness of our stay.
As I mentioned earlier, we walked round to the resort centre the following morning before checking out. The pool areas were very inviting, with those next to the reception area seemingly designed with families in mind, whereas the pools on the "island" in the lake looked to be more for adults. There is a store next to reception but it seemed pretty small for such a large resort.
This was our third trip to Florida & it won't be our last. Due to the size of our party we have always rented a home & will almost certainly continue to do so in future trips but if we do ever find ourselves having to stay in a hotel again I would be more than happy to re-book the Cypress Harbour.
I intend to post a brief report of our trip later on this week but I hope this helps in the meantime.
Jim
Sorry for delay in reporting back but things have been rather hectic since we returned - I feel as though I need another holiday already!
Just to say that we were very pleased with the Cypress Harbour. It would be silly of me to make too much of our stay since we were there for less than 24 hours, but we were certainly very impressed with what we found. We had a top floor villa in the Tavernier (I think) block, with a lovely view of the lake. This was pretty far from the resort centre & although my sons & I strolled round to the centre the following morning it wouldn't have been possible with luggage.
I don't think we had a refurbished villa as the furnishings weren't as fancy as those in the website photos but that wasn't a problem. The villa was spacious, clean & well appointed & my MIL & SIL were paricularly delighted with the Master Bedroom. We had 2 adults in the Master Bedroom, 2 in the second bedroom & the 2 boys slept in the sofa bed in the lounge. Although this arrangement worked out fine I think we might have found it a little cramped if we had stayed there for any length of time.
Just after we arrived there was a spectacular thunderstorm & as we sat on the screened balcony looking out over the lake we were very happy with our choice. We had a couple of pizzas delivered to our villa that night & at no time did anyone contact us regarding a timeshare presentation - although perhaps this was due to the shortness of our stay.
As I mentioned earlier, we walked round to the resort centre the following morning before checking out. The pool areas were very inviting, with those next to the reception area seemingly designed with families in mind, whereas the pools on the "island" in the lake looked to be more for adults. There is a store next to reception but it seemed pretty small for such a large resort.
This was our third trip to Florida & it won't be our last. Due to the size of our party we have always rented a home & will almost certainly continue to do so in future trips but if we do ever find ourselves having to stay in a hotel again I would be more than happy to re-book the Cypress Harbour.
I intend to post a brief report of our trip later on this week but I hope this helps in the meantime.
Jim
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