Orlando - Hilton Grand
 

We are going to Orlando at the end of April. I've booked reservations at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club.

Was wondering if anyone had any info about this property (pros and cons).

Thanks in advance for any help.

I should specify that we are staying at the Hilton Grand on International Drive.

We were just there this past October. We usually stay at Hiltons, and this is one of our favorites (so far). We had a one bedroom with a separate living room/dining area, small kitchen, washer/dryer in a closet and screened in porch with an outdoor dining table.

The beds are loaded with down pillows. Very comfy and clean. There's a TV in there. The living room had a flat screen TV and Bose stereo system -- bring your own CDs if you want. Kitchen was very clean with full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, microwave, coffeemaker and disposal. They provide kitchen towels, 4-piece place settings (cranberry-colored Fiestaware), pots, pans, utensils, dishwashing soap, Tide, etc.

If you have children, there are activities for them all day until bedtime. Our favorites were the kids' dive-in movies -- movies by the pool -- that I believe are shown twice a week (different movie each time), an evening animal lecture/petting, and a band that played by the pool.

If you'll be visiting WDW, it's a pretty easy drive there.

If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to try to answer.

Thank you for your reply. It sounds great. We are taking our 7 year old grandaughter as a surprise birthday present. All of the Disney resorts are either booked or require you to stay different dates than the ones we have planned (with the exception of one resort). We also wanted to stay on International because we plan on doing other things besides WDW.

One thing I was wondering about....the hotel has been described as a "Timeshare resort being used as a hotel". I've read about high pressure sales pitches and reps calling your room at 9:30 p.m. Any truth to this? Do they take "No" for an answer?

We're not there for long and we made the mistake of doing a timeshare pitch when we were down several years ago. I DON'T want to do that again. I don't care if they offer to pay for my entire vacation!

Not high pressure at all. They called us once in the morning -- I think around 9:30 or so (??) -- and we just said no thanks. They were very polite about it and said nothing more.

Enjoy your stay. Sounds like a birthday your granddaughter won't forget!

Thank you so much. Everything else I read about this property sounds great and we're really looking forward to our stay.

I used to stay here a lot on business. If you book it as a hotel, you will not be given any pressure for a timeshare presentation. As someone said before, there's lots for kids to do. Nice property. Gorgeous units. GREAT option - y'all should have a blast.

Walking distance to Sea World and Discovery Cove. GO SEE the Shamu show. Have you considered swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove? Lots of restaurant options nearby on I Drive.

We are definitely doing Seaworld. Grandchild isn't much into doing the dolphin thing just yet and I've done dolphin encounters before. Was thinking about the Penguin encounter though. Part of the agreement we made with the school for her to get time off, is that she do a type of show and tell report when she gets back and she's really into marine life.

The variety of restaurants, shopping, things to do on I drive is one of the reasons we opted to stay in that area. I can not wait.

Hubby and I are getting ready to go to T&C in February, but I'm actually more excited about the Orlando trip because grandaughter is going to have a fit when we finally get to let her in on the surprise!