OLCC - anyone good reviews ?

I have a trip booked to OLCC next month and I am wondering should I cancel it. I haven't read any good posts for this resort here or any where else. If you have any positive posts about this resort please let me know or any thing I can do to make our stay a vacation. My DH will be flying from half away around the world directly to OLCC after serving his country for the last 6 months. My first choice was Oasis Lakes but the RCI guide insisted that we would not be disappointed. From what I am reading thats exactly what I should expect.

There are 203 reviews on Orange Lake at Tripadvisor.com:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...esort_and_Country_Club-Kissimmee_Florida.html

I'm guessing because of its size, Orange Lake is like McDonald's. Everybody has a story, some not so good.

Take a look at the OLCC reviews in the TUG Resort Reviews (link to the database on the red bar at the top of this page). You'll see that OLCC is rated by TUGgers among the top 15% of all Orlando-area resorts. You'll also get a good balance of reviews and see why it's rated so highly. I believe you'll likely conclude that the negative experiences reported here are out of proportion to the positive experiences, at least according to the numerous reviews.

One thing to keep in mind is that people tend to speak out when something goes wrong. They often aren't as vocal when everything goes as they had hoped it would. (IMHO)

There are no perfect resorts. As big as OLCC is, there are bound to be some who have bad experiences.

As far as the TUG reviews, the experiences of owners vs. exchangers are vastly different. One owner posted a review as an exchanger, for whatever reason, perhaps it was an oversight. There are many people who "rate" the resort but do not "review" it. To me, the results are skewed by the owners.

i kinda agree with "rickandcindy". rating your own resort is sorta like being asked to pick your favorite child. i don't believe you could do it.

OLCC

I think the resort is terrific. I am an owner but I really don't think that skews my opinion all that much since I've been there as an exchanger. For many of the people that review it negatively, it is a self fullfilling prophecy. They think it will be negative from reading some of these reviews and of course the experience is negative. I guarantee you there is not a timeshare on this earth that would pass muster for someone intent on finding something wrong with it. With the exception of the ants mentioned in the original post (and we know that ants are unique to OLCC and totally within control of the TS and that no other TS has ever had an ant problem), most of the problems stem from the size of the resort. The wait to check in was also mentioned. Try checking in a Vistana sometime. It's not fair to compare OLCC to a 50 unit complex. It has over 2000 units. If eager beavers lurk at registration to check in at the earliest possible minute(and they do), then I suspect there will be a wait because I doubt if they intend to hire 75 people to accomodate the rush. I didn't hear anything about the 3 golf courses on the property (and if you include the mini-golf) the 90 holes of golf on the property. I also didn't hear much about the 7 swimming pools and water park except to say that the charge for tubes is excessive (a point I agree entirely with). But you know in my 30+ other exchanges that hasn't been a problem either. That's because none of them had a water park although there are a few that do. I find it difficult to attack OLCC about their policy when the other resorts don't need a policy for an amenity they don't have. I said it before and I'll say it again- it is the world's biggest and oldest timeshare. People will have a variety of experiences but if you give it a chance, I think you will find the goods outweigh the evils.

To me, the results are skewed by the owners.

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Interesting observation, Cindy. It differs from mine.

The number of OLCC non-owner reviews in the TUG database outnumbers owner reviews by about 2 to 1. With that ratio, it would be difficult for the overall reviews to be "vastly different" and still have the overall rating as high as it is. Most reviewing non-owners who comment on whether they would return to OLCC, state that they would.

Also, the 2 to 1 ratio is pretty close to the ratios (on average) for other highly rated Orlando resorts, such as the Disneys and large Marriotts. A fair number of lower rated resorts have higher percentages of owners versus non-owners who have submitted reviews. Thus, the results might be skewed, but if so, they are probably similarly skewed for many resorts in that section, thus supporting the relative ratings for most resorts (including OLCC), even if the numerical ratings are inflated.

I think the bottom line is that at any resort, there will be those who have good experiences and those who don't. Those who seek exchanges can read these threads and read reviews and make up their own minds.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't have the bias (either good or bad) that those who have stayed at OLCC would have. I'm neutral. I have never stayed there.

Edited primarily to add that I realize there are many more TUG ratings for this resort than there are reviews. A high percentage of those additional ratings could be by owners. That's also possible for other resorts, since most resorts have many more ratings than they have reviews.

Well I stayed there as an exchanger and we loved it.

We were put into the West Village and I was so upset because we had friends with us who I really wanted to impress and after reading all the reviews on OLCC I was devistated that we were not in the newer section. I even called ahead and they said they would do whatever they could to satify our request. Needless to say I went to the desk across the lobby almost begging to be put into one of the newer sections and they out right told me no way, newer sections were for owners.

We went to the unit with a chip on our shoulder and were shocked to see how nice it was. Yes, we toured the newer units while we were there and really wished we were in one of them but believe me, the West Village is not as bad as everybody makes it out to be. The one we had was very clean, in good condition and very comfortable. Have fun and don't believe everything you hear.:annoyed:

Rankings and reviews can be too old to matter

Dave M said:

Interesting observation, Cindy. It differs from mine.

The number of OLCC non-owner reviews in the TUG database outnumbers owner reviews by about 2 to 1. With that ratio, it would be difficult for the overall reviews to be "vastly different" and still have the overall rating as high as it is. Most reviewing non-owners who comment on whether they would return to OLCC, state that they would.

Also, the 2 to 1 ratio is pretty close to the ratios (on average) for other highly rated Orlando resorts, such as the Disneys and large Marriotts. A fair number of lower rated resorts have higher percentages of owners versus non-owners who have submitted reviews. Thus, the results might be skewed, but if so, they are probably similarly skewed for many resorts in that section, thus supporting the relative ratings for most resorts (including OLCC), even if the numerical ratings are inflated.

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Not specific to OLCC but all resorts in the review and ratings databases there doesn't seem to be a reasonable way to narrow the timeframes. A resort with great or poor reviews and ratings from 5 years ago may not - in fact most likely is not - in the same shape today for better or for worse. I always find it interesting to read the old reviews if they are out there but I realize that the most current are the most likely to mirror any trade I do today. As for the ratings values over 24 months old hold no value for today and should be dropped. The older ones - again good or bad - impact the rankings so they end up meaningless. This is especially true if there is a LONG history of rankings so any more recent just don't have an impact.

For the ratings I would suggest that a rolling 24 month average be considered if they are to hold any value at all. For reviews I'd leave it to the readers to discern if there is a trend up or down over time.

rickandcindy23 said:

As far as the TUG reviews, the experiences of owners vs. exchangers are vastly different. One owner posted a review as an exchanger, for whatever reason, perhaps it was an oversight. There are many people who "rate" the resort but do not "review" it. To me, the results are skewed by the owners.

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Cindy, that owner who you say posted as an "exchanger" was an error. :annoyed: It was me, but then again you already know that.

I did not post as an exchanger. As if I would deliberately post as an exchanger??? As soon as I saw my review had posted showing NO beside owner, I immediately clarified that with Kathy. It was corrected post haste.

Thousands of people stay at this resort each week. The overwhelming opinion of those exchanges are glowing. Far more people post when their experience is negative. That's just the nature of humans in general. With regards to any experience.

I agree with Dave. Go to the reviews section. Even with the negative posts on the Florida board, you will see the majority of the reviews in the reviews section, are positive. Otherwise, the resort would not be so high on the list.

Vickie, I said it was likely an error. I truly believe it was a mistake.

Since so many TUGgers are analytical by nature, I thought I would run the numbers. I am not great at math, my degree is in English, but these are some numbers I can do:

I used only the reviews that had 1-10 ratings:

14 exchangers wrote reviews. One exchanger rated the resort a 3 and another a 10. The total of all ratings is 103 / 14 = 7.35 (These reviews go back to April of last year. I decided not to check old ratings)

9 owners rated the resort at an average of 9.50. The total of those was 85.5/9 = 9.50 (These ratings go back to January. I was not going to go back that far, but the oldest two were the average, anyway)

TUG's rating system states the following:

10 World class resort with everything included. Should be the best resort you have ever seen! Most are self-contained vacation destinations. Everything is in perfect order. There should be very few ratings of "10" given.

9 A great resort with everything except a major extra (e.g., golf or skiing being off-site). Beautiful units with fabulous decor. This should be among the 2nd to 4th best resorts you have seen.

8 A good resort with a great location. Still has top quality units and furnishing with on site recreation and activity director. An excellent exchange.

7 Above average resort but missing some extras and charges for the extras they do provide (e.g., tennis, bikes). Units might be a little smaller, not quite as plush but still very nice.

I have no problem with your numbers, Cindy. I conceded that owners might rate a resort (OLCC or any other resort) higher than do non-owners. I imagine that's true for most resorts. Something about pride of ownership. (I like my own home much better than any of my neighbors' homes!)

My point was that what you found or what you stated earlier doesn't make the OLCC numbers any different (relatively) from reviews and ratings for the majority of other big resorts included in the reviews. And it doesn't change the fact that the overwhelming majority of non-owner OLCC reviewers who commented on whether they would like to return said that they would.

There are some who might say, "I don't like XYZ resort for the following reasons..." and then move on. You seem much more intent on convincing everyone that OLCC is a bad place for exchangers. I’m curious as to why. (Again, I’m neutral, since I have never stayed there.)

rickandcindy23 said:

10 World class resort with everything included. Should be the best resort you have ever seen! Most are self-contained vacation destinations. Everything is in perfect order. There should be very few ratings of "10" given.

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Yep.....that's OL. Everything included (well ok, no shampoo/conditoner.) Totally self-contained vacation destination. No other TS in the world offers what OL does in amenities.

"Perfect order" is basically unobtainable....even with regards to Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons. Responding to the problem is what's key to me.

A 10 I tell ya.....a super sized 10!!!!!!!

No 10's even in Orlando but a couple 9.8's maybe

timetraveler said:

Yep.....that's OL. Everything included (well ok, no shampoo/conditoner.) Totally self-contained vacation destination. No other TS in the world offers what OL does in amenities.

"Perfect order" is basically unobtainable....even with regards to Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons. Responding to the problem is what's key to me.

A 10 I tell ya.....a super sized 10!!!!!!!

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You've obviously never been to Atlantis. OL would be a 7 at best in comparison.

All the ratings seem to suffer from serious "grade inflation". The average resort should be a 5 but it's closer to 8. There should be less than 5% 9's yet over 30% are. Heck one of the worst timeshares in Orlando - Magic Tree - is 5.6! A 3 if there ever was one. The reviews have much more value than the numerical ranking as no one seems to think anything is fairly given an average value.

no I've never been to Atlantis. But I have been to Four Season's in Hawaii, several other states, ditto with the Ritz. From the pic's of Atlantis...the hotel....not the TS's, I would classify Atlantis with them.

I was talking about TS, John not hotel properties. And I still give OL a 10!

timeos2 said:

The reviews have much more value than the numerical ranking as no one seems to think anything is fairly given an average value.

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Not if you use it as a true "ranking" instead of a "grade". You can assign any numerical values or meanings you choose, but if one resort is higher than another then they are ranked.

Orlando has no 10's and very few 9's

Carl D said:

Not if you use it as a true "ranking" instead of a "grade". You can assign any numerical values or meanings you choose, but if one resort is higher than another then they are ranked.

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Carl - there are qualifications to meet:
___

10 World class resort with everything included. Should be the best resort you have ever seen! Most are self-contained vacation destinations. Everything is in perfect order. There should be very few ratings of "10" given.

9 A great resort with everything except a major extra (e.g., golf or skiing being off-site). Beautiful units with fabulous decor. This should be among the 2nd to 4th best resorts you have seen.

8 A good resort with a great location. Still has top quality units and furnishing with on site recreation and activity director. An excellent exchange.

7 Above average resort but missing some extras and charges for the extras they do provide (e.g., tennis, bikes). Units might be a little smaller, not quite as plush but still very nice.
_____

Now the best resorts could easily make 7 or maybe 8 but, regardless of how you feel about where you own, a 9 or 10 should be knock you out great. As much as I love Orlando resorts - many of them - and they are some of the best in the world I couldn't give more than 2 of them an honest 9 and none a 10. That doesn't mean an 8 isn't a great resort but it isn't that 1 in 100 that 9 means or that rare 4 or 5 in the world that deserve a 10. I know whats happening with those scores but it makes the numbers virtually worthless. It's like the II 5*. It can be a Westgate that barely meets the minimum or a Marriott that may get one of those few legitimate 9's. So a resort that has it is still a crap shoot as to what you'll find. The TUG 9's are in the same boat.

John, that may be true, but your "grading" the resorts rather than ranking them.
I'm looking at it from a purely comparison standpoint. The odds say a 10 is better than a 7, even if both are inflated.

Hornet18E

If your are concerned about OLCC, I would suggest you try a different resort. As an owner I enjoy OLCC very much, but I certainly wouldn't want you to be unsure about what you "might" experience at OLCC. There are many wonderful resorts in the Orlando area.

By the way, does your screen name designate, the Navy's F/A 18 Hornet?

stayedin west village (tennis villas) and loved it--some issues

ok--so the ceiling in the 2nd BR bath was crumbling to the point being almost dangerous---but a late nigth call to maintenance got the chief engineer there at 10PM and a crew to fix it at 10 AM next morning---while we were at disney--totally repatched and drywalled byt 2PM.

That certainly should have been noted in routine maintenance/cleaning inspection---but once we notified them, it was instantly fixed.

Otherwise, we love the resort--tons to do and lots of fun. But it is VERY spread out--so if you get a far-flung unit, you pretty much have to drive around.

There are more compact properties that are very nice, that you could walk to mnay things (pools, etc.) but they also offer less. Vistana is a pretty easy trade, and it is a lovely resort (but also some older "less desirable" units as well.)

IF amenities are important to you, then OLCC is great, if unit is important and there is always a chacne that you get placed in older section, then maybe a newer property is for you.

timetraveler said:

Yep.....that's OL. Everything included (well ok, no shampoo/conditoner.) Totally self-contained vacation destination. No other TS in the world offers what OL does in amenities.


A 10 I tell ya.....a super sized 10!!!!!!!

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Hmmmm. Totally self-contained and no other timeshare has the same amenities as OL.... Except maybe Harborside and it DOES have shampoo and conditioner

(also, no charge for tubes!!)

Ouch..tsl....comparing OL to Atlantis is painful. Atlantis is in a totally different category. Just like Four Season's and Ritz Carlton's are in totally different hotel category.


I need to check out Atlantis. The hotel looks fabulous. We love the bahamas, I'm not sure why we haven't visited Atlantis. These posts have started me thinking we need to experience it.

I guess Harborside is a TS that's somewhere on the property? And I guess, it's guests get to use Atlantis's stuff?

Now that I am spending a week at OLCC, my advice is to find somewhere else to stay. This place had been very disappointing. The negative reviews and postings on sites such as Tripadvisor have proven to be true.

We also stayed in the West Village and it was not perfectly new but we loved it. We do not own there.

Anne

hornet18e said:

I have a trip booked to OLCC next month and I am wondering should I cancel it. I haven't read any good posts for this resort here or any where else. If you have any positive posts about this resort please let me know or any thing I can do to make our stay a vacation. My DH will be flying from half away around the world directly to OLCC after serving his country for the last 6 months. My first choice was Oasis Lakes but the RCI guide insisted that we would not be disappointed. From what I am reading thats exactly what I should expect.

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There are some exchangers that rate the resort very high. I would never cancel an exchange, unless my dates suddenly did not work. Just tell them at check-in that you want a whirlpool tub for two, then you should get a newer unit. Our paperwork said "whirlpool tub," so we were given a unit with that amenity, but our unit was still older and the tub was too small for two, which is why you need to ask for that larger tub. I really think you will get your request. Tell them that you and your husband have not been together in six months. Even though I have never done it, I remember someone handing a $20 to a front desk clerk on the sly and got a great unit. This was a resort in Europe, I believe? That is cheaper than losing $109 to RCI for a cancellation fee. Our son Josh is going to hand a $20 to check-in person, if I get that exchange for him for October 21st.

Also, check in early. I think we established a while ago that the late arrivers were more likely to get an older unit. We arrived at midnight, I believe.

Please do not cancel your exchange because of the debate here. I would feel badly and why make RCI rich with cancellation fees? Concentrate on the good reviews and move forward with the attitude that you are going to have a great vacation and reunion with your husband. It will work for you. Let us know what a wonderful time you had. I am CERTAIN you will love the amenities the resort has to offer. The grounds are just beautiful as is the entire state.

Our son-in-law is a First Lieutenant in the Air Force. Go Air Force!