# Favorite timeshare around Disney/and Florida



## nanceetom (Dec 13, 2007)

We own at Royal Palms but haven't used it in years; have been exchanging for points.  We would like to trade our Harbour Club HH for a timeshare in Florida.  Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.

Our other option is anywhere in Florida.  We have been doing the Carribbean and Mexican things for a while.  What's a favorite Florida timeshare for two adults.  We love to walk, eat at good restaurants and sit around a pool to read.


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## Carta (Dec 15, 2007)

nanceetom said:


> We own at Royal Palms but haven't used it in years; have been exchanging for points.  We would like to trade our Harbour Club HH for a timeshare in Florida.  Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.
> 
> Our other option is anywhere in Florida.  We have been doing the Carribbean and Mexican things for a while.  What's a favorite Florida timeshare for two adults.  We love to walk, eat at good restaurants and sit around a pool to read.


=========================================

Marriott Ocean Pointe in West Palm Beach (Palm Beach Shores) is great, though not near Disney. We'll be there in April via exchange.....ps..We've been doing Caribbean and Mexico for years also. Good Luck!


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## AwayWeGo (Dec 15, 2007)

*No Duds. (Yet.)*




nanceetom said:


> Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.


The Disney area of Florida is the _Mother Lode_ of nice timeshare resorts.  I defer to people with lots & lots of Orlando timeshare experience on the subject of favorites, "the best," & all that, because The Chief Of Staff & I have only been into this since 2002. 

Meanwhile, we've vacationed in Orlando several times & have greatly enjoyed each of the Orlando timeshares where we've stayed -- Cypress Pointe I, Cypress Pointe II, Vistana Orlando, Vistana Villages, Vacation Village At Parkway, HGVC Sea World, & Silver Lake Resort Silver Points. 

So many timeshares.  So little time.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## capjak (Dec 15, 2007)

nanceetom said:


> We own at Royal Palms but haven't used it in years; have been exchanging for points.  We would like to trade our Harbour Club HH for a timeshare in Florida.  Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.
> 
> Our other option is anywhere in Florida.  We have been doing the Carribbean and Mexican things for a while.  What's a favorite Florida timeshare for two adults.  We love to walk, eat at good restaurants and sit around a pool to read.



You probaly will not believe this but for adults that like to walk and eat at nice places....First let me say We have stayed at HGVC Seaworld, Marriott Royal palms, cypress harbor, grand vista, sheraton vistana resort, and by far the best experience was at Disney's boardwalk area (Beach Club Villas).  There is so much to do for adults and the walks and pool area are very good and entertainment on the Boardwalk is cool..

All the other's require drives to get to any action..


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## capjak (Dec 15, 2007)

If staying within the Marriott family Cypress Harbor and Grand Vista are both nice....for little kids I hear Horizon's is nice.


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 15, 2007)

Marriott's Cypress Harbour is our favorite resort outside of Disneyworld.  

We just stayed for a week at Vistana Villages, just got back last night.  This resort could easily slip into our number one favorite, but there were some issues we didn't get resolved, no matter how many times we called.  There were times of the day when NO ONE answered the phone.  

We actually asked for dishwashing detergent the second day, which came the third day, but instead of detergent, they left dishwashing liquid.  So we called again for dishwasher detergent, finally got it many hours later.  Then they took back the little bottle of dishwashing liquid.   They never gave us dish cloths or dish towels, nor did we have pot holders.  They also left us about 1/3 of a roll of paper towels with no extra, so we kept picking up napkins at Disneyworld to take back to the unit to use instead of the paper towels.  They also only left us one roll of extra toilet paper, which we used completely and were begging for more on the 5th day.  Housekeeping needs supplies or is extremely stingy with them.

The units are very nice.  The beds are comfortable, the grounds are beautiful.  

My only complaint about the unit quality was the dishwasher is not really attached.  The dishwasher shouldn't have movement like that.  The rollers on the bottom rack were also completely missing.  It was so noisy to run that thing.  As cheap as dishwashers are, you would think they would replace that one and install something much nicer. 

Our impressions were generally good with the place, but why cheapen the resort by depriving exchangers of basic needs, like sufficient items to clean up after ourselves?  Makes no sense at all to us.  Then not answering the phone at housekeeping or the front desk, well that was just stupid, because you know *I *am going to complain about it to II in my evaluation.


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## DeniseM (Dec 15, 2007)

nanceetom said:


> We own at Royal Palms but haven't used it in years; have been exchanging for points.  We would like to trade our Harbour Club HH for a timeshare in Florida.  Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.
> 
> Our other option is anywhere in Florida.  We have been doing the Carribbean and Mexican things for a while.  What's a favorite Florida timeshare for two adults.  We love to walk, eat at good restaurants and sit around a pool to read.



Welcome to TUG!  If you become a TUG member, you can access the many, many personal reviews for timeshares all over the world in the members only review pages on TUG.  The link to these pages is in the red bar at the top of the page - TUG RESORT DATABASES  You have to use the members only password to log-in to the review board that is emailed to you after you join.  (Same user name, but different password.)


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## london (Dec 15, 2007)

*Orlando Options*



nanceetom said:


> We own at Royal Palms but haven't used it in years; have been exchanging for points.  We would like to trade our Harbour Club HH for a timeshare in Florida.  Our first choice would be near Disney then we could take our 2 little grandsons.  Any favorites in the area.
> 
> Our other option is anywhere in Florida.  We have been doing the Carribbean and Mexican things for a while.  What's a favorite Florida timeshare for two adults.  We love to walk, eat at good restaurants and sit around a pool to read.



We own at the Resort on Cocoa Beach, which offers an oceanfront location, and yet is only about 50 to 60 miles from the Orlando Theme Parks....

The Resort on Cocoa Beach offer many amenities, and all 2 BR units...well kept and very clean.

This would be an option to keep open for a Disney vacation.

Happy Travels.........


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## Detailor (Dec 15, 2007)

The DVC resorts offer a great Disney experience - clearly the best onsite lodging.  However, as others have noted, Orlando has a lot of really nice timeshare resorts.  After the Disney resorts, we regard the Marriott Grande Vista and Cypress Harbour resorts very highly.  

But the two Hilton Grand Vacation Club resorts, Vistana Villages and Cypress Pointe are very nice.  And the two really large resorts - Orange Lake Country Club and Sheraton Vistana Resorts - are nice, too. 

(OP, we were in Webster, NY, for Thanksgiving and visited your town over the weekend.  Lovely area.)

Dick Taylor


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## dioxide45 (Dec 15, 2007)

Why not just stay at your home resort, Royal Palms? It is just outside Disney property.


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## JLB (Dec 15, 2007)

Just about any Florida timeshare topic for any area has been discussed here.  You can access that information by clicking on the Search link in that menu right up above.  Put in what you want to know about.


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## Debbyd57 (Dec 16, 2007)

My vote would be for Vistana Villages, Cypress Harbor or one of the DVC resorts.  We stayed at FF Bonnet Creek this last time and it was nice but the units seemed small and it was a high rise.    Debby


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## nanceetom (Dec 18, 2007)

*DVC...Is it impossible to get into??*

Thanks for the information on Florida timeshare.  I have tried to trade with our Hilton Head summer  TS for an April or February trade for a few years now, but I have been told by II that it's nearly impossible to get.  I can understand the Feb. because I'm a teacher and it's President's week, but our April break does not fall during Easter?  Any suggestions?


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## Dave M (Dec 18, 2007)

If you have a Hilton Head summer week, it should trade very well for what you want. Just be sure you make your exchange request more than a year in advance. Your request will then be in line for an exchange when people start depositing the weeks that you want a year in advance. And if there is a tiebreaker, the exchange will go to you if your request has been in the longest.

As for the week in April, my guess is that you are referring to the third full week in April (April 19-26 in 2008). That's probably one of the three busiest January-April weeks in Orlando (along with Presidents' Day week and Easter week). Most of New England and much of New York has school vacation that week every year.


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## E320 (Dec 19, 2007)

*Hilton resort on Int'l Blvd*

We did an exchange into a new Hilton resort on International Blvd last October and loved the spacious units, elaborate pools and fountains, and pond.  The resort is still adding a couple of buildings.  An upscale discount mall is adjacent for great shopping, and the resort is just about 10 Minutes from Disney's gate by taking city streets.


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## rapmarks (Dec 21, 2007)

E320 said:


> We did an exchange into a new Hilton resort on International Blvd last October and loved the spacious units, elaborate pools and fountains, and pond.  The resort is still adding a couple of buildings.  An upscale discount mall is adjacent for great shopping, and the resort is just about 10 Minutes from Disney's gate by taking city streets.




We just returned from there today.  
Great units, a really nice resort for a couple, I liked way better than vistana or Orange lake.


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## dixie (Dec 21, 2007)

What is the name of the Hilton resort on International drive?


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## Miss Marty (Dec 21, 2007)

*One of our favorite Orlando Resorts*

dixie
*
HGVClub on International Drive*

Hilton Grand Vacations Club on International Drive is designed with 
a Mediterranean theme reminiscent of an Italian village in Tuscany. 

The resort grounds feature lush landscaping 
with gardens and a lakefront promenade.  

*Great Pool!*


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## Jim Bryan (Dec 23, 2007)

West Coast of Florida. Long Boat Key, Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key.


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 23, 2007)

Debbyd57 said:


> My vote would be for Vistana Villages, Cypress Harbor or one of the DVC resorts.  We stayed at FF Bonnet Creek this last time and it was nice but the units seemed small and it was a high rise.    Debby


Cypress Harbour is a Marriott resort, not a DVC resort.


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## bnoble (Dec 23, 2007)

I didn't see Debbyd57 imply otherwise...


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## gjw007 (Dec 23, 2007)

As Alan noted, there are a lot of nice timeshares in the Orlando area.  One reviewer may not like one resort but like another.  A different reviewer would have the exact opposite.  Neither is wrong as there is a need to take into consideration what each individual find more important.  Having stayed at many of the resorts listed so far, they are nice and I would recommend them but they aren't my first choice.

You can look at some of the discussions in the DVC postings about Saratoga (SSR), Boardwalk (BWV), Beachclub (BCV), or Villas at the Wilderness Lodge (VWL) and get some interesting readings.  There are many who so favor the Beachclub (and fear that at the 7 month window for DVC that they won't be able to make reservation because of the increased membership) that they have stated that they wish that SSR should never have built (total disregard for those who own and really like SSR) and that it is a monstrosity.  My personal favorite of these is the Wilderness Lodge but my point is that even nice resorts within the same family can be trashed by other owners within that family of resorts because it doesn't fit those individual's needs.  As such, just be aware that people are looking for different things and the resulting reviews reflect those differing value with the result that even nice resorts may have some less than positive reviews.

Since there are so many nice resorts, make a list of items that are important to you.  Do you need to be close to the theme parks and if so, how close is close?  The closest to being on property without being on a Disney property is Bonnet Creek but there are many very close (Orange Lake, Silver Lake, Vacation Village at Parkway, Cypress, etc.)  Likewise, are you planning to do Disney or are you looking at alternative attractions such as SeaWorld, Universal, the Cape, Tampa, etc.?  Will you be planning on getting up early to be at the parks when they open and plan to stay until they close?  If so, you may not need a resort with a lot of amenities.  Hopefully this will be useful as a start in your planning.  No matter what, enjoy your vacation.


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