Thanks for all this information. You guys are GREAT! I think I am leaning toward Grande Vista, but I'm not sold on Orlando for spring break, just yet. Fun thinking about all this, though.
-Jim
My daughter JUST returned from a Spring Break at Grande Vista two weeks ago. She took 6 friends, all college seniors.....4 guys, 3 girls. They had a 4th floor villa in bldg 81-------overlooking the large pool, and within steps of the BEACH area.... best location at the resort! I provided the villa for them. Great friends, great students---they deserved it.
They had a total blast. They raved about the pool, hot tubs, and beach area, not to mention the gorgeous villa. A couple had never experienced a villa that nice. They played volleyball a lot, and met some other nice kids/families too while hanging out at the beach area. They went to Universal two days, and that's the only time they visited theme parks. They mainly just "chilled".....they are all really good students, and they needed the break, so they welcomed the lazy days at GV.
All of them mailed a thank you note to us, and said it was the greatest Spring Break they ever had, and three said it was "the best vacation they ever had in their life", period. Of course, the weather was perfect all week-----82-84 degrees and clear skies.
My daughter later asked them if they had the choice, would they go back there, or somewhere else, and they all said "go back there". Only one of them had ever seen a Marriott timeshare property before, and believe me, they were impressed. Of course, they saw the very best of Grande Vista.
Are you kidding? Orlando is THE perfect place for Spring Break. Make a list with pros and cons, and then decide. I can only think maybe they would like a beach destination somewhere in the Caribbean as an alternative choice, but then, they would miss the parks, and kids adore that! That was the consensus with them, too. These kids basically had no money for that type of alternative trip anyway, so they were wowed by our gift of GV. That left them money for the parks and for dining out a couple of times in the cool restaurants at Universal.
I obviously had choices of any Marriott property in Orlando, but specifically chose GV because of the large beautiful pool and beach area, combined with the attractive style of the villas. I think that GV has far better pools than Harbor Lake, by the way. Not sure what you were saying about HL pools------those features mentioned are "just OK", imho.
Lakeshore Reserve was also high on the list, the only other serious contender, but I went with GV. I think that any of the "Palms" would be better than HL. They all have access to the World Center Hotel facilities, and those pools are especially impressive. I'm familiar with Harbour Lake, and the concept there when it was first constructed, and it has never impressed me. Seems to be a notch below the others. We also like Cypress Harbour a lot.....it was a very close third. Come to think of it, HL would be my last choice. We've stayed at all of them except HL and Imperial Palms, but we have visited.
I guess I should have just said "Grande Vista". It's a great resort.