Fairfield Orlando at Cypress Palms ?

[riu girl]

I have booked a week in a one bedroom (full kitchen) at Fairfield at Cypress Palms.

When I booked it (not through the resort direct), I was told that it did have a full kitchen but was only approx. 500 sq. ft. and it does not have a balcony or a jacuzzi (not that they knew of anyway).

I called the resort direct and was told that if I booked a one bedroom with a FULL KITCHEN then I would have booked a unit that does indeed have a jacuzzi as well as a balcony, and that the unit is larger then 500 sq. ft.

I am confused. Can anyone tell me what the full kitchen one bedroom units offer in the way of a balcony, jacuzzi and square footage? Or are there perhaps two types of one bedroom full kitchen units (one smaller without balcony and jacuzzi tub and one with)?

Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

[Lisa P]

We stayed there in a 2BR lockoff that was made of two 1BR units.

The 1BR deluxe side had a true full kitchen, full LR/DR w/seating for 6-8 at the table/booth plus seating at a counter, king MBR w/double jacuzzi, separate shower and w/d. The entry led into a long foyer because both the MBR and LR windows faced the back of the building, and a balcony was off the LR. This was a very large unit - probably ~2x the size of the smaller 1BR suite.

The 1BR standard or suite side had a den (smaller living area) with a table to seat 4 and along one wall, there were kitchen appliances - regular fridge, small stove/oven, small dishwasher, microwave, sink, etc. It had all of the appliances that a regular full kitchen had, just smaller. The king MBR has a standard hotel-style shower/tub combo and a w/d was in the closet. No balcony as both the MBR and den windows faced the entry side of the building. 500 sq ft sounds about right - ???

At FOCP, I suppose both sides could be said to have a "full" kitchen. Both sleep 4 privately, having the ability to get to the bathroom w/o entering another sleep space. At some Fairfield resorts, the 1BR standard or 1BR suite does not have a full kitchen, just a mini-fridge, microwave, wetbar & coffee maker - clearly not a kitchen. Not so at FOCP, where all appliances are present in all 1BRs.

If you booked using Fairfield points, the number of points required will tell which it was.
If you booked through RCI, you could get either.
If you call the resort back, you could ask if your reservation is for a 1BR deluxe or a 1BR suite/standard. HTH.

 

[riu girl]

This is an RCI booking (RCI inventory through skyauction) . The choices were 1 bedroom, sleeps 2-4, partial kitchen or 1 bedroom, sleeps 4, full kitchen.

I chose the full kitchen but the operator told me it is only 500 sq. ft and there was no mention of a balcony or jacuzzi tub.

Obviously, I would prefer the larger unit, but will be happy with either.

Thank you so much for all the info.

Looking forward to spending a week at this resort. It looks lovely and it looks like it offers a nice selection of activities for children.

Did you happen to see/make use of any of the childrens activities?

 

[Lisa P]

Our kids are older and we were there about 2 years ago. There's a TV lounge just off of the lobby that has sofas and a bigscreen TV, as well as a computer for limited guest use. In the lobby, they have a coffee/cappuccino/cocoa dispenser as well as soft drink machines.

In the recreation building at the other end of the property, there's free popcorn for the kids. The resort offered free use of pool toys/noodles and lots of board games that could be checked out to your room. They had a good list of small fee or free organized activities too. The main pool area, by the recreation center, had some squirting fountains in the kiddie pool. The two pools at this resort are regular, flat, freeform pools w/hot tubs and there's music playing over the sound system.

The playground is outdoors but shaded/covered overhead and they have charcoal BBQ grills & picnic tables near the playground, overlooking a little pond & fountain. It's a pleasant, restful resort for in between the hustle-bustle at the parks. Staff is helpful. You may like to read the full TUG reviews for more details. HTH.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a nice place.

I picked it because we won't have a rental car with us and they offer an inexpensive dedicated shuttle to/from the theme parks a few times a day.

 

[rapmarks]

when we were there, they also offered a free shuttle to the grocery store.
I hope you got the full one bedroom unit, the lock off is small but still nice. We liked this resort a lot, lots of nice activities as well as nice amenities.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for the info. about the shuttle to the grocery store. We are planning on staying at the resort for a few days so hopefully will be able to take part in a few of the activities for the kids.

 

[EAM]

We stayed there in one of the small units with a full kitchen a few years ago. The small units are not spacious (there's not much floor space in the living/kitchen/dining area after you open out the fold out couch), but they were very well equipped. The kitchenette was along one wall of the living room and had a sink, stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator (all small size) plus a little cabinet and counter space. There was a stacked washer/dryer in the hallway to the bathroom.

There are actually two types of small units. Both are about 513 square feet, but one (1BR Suite Deluxe) has a full (but small) kitchen as described above but the other (1BR Suite) has only a refrigerator, microwave and wet bar. The Suite units (partial kitchens) are in only in the Phase I and II (Units 101 and 102 AKA 5303 and 5305) buildings that are closest to the Activity Center. The other units have the Suite Deluxe units.

As mentioned above, a 1BR suite or suite deluxe unit and a 1 BR deluxe unit form a 2 BR plus lockoff unit. The 1 BR Deluxe units are larger (889 sq. ft.) and have the whirlpool and balcony.

I think the theme park shuttles are running $3/person per day. You can go to the Fairfield web site www.fairfieldresorts.com, go to "search resorts" and find some information about activities at the resort. There are also some videos of the resort; the interior view is of a 2BR deluxe. There's also a map of the resort, but the floor plan views are restricted to viewing by Fairfield owners.

 

[riu girl]

This thread has been incredibly helpful. Thank you to all who have posted. I assume we are getting one of the smaller units (since when I booked it the rep told me it would have a full kitchen but there was no mention of either a balcony or a jacuzzi), but the smaller one that has the full kitchen (one bedroom suite deluxe).

Thanks again for all the info.

I wonder if (for a small fee) there would be anyway at the resort to upgrade to a unit that has a balcony/jacuzzi?
Any ideas?

 

[EAM]

I wonder if (for a small fee) there would be anyway at the resort to upgrade to a unit that has a balcony/jacuzzi?
Any ideas?

You could call the resort and ask but I don't think they will be able to accomodate your request. The resort does have a number of common areas where you can sit out and enjoy the Florida weather as well as one or two hot tubs near the swimming pool.

Yes, more space is nice, but if you don't spend much time in your unit except to sleep, IMHO it does not really make that much difference.