Lakeshore Reserve Update

[dioxide45]

We returned last week from our third stay at Lakeshore Reserve. This was our first full week stay. One other being only a couple nights and the other being five nights. We had exchanged in to a dedicated 2BR unit. I had requested Messina prior to our visit but we ended up with a fourth floor in Palermo. We were on the side of the building overlooking the townhouses. We were actually rather happy with the unit. We were happy with the building since we only had to go down to the first floor for our sale presentation on Tuesday. The only issue with the dedicated units is that they are so far from the elevators as the dedicated units all face the lake in both Messina and Palermo.

Given that we were there for longer this time around, it gave us more time to check things out. The unit we had stayed in had recently been refurbished. It looked fine and no drastic difference from our 2012 stay. Looking back at photos it looks like they replaced the living room furniture, but the condition of the dishwasher clearly indicates they didn't replace it. The colors were similar and they still had those great comfy chairs on the patio. The patios at Lakeshore reserve are a big disappointment. There is no light on the patio, so using it at night isn't really an option. We like to sit out in the evenings. Also, the lack of screened patios makes them less usable due to bugs. Only a ceiling fan out there.

The pool and lazy river is what Lakeshore Reserve has going for it, but you can only float around in it so many times. There isn't a lot of current, so it requires pushing yourself along in several places. I do like sitting on a raft and floating around. The lazy river at Aruba Surf Club surely is a lot better. We did go to the JW Marriott for the day to use their lazy river, which was good. Though the temperature of the water there was cooler than that at Lakeshore Reserve. We also spent a day at the Ritz pool. No issues there and the pool loungers are definitely the most comfortable. We also hung out around the property. They have a lot of areas to hang out and sit during the day and evenings. Though we were really the only ones there when we sat out. There is definitely much more capacity to handle the additional units they expected to build.

We grilled out a lot. The grills at Lakeshore Reserve are great. Far superior to the junky ones they have over at Grande Vista. I used them to grill some hot dogs after the annual meeting. I couldnt' get any to work in one of the clusters between buildings 92 and 93. I only found one that worked between buildings 82 and 83. Absolute junk. The ones at Lakeshore Reserve are brand new stainless steel where the ones at Grande Vista are cast aluminum and really worn out.

I don't know if we will go out of our way to book another stay there any time in the near future. We had a great time, but the property is perhaps a little too slow paced for us. We will give Grande Vista a try for our next stay. Visiting Grande Vista for the couple days during the BOD and Annual Meeting were like going home again.

Check out the photo and video thread as I will be posting some photos soon.

 

[Katfan]

Thanks for the update. We own the 3 bedroom townhouse in platinum plus (or whatever they call it) season bought preconstruction. We stayed here once in our season and then once later in the year with points at a great discount over staying in season. The townhouses are wonderful if you get the chance to stay in them - just beware the master can be 1st or 2nd floor so be sure to request your preference. Using the facilities at the JW and the Ritz is a great perk. My FIL owned at Grande Vista and we stayed there a few times but we tend to prefer the smaller footprint and quieter, laid-back atmosphere of Lakeshore. Of course we are using our points for travel further afield at this point in our lives but are happy with our home resort.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

We grilled out a lot. The grills at Lakeshore Reserve are great. Far superior to the junky ones they have over at Grande Vista. I used them to grill some hot dogs after the annual meeting. I couldnt' get any to work in one of the clusters between buildings 92 and 93. I only found one that worked between buildings 82 and 83. Absolute junk. The ones at Lakeshore Reserve are brand new stainless steel where the ones at Grande Vista are cast aluminum and really worn out.

You lucked out and stayed after they finally fixed them. They went two straight years with most of the grills inoperable. It was awful but I was happy to see they finally fixed and replaced them. It's strange though that one of the new ones near pompano is hooked up to a portable tank rather than the gas line that they detached from the broken one.

 

[dioxide45]

You lucked out and stayed after they finally fixed them. They went two straight years with most of the grills inoperable. It was awful but I was happy to see they finally fixed and replaced them. It's strange though that one of the new ones near pompano is hooked up to a portable tank rather than the gas line that they detached from the broken one.

I think that was perhaps temporary. I saw that grill by Pompano that had the 20lb calendar, but they brought in a new one mid week that had a sign on it for a day that it was awaiting parts to hook up. When that was finally hooked up, the one with the tank was taken away.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

I think that was perhaps temporary. I saw that grill by Pompano that had the 20lb calendar, but they brought in a new one mid week that had a sign on it for a day that it was awaiting parts to hook up. When that was finally hooked up, the one with the tank was taken away.

Ahh. That makes sense. It did look like a simple store bought grill. The old one hadn't worked in a couple years and it was very frustrating to only have one grill for that whole area.

 

[dioxide45]

Is it that the grills didn't work, or just the lighters didn't? I think that was the problem with the ones at Grande Vista. The grills worked because I could hear gas, but the built in lighters were wore out. Not an uncommon thing. If I had a hand held lighter, they would have worked okay. Though the grills did look worse for the wear for not really being all that old. I can remember when they were installed.