MGK - Lakeshore Rsrv. info

[jaym]

My wife and I are considering reserving a partial week stay at MGK. Hoping to get some info from previous visitors or owners.

I already heard about Marriot discretion over access, blackouts can be imposed.
But generally do Vac. Club guests staying at Lakeshore have access to JW Marriott facilities, i.e., pools, but not Ritz-Carlton amenities?
Does JW Marriott have fitness center? It seemed from the resort website that only RC Hotel has the spa and fitness center.

Also, I read in some reviews that highway can be heard from Messina Bldg. balconies, quieter in other bldgs. any recommendations on what building(s) to request, fairly quiet area, especially evenings?
thx.

 

[jimf41]

I'm checking in tomorrow. I'll post an answer on this thread. We plan on staying in the resort at least two maybe three days out of seven. We plan on using the facilities at both the JW and the Ritz. We'll see. My last trip to mouseland was about three years ago and the park admission has gone up dramatically even with a military discount. Looking forward to staying at Lakeshore though.

 

[jaym]

I'm checking in tomorrow. I'll post an answer on this thread. We plan on staying in the resort at least two maybe three days out of seven. We plan on using the facilities at both the JW and the Ritz. We'll see. My last trip to mouseland was about three years ago and the park admission has gone up dramatically even with a military discount. Looking forward to staying at Lakeshore though.

I'll look forward to your comments on Lakeshore Reserve and the hotel access. It appears to be a nice looking resort.

Have you made a specific building and floor request to MDC Room Cntrl.?

Weather reports didn't look ideal for the next few days, showers, but I hope you have great time in Orlando....better than here in the Northeast with Oct. snowfall!? (jeesh)

 

[jin]

My wife and I are considering reserving a partial week stay at MGK. Hoping to get some info from previous visitors or owners.

I already heard about Marriot discretion over access, blackouts can be imposed.
But generally do Vac. Club guests staying at Lakeshore have access to JW Marriott facilities, i.e., pools, but not Ritz-Carlton amenities?
Does JW Marriott have fitness center? It seemed from the resort website that only RC Hotel has the spa and fitness center.

Also, I read in some reviews that highway can be heard from Messina Bldg. balconies, quieter in other bldgs. any recommendations on what building(s) to request, fairly quiet area, especially evenings?
thx.

No need to use fitness center at jw, I thought the fitness center at lakeshore reserve was fabulous! -- very large, clean, tvs with headphone connectors, excellent equipment, steam room, sauna, fresh towels, water, etc oh--was also empty when I used on a Sunday

 

[jimf41]

I'll look forward to your comments on Lakeshore Reserve and the hotel access. It appears to be a nice looking resort.

Have you made a specific building and floor request to MDC Room Cntrl.?

Weather reports didn't look ideal for the next few days, showers, but I hope you have great time in Orlando....better than here in the Northeast with Oct. snowfall!? (jeesh)

We're in a 3bdm townhome. I think they are all in one bldg so I don't get a choice. We'll find out tomorrow. I don't mind a little shower now and then but the low evening temps are a bummer. I think my daughter got tickets to the Halloween parade one night.

 

[Southdown13]

My wife and I are considering reserving a partial week stay at MGK. Hoping to get some info from previous visitors or owners.

I already heard about Marriot discretion over access, blackouts can be imposed.
But generally do Vac. Club guests staying at Lakeshore have access to JW Marriott facilities, i.e., pools, but not Ritz-Carlton amenities?
Does JW Marriott have fitness center? It seemed from the resort website that only RC Hotel has the spa and fitness center.

Also, I read in some reviews that highway can be heard from Messina Bldg. balconies, quieter in other bldgs. any recommendations on what building(s) to request, fairly quiet area, especially evenings?
thx.

We stayed in a two bedroom unit in the Messina building using DC points in August. It was a 4th floor corner unit facing the watercourse and golf course. We didn't notice much noise from the highway and loved the unit location and view.

We had access to the JW Marriott pool/facilities and used them. The front desk person told us that we also had access to the Ritz Carlton pool but we did not use it. As noted before, the fitness room at Lakeshore is great with nice equipment. We didn't check out the JW fitness center/spa.

 

[pwrshift]

Here's a video Marriott sent me when I almost bought 2 platinum weeks there. Whew!!! I was told at the time you have full access to the JW facilities but the pool at the Ritz was off limits...so maybe that has changed. I assume also that Lakeshore Reserve doesn't look anywhere near as complete as this video portrays.

http://vimeo.com/1327158

Brian

 

[jimf41]

Brian,

We just checked in yesterday. The place looks exactly as depicted in your video. It's a beautifully done resort. No construction going on that I can see and everything that's built is completely finished. They have a grassy area set aside for future construction but nothing going on now. Arrived at 1500 and didn't get the room until 1700. To compensate they gave us a $50 coupon to be used in the restaurant or the marketplace.

You have full use of the facilities in the JW and the Ritz. According to the front desk they can restrict that during peak holidays, July 4th, Memorial day etc. No problem at this time of year. It's a hike to the Ritz but they offer a shuttle.

Last night it was quiet as a mouse in the resort even with the Halloween spook walk for the kids. It's only the first day but so far we really like the place. My 8 year old grandson summed it up pretty well after looking at the pool, surrounding grounds and seeing the inside of the villa. "Grandpa we're in paradise!"

I'll report more as the week goes on. Any questions?

 

[dioxide45]

Also, I read in some reviews that highway can be heard from Messina Bldg. balconies, quieter in other bldgs. any recommendations on what building(s) to request, fairly quiet area, especially evenings?
thx.

Not sure what highway they would be hearing noise from.

 

[jaym]

Not sure what highway they would be hearing noise from.

This is from a review of MGK I read on TripAdvisor:

The only thing I didn’t like was our room’s location. We had one of the smaller one bedroom units with the “limited kitchen”. It was a wonderful size for 2 people and was very light and airy with windows on 2 sides (end units). But….and it is a big but for us, the balcony was unusable. First, most of these particular units are located in the Messina building adjacent to the very busy John Young Parkway. The constant ROAR of the traffic took away any pleasure of sitting outside. The unit it self was pretty quiet though some traffic noise did come through the bathroom vent. The other balcony problem was we were on the top floor (5) and there is no covering, so it was often wet from showers. We are real balcony sitters and I probably didn’t spend more than 30 minutes on it the whole week. I think units on the 2nd- 4th floor may be slightly better with less noise (blocked by foliage) and coverings. The Palermo building is away from the traffic but only has a few of these units. Request that building if you have the small one bedroom.

 

[dioxide45]

This is from a review of MGK I read on TripAdvisor:

The only thing I didn’t like was our room’s location. We had one of the smaller one bedroom units with the “limited kitchen”. It was a wonderful size for 2 people and was very light and airy with windows on 2 sides (end units). But….and it is a big but for us, the balcony was unusable. First, most of these particular units are located in the Messina building adjacent to the very busy John Young Parkway. The constant ROAR of the traffic took away any pleasure of sitting outside. The unit it self was pretty quiet though some traffic noise did come through the bathroom vent. The other balcony problem was we were on the top floor (5) and there is no covering, so it was often wet from showers. We are real balcony sitters and I probably didn’t spend more than 30 minutes on it the whole week. I think units on the 2nd- 4th floor may be slightly better with less noise (blocked by foliage) and coverings. The Palermo building is away from the traffic but only has a few of these units. Request that building if you have the small one bedroom.

Looking at it on Google Maps, I could see where a parking lot end unit could get a lot of noise from John Young. Top floor balconies are also known to very often not have a roof over top. This goes for a lot of Marriott resorts.

 

[jimf41]

We are in the Orlando blg in a 3bdm townhome. The balcony is an outside patio but it has a market umbrella. It protects you from the sun but it's not so good in the rain. The balconies in the 2bdrm units seem to have padded furniture but the exposed ones on the top floors are getting pretty wet today.

While we don't really hear any road noise I could see where you could on the units that face John Young PKWY in the Messina and Rosarno bldgs. We had dinner the first night at Blossoms, the restaurant in the resort. Standard MVCI Tiki bar type fare. We won't eat there again but I'm glad it was there for the first night. The Marketplace had a very good take out breakfast selection. A half gallon of milk was $5.49. I don't do the shopping but that seemed a little high to me along with all the other prices. Good selection of stuff you just might need without having to run out to Publix.

Units are nice and because of the two story layout and the separation of the dining area and the living room you have a greater feeling of privacy within the unit. As mentioned ealier the resort grounds and pool area are well thought out and beautifully landscaped.

It's a very short walk to the JW where we ate last night. Primo's, their Mediterranean cuisine was very expensive and very good. They had a great children's menu. There is valet parking at the JW and the Ritz at $15 a pop so I was happy that it was a short walk. The Ritz is further but they offer a shuttle. We'll probably try that later in the week.

We're going to the presentation in two hours. Perfect day for it, pouring rain. We're getting 20k MRP's but my daughter and family will be tagging along and they get 10k MRP. Alternative was $125 Marriott credit, $100 Disney credit or something like that. I take the points so I wasn't paying too close attention.

Short note about Disney. With tax four adults and two kids would have cost close to $2000 for the four day park hopper. That's expensive IMO. For you retired or active military folks they offer a significant reduction. We saved the tax by purchasing at Shades of Green.

More later.

 

[jimf41]

JAYM,

Just checked with the front desk. You can sign up at the JW for a shuttle to the parks. It's free to Sea World and Discovery Cove. To Disney it's $18 pp R/T. Publix is about 2 miles away. Best bet would be a cab to there. Probably about $10 based on the rates they publish on the side of the cab. Hope this helps.

 

[jaym]

JAYM,

Just checked with the front desk. You can sign up at the JW for a shuttle to the parks. It's free to Sea World and Discovery Cove. To Disney it's $18 pp R/T. Publix is about 2 miles away. Best bet would be a cab to there. Probably about $10 based on the rates they publish on the side of the cab. Hope this helps.

Good to know for some but I never intended to be without a rental car when I visit Grande Lakes area.
We may drive to WDW area a day but mostly use a vehicle to get ourselves to markets, local area restaurants, airport, etc.
Thanks anyway....hope you are enjoying your trip!

 

[dioxide45]

Good to know for some but I never intended to be without a rental car when I visit Grande Lakes area.
We may drive to WDW area a day but mostly use a vehicle to get ourselves to markets, local area restaurants, airport, etc.
Thanks anyway....hope you are enjoying your trip!

I think Jim's post is more pertinent to this thread.

 

[jimf41]

Thanks, I posted in the wrong thread.

 

[crjask]

This is my Tripadvisor review

This is from a review of MGK I read on TripAdvisor:

The only thing I didn’t like was our room’s location. We had one of the smaller one bedroom units with the “limited kitchen”. It was a wonderful size for 2 people and was very light and airy with windows on 2 sides (end units). But….and it is a big but for us, the balcony was unusable. First, most of these particular units are located in the Messina building adjacent to the very busy John Young Parkway. The constant ROAR of the traffic took away any pleasure of sitting outside. The unit it self was pretty quiet though some traffic noise did come through the bathroom vent. The other balcony problem was we were on the top floor (5) and there is no covering, so it was often wet from showers. We are real balcony sitters and I probably didn’t spend more than 30 minutes on it the whole week. I think units on the 2nd- 4th floor may be slightly better with less noise (blocked by foliage) and coverings. The Palermo building is away from the traffic but only has a few of these units. Request that building if you have the small one bedroom.

We stayed at Lakeshore last August in the "limited kitchen" one bedroom. The whole end of Messina near the parkway are these units. It is very noisy and I am sure you can't appreciate it from Google Maps. The lower floors would have a wall/plant buffer, but not the top. Like I said in the review, we loved the inside of the unit and the resort but I would NEVER want to be in one of these units in the Messina building again.