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Which is Top MVC Orlando Location?

I think that the Grande Vista would be considered to be the top one. It has lockoffs and some of the units belong to the Florida Club. It is really big.

A lot of people like Cypress Harbour. It has no lockoffs. It's maintenance fee is higher.

Harbour Lake has good water areas for kids.

Personally, we prefer the Palms resorts because of their location very close to Disney. They are older and do not have fancy bathrooms.
 
Be sure to check the calendars for the various resorts. They are quite different and may influence your decision. They are in the Marriott weeks sticky FAQ.

All the resort maps are also listed.
 
All of them are of a certain standard, and I like Grande Vista the best but it is getting older. The newest is Lakeshore Reserve. Harder to get into than the rest and with higher maintenance fees. They have access to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton amenities.
 
Lakeshore Reserve is number one hands down. If someone wants to make an argument for another they need to have stayed at Lakeshore. There really isn't even a close second. After Lakeshore you have Habour Lake for kids. Grande Vista is good all around for everyone. The Palms and Cypress Harbour are great too. You can't go wrong with any but Lakeshore is tops.
 
NYFLTRAVELER said:
It's hard to find photos of these places online.
Click to expand...

Your best bet for pics is simply to Google each resort (e.g. Marriott Grande Vista), then click on the Marriott.com/hotels.... link which will likely be in one of your top few search results. When you get to the resort page, click photo gallery in upper right quadrant of resort website and you can see plenty of pics.
 
I agree that Lakeshore Reserve is probably the best one. I didn't think of it because of never staying there.

If you want photos, I would go to trip advisor. For each resort they have professional photos and photos taken by vacationers.
 
Hi,
Lakeshore is the only one with a lazy river and a slide. You also have access to the much bigger lazy river at the ritz (or maybe the JW. Been there but can't remember which is which) I found that the activities were not as great as at Cypress but that might be because it is a smaller resort. People were great and the villas were lovely.

The palms have access to the Marriott world centre which is great but there are not many activities and almost none at night.

All of the Marriott's are great but they do cater to different groups of people. Harbour Lake is particularly good for pre-schoolers and primary school age children but I find the villas small compared to the other resorts and while everything is close by it feels more cramped than the other resorts.

We will be in Orlando from the end of September until new years and are staying in all of the Marriott resorts except imperial palms and sabal and are staying at Sheraton resort as well. I will try to take pictures and really compare the resorts to each other in this short period of time.
 
Grande Vista has a lot of fans, but I think it is rather ordinary. Decent, but nothing special. My favorites are Lakeshore Reserve and Sabal Palms. There are probably TUGGERs who are fans of each Orlando resort. I would be least likely to go back to Royal Palms because its location on the World Center property is not as good as Sabal Palms. All seven MVCI Orlando resorts nice.
 
If you google the name of a property and then hit "images" on the menu bar you will see plenty of photos, although some may be misrepresented. Also, if you go to tripadvisor.com you can look at photos of each property there. Thirdly, if you do a search here on TUG you can find links to many shots of properties that Tuggers have shared. You can also do a Google Earth "flyover" and view satellite views which will give you an overview of the entire resort complex. If you have a friend who is an MVCI owner you might be able to borrow their password and view the resort maps for each location that are posted on the MVCI owners website. We are Grande Vista owners have stayed at Royal Palms and Cypress Harbor and have done a drive around at each of the other locations. As stated, all properties are different ages and have differing activity levels and theme focus but any would provide a great vacation.
 
Thank you to all.

Traveling with small children (3 and 5) I like the resorts with the many pools and the activities including mini golf, kids center etc.

We will check them out next year.
 
A big advantage for us of the Royal Palms is that it has elevators.

Sabal Palms does not, even though its location on the grounds is better.

Anyone with bad knees or small children will have a better vacation if they are not struggling up and down steps.
 
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javabean said:
If you have a friend who is an MVCI owner you might be able to borrow their password and view the resort maps for each location that are posted on the MVCI owners website.
Click to expand...

Or, you can rely on your great TUG friends like dioxide45 who has accumulated all of the Marriott resort layout maps in one thread for easy viewing. Click here
 
The only one we've stayed at was Cypress Harbour and we thought it was charming. It was an easy trade for us -- trading Worldmark to access it, and we were even going for Spring Break week.

If Orlando is going to be a regular destination for you, then it is easily rented or traded, and you likely wouldn't need a top tier trader like Newport Coast Villas to trade for it.

Just something to thing about -- many of us like to uptrade and Orlando is very accessible.

Please note that I believe Lakeshore Reserve is a tough trade, but others are accessible.

Best,

Greg
 
The primary issue with Lakeshore is not that it is necessarily a tough trade. The problem is that there are so few units. If there are units available it is easy. When Marriott dumped there was no preference and little to zero TP filter. I grabbed a 3BR townhouse with a fairly poor non-Marriott trader. If an owner deposits then the larger units do have a time time making it through the preference. But large units still pop up suddenly without preference.

With those ages I would go with Lakeshore, Harbour Lake, or Grande Vista.
 
Definitely depends on what you are interested in and where you are in life. If I were a parent with younger kids and gparents who like to golf and trying to please everyone, Grande Vista suits the bill fine. But Lakeshore Reserve has a classier feel because it is smaller, newer, has the JW/Ritz access, and the lovely grounds - you can even go kayaking in a stream on the property. When we go with family/guests, the 2nd full kitchen in our 2 BR unit is much appreciated.

I can't imagine which location teens would prefer, but that may have more to do with teens than the properties <g>.
 
Lakeshore Reserve by a wide margin. Quiet, beautiful, more refined in general. Upscale contemporary decor. Gorgeous pools. For some reason I don't think of the theme parks when I think of LR. Seriously, once there, no need to leave.

Grande Vista is distant second....large resort, nice but more crowded, more kids. Cypress Harbour third.
 
Saintsfanfl said:
The primary issue with Lakeshore is not that it is necessarily a tough trade. The problem is that there are so few units. If there are units available it is easy. When Marriott dumped there was no preference and little to zero TP filter. I grabbed a 3BR townhouse with a fairly poor non-Marriott trader. If an owner deposits then the larger units do have a time time making it through the preference. But large units still pop up suddenly without preference.

With those ages I would go with Lakeshore, Harbour Lake, or Grande Vista.
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Available inventory is definitely the challenge. IIRC, this time last year there was a lot of fall 2012 inventory available in II. This year, there is hardly nothing. The inventory simply isn't there.

I have been watching for a MGV or MGK 3BR unit (and watching 2BRs also) and very little has become available at Lakeshore Reserve.
 
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Lakeshore belongs in a little better class of property like Crystal Shores and Oceana Palms. All were conceived during the property bubble. Think of Lakeshore like a JW Marriott level, Grande Vista like a urban standard Marriott.

Subpar choices on site for food at the Grand Vista, while two of the most respected chef driven restaurants are on the Grande Lakes JW/Ritz properties next to Lakeshore.

Very good spa close by at the Ritz, etc. Sad little spa at Grande Vista.

I like the little executive golf course at Grande Vista but playing the Greg Norman course near Lakeshore is another super plus in our book.

You will be spending much more $$ at Lakeshore and with small kids, they will just remember the great times in the pool with Daddy. Your choice, your $$$
 
Crafty527 said:
A big advantage for us of the Royal Palms is that it has elevators.

Sabal Palms does not, even though its location on the grounds is better.

Anyone with bad knees or small children will have a better vacation if they are not struggling up and down steps.
Click to expand...

True, but Sabal has only two floors so half of the units are on the ground level. And there is no view disadvantage there to being on the ground floor. Sabal has more of a townhouse feel than the typical Marriott timeshare.
 
Yes, we stayed at Sabal Palms once and the units are really nice. I wouldn't hesitate to exchange into Sabal. I would have to request a first floor unit, though.

It is in the same great location near Disney as Royal and Imperial Palms.

The free access to the Marriott Hotel is a valuable feature, especially now that the hotel has built the fancy new pool.

The shuttle from Royal had pretty quick service, but was still a pain. I would much rather drive, but am too cheap to pay the $25 fee.

When we were there, I didn't walk to the Hotel from Sabal, so I am not sure how far a walk it would be.
 
To stay at with a 3 and 5 year old I think Harbour Lake wins hands down- the pools are geared for the younger set, there is free miniature golf, great kids' activities, etc .he villas are very nice, even if not quite as nice as some of the others. The pools basically are an on site water park.

Lakeshore is reputed to be a much classier resort, and I am sure whatever you pick the kids will enjoy. I think you also need to consider if you are planning to use it as basically a resort to visit, or as a home base for the parks. Lakeshore is further from the parks, which may (or may not) be a factor you want to consider. So while it is the top resort in the area, what your plans are for the week may influence if it's the best for you.

In contrast Harbour Lake (and Cypress across the street) are a 10 minute drive to the Disney parking lot, a mile from Sea World, etc.- faster than taking a bus if staying on one of the Disney properties not on the monorail.

Since you've been asking a lot about traders- those 3BR MGV units have a lot of trade power, since size is a biggie in II; you can lock it off, or use the entire 3BR when trying for peak time/property trades. Since resale pricing is probably in the same ballpark, maybe others can chime in as to whether they feel a 3BR MGV/MGR unit will trade better than a NCV unit (assuming prime weeks reserved at both).

And, of course, the other factor- being from the East coast, with little kids, which do you think you'd be more likely to use?
 
We have not stayed at Lakeshore, but we have stayed at GrandeVista, Cyrpess and Royal & Sabal Palms.

Sounds like Lakeshore is more upscale while Grande Vista is gear toward the whole family experience.

I guess Lakeshore would be rated #1 because it is the newest & the most upscale Marriott resort in Orlando where GrandVista is a solid #2.
 
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