Orange Lake ResortRental Guest Reviews

Never Again

We booked two days in advance after assuming we wouldn't be put out in the lower forty acres all by ourselves overlooking a green with nobody playing or around....Quite a getaway ...way away

Less Bang for your Buck

My family started going to Orange Lake 10 years ago. We generally go once a year over Thanksgiving, but this year my daughter and I decided to take an extra vacation in May before schools were out. Unfortunately, over my past three trips, the quality and service has gone downhill. First, the necessities stocked in the villas (i.e. soap and toilet paper) are not nearly enough to last for a week. Not only are they poor quality, but I think it is utterly RIDICULOUS that you only get enough TP for 2-3 days and are expected to BUY YOUR OWN. How much cheaper can you get? Well, let me tell you - Regarding the cashless resort. This is only an excuse for the bartenders to gouge you on your bar receipts. My understanding of a gratuity is that it is something voluntarily given, for the service the customer feels he or she receives. I find it almost CRIMINAL that the bartenders tack on an automatic 18% tip for themselves for ONE DRINK. Personally, I don't think a bar tip is worth more than $1.00 for something that takes them only 3 minutes to prepare. Orange Lake needs to stop this practice. I also requested a room on the fifth or sixth floor which was not honored. I was stuck in a less than desirable location on the Legends Walk golf course with a lousy floor plan of a villa. And last, but not least, until this recent visit, I have never had trouble with the shuttle service. They have now hired RUDE drivers and drivers that pass by the pickup stops, leaving you waiting up to 30 minutes for a ride. As I stated in the beginning, each subsequent trip has been more disappointing than the previous. I think a 10 year tradition has finally come to an end.

Bed Bugs... Beware!!

I would never stay there again, got bit from bed bugs in the Orlando orange lake location. As soon as I called to notify the management team they said they would send a local pest control company out to check for bed bugs. Well at least that's what they said when I asked for proof a letterhead from the pest control company, stating... they did come out, they changed there tune!! Leading me to think they sent no one out to check??? Very unprofessional orange lake resort!! My family and I will never stay there again!!!

Close to Animal Kingdom

Very close to the Animal Kingdom. Shopping is close by. Great clean resort with friendly staff. The villa we had was nice, with normal wear and tear. We were very surprised to ask for a crib after 10pm when we arrived and it showed up in < 15 minutes. The pool areas are pleasant, pools warm; had a great family time on the lazy river. No sales pressure that we've read in other reviews. For being there 8 days, it would have been nice to have some additional supplies (bar soap and such).

Just Say No to the Timeshare

My friend and I stayed at the resort May 15th through May 17th. For the most part, we enjoyed ourselves and had a positive experience, but there were a few negatives. First, the positives: Our 2/2 suite in the West Village was awesome, very clean and spacious. It had an excellent view of one of the ponds next to the golf course from the screened-in balcony (we saw an alligator in the pond the first evening we were there). The beach and boat rental area was nice and the gym was better than we expected. We loved the arcade; it reminded us of hanging out on Saturday nights when we were kids. We also liked River Island; watching people on the Hippo Slide was a hoot! There was so much to see and do at the resort that you'd have to stay longer than two nights to get the full effect. The food from Breezes Restaurant was very good, especially the ribs and quesadillas. However, on the negative side, after I had paid for a to-go order from Breezes for me and my friend, the bartender/server left the meal sitting behind the counter without brining it to us. When my friend asked why she was making us wait while our food got cold, she apologized and gave him a free beer, and totally ignored me (that may have something to do with the fact that my friend looks a lot like Mario Lopez and I don't, so I can't entirely fault her for dissing me -- it has happened before). Another negative also involved food -- At Legacy Sports Bar in the East Village, there was a nasty smell and lots of flies inside the restaurant. It was definitely a turn-off that made us want to avoid that place in the future. The resort was huge and we had to drive to everything else, except what was in the West Village, because we didn't want to wait for the shuttle; next time, we plan to bring bicycles, so we don't waste gas. On one occasion, in the Lazy River, we saw adults acting inappropriately; it would have been nice if they had remembered that some behavior is unacceptable when children are present. The afternoon we checked in and the morning we checked out, there were bags of garbage and dirty laundry piled up outside our room; we actually had to move the bags to keep from stumbling over them. The only other complaint was the hard-sell on the timeshare at check-in. It seemed almost as though they were running a shell game on you with their vouchers to trick you into sitting in on their sales pitch. Having read other reviews before our stay, we were prepared and just told them that we weren't interested and would be too busy during our stay for all of that nonsense. For its well-appointed rooms and all the amenities it offers, the resort is definitely worth the price. I would recommend it for that alone. Overall, my friend and I had a very good time and we plan on coming back to the resort later this year.

Best vacation EVER, Awesome place

This was the best vacation my family has ever taken. The 2 bedroom villa we rented was fabulous, they provided us with a few small boxes of laundry detergent and dish detergent. The cookwear and utensils was just what we needed to stay in and cook half of our meals to save money. Rooms were nicely furnished and beds very comfortable, even the pull out sofa was comfortable. The view from our balcony was great. The pools were located close enough the kids could go by themselves. The resort was so large, there was even a lake with boats that I didn't know was there until the night before we left. There are 2 arcades for kids, pools, lazy river, beach with sand on lake shore. We didn't really eat on the resort, but the drinks were kind of pricey, 3 cokes by pool were almost $9, so we just bought a 12 pack and took some with us. I have already recommended this place to all my family and friends and my brother is already looking at taking his family. I will definitely look for a holiday inn resort anywhere I go now and other places have high standards to meet. The sales pitch at beginning was not too bad, if really not interested just say no, but they do offer some good rewards if interested in the 90 min tour. Only thing was I wish we had more time to spend at the resort, they offer activities for teens and kids and adults. We were so busy on our 5 night stay, we didn't have a whole lot of time to do all the things the resort had to offer. Definitely recommend it was awesome. One day the grounds keepers did the leaf blower at 6:50AM and woke my daughter up, other than that no noise or anything. It was close enough to Disney and other Orlando attractions, but not so close you had to fight traffic everyday. Grocery store about a mile away and walgreens right outside the gate.

service

Every thing about this resort was a shock. Simply wonderful. Looking forward to when we can visit again.

Fantastic just does not says enough

This had to be over our 100th trip to Disney and the Orlando area. This was the best Vacation place that we have stayed in. I highly reccomend this place to stay in and you will not be disappointed. There is enough activity to keep the entire family amused and happy. Our age ranges from 2 1/2 to 58 and we all had a great time, and enjoyed this stay the best.

enjoyed my stay

I enjoyed my stay at this resort, very clean! The only thing I didn't like was the fact that we did not get daily housekeeping and had to empty out our own garbage, I'm on vacation I shouldn't have to be doing this!

We had a wonderful time!

We stayed in a beautiful 2/2 at River Island, that we booked directly on HI's website at the AAA rate. We were never bothered with timeshare sales, they only asked if we were interested (we were not) at check in and given a $25.00 property credit towards extras, such as attraction tickets. Unlike the other reviews, our room was available hours before our scheduled check in time, everything in the room was clean and the property was in excellent condition. My only negative experience was with a rude couple who seemed to be intoxicated. Since the coffee and juice at breakfast are the same price as mixed drinks from the bar, I would suggest raising the price of alcoholic drinks or lowering the cost of regular drinks.