Best Things Nearby:
Walt Disney World (of course), Lake Buena Vista, Kennedy Space Centre, Old Town, Universal, Sea World, Gatorland, and Busch Gardens.
Best Things About the Resort:
Close to all amenities, but set far enough back from the main road so as to seem isolated. Very nicely laid out and beautiful landscaping.
Resort Experience:
Our first impression of Summer Bay took place when we called to confirm our reservation. The young lady who answered the phone (I can't remember her name) was extremely friendly and helpful. She did her best to ensure that we got a room away from the construction and away from the ground floor.
Our next pleasant surprise came upon arrival. It seems that most resorts look better in the brochure than in reality, but this place looked great. Pleasing looking buildings, picturesque ponds with dancing fountains, lush landscaping. After the "tacky tourist trail" that is highway 192, we felt as though we had entered paradise. With the exception of the front desk staff, who didn't seem to want to be there, all the employees were very pleasant too -- none more so than the guards at the guard gate. They were always ready with a friendly 'hello' or a wave, and always a big smile. They really made us feel welcome.
Our room was exactly as described, nicely decorated with all the comforts of home and a lovely view of one of the ponds and a pool. We had a couple of complaints though. On our first morning we had no water. . . at all! We called the front desk and they told us that it was a problem with the city and that the whole resort was affected. We weren't pleased as we were trying to get a head start on the Disney crowds. In all, this happened on three different mornings, although the longest we had to wait was about 10 minutes. Funny thing though, on speaking with several other guests over the course of the week, not one said they had had any water problems. Another complaint was the noise. We had a family with two very lively young children who ran around a lot later in the evening, and we could hear the shouts of some older kids who were outside exploring the grounds in the p.m. It seemed like they were in the room with us! I can't imagine the buildings are very well insulated, or that well built. The kitchens are well supplied although a pair of scissors would have been a nice touch.
We can't comment too much on the activities as we only spent one day away from the theme parks and were happy to just lounge by the pool, but our 10-year-old had fun with the planned pool games and the sundae-making.
An on-site dining-room/restaurant is desperately needed here, although there is a Denny's close by, along with a Publix grocery store. By the third day we were all sick of having to drive to the Golden Corrals or the Ponderosas on #192 and we would have appreciated a short walk from our condo to a nice, quiet, sit-down meal. Hopefully this is in the expansion plans.
All in all, we enjoyed our visit. This was our first timeshare experience, other than our home resort, and the folks at Summer Bay helped make it a good one.
- Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
- Activities: Good
- Amenities: Good
- Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
- Family Friendliness: Very Good
- Service: Very Good