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Summer Bay Resort

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  • 17805 U.S. Highway 192
     Orlando, Florida
    (352) 242-1100
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Columbus
Columbus
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
60
Reviews
23
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Villas at Summer Bay

  • June 7, 2004
  • Rated 1 of 5 by mshall from SYLVANIA, Ohio
Best Things Nearby:


Best Things About the Resort:


Resort Experience:
The room had carpet that was badly stained. The mildew smell that greeted us as we opened the front door forced us to retreat back into the hallway. The soap in the bathroom was opened and we found a dirty towel next to the sink. The kitchen table sat 5 people so someone had to sit at the kitchen counter. The person who checked us in did not have the authority to change our room so we had to wait a long time before they decided to show us another room. It was the same. We were told that the rooms they had shown us were typical of RCI exchanges. We were told we could pay an additional fee to stay in a condo that slept eight instead of 6. It turns out that the condo's second room had two full beds instead of one queen. The rooms were quite similar in size. The upgraded room had tile floor so that eliminated the smell and stain problems. The elevator and hallways leading to our room had dead bugs all over the walls.

They have activities scheduled for the kids. Unfortunately we found not much interest so many activities were cancelled. The one activity my children liked was making tie dye shirts. They told the parents that this was for kids and they kicked us out of the activity center. Sounds great in theory. They did not put anything on the children to protect their clothing so everything they had on was stained and ruined. They explained it by saying "we told the children to be careful not to splash".

At first glance the man made beach looks great. After further investigation though we discovered first impressions are deceiving. The rental power motor equipment for the lake was all broken and had been removed. We were told they did not expect to replace it. The employees said the alligators mostly stay on the other side of the lake until evening. A friend of mine said she personally saw a small alligator during the day and my husband saw a huge snake right at the beach area.

  • Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
  • Activities: Fair
  • Amenities: Poor
  • Unit Satisfaction: Poor
  • Family Friendliness: Poor
  • Service: Not Available

From journal Alligators and Snakes in Orlando

Editor Pick

The Villas at the Summer Bay

  • May 31, 2004
  • Rated 4 of 5 by kevinmc from Saint John, New Brunswick
Best Things Nearby:
Universal Studios, Disney, Wet n' Wild, Typhoon Lagoon, Wide World of Sports. . . all the theme and water parks you could ever ask for. . .

Best Things About the Resort:
Just beautiful! It's great being able to stroll around the resort grounds and just look at the beautiful European-style buildings, fountains, lakes, and palm trees.

Resort Experience:
The resort is definitely worthy of the RCI Gold Crown. It is beautiful and there are lots of amenities: a lake with an ONSITE BEACH (not huge but quite nice), tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, large pool w/ whirlpool by the clubhouse (also a tiki bar by the pool), lots of smaller wading pools/water playgrounds for children located around the property. On the lake they have paddleboats you can rent for cheap ($5 per half hr) and jetskis, which are not cheap (about $50 per half hour). You can also rent out the floating "icebergs" which you can climb as well as trampolines.

The resort location is really good. It’s only a two-minute drive from Orange Lake Country Club (another Gold Crown, which has a golf course, but no beach). Within 10 minutes of all the theme parks (we did Universal instead of Disney), water parks (we did Typhoon Lagoon), and shopping (International Drive). If you are into the club scene, check out the Universal City Walk (at the Universal Studios theme park), they have something for everyone. We went on a stay and play pass (seven consecutive days of admission for RCI members), this gives you free access to all clubs (i.e. no cover)!

The unit was very nice, if not a little small for six people (it would have been more appropriate for four). We were in the Villas at Summer Bay (which is a group of buildings all part of the Summer Bay Resort). The master bedroom was very nice, king size bed, private bath, and tub with whirlpool jets! I believe that there are some larger two-bedroom 8/6 units that have an actual jacuzzi. . . next time we'll try to get one of these!

Overall, I really enjoyed the resort. The only negative was that there is only one main pool, which was closed two nights during our stay because some kid apparently had a habit of puking in the pool. However, the nights the pool was open were nice. The tiki bar is great and they have karaoke four nights a week for those who are into that (I am)!

  • Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
  • Activities: Very Good
  • Amenities: Very Good
  • Unit Satisfaction: Good
  • Family Friendliness: Very Good
  • Service: Excellent

From journal The Best of Orlando for Six

Summer Bay Resort

  • May 26, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by christine424 from ozone park , New York
Best Things Nearby:
Denny's. Disney was 10 minutes away.

Best Things About the Resort:
It has everything for kids and adults.

Resort Experience:
The place is beautiful. It has a lake and beach on the property, a waterpark for the children, and plenty of pools. They have minature golfing and lots of activities for the whole family to enjoy.

  • Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
  • Activities: Very Good
  • Amenities: Very Good
  • Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
  • Family Friendliness: Excellent
  • Service: Excellent

From journal Great Escape to Florida

Summer Bay Resort

  • May 18, 2004
  • Rated 5 of 5 by TonyaLeS from Fort Wayne, Indiana
Best Things Nearby:
There are two Publix grocery stores nearby, but skip them as they are high priced. Go down farther toward Disney and shop at "Marketplace" (which I believe was actually Piggly Wiggly) for better prices and more to choose from. There are also several restaurants nearby, as well as the Disney resorts and parks.

Best Things About the Resort:
The pools! The main pool is right behind the clubhouse (check-in/out) and it is heated! The pools are open until 11pm and we used them every day! The main pool has a tiki bar right next to it called Kokomos and they made very delicious pina coladas to sip poolside while sitting in the warm Florida sunshine! They would have some sort of live entertainment every night. At least twice we saw karaoke set up for the guests. It was great! We felt like we were on an island not in Orlando.

Resort Experience:
The grounds are lush and beautiful with hibiscus as big as plates! The condos are very well kept and they are constantly caring for the guests as well as the maintenance of the units. The resort is gated and very nice staff. There were several activities offered by the resort, but we didn't partake in any, as we were there to relax. Lots of things sounded very good and we heard other guests say that they enjoyed them. There was yoga first thing in the morning, then scavenger hunts for kids, family nights, ice cream socials, karaoke, etc. We are huge Orange Lake Country Club fans and in our opinion, this resort ranks a close second. Summer Bay Resort also has a lake on the property where you can rent jet skis, pontoons, mini-pontoons, and water equipment. They have several play climbing things that float in the water and trampolines that we read you can rent for $10 per day. Lots of fun! They also have surreys and other bikes available for you to rent for around $8 for the day. This resort was very nice. . . we had a great vacation!

  • Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
  • Activities: Very Good
  • Amenities: Excellent
  • Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
  • Family Friendliness: Excellent
  • Service: Excellent

From journal Week at Summer Bay Resort

Summer Bay Resort

  • April 17, 2004
  • Rated 1 of 5 by will&helen from Trowbridge, United Kingdom
Best Things Nearby:
Nothing. Wrong end of Highway 192

Best Things About the Resort:
Nothing

Resort Experience:
Looks great on arrival but it was overcrowded, the pools were too warm, the staff were unhelpful, eg we arrived late at night- nowhere to get a drink or snack on the resort - we discovered later there was a Dennys 24/7 diner just outside the gate which reception staff never told us about. We were locked out of our room on the Saturday - no apology nothing. I would not go there again.

  • Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
  • Activities: Fair
  • Amenities: Fair
  • Unit Satisfaction: Fair
  • Family Friendliness: Poor
  • Service: Poor

From journal Orlando with Kids

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