Orange Lake West Village????

[spiceycat]

there wasn't a pool at west village - than there was one at the club house.

we used the one in north village - it had a slide.

the one in West village was just a pool.

but even the one in West village would have a long, long walk.

like my pools to be within a 5minutes or less walk from my villa.

 

[aidenndelaney]

That was our experience as well (minus the toaster incident). We went as an exchange with RCI through my husband's family and were placed in the West Village. It was a huge disappointment when we were expecting the newer units that are shown on the website. But it was still better than our exchange experience with Westgate. I wwould just call and ask to be placed in a newer section. Just not the "villas" (single story townhouse appearing area) that are on your right as you enter the complex through the main gate. Have a great trip!

We went to Orange Lake through an RCI exchange also and were placed in the West Village. I was pretty disappointed as the pictures were definately not what we got. The room was so outdated and everything smelt old and moldy, yuck. I did called to be moved but they said there were at capacity so no go. The resort is HUGE! Didn't like having to drive 3 little kids to the pools and not be able to find a parking spot. The pools were great though. We didn't let the room ruin our vacation. It was nice we had a pond out back and lots of grass for the kids to run on. The new River Island was almost complete when we were there. I don't think I would go back unless I knew I would be in the new part. We are going to Hilton Grand Vacation Club on International Drive in May 2009, can't wait. We have already been to Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Seaworld and that was great so I figured I couldn't go wrong with the newer Hilton resort

 

[DSquare]

Not what I wanted to hear. We too have this property for a RCI exchange beginning August 30th. I thought from reading other reviews that the whole west section was completely renovated. I'm going to give them a call and put in a request and see if it will help at all.

 

[iHEARTflorida]

Not what I wanted to hear. We too have this property for a RCI exchange beginning August 30th. I thought from reading other reviews that the whole west section was completely renovated. I'm going to give them a call and put in a request and see if it will help at all.

If you are refering to what the PP said about yucky and moldy she didnt state when they went! As now all the west section has been renovated.
I also know OLCC wont take request for sections through RCI exchanges. Your getting the villa another RCi member has banked.

 

[DSquare]

Thanks for the additional info. I thought I read somewhere that the entire West Village was done. Also I can take stuff like having a bad room with outdated stuff, I won't accept a room with mold in it. Basically I run and hide then I send my wife in to do my dirty work.

 

[steelebug]

We just stayed in 2455 the week of June 28th to July 5. It was in the WEST Village. It was wonderful. There was a smaller quite pool right across the parking lot. The 2 bed/2bath was newly renovated with granite counters and sophisticated tropical decor. We had NO mold or bugs. Our unit looked out to 192 but in the evenings you could see fireworks from several different locations. We do not own we rent from owners from another site. No pressure and treated wonderfully. The pizza delivery was fast and delicious. I had no complaints and have rented again for the week after Christmas. My kids prefer Splash Lagoon to River Island. There is alot to do and I recommend Orange Lake to anyone who wants a wonderful relaxing vacation. I have also stayed at River Island section which was also great.

 

[blessed1]

Myself and 17yo son are going to Orange Lake for the first time at the end of August. This is only our second trip to Orlando, and I did not want to stay at WDW again, so I chose OL. I pray that I made the right decision. I booked through a travel site, not RCI. I have read so many boards on OL and am totally apprehensive at this point. So many of you say it is nice, but then there is the slight change of getting one of those old rooms just makes me a little anxious. Guess I just have to wait and see. I selected a 1 bedroom villa. Does anyone know if those are just in West or are they throughout ?

 

[steelebug]

I am not sure if one bedrooms are just in the West village or not. All you need to do is call and request a renovated unit and they are happy to accommodate. This will be our third trip to OL and can't wait. My kids 3, 6, and 8 love going. In the West village there is an arcade, the lake to rent jet ski's etc. The pool is redone and open but does not have a slide or anything. If the room is unacceptable just go back and tell them and they usually will switch you if there is an available unit. Hope you have a great time.

 

[Wishing on a star]

First, an FYI.... When making an exchange thru RCI you do request a section (village). There are four separate and distinct property numbers.. West Village, North Village, East Village, and River Island. (this is in the order that they were built... oldest to newest) An RCI exchange is into a village or section.. not just in to OLCC. I believe that it has been this way for some time now.

I also have information that units in West Village have all now been completely and totally renovated! This is with the possible exception of some units in the ClubHouse buillding, which I am not sure is recommended at all to begin with.

Here is some info that I received from a reliable source, regarding the one bedroom units.

"There are no 1-bedroom units in the East Village. The 1-bedrooms in the North Village are located in the multi-story units next to Splash Lagoon. The 1-bedrooms units in River Island are at the end of each floor. The 1-bedroom units in the West Village are scattered throughout the resort (they are the Golf Villa-style units). There are no 1-bedroom units in the Tennis Villas. The studios are in the Clubhouse in the West Village."

We currently have an exchange into North Village coming up next Spring. I know that my unit will be as pictured online. I am hoping that we have good experience, with not problems with housekeeping-cleanliness, noise, etc... We are looking forward to the River Island section with the lazy river, slides, bars, restaurants, Floribbean Night, etc.

For a lot of good info and pictures, check out tripadvisor... If you pull up Orange Lake Resort, and then click 'more' to expand the traveler reviews, you will see "Traveler Photos" pop up on the top of the page under Hotel Photos... Lots of good pics.

Hope this helps!

 

[blessed1]

I did call OL and requested a renovated room, and was informed that they don't really take requests but she said she would make a notation next to my name. I am not a owner, so that is why I was wondering if Owners get preferential rooms. Anyway, I just have to believe we'll have a great time. Now I just have to worry about the weather being good and not overspending!

 

[pxlbarrel]

I have a 3 bedroom in West booked. Am I looking at a renovated room or not???

Is there internet access? If there isn't, I can leave my laptop at home and not have to worry about since it'll be useless anyway.

 

[MoeFam]

We have stayed at OL five times in the past few years and had a fabulous experience everytime.

 

[VacationTrader]

Hi I Am Going To Disney In April And I Was Wondering If Any One Has Stayed At The Orange Lakes West Village. And Just Maybe Some Tips Or What I Should Know About The Place. Thanx A Bunch

Very nice place. Try to stay in one of the newer sections if you can. It is a very family friendly resort. Especially if you have young children. My kids 4 and 1.5 loved it!

You can get a great deal on the resale market at http://www.VacationTrader.org. You can buy or rent directly from an Orange Lake owner and save some money.

 

[steelebug]

WE LOVE IT HERE. When I check in and get to the villa I unplug all the phones and use my cell. No calls about timeshare tour! I never commit to a time when checking in and it has never been an issue. I just tell them my husband handles that. Sometimes he is not even on the trip with us. If you rent directly through an owner and then you won't be hassled. We have stayed in West village and River Island. We prefer the West Village and Splash pool. Have fun.

 

[CanadaPT]

Hi everyone,
We stayed there in December 2007. We read all the reviews and knew that we DID NOT want to stay in the West Village (we were RCI members trading in). When we checked in the receptionist had us in West Village and I told her we did not want to stay there and asked for East Village. She said she couldn't do that and I told her that we weren't stayin in West Village. Miracously there were rooms then available.

East Village was beautiful, new rooms and overlooking the golf course. There were very few people there so that may have been why we got to switch over but if you get a chance I would suggest this. We toured a West Village unit and it just wasn't comparable in our opinion.

 

[akayek31]

I am still on my Disney Vacation and last week we stayed at Holiday Inn Sunspree so we could go to US/IOA. The OLCC is now in the hotel and if you want a shuttle you have to deal with them. I missed the shuttle on 5/31 since they wouldn't take no for an answer. I went on to IOA and we were walking around the park and there are the timeshare people again. They offer us gifts and my daughter wanted to go. We signed up for the next day. They took a deposit to make sure I went. So we get there and I have this one salesperson who was real nice and showed us around. It was on the river island side. I thought it was beautiful but I am a single mother of two and I could not afford what they wanted me to pay. I tell the first one no many times. Now keep in mind they have my driver's license to make sure of who I am and they have my deposit that I was to get back that day. So after all the no's he goes and here comes his boss. The boss tells me I can afford this that I need to get it for my kids to own one day. Well after many times telling him no that I did not want to spend that much money he goes off and the first guy says that I could exchange my points to stay on Disney property ect. ect. So I am getting frustrated and he wrote on the paper complete. He tells me that someone else will be over to make sure he did a good job. So they still have my DL and my deposit and I was beginning to think that the gift was not worth it. So the third guy comes over and turns out he is a salesperson too but he sells forclosed units. So by the time he came over I had been there going on 4 hours. I was ready to go and was starving since they only had doughnuts but that was when we got there. So they kept the pressure on until finally I said I would buy. I knew I couldn't afford it and they were taking $100 of my vacation money (we have to go home a day early now). So when all was said and done I was there 6 hours and I will never ever do it again. I will never stay at their resort and I will never take a timeshare tour again. I tossed and turned all night and after reading the paperwork found out that I could cancel with no penilty in the first 10 days. I took the letter in yesterday and found out that they keep $50 of the down payment. I told her I didnt care as long as it went away. Well she left to "make copies" of my letter but really went to get the third guy who sold me the property who tried to talk me into keeping it and when I said my mind was made up he said he was just trying to help but he could sell my property that day to someone else. Wow way to make someone feel good there. I just want to inform people of how they operate on the tours.

 

[SweetMimi]

We've stayed at this resort several times and have stayed in the West Village. The complaints here are generally about the "tennis villas" that are the one story units along the main road. At the time we stayed, they were not as updated as our villa in the east village but it still was very nice and clean. The plus to it is that you can park right outside of your door, which I liked A LOT. In the newer, high rise areas a late night return can find you parked well away from the closest stairs/elevator to your villa. The feature that shows it is the older area of the resort was that we did not have the newer, larger jacuzzi tub. It either did not have jets at all or was a modified regular tub with jets. The 3 bedrooms in the West Village that we stayed in was just like the pictures on the website. The resort is very big and a car is recommended. I've actually rented a car at the resort for a very reasonable price. The pizza is very good and my kids love the wide variety of pools. The lazy river and slide at River Island appears to be their favorite.

 

[Stinasmom]

Hi!
We just booked West Village two 2-bedroom units for March of 2011.
My RCI guide said that this area has recently been updated and I wondered if anyone has been there this year yet and can confirm this?

We have stayed at lots of really great properties in and around Orlando and the parks. This one looks great! Our kids will be 10 & 14... perfect for all the activities!

TIA for any updated info!!

 

[Snoella]

We stayed at OL in 2008 in the West Village. We did not have an updated unit, but people we met did and their unit was beautiful. We still liked our unit. We understand that all units were going to be fully renovated in the West Village, so you should be okay. Ask specifically for an updated unit when you check in...you will know whether or not you they have given you an updated one by the granite counters.
We did the timeshare pitch (wouldn't recommed it...high pressure, not great gifts) and toured all the other villages and liked the West Village the best. You could drive right up to your door and not have to take an elevator...it was more like being at home. We stayed for two weeks and loved every minute. If you don't want to take your car, there was a shuttle available at many, many different locations throughout the resort. These shuttles were clean, free and air-conditioned.
We had a unit that backed onto one of the golf courses and it was beautiful. We had cranes that came right up to our sliding doors and at night we could see Disney fireworks in the distance. My kids wanted to try every pool and we did. They loved the arcade. We will definitely be going back.

 

[minniemousememories]

A lot of good information here. If staying in the west village, children ages 3-12, is there a particular building that you would suggest requesting? A building that has some walk-to things so the kids don't have to always wait for adults to drive them? A unit close to club house?

Also, tips/secrets of getting around...
I have heard of a back entrance/road to avoid traffic.
Bringing own float for lazy river?

Bring it on! Please