Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) Orlando at Sea World International Center

This is a very nice resort convenient to all of the theme parks, but especially to Sea World and Aquatica, which is right across the street (Central Florida Pkwy). We walked to Sea World, but drove to Aquatica (still walkable, but a little far for kids). Tip: We bought combination Sea World and Aquatica tickets for around $95 per person that allow you to come and go at both parks for 14 days from time of first use (we only used 4 days).

Sunday check in was busy, but efficient. We were in and out in about 15 minutes. Check out was via phone, so was even faster.

The units were very well laid out. We stayed in a 2 bedroom in the Sandy's building. It was clean upon arrival and tidied up mid week. One of my kids used a sofabed and it was surprisingly comfortable. The resort supplied so much soap, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, shampoo, and conditioner in the unit that we barely needed to touch our own. They also had a generous starter supply of coffee. The Jacuzzi in the master bedroom was huge. Our only need for maintenance was to have a kettle with peeling paint inside replaced, which they had done by the time we returned that day. One of our kids threw up in bed one night and we stripped the bed and offered to clean the sheets, but they said no problem and sent someone who remade the bed for us.

I think the buildings are all concrete because my cell phone wouldn't work in the unit at all and only got a weak signal on the balcony. The benefit of this, however, was no discernable noise from other units. There wasn't much of a view from our second floor balcony (there were two balconies in our unit, one off each bedroom), but the plus side of a lower floor was that we didn't have to wait for the slow elevator and could take the stairs. I'd prefer a lower floor for that reason.

Free wired and wireless internet access was available in the unit and it seemed pretty fast to me.

The grounds were well maintained and there was a jogging path around the lake that I used a couple of mornings. The fitness center had very nice equipment (treadmills with built-in TVs), although the one weight machine created a bottleneck that left people waiting. They could use another. I used dumbbells, which are also available, rather than wait for the weight machine. They could probably use another treadmill as well (all three were in use at two points during my 7 AM visit).

The resort seemed to have a good activities schedule, but we were so busy off the resort that we weren't around to take advantage of the activities. They had movies in their theatre, ice cream by the pool, etc.

We were RCI exchangers, but we were not solicited for a timeshare presentation at all, not even by phone message. The only reference to vacation ownership we saw was a booklet on our coffee table.

The resort has three very nice pools, with the waterfall pool being our kids' favourite. While nice, the pools were also the source of our only significant concern about the resort. The water at all three was milky. We wore swimming masks and still couldn't make out a person clearly from 6 feet away underwater. Granted, the pools had a continuously high bather load in the hot July Orlando weather, but other hotel and theme park pools we swam in this month (including nearby Aquatica) managed to have clear water. This issue prevents me from rating the resort higher, as pools are very important to families and kids. I am sure they could easily fix this.

The staff we met were all very friendly. In summary, this is a great resort and we'd be happy to return.

Just returned from a late August week we got on an RCI exchange. I was very impressed with this resort and the staff. Had a 2 bd 2 bath unit in Sandy's (Bldg 5) and had a great view of the Seaworld fireworks every single night. Pools were great and they had movie night at the pool twice a week. Restaurant on site was good, service excellent. Would love to come back!!

Spent a week July 27-Aug. 3. Everything about this place was perfect. Three minor suggestions-- 1) slow elevators, 2) we were on the end of the building & all the A/C units for each floor were beside the balconies, 3) mattress bed sheet too small & pulled away.

We stayed in Building 4: the Pembroke Building. It was located across the parking lot from the main building. We had a one bedroom which was very clean and there was lots of room. We were on the second floor. We walked up the one flight rather than wait for the elevator.

Staff were very friendly. The kids took advantage of the camps and activities. They went to the Sea World Camp from 9:15 am to 2:00 pm and had fun. They did a behind the scenes tour. We also spent lots of time at the fountain and waterfall pool. The covered playground was great.

The location is great especially when going to Sea World and the new water park Aquatica. We could watch the Sea World Fireworks from the resort. Only 10 minutes to Universal and 15 minutes to Disney.

Also close to Bahama Breeze on I-Drive. A few minutes to the Premium Outlets (good luck parking!)

We had a great time at this resort. We stayed in the South Hampton house and we were not too far from one of the pools (the lesser crowded one) which was nice. We had a two bedroom which was really furnished nicely, clean and had a big screen tv and two screened in porches and two bathrooms. It slept 8. Plenty of room. All in all I would definitely stay here again, it is centrally located and beautiful!