Grande Villas at World Golf Village

Just returned from a short visit to celebrate a family member's birthday. We loved this place. Men played gulf and my sister and I went for a tour downtown (very interesting). Nice to visit oldest U.S. town and hear all about the history of this place.

We also visited (on site) the Golf Hall of Fame and saw a great movie at the I Max theater, all with-in walking distance from our room. Two great place to eat on site. This is not a "Family kids" place but there is a great pool and play areas which kids would enjoy. It was a great short vacation and do wish we could have stayed longer, maybe next time.

Just returned from Grande Villas. Had a good time even though the air was cool the sun was warm during our stay. The site was very clean and the pool was comfortable. It was not heated to 83 degrees but since we are from New England shores we found it fine. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately the concierges were not particularly knowledgable. One maintenance man volunteered info on good cycling routes, another held a light while I attached my bike rack to my car.

Our unit was a one bedroom sleeping four. Believe me it was only large enough for my wife and I. No way would it hold 4 adults. The kitchen was fully equipped, eating area had a table seating four, the "living area"had a newish couch which comfortably sat three, and a very comfortable cushioned chair. IT was quite a fit to get everything into such a small area, so it was impossible to walk around without bumping something. Furniture is well kept and probably fairly new but somewhat mismatched by the interior decorator.My wife is 5'1'' and she had to sit on two cushions to reach the table when sitting and eating.<G> The bedroom was reasonably sized. I found the bed too soft to sleep comfortably. In fact I slept very poorly. I suffer from a mild case of stiffness in my lower back and always woke up early with a stiff muscle. My wife however was comfortable. The mattress was well used with two troughs and a large hump in the middle. However everything was clean. WE toured the two bedroom lock outs and found them to be good sized, so if planning on 4 adults insist on the two bedroom units. We got the impression that the end units are all two bedroom units and the units next to them (like ours) tended to be a bit smaller, while the one bedroom units in the middle of the buildings tended to be larger. However we did not see these other one bedrooms.

Check in was quick and efficient. However the concierge who was supposed to give us our welcome package was back up'ed so we simply went to our room w/o it. No big deal. On Tuesday evening we got a phone call asking if we wanted to take a tour and get a sales pitch the following day. We were told no more than two hours and they stuck to the two hour limit, including the hi pressure put on by the "manager" of the day. Everybody was nice and we did not get any high pressure sales pitch. Other guests got the same treatment, so cannot knock the sales staff.

Grand Villas is 17 miles from St. Augustine, and we spent two enjoyable days touring the historical sites. However be forewarned that the city is wall to wall tourist traps, with the usual assortment of tee shirt and funny hat shops, ice cream stores etc. But the city really does have a few interesting and historically valid sites. A few miles beyond is a wonderful stretch of beach. We are cyclists and found a couple of great and safe bike rides in the Grande Villas area.

We are not golfers but were told by a couple of guys at the pool, that golf can be quite expensive on the two local courses, but there were some courses a few miles a way that were quite a bit less expensive. While using one of the two free computers (there are also at least two pay computers) I could hear the concierge making golf reservations at courses a few miles away for about $65 including discounts. She was quite busy, so obviously not everyone put off by the prices she was quoting.

Would we return...you betcha. We just wouldn't try to stuff 4 adults into a one bedroom apartment.

As of December 2006 ALL the Condo Units now have new carpets, sofa sleepers, refurbished bathrooms, new mattress and boxsprings and updated audio/video equipment. On the grounds, upgraded exterior lighting in parking areas, modern inground lighting on some walkways and upgraded tennis courts. The pool area has new furniture and has been resurfaced. Even the laundry facility has had a facelift. Grand Villa Condo are next to Shops, IMAX Theater, Restaurants, Publix Grocery Store, Bank, etc. All within the World Golf Village and just minutes to historic St Augustine. I HAVE SEEN THE UPGRADES AND THEY ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!

The positive for this resort was its location which is good for seeing the Golf Hall of Fame and St. Augustine.

The unit was worn and very dirty. I personally bought Clorox and sanitized the kitchen. It was the poorest housekeeping we've experienced in many years of traveling the world and staying in timeshares.

We also had an incidence of a thief. I accidently left my purse and when I realized it we were a couple of hours away. I called the resort and talked to a housekeeper who said that my purse was located and over $300 was in it. She also reported the amount of cash to the manager. Between that time it was reported and sent out, someone at the resort helped themselves to $300. The manager was not helpful or agressive in finding the thief. It left me with a less than good feeling about the staff and the resort. My hope is that something of benefit to a family like food was bought with the stolen cash.

There was no break on green fees at the courses for those staying at the resort. Many resorts do have discounted green fees; but, not here. Very expensive to golf.

We will never return to this resort.

We are not golfers and chose WGV only because it had a zero depth pool for our children. The picture of the pool on the web were stunning and they claim the pool is heated. After a 10 hour drive, my children ran to the pool only to find it freezing. I spoke with the management and was told that gas prices have gone up 65% and they couldn't afford to heat it passed 70. They added that they were also only "required" to heat the pool to 70 to advertise as a heated pool. If we had known that "heated" was 70 degrees, we would not have gone there. We made the best of it and went to the Serrenata Beach Club each day (35 min drive but at least they could afford to heat their pool to 86 degrees). It's a shame that Blue Green couldn't "afford" the gas prices when my family paid on averages, $3.01 a gallon to drive down to them. Very dissapointed, will never rent a Blue Green place again nor buy from them.