Calypso Cay Vacation Villas

This is the lowest rating I have ever given a stay at any timeshare I have exchanged into. Unfortunately they have terrible customer service. I have a longer review on Tug2.net, but let me just say, I left early. Orlando is probably the TS capital of the world. As a result they have a lot of competition for TS customers. You would think that with that being so, they would be very concerned with how they treat visitors.

I have stayed in several other Orlando area timeshares including Star Island and Marriott Grande Vista. Both were more than acceptable stays. I would gladly stay in the Sheraton Vistana Villages or The Fountains or any of the Disney Properties or Wyndham Bonnet Creek. So, do yourself a favor and avoid this timeshare.

This outfit engages in the worst kind of deceptive marketing practices. After receiving a number of robo-calls that hung up on me, I finally received one was that was successfully connected to an agent who informed me I had "won" a fabulous vacation with Calypso Cay. I passed and asked to be removed from their call list, yet I still receive the hangup calls from the same bogus number.

Obviously a timeshare pitch, I researched (via Google) the bogus cell phone my caller ID indicated was the source of the call and Calypso Cay. They are a rash on web sites complaining of everything from phone abuse to failure to deliver on "free" vacations that require pre-payment of "certain handling charges".

Boycott this sort of place as they give time share operators and owners a black eye. Not to mention there are plenty of horror stories from people that stayed there. Avoid at all costs as there are plenty of alternatives in the Orlando area.

Overall a very decent resort with good amenities. We stayed in January of 2007 for one week. We're a family of four, with two boys 8 and 4 years of age. The unit we had was a two bedroom, nicely decorated with plenty of room for the four of us. We had a king sized bed with large ensuite, a second room with two doubles and a pull out sofa in the living area. The kitchen was sizeable, and there was a PC in the unit with 24 hour internet access which allowed me to check email, and book tickets online to Universal Studios - very convenient. There were two pools centrally located within a one minute walk from our unit. One designed for adult use and the other for mixed adult/children. The mixed pool was great, it had a decent waterslide as well as a very shallow area for the younger ones. The only down side was the resort seems to be shared amongst different chains so the pools can get quite busy at times. Overall, a very comfortable place, neatly kept, with good amenities. There is a PUBLIX grocery store, and a HUGE Wal-Mart about a mile away, and of course the parks are all within a short drive.

We have stayed at Calypso 2 years in a row and have loved it. The kids love the pools and the mini golf, and the fact that they have their own play room with bunk beds and an Xbox, so when we are in the room we have relaxing time to ourselves because they stay in there. Close to all the parks and Super Wal Mart for groceries and other neccessities!

I certainly wish that I had read the reviews prior to exchanging into this resort. We stayed here June 3-10. II has it rated as a 5- Star, which it certainly is not. We found several items broken or not working in the unit; three calls were made to the front desk, a form was filled out and handed directly to the acting manager at the front desk. No response, no repairs. The unit was comfortable but certainly may not be compared to a Marriott or Hyatt property, which are rated 5-Star.

This is a great resort for families. We have been here twice during Spring Break in 2005 and 2003. The amenities are wonderful. The main pool has a water slide, zero entry, a Tiki bar and gas grills (great for having Dad grill dinner!) The kids love the mini golf course too!

Calypso Cay is located off of S.R.535 in a quiet area but is a stones throw from US 192 in one direction and International Drive in the other so any venue is quickly accessible. There is a Publix supermarket at the intersection of 192 and many of the local resturants will deliver if you don't want to cook.

There are free shuttles to Disney, Universal and Sea World. All parks are just a few minutes away. There are two hotels on site. Amerisuites & Country Inns & Suites. Both serve a free breakfast buffet each morning. Everything is close and getting around is easy.

The units are very large and nicely appointed. All have screened in balconys or porches. There are in-unit washers and dryers. Full kitchens with ice makers and dishwashers and a very good stocking of cooking utensils,glasses, dishes and pots and pans.The Carribean feel is in the decor through out the unit and resort. As for the "roaches" that are mentioned in some of the other reviews. They are not roaches, they are Palmetto bugs. The Runaway Bay units are not over-run with them but as in most homes in Florida, there are a few. These units have open hallways to the outside and some may sneak in especially after a rain shower. The units are fumigated each month and there are no roaches. In the new buildings we never saw so much as a fly.

Future improvments include the addition of a lazy river water park which will be accessable to those staying in the units only with a special key card. This is scheduled to be completed soon.

In closing I would like to add that staying in this resort affords a more economical family vacation that staying in a cheap motel. Here you have room to spread out, no extra charges for kids or adults so if you have a larger unit you can bring more family.You can keep food fresh and even bring a picnic with you to the parks and save money on the high prices they charge for food. Cook meals and eat in a quiet atmosphere instead of waiting in line to eat at a noisy overpriced resturant. Be able to watch a movie and eat popcorn on a rainy afternoon (although that hardly ever happens.) Taking the free shuttle service also saves you gas and parking cash. So all in all you save by spending a little more initally to get quite alot.

My first stay here was in April 2004 and I had a 2 bedroom in the Runaway Bay building. These are recently converted luxury apartments and the stay was wonderful -- hotel stays don't even compare. We made full use of the dishwasher and washer/dryer during our stay. We also made a trip to the Sam's club just down the road and thus we also made full use of the kitchen. There are gas grills poolside that were very nice to use in the evening for a cheaper alternative to the Restraunt steak dinner. Our suite was very clean and newly furnished with no signs of bugs during my stay. The high speed internet access was wonderful for checking email and looking up local attractions.

The location was very convenient to getting to any of the Disneys or water parks -- and free shuttle is available. There is also a nice outlet mall just down the road.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at the resort and are looking forward to doing it again some time soon.

Almost bought at this resort. First impressions are deceiving. Paperwork was not filled out correctly (they listed that I bought a biannual when I bought a annual). Once I backed out I found I was charged for paperwork,manuals and an upgrade that was supposed to be part of my package. Caution advised.

This resort shares an area with the Amerisuites hotel and the Country Inn hotel. Each of those hotels has a small oval pool which are quite cold, but the large pool in between them is pretty warm, has zero entry depth and a nice waterslide. The problem with the waterslide, though is that there is no lifeguard so kids could get hurt if they come down right after somebody else - plus it's hard to see the bottom of the slide from the top of it. The pool area has a tiki bar and a good amount of chairs/lounges. The pool area is quite loud. Jacuzzi tub is outside and very nice.

The rooms in the condo are very large. We had a 2 bedroom unit, with a jacuzzi tub and large bathroom in the master suite, with a king bed. The other bedroom has 2 double beds. Ample bureau/drawer space for clothes, and a tv in each room. The living room area has a pull out couch, tv and vcr with surround sound. The computer in the room has internet access, but it's just a MS Windows terminal, not anything with CD/HD, etc. There is a full bathroom w./ shower for those not in the master suite.

Kitchen is standard galley type, with full fridge/stove/ dishwasher, double sink - but not really enuf plates and silverware for 8 people (as a 2 bedroom unit should fit). There is also a coffee maker and toaster, but don't forget to bring your own coffee filters and coffee. There IS a washer/ dryer in the kitchen area - very nice to have!

The BIGGEST problem is the lack of darkness at night in the bedroom, if your unit faces the pool. The blinds don't hide much light, and they keep the pool lights on ALL night. bummer. We put a blanket over the window, but that didn't really help either.

The shower curtain had some mold on it.

A decent resort, but not one I would purchase a share in.

Travel to DWorld is very quick, about 10 minutes.

You can eat at the Amerisuites breakfast (free) in the AM, for cereals, muffins, 'toastable' french toast, coffee, juice, fruit.

There is free mini golf on their course - a decent course.

There are grills by the pool if you wish to cook outside.

Not a great amount of activities for kids, though.

There is also another pool at the Runaway Bay apartments across the street, but we didn't try it out.

There is a decent playground for kids, with a sand footing.

The staff was friendly and helpful.

Hope this helps!

We stayed here for Spring Break (3/26- 4/4/04). We had bought the trial vacation week last year. The 3 BD unit in Runaway Bay that we were assigned was huge, I'd guess about 1300 sq. ft. New furniture, a computer with free online access, laundry room with full- size W/D, walk-in closets and TV/VCR in every bedroom. We were on the second floor, no elevator. Unfortunately, we had extra visitors in the kitchen in the form of cockroaches. Complained to front desk and were assigned a 2-Bdrm in the Calypso Cay section ( they refunded our up-grade fee).

After moving ourselves to the new unit (phase 1), we were again impressed with the amenities. Jacuzzi in the master bath, seperate toilet/shower area, and a computer (big hit with the 11 year-old), also screened porch, stackable W/D, blender etc. It was immaculate!

The resort itself is nice. Free breakfast, free shuttle to Disney/Sea World/Universal, free miniature golf, free billiards. There is a zero- entry pool with waterslide, tiki bar, 3 other heated pools, 3 exercise rooms, enclosed playground and an indoor basketball court.

The staff was very pleasant and eager to please. The Terminix man was waiting at the door when we moved from the first unit.

The sales duo left much to be desired. We were disgusted by the roaches and they pretty much stated "oh well, it was just one problem." The thing/point is that owners are paying maintenance fees and probably wouldn't want to maintain roaches. I understand that Florida=bugs=possibly messy people before us, but it was off-putting.

I was ready to leave with a not-so-great impression of the place until I spoke (while checking out) to the Sales Manager. She suggested that perhaps while re-doing all the furniture, the bugs came in with the cardboard boxes. We were referred to the VP of Sales who offered us a 3-Bdrm every year in a new building (Phase II) for $12,000, all of our vac. pkg ($1200) as equity/down payment and an extra week for $149. He gave us his card and told us to take 2-3 days to think about it.

Beautiful resort - We stayed a few days at the Country Inn and Suites which shares the grounds with Calypso Cay - as well as shares the pool.

I'm Hispanic, Born and Raised in The Bronx and I felt very uncomfortable while hanging out at the pool. #1- Local kids/families sneak onto the property to use the pool.

Let me tell you a story. It was a nice warm night in October. We were waiting for a table to become free so we hung out on a lawn chair watching the kids in the pool. We noticed a lady yelling at a couple of kids in the pool because some punky kids were harrassing other kids in the pool. Finally the woman, after complaining to security and security did nothing, had enough. So she left and we took her table. A few minutes later, a security officer walks over to a member of the family that snuck onto the grounds and asks them to leave. Based on the body language I could tell that the mother is wondering why she is being asked to leave. Then the kid who was harrassing others starts talking with the mother Then the kid starts pointing at me! I guess one white lady looks the same as another. So I'm sitting there, my husband is in the pool with the kids, and the group that were with the punky kid starts staring at me, then they start heading my way.

At first I was nervous, but then my instincts kick in and I was ready for a fight. Before the three men made their way over to me, two security guards cut in front of them and forcefully had to remove them from the pool area. When they were gone, I called the security guys over. They said that the locals are always sneaking in and hanging out at the pool.

If that wasn't enough, the Police Helicopter was circling the resort with it's light beaming down, and police sirens were blaring awfully close to the resort.

#2 - The Roaches. Yes, there was one HUGE one on the couch one night. At first I froze and then I said, if I don't kill this thing, who knows if it'll sneak into my luggage? When I went to strike, it booked. I never found it.

Also, every night when I went to give my kids a bath, I found a few roaches in the bathroom. Now I know what roaches look like. These weren't regular bugs that could be mistaken for roaches. They were roaches.

Needless to say, I kept EVERYTHING zippered or in big plastic sealed baggies. That was also very nerve-wracking.

So all in all, it was a nice resort. Would I go back? No Way.