Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort - River Island

What a great 5-star resort. We've atyed all over the country and also gone foreign and have not found luxery like this. To be able to walk out to the water is really nice and the choice of water activities is broad. We like the River Island Grilling Company reataurant - a short walk across the pool area. The unit was very clean and well maintained - no complaints. Disney is right next door. The check-in process was speedy and anxiety-free. The checkout process was nonexistant - we just drove away. Service from all the staff was first-rate.

Great Family resort! You never have to leave to have lots of fun.

Our family of four (2 adults, 2 kids aged 12 and 14) stayed in the Lazy River section of Orange Lake Resort during 4th of July week. Our building seemed quite full during our stay, particularly at night when the crowds returned from Disney (right next door). The adjacent tower seemed very quiet and dark at night, but was a beehive of activity during the daylight hours with timeshare salemen taking prospects on sales tours. We did not get solicited at all for a tour, but this was no doubt due to the fact that none of unit phones worked at any point during our week long stay (more on that later). We were told at check-in that we could get ticket discounts for taking a sales tour, but we didn't think the discount worth our time and declined. We did buy our tickets from them at full price however.

We stayed in a two bedroom unit which was very nicely laid out and nicely furnished, though the furniture was definitely showing some wear and tear. The white kitchen cabinets were de-laminating in a few places (poor quality?). The appliances were perfectly adequate and functional, but of low end quality. Make sure you set the refrigerator coldness when you arrive. I think they set it to a warmer setting to save electricity when no one is in the unit. We noticed when our drinks got warmer after moving them from our cooler to the fridge. There was sufficient dishware for the four of us. Cleanliness of upholstery was not the greatest, with stains on the breakfast nook seating in particular. The quality of the workmanship for the tile job in the bathrooms was terrible. The grout joints between the tiles were not even fully filled. There was no unit service of any kind during the week. Guest must do their own unit cleaning and take out their own trash. No towel exchange, but there were sufficient towels for the week so one was not really necessary. Internet service was on the slow side.

The Lazy River pool was a lot of fun for both the adults and kids in our party. We only bought tubes for one day ($9 per day per person) as we planned to be at Disney most of the time. The water quality seemed quite good. Everything seemed to be extra cost, from pool tubes to the slide to the mini golf. You can get multi day passes for these activities, but these would only be worthwhile if you planned to stay on the resort for a good portion of your stay.

There are nice clothing shops, food outlets, a coffee shop, and a bar right at the Lazy River complex. The prices were fairly reasonable and the quality quite good, though be aware that gratuities are already added to bar drinks.

Service: terrible. We complained about non-functional phones four times. We had to find somewhere else from where to call and report the problem, of course. During one call, the operator said that perhaps they could compensate me for the inconvenience and that guest services might offer to do this, but no such offer was ever made. After our first call, someone showed up at the unit and changed all the phone cables within the hour, but when that made no difference, he said they needed to bring in some phone specialists to diagnose the problem. That was on our second day. One staff person I spoke to said they've been having problems with a lot of the unit phones. The phones were never fixed during our stay, which meant I had to use my cell phone with its exhorbitant roaming charges because I didn't have a unit phone for local calls. At check out, I recounted my disappointment with the service and the apparent "we don't care if you are inconvenienced and it costs you" attitude. The check out clerk was apologetic, but that doesn't mean squat as the customer is on his way out the door. I left steaming.

Overall I think this resort makes a nice base for a Disney trip and it has numerous on-site amenities of good quality. It probably deserves a good rating for this reason, but the crappy service left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll probably try somewhere else the next time I go to Orlando.

Another annoyance: Sand from the sandy areas gets on the walkways in the River Island pool each day. Rather than sweep it back into place, they use a gas powered blower -- at 7 in the morning!!! We awoke several days to what we first thought was a gas chain saw. It was an idiot clearing sand off the walkways with a gas blower instead of a silent push broom. Pure laziness and total disregard for guest comfort. I was mad enough about the phones, so I forgot to communicate this problem to management upon departure.

Although I stayed in the East Village on my trip, we frequently used the pool, restaurant and shops at River Island. The Grill had excellent food and service, and my nephew loved the pool with the water slide and lazy river. Very friendly staff and clean pool and grounds. I look forward to coming back. River Island is the best out of the 4 Orange Lake properties here.

We love it, we have been owners for 7 years and we return every year. Golf courses are amazing and affordable, legends walk is great for beginners and the cranes bend give you the most value. We play putt putt a couple times a day, a pass for the condo is $25/week. The pools are always stunning. Many great choices for food and drink. Staff is friendly and courteous. You need a rental car, the resort is huge. The resort shuttle does the trick but it doesn't take you to the Publix. The only internet is below the guest check-in and is overpriced. A great place to stay and play for a week.

If you read the history of Orange lake you will realize that this resort will withstand time.