We stayed in a 1-bedroom unit in the Blue Tree
section of this complex. This is your typical,
large timeshare complex in Orlando, with a
multitude of buildings, several swimming pools, a
bunch of activities and lots of people. We found
parking to be a problem if returning at the close
of Magic Kingdom. One night we had to park 4
buildings away. Parking early in the evening was
never an issue.
Check-in took about 15 minutes, with a line about
4 people deep with 4 agents working at all
available stations. Check-out was a little
quicker, but there was not near enough parking for
everyone wanting to check-out.
We didn't use any activities, basically used this
place as a place to crash after being at the
various parks all day. The location is good.
Universal was about 15 minutes. The Disney
properties were generally a little closer. Nearby
is any type of food, shopping, etc. you could want.
Overall we were fine with this exchange. It was
nothing that knocked our socks off, and would be
typical of any of a large number of similar
generic properties in the area.
The AC on high setting resulted in an extremely
loud rattle. You could only run the AC on medium.
The filter door in the ceiling of the hallway had
one screw catch that was stripped so it hung down
a few inches from the ceiling, likely one source
of the rattle.
Our biggest complaint was that the 1 bedroom unit
was very small. It was barely suitable for our 2
small kids (7 and 4) and us. If we would have
spent any time at the unit during the week, I
think this would have been an even bigger negative
for us.
With the pull-out sofa pulled out, you can't
hardly walk into the unit. The chair of the
kitchen table is within inches of the open door.
The other chair is within inches of the pulled out
sofa bed. We hit our shins on either the bed or
chair more than once. If you are actually seated
at the kitchen table in the chair nearest the
door, the door wouldn't open completely.
We didn't really use the kitchen. It had newer
appliances and everything was in good condition
and working order.
The master bedroom was really small. It had a
bed, a small end-table and a tiny TV stand. There
was about 12" of space between the end of the bed
and the TV stand. The TV was a small TV, probably
about a 13" size.
There was no furniture for clothes in the bedroom.
There was a large walk-in closet, but they put a
dresser in the closet (because it can't fit in the
bedroom). The washer and dryer is also in the
bedroom closet. So that took up much of the
closet floor space leaving one single clothes rod
in the entire walk-in closet. With the washer and
dryer in the bedroom closet, you got the pleasure
of listening to it at night if you did laundry
when you went to bed.
Off the bedroom was a sliding door out to a very
small deck. If you sat at the chair without
slanting it, you'd hit your knees on the railing.
The single bathroom was not fun. It is located
off the hallway. The layout is beyond ridiculous.
Inside the bathroom was a walk-in closet. The
door to the walk-in closet was behind the opened
bathroom door. You pretty much have to use this
closet for most things, because it is one of the
few places to put luggage, clothes, etc. To get
into the closet, you have to open the bathroom
door, go into the bathroom, close the bathroom
door in order to access the closet bifold door,
then open the closet door. This entire closet
dance interferes with someone standing at the sink
trying to get ready. We found ourselves
constantly walking into each other trying to get
ready in the morning.
We booked this at the last minute so only 1
bedrooms were available, but I regret doing it
because the 1 bedrooms is just too small for four
people. If you have 4 adults or even older kids,
I would not recommend this unit. I'd look elsewhere.
All in all, the place was fine, but we would
probably consider other exchange options in the
future because the 1 bedroom was just too small
and what was there was laid out in illogical ways.
A SpringHill Suites is laid out better than these
1 bedrooms were, especially if you don't need a
full kitchen.
