My family and I stayed in a 3-bedroom Signature Collection Unit in River Island from 10-25-14 to 11-01-14. It was an end unit on the top floor. Last week, I stayed in the North Village and overall had some issues with not only the villa itself, but the layout of North Village, the lack of a hot tub at the pool, and the liberal smoking policy (See the separate review I completed on 10-25-14).
This week, staying in a Signature Collection Unit, most of the issues were resolved with the excepting of the smokers. First, I want to start off by stating that the villa itself was beautiful. It was decorated very ornately, and was absolutely huge (over 1700 square feet). My kids basically had their own wing to themselves! Staying in a Signature Collection Unit has several perks, and if they are used, makes staying there a really good value and worth the extra money. The perk that had the most value for us was the unlimited use of the tubes, mini-putting, hippo slide, and rock-climbing wall. Not having the unlimited use of these would cost you $28.00 a day per child, so it adds up. The other so-called perk of staying in the Signature Collection, which ended up to not be helpful at all, was an email from the concierge a week before our stay asking if they could help us with anything in anticipation of our arrival. I asked if we could have some baby items placed in the room that we would be needing. I also asked if they could help facilitate our move from the North Village to River Island so we wouldn’t have a huge gap in time where we had to wait for our new villa (by either allowing us to transfer to River Island a little early or leave a little late from the North Village)…However, none of my requests from the email were granted. In fact, no one even bothered to answer my email, so that was disappointing and not very good service.
However, once we did arrive, I was extremely pleased with the villa. It was the nicest timeshare I’ve stayed in, with many extra amenities inside, including an espresso machine, daily delivery of a USA Today paper, extra razors and toothbrushes, and even eyemakeup remover provided. The kitchen was, of course, all stainless steel and granite, with plenty of storage space and cooking items.
We had a distant view of the Disney fireworks from the rear-screened in porch (we had two screened-in porches total). They provided robes in the bathroom for us to use, and had a bathtub with nice strong jets in it.
Beyond the villa itself, I loved staying at River Island, much more than I liked North Village. If you have children, this is the ONLY place I would stay on the resort. You will want to use the beautiful pools and lazy river here, and if you stay in any other village, you will have to either drive or use a shuttle to get here, as the resort is a few miles long. It’s definitely the biggest resort I’ve ever stayed in.
The landscaping, waterfalls, etc around the pool are breathtaking. The pool is extremely large. You have to pay $9.00 a day for a tube/per person to use the lazy river. The lazy river is extremely “lazy”. I wish it had a current, but it almost had none at all. I found myself having to paddle myself along much of the time.
Besides the pool, there are multiple restaurants in River Village, as well as a nice work out room, definitely the best work out room of the resort. They also have free children activities every day, such as scavenger hunts and kickball. If your kids like soccer, they have a soccer net and a small field next to it, and soccer balls can be rented for 2 hours at a time for free. They also have an outside playground for kids, as well as a huge inflatable slide called “The Hippo Slide”. My kids climbed on the rock wall, and also went mini-putting right at the resort. The mini-putting course is very, very nice. They also do hair braiding, temporary tattoos, and art projects for the kids, all at a varying cost.
The only real negative about River Island, and really the whole resort itself at Holiday Inn Orange Lake, is the liberal smoking policy. No smoking is allowed in the rooms, but it is allowed in the screened in patios and ANYWHERE, yes I mean ANYWHERE at the pools. That means, I had people smoking right next to my two year old playing in the baby pool, as well as next to the hot tub, and pretty much anywhere I went outside. It was very annoying. The management needs to re-evaluate this policy, as it will drive away families. They need to make a set place outside, AWAY from the pool, where people can smoke. The property is certainly large enough to do so!
Other than the smoking, I was extremely happy here. I would consider going back, but would also look at Marriott Harbour Lake, which has a better smoking policy and a nice pool as well.
For those of you who are debating on which village to stay in at Holiday Inn Orange Lake, I will give you a run down of what you can expect in each one:
West Village: Good for kids, with a larger-sized pool/hot tub, sprayers for little kids, and an inside arcade/game area. It also has restaurants on site. There is a boat rental place and golf here as well. It is the first village you come to when you go through the front gate. There is a nice workout room near the front desk located here. On the outside, the villas look pretty old, but I did not see the inside of them.
North Village: The next village you arrive at after West Village, about a mile from the entrance to the resort. The North Village looks older as well on the outside. In Both North Village and West Village, you can park your car right outside your villa and walk to the door from the outside. North Village has its own pool with NO hot tub. It has sprayers for kids and a zero-entry pool that is nicely landscaped. There is golfing as well.
East Village: The village most remotely located at the resort—all the way in the back, about three miles from the entrance. The buildings appear newer on the outside and it is nicely landscaped. There are parking lots outside and one can only enter the villas from interior hallways. There is a small pool/hot tub, and a miniscule work out center. This area might be better for those wanting it to be on the quieter side.
River Island: The largest pool area of the entire resort, with a lazy river, zero-entry pool, sprayers for toddlers, restaurants on site, a playground area, mini-putting, inside arcade, hippo slide, rock-climbing wall, soccer field, two hot tubs, and the best workout center of the hotel. Like the East Village, there are parking lots on the outside and one can only enter the villas from interior hallways. There are 8 floors.
I hope the above description of the different villages of the resort helps those of you trying to decide where to stay. The bottom line: If you have kids, I would stay at River Island. If you want more peace and quiet, go to the East Village. If you want to have lots of activities around you, stay at either River Island or West Village.
