Summer Bay resort recent stays?

pk1959

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Has anyone stayed here recently that can give their opinions on the place? I looked at reviews on Tripadvisor and saw some not very flattering pictures with cockroaches or some kinds of bugs on the floor or walls and frayed carpeting. Trying to do a early March trip (late planning I know) and not finding a whole lot for a decent price. Looked at VRBO which we used to book through all the time, but can't believe all the added fees!

Would love to hear opinions!!!!
 
be sure yr not reading reviews from the "crown plaza" at summer bay, that's the hotel on site with free breakfast, it gets terrible reviews, recent pix of bugs and things, so if the review says free breakfast u know its the hotel part, not the resort..we rented from a guy, and leaving in 20 days, we have to spend 1 night at the hotel before our weekly condo opens up..ill review when I get back.
 
I didn't know there was a hotel there, so now I wonder! I will be anxious to hear your thoughts once you get back! Hope you have a great trip!
 
We just made a ressie there through hotwire. I started freaking out that I was at the hotel and not the condos based on the price I got. I reserved under one of the "secret deals"- though I knew exactly resort it was thanks to some bidding websites. I called and confirmed we are at the condo, not the hotel. Anxious to see what its like....trip for the older kids and me April 2-6.
 


I was about to make a reservation through Ebay for a stay there. I am sure it would have been one of the condos, but after looking at the reviews (which may have been for the hotel now I realize) and the lack of opinions from anyone here on the boards, we decided not to chance it. Hope it turns out great for you in April.
 
I was about to make a reservation through Ebay for a stay there. I am sure it would have been one of the condos, but after looking at the reviews (which may have been for the hotel now I realize) and the lack of opinions from anyone here on the boards, we decided not to chance it. Hope it turns out great for you in April.

Yea, me too! Its just me and my 2 older ones so hoping its doable. I will check in after out trip for others who are looking. We usually rent a house at Windsor Hills or rent points at BLT so I am trying to go in with an open mind that I paid significantly less for this ressie so my expectations should be lowered a little!
 
I stayed at the hotel years ago about a week before the sinkhole swallowed up a building about 100 yards from the hotel.I don't remember the hotel being too bad but the resort is close to US 27 and a bit far away from the parks.The sinkhole thing,I mean many areas between Orlando and Tampa are known for sinkholes but to just know one opened up there is something to consider.
 


Yea, me too! Its just me and my 2 older ones so hoping its doable. I will check in after out trip for others who are looking. We usually rent a house at Windsor Hills or rent points at BLT so I am trying to go in with an open mind that I paid significantly less for this ressie so my expectations should be lowered a little!

I would appreciate a review when you get back. We had a reservation here at the condos last August through Skyauction, but I read so many horrible reviews about the older condo buildings that I chickened out and booked someplace else and lost the $ we paid. It comes up frequently on Skyauction so I’d like to know if it’s a good option. Hope you have a great trip!
 
We rented ours for $600, a friend owns there and kinda steered us to the newer buildings, and again I have 2 nights at the hotel, just because I don't wanna pack up and move too far, the pools and surroundings all look nice, ill do a trip report when I return, we usually do Windsor hills so my expectations r high.
 
we just returned and summer bay hotel and condos were ok, the hotel is as soon as you drive onto lot we stayed 2 nights its old and i can see it needs alot of work, but we were tired so we just slept, i certainly wouldn't do it for more then 2 nights, just 2 beds, but it,is on the summer bay grounds and you get access to all the pools about 6 all together, summer bay is older then windsor hills but they try hard to keep up with lansdcaping and making it nice, my kids loved it, we had some drunks at out pool by bldg 407, so we just moved to 1 of the bigger pools, all pools are open till 11, the clubhouse is nice, movie theatre and game room nicely updated, they put me in a bottom floor, that was not what i like so with a little grumbling they moved me to a second floor lakeview was nice, the newer buildings are 500, but they had karaoke at the pool(not good singers), pretty late for us and loud, so glad we were in 407, the waterpark looked very nice, the pizza place made gluten free for my kids.. the workers are amazing, very friendly, we would choose again for the choice of pools, publix is right down street very conv. the 192 traffic is crazy, just a mile or 2 further from lake wilson rd at windsor hills, and it seemed like 20 miles at night..always use the light at publix, the main entrance is on a 1 way.. ooo beware of tiny ants, they blended in with the marble black tile but attacked out sweets and breads, just learn to keep all food in fridge.. we been used to this for years vacationing in florida..
 
I'm staying there i late march. The recent reviews on TripAdvisor have mostly been very favourable. I'm surprised by lelesmith's comments because I understood that all the room has been recently renovated. I booked my hotel on Hotwire, so I can't change now.
 
I'm staying there i late march. The recent reviews on TripAdvisor have mostly been very favourable. I'm surprised by lelesmith's comments because I understood that all the room has been recently renovated. I booked my hotel on Hotwire, so I can't change now.

How was Summer Bay Resort? We're considering staying there for an August trip in a 2 bedroom condo and would love to hear how your trip went.
 
I would appreciate a review when you get back. We had a reservation here at the condos last August through Skyauction, but I read so many horrible reviews about the older condo buildings that I chickened out and booked someplace else and lost the $ we paid. It comes up frequently on Skyauction so I’d like to know if it’s a good option. Hope you have a great trip!

We are here now....I am pleasantly surprised. I was really thinking the worst. We are in a 1 bedroom condo. All appliances and furniture is up to date and very attractive. The carpet is definitely worn though...but thats not a huge issue to me. Bed is comfortable and pull out couch is fine.

They have been a little pushy with the sales pitch. They tried to take me into it when I checked in. They then called the next morning at 9:30. We just unplugged the phones so we can't hear it ring (I never picked it up).

Have not heard any neighbor noise. We are on the ground floor and the family next to us has 2 younger kids (I happened to talk to them one morning) but not a peep.

My biggest complaint is the smoking at the main pool. You are allowed to smoke at the tables around the bar (and beside the pool). Thats a big turn off. But we found we actually liked the smaller pool by the condo better as it has a zero entry.

Have seen very few kids at their water park you have to pay extra for- we are talking like 3-4 kids when we drive by and its Spring Break. And I won't let me kids swim in the lake- they have a sign warning of amoebas in the water.

I would come back here for the price- we paid about $90 a night including the tax and resort fees with a hotwire bid.
 
We are here now....I am pleasantly surprised. I was really thinking the worst. We are in a 1 bedroom condo. All appliances and furniture is up to date and very attractive. The carpet is definitely worn though...but thats not a huge issue to me. Bed is comfortable and pull out couch is fine.

They have been a little pushy with the sales pitch. They tried to take me into it when I checked in. They then called the next morning at 9:30. We just unplugged the phones so we can't hear it ring (I never picked it up).

Have not heard any neighbor noise. We are on the ground floor and the family next to us has 2 younger kids (I happened to talk to them one morning) but not a peep.

My biggest complaint is the smoking at the main pool. You are allowed to smoke at the tables around the bar (and beside the pool). Thats a big turn off. But we found we actually liked the smaller pool by the condo better as it has a zero entry.

Have seen very few kids at their water park you have to pay extra for- we are talking like 3-4 kids when we drive by and its Spring Break. And I won't let me kids swim in the lake- they have a sign warning of amoebas in the water.

I would come back here for the price- we paid about $90 a night including the tax and resort fees with a hotwire bid.

Thanks for the review. I'll keep it in mind for future stays. Hope you have a great trip!
 
Just got back. Love it. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, ground floor unit. Easy access to parking, pool, good wifi, friendly staff, nice rooms (recently renovated), full and well equipped kitchen.

We paid $85/night for 6 nights, plus they have a small resort fee (around $10/night). This is a deal. For our large family, this truly was a perfect stay.

It is about 20-25 minute drive to the parks, plus or minus a couple minutes depending on traffic. I think we made it home in 18 minutes one evening, which is pretty good. They do offer a shuttle but we didn't use it.

This is a large resort with several buildings. Each building has its own pool. The pool you see in the pictures is the main pool (with the beach) but we didn't use that, just the pool at our building.

Overall, I would very highly recommend this resort. It's affordable, spacious, and very clean. If you have a car, it will make your life that much easier as it will be easy to come and go to the parks, walmart, etc.
 
Also there is a way to the parks using back roads to get off of 192. You turn left on avalon road and then a few other turns. Brings you in the back way to Disney by the toll road. Was a huge time saver during the times traffic was all backed up on 192.
 
How was Summer Bay Resort? We're considering staying there for an August trip in a 2 bedroom condo and would love to hear how your trip went.
I'm staying there mid-June. My mom, sister and her friend stayed there 5 years ago and like the above comment their unit fell into the sinkhole two weeks later. We mentioned that when booking this trip and they have taken preventative measures to keep it from happening. When staying there though they thought it was an excellent resort.
 
Couple questions:
Do you need a car to get around the resort?
Did anyone go to the Publix on site?
 
I used the Publix...its not exactly "on site" but you can drive there without having to go out onto 192. But I would say its probably a mile from check-in if I am remembering correctly. We didn't drive around the resort, but we were about a 5 minute walk from clubhouse. Some of the "homes" were a good distance away though.
 

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