Silver Lake Resort--The New Facilities are Worth It
Written: Feb 20 '07
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Pros: A nicely landscaped resort with large villas and a comfortably heated pool.
Cons: The older villas are dated, parking can be hard to find at night.
The Bottom Line: Silver Lake is a "plain vanilla" resort in terms of accommodations and pools. The villas are roomy enough for large families.
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| Barefooter's Full Review: Silver lake resort |
Way back in October, I won $200 from Epinions in the form of an Ebay gift certificate. The hubby and I decided to use the money to purchase a four-day, three-night vacation at Silver Lake Resort located in Kissimmee, Florida. Part of the agreement to obtain the vacation at such a rock-bottom price was that we would have to sit through a 90-minute time-share presentation.
Our accommodations included a two-bedroom, 1,000 square-foot villa that sleeps six, with a deluxe Jacuzzi in the master bedroom. The reviews that I found on the internet were mostly good-- with a few reviews that described the accommodations as quite dated. We were in the older section of the resort in the 300 building. The resort was built in 1916, but the resort personnel reassured us that the villas were updated every five years.
We checked into Silver Lake Resort at noon and they allowed us to access our villa early. Normal check in time is at four p.m. Check out is at ten a.m. There is a list of resort activities posted for each day of the week that can be found on a flyer and on the lobby television. Activities included water volleyball, ice cream sundaes, shoot out contests, coloring contests and story times to name a few. We participated in the ice cream at two p.m. but were disappointed to find out that it cost two dollars per person. The ice cream was obviously a cheap brand and included sugar-free chocolate and strawberry toppings. If you're going to charge patrons for ice cream-- at least include some creative toppings or a quality brand of ice cream.
Our villa was mostly clean, but we discovered a nice pair of men's flip flops under one bed. Apparently they don't bother to vacuum every inch of the carpet. The villa included a kitchen with ample countertops and two stools. The kitchen is supposed to be "fully equipped" for cooking, but we discovered that there was no strainer to drain spaghetti or wash fruits. The fridge was rather new, but the ice-maker took a full day to make ice. Two grocery stores are located within two miles of the resort. The kitchen opened up into a dining area with a glass dining table and wicker chairs with seating for six. The living room contained a couch and three chairs and a large (approximately 32-inch) tv and a screened-in porch was adjacent to the living room. Our unit backed up to a nicely landscaped walking path lined with palm trees.
The older villas have three floors with no elevator access. Be sure to request a villa on the first or second floor. The newer villas have elevator access. Parking is easy to find during the day, but after eight p.m. it becomes much more difficult.
The kids stayed in a bedroom equipped with two full-sized beds, a dresser, closet and small plasma tv. The master bedroom was nicely decorated and the most updated room in the villa in terms of decor. The queen-sized bed was extremely comfortable and there were four pillows provided--just what we needed to prop ourselves up to see the tv on the adjacent dresser. The master bathroom was quite large, complete with a two-person shower, two-person Jacuzzi and two sinks. The hubby and I were able to share this bathroom quite comfortably.
We did experience a back-up in the master commode and this was quickly remedied by a call to the front desk. Service here is excellent and the staff responded to every request we made. One evening, our youngest son was using the Jacuzzi and he started to let the water down. He tried to turn off the Jacuzzi, but the switch would not shut off. All of a sudden he was yelling and I stepped into the bathroom only to find water from the Jacuzzi going off in all directions. The water had gone down so fast that the jets were spewing the remaining water everywhere. We frantically tried to stop the jets and ended up having to fill up the tub to stop the spray. The hubby ran to the phone to call the front desk. They were able to stop the Jacuzzi by accessing a panel. Needless to say, we didn't turn the Jacuzzi on during the rest of the visit.
If you'd like daily maid service, that is available for an extra fee. Towels are exchanged on Wednesdays. All trash has to be deposited in a common trash area. Upon leaving the resort, any dirty dishes must be washed in the dishwasher and all linens stripped from the beds.
The best part of this resort is the pool area. You can view the pool here: http://www.silverlakeresort.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=DSC_2597
The large, curving pool has a lap area, water volleyball net, and a small island to swim around. The pool depth ranges from two feet to five. Adjacent to this pool is a smaller pool that is ideal for families who want to keep an eye on their children. All of the pools are nicely heated and we were able to use the pool even when the weather dipped down to fifty degrees. The pools are open until 11 p.m. but no lifeguards are on duty at any time. A hot tub is located near the bar, between the large and small pool. You can view the flat panel tv while sipping drinks in the hot tub. The bar, however, is independently owned and we only ordered two drinks from them. At $7.25 per frozen concoction, I expected more than a tibbling of tequila in my margarita. A margarita wasn't even my first choice as they had some exotic drinks listed. Teh bartender was out of stock of the ingredients for the more exotic drinks. A definite disappointment there.
The kids enjoyed the Activity Center which included pool tables, arcade games (be prepared to pay extra), ping pong and a seating area. Instead of paying for internet service at the villa, we opted to use the free internet in the Activity Center which was equipped with four computers. The hubby and kids also enjoyed a round of golf via the Golf Simulator which featured courses from all over the world. At $10 per two hour time slot, it was an entertaining bargain. We also obtained tennis rackets, balls and shuffleboard equipment from the center at no charge. A fitness center is located next to the Activity Center and includes treadmills, weight machines and bicycles.
Silver Lake Resort is part of the RCI Time Share group. Our presentation included a breakfast buffet and soft drinks/juices. There was some friendly pressure to purchase a time share but they stopped once they realized we were not planning to go ahead with it. The presentation started out with 104,000 RCI points at a purchase price of $30,000. The final offer was 33,000 RCI points for a price just over nine grand. So if you do plan to purchase a time share, be willing to negotiate hard for a bargain price.
So now for the important question: Would we stay at this resort again? For an average price of $200 per night, I would come back to the newer facility that featured granite countertops and all new furnishings. But I would take a three-bedroom unit and split the price with another family. This trip would have been a budget-buster if we had to pay full price on our own.
A nice plus to this resort is that it is close to all of the Disney and Universal theme parks and shuttle service is provided.
www.silverlakeresort.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Barefooter
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Member: Karen
Location: Chicago area
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