Orange Lake ResortRental Guest Reviews

Beautiful facility, questionable service

If this review were based solely on the room quality, amenities available, and overall value, it would be 5 stars. Unfortunately, a broad range of issues experienced in different areas of the resort bring the average down to 3 stars. It took 15 minutes from the time I pulled into the turn lane for the resort until I got to the security guard to get on property. The line stretched down the shoulder of the highway, well past the turn lane. The guard was friendly in checking our name and providing directions, but that type of wait is unacceptable, especially for a non-holiday weekend. In exploring the property, I found a back way into the resort with a two lane entry way, a long road leading to it, and no line. This was how I entered and exited the rest of my time. While this entrance is a ways form the registration area, it needs to be advertised and utilized as it is much better prepared to handle volume. Once I found a spot to park at the very crowded registration area, I headed inside and found a long line of people waiting for the 10 front desk agents working hard behind the desk. There were stations for a few more agents, and it seems like this would be the opportunity to utilize those stations. I headed to the gold and platinum registration line, which only had one other person waiting. I was greeted by a young lady who welcomed me and inquired as to my elite status. I informed her I was a gold member, after which she asked to see my member card. I told her I don't carry a card, but that it was all recorded on my reservation. She reminded me that the line was for elite members and again asked for my card. I informed her I stay 8-10 nights each month with IHG and not to worry about me and my status. Finally she left me alone. Once I got to the front desk, the gentleman helping me couldn't find my reservation. This was the first of many times I was asked if I used a different name. I don't. I use the only name that I have. I provided a confirmation number and an IHG rewards club member number. With those two phone numbers and a phone call, they found my reservation and got me checked in. The room was a bit of a drive from the registration area, but that is to be expected, as this is not a hotel. This is a standard Florida resort, spread out amongst golf courses, bungalows, and towers. The room was fantastic! It was bigger and nicer than a lot of apartments I have lived in when I was younger. It would be comfortable for a family to live there for a week or more without issue. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer and dryer, all the kitchen stuff you need including a full size fridge, screened in back porch. The TV's seemed small for such a big space, but I'm not here to watch TV anyway. I immediately called reservations and asked if I could extend my stay in this room for one more night. They said no problem and verified the rate and the checkout date. I responded, "just to be clear, I will be extending in the room I am currently standing in and from whose phone I have called you. Is that correct?" This was verified, and I headed to the pool. The pool and lazy river were great. The restaurant messed up my order, but no big deal, these things happen. I was too happy being on vacation to care. That night I ordered dinner from the pizza place on property. When they quoted an hour+ for delivery, I agreed to go pick it up. The Marketplace where you get the pizza also had a Starbucks, ice cream, and a convenience store, in addition to the golf pro shop. There was mass confusion on where to go to pick up and pay for the pizza. Do I go to the window where I see pizzas boxes? Do I go to where they are scooping ice cream? Perhaps where they are making Starbucks items? Maybe it is over by the display of golf balls? I don't know because there is nothing to indicate where to go, just a dozen guests wandering around. When I get to the counter I get my favorite question "did you use a different name?". No. Please go get my pizza. The pizza, breadsticks, and Caesar salad weren't terrible, but decent at best. The next day I returned from Disney to find that my room key didn't work. Awesome. They probably neglected to update my keys to work for the extended night. I loaded the family and our lunch back in the car and made the journey back to the reception area. I parked in a lot kind of near the building and walked into a huge line. I explained to the greeter that I simply needed my key reprogrammed. She asked me to step into the massive line and wait with everyone else. I refused, and instead went to a gentlemen who was clearly the manager. He asked me to wait for a second while he handled something. I then stood there for 10 minutes while he watched someone checking in. At this point agitation set it, and upon raising my voice I was instructed to go to the end of the desk. Once there I was informed that my room had not been extended and that I needed to get my belongings out of the room, as an "owner" was waiting to check in to the unit. I countered with my verification text message and email showing my reservation for the evening. An hour later, after much arguing, I was allowed the privilege of returning to my room that I had reserved and paid for. My family was hot, my lunch was cold, my excitement evaporated. My wife convinced me not to just drive back to Tampa, so we stayed the night in the beautiful room and appreciated that aspect of the resort. I brought all of the issues above to the attention of the front desk manager "W". He listened patiently and hopefully took my concerns to heart. I clicked that I would recommend the property, as I already have to a few friends, who have booked their honeymoon here. Hopefully they will not face the same challenges I did. Hopefully anyone reading this will understand it is coming from someone who travels constantly and has spent the last 10 years working in the hotel industry

Two bedroom Villa with 1 Kng 2 Qns

When we arrived to OLR we were greeted with a friendly smile. Upon check in and the arrival to our villa, we were pleasantly surprised. We opened the front door and were welcomed by granite countertops and a spacious living space. The sleeping quarters were so impressive with comfortable bedding which allowed for relaxing sleep. Our view of the golf course provided a picturesque scene where we were greeted daily by the local habitat. Simply beautiful. The children enjoyed the various activities, which of course was overshadowed by long stays at poolside. This resort brought a smile to each of our faces. Con...felt forced to partake in timeshare. Though I enjoyed seeing the presidential suite..simply breathe taking. The 90 mins turned into 4 hrs. Great sales person very knowledgeable. I will certainly return fo next years family vacation.

Loved the Lazy River Experience with Family

The villas are old and tired. The rooms were not clean. We killed two roaches in the cubboard and on the counter. I am Holiday Inn Platinum and will always stay at IHG facilities. Hopefully we can stay here again in a highrise as we are Disney Annual pass holders.

Great resort and excellent customer service!

This was our first stay at Orange Lake, and we were so pleasantly surprised with the many amenities and the high quality of accommodations. The most impressive aspect was the friendliness and courtesy of the entire staff - from the excellent front desk staff at check-in to the maintenance staff and all other resort services - such as golf, pool staff and others.

Great Staff and Terrific Amenities

This is the third time we have stayed at this property. We brought our grandchildren and had a wonderful time. They love the pools, slides and lazy river. There are so many things to do on the property, we had a hard time convincing them to go to a couple of the parks. The staff are so friendly and extremely helpful! We were in a 2BD/2BA Villa in the River Island area. We had a fabulous time, we will be back!

Stayed and Played

came to relax and had so much fun we will come back for years to come

Great friendly staff

highly recommended staff went above and beyond plenty to keep the kids and everyone happy

Great vacation place

This is a beautiful place for a family vacation. We stayed here May/June 2014, after a recommendation from my cousin, who owns a time share here. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment for 2 nights and a 2 bedroom villa for 3 nights. Both were very nice, roomy, comfortable and quiet. There is a lot to do on-site, plenty of restaurants on-site and everything you need except toiletries and food. All the pools, I think there are 7 or 8, and the lazy river are free, but you do have to pay $9 to rent an inflated tube. The "hippo" an inflated water slide is fun, but this is also $9. You can buy a fun pass for $45 per person if you want to play golf, miniature golf, and all the other things I mentioned. The pass is good for 7 days. If you are willing to listen to the sales pitch to buy into the resort, you can get a deal on the passes, but this is a high pressure sale. I believe we said NO about 20 times. Regardless, this is a quiet, vacation spot. Even though there are hundreds of villas, apartments and houses, it does not seem crowded. We really liked it and would definitely go again. We were glad to learn that there are other like resorts in other areas of the United States and in other countries too. There are also many other stores, restaurants and places to do things close to the resort as well, even Disney, Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens.

Great for family vacations!

Great resort - lots to do! This resort is perfect for a family vacation.

above the rest

We had passed by this place couple of times and thought it would be too expensive to stay at. Wrong. Very reasonable for what you get. Had couple of minor maintenance problems and they were corrected immediately. Had a IT problem and they were on it. Great service. Beautiful grounds. Deer came out of the woods to feed right by the road. Only bad thing is the 4 pm check in because we are always there early.