Hilton grand Vacation-difference between Sea World and...

I%26#39;m looking into the Hilton Grand Vacation at Seaworld- we never stayed at either Hilton Grand Vac., from what I%26#39;ve read, the one on International Drive is newer, yet the prices are lower than the Sea World location. Does anyone know the reason behind this? Does the Sea World one offer more to do? We have a teenager going with us, so we would like the resort with more activities. Also, which one is closer to Universal? Thanks!!

Hilton grand Vacation-difference between Sea World and...

Hi Radiology,

My family of three stayed at the HGVC at Seaworld last April and it was fantastic!! We could find nothing to complain about, we were in the Pembroke Bldg. (I think it was #4) which was a perfect location to the pool; not too close or too far. This year we decided to try the HGVC on I-Drive just for a change of scenery. Hopefully it will be just at good as the one at Seaworld. As far as the activities go, I believe they both offer the same at each resort (with the exception I believe the on at Seaworld has a small movie theater and the one on I-Drive does not). Hope this helped.

Hilton grand Vacation-difference between Sea World and...

Have you read all the Tripadvisor reviews on both places? (in the hotel section). From what I gleaned it seemed that the Sea World location had activities more geared to teens, the other more towards younger kids, but I%26#39;m sure both places would be great.

Even though the I-drive location is newer, I personally did not prefer it as much - several reasons - so you just have to read and look and decide for yourself. I think at the time I%26#39;m going the newer one may be $10/night less, not enough for me to want to stay there if I don%26#39;t prefer it for other reasons.

Schalipoo - I know the Sea World location has not been renovated in the 10-12 years since it was built - you found the rooms, pool, etc., to be in good condition?

But I do wonder why both of them are so much less than the Marriott villas that we also considered.

I think part of it boils down to location as well. The one on I-Drive is down by the Premium Outlet Mall and Dixie Stampede. It%26#39;s not as conveniently located to any of the theme parks as the Sea World location, where you can walk to Sea World from the resort. Location alone can make a big difference in the cost of a room in Orlando. If you can walk to any of the big three parks, you will pay a premium to do so. The resort on I-Drive is much newer though, and if you have a car, it is centrally located to all three theme parks.

Hi Warmwinds,

We found the rooms at the Seaworld location to be in top shape. Although, I was a little worried because at the time (last year) on TA there were some very negative reviews as to room cleanliness and upkeep. I am glad we decided to take the chance because you do get so much for your money at HGVC, and the grounds were stunning as well. May I ask what you did not like at the HGVC on I-Drive? Any input you have would be appreciated. Thanks...

Just wanted to thank-you all for replying to this post-we%26#39;re definetely going to try to get into the HGV at Seaworld- I%26#39;m tring to get a timeshare deal off of ebay or one of the timeshare websites, but we%26#39;re going from a Tues-Tues, which may be a little difficult, if not I might just book through Hilton direct. Thanks again!

Schalipoo, it was just a couple of very personal things that may sound trivial but were important to me. I didn%26#39;t like the looks of the decor on I-drive (I know not every room looks exactly the same, but...) - for a fun summery vacation it was just too dark, heavy and formal - ok for a hotel in Europe but not Orlando! The other (very important to me) thing was I loved the screened balconies at SeaWorld - I do not think that I-drive has them. I love to sit outside at night but I am a mosquito magnet so this was important to me. And finally it was the location - I liked the idea of being close enough to walk to SeaWorld, and I like the idea of being in the thick of I-drive for it%26#39;s restaurant options...the new I-drive location was just a little isolated, and maybe it%26#39;s been built up around it now but many reviews I read of the SW location said it was private and nice because the grounds were large but still centrally located.

I called and asked for a building overlooking the little lake out back (not the pool, and not far away in one of the remote buildings), so they said they put a note in my record for the non-smoking St. George building - do you know if that was a good choice?

Other than that I-drive looks lovely, too, and if SW had not been available for my dates I would have been perfectly happy there.

Hi Warmwinds,

Thanks for sharing your opinions, I can totally understand the decor being a drawback. If you are not into the dark woods and the marble, etc.., then hey that is just not your thing. Why wouldn%26#39;t you want to stay where you are more comfortable? I don%26#39;t think the dark decor would bother me even though it is not my taste, I think it is rather lavish, but pretty for a vacation. We did the tropical look last year at the HGVC at Seaworld and now are opting for the regal look.

I am sorry that I do not know where the St. George building is located, however I do know that the staff was very accomodating. I called them from the airport when we arrived in Florida to ask if our room was ready and what building they were putting us in. The staff said that if I would wait for a room (we arrived before check in) that they would get us in the perfect building for us, which they did. We went to the pool and changed in the lockers until our room was ready. The staff called us on our cell phone to let us know when the room was available. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Nice chatting with you :)

Radiology - be sure to let us know how you liked it!

To Radiology and Schalipoo - I just called the HGVC%26#39;s to ask a couple of questions, because you had me thinking maybe we should stay at the newer one, and I found out a couple more things that may help the two of you decide...first of all, they BOTH have the screened porches, to my question about SW being ';older'; she said they are constantly upgrading/repairing/etc so not to worry, if I like the looks of SW better that%26#39;s fine - she said the I-D location IS very dark decor...but this one is important - Sea World has 3 pools, one of which is adults only, and I-D has two, both of which are family. So since we%26#39;re traveling w/o kids makes SW even that much more attractive. And I also asked why SW is often (not always) more expensive - she said SW is closer to the Convention Center, gets more Convention traffic, and when they buy up blocks of rooms makes the prices rise.

I didn%26#39;t ask her why their prices are sooo much cheaper than Marriott, didn%26#39;t want them to realize it and raise their rates!

warmwinds- thanks for all your hard work!! I%26#39;m still trying to get a rental at the Seaworld location-Tues-Tues is proving to be hard to book, last resort we%26#39;ll book through their website, their web price for a 1 bedroom for a week runs about $1100 for the week, which I thought was a pretty good price, considering it seems to be such a nice resort. We love sitting on the porch in the morning and drinking our coffee, and not having to rush out to find breakfast, thanks again! Radiology