Private Residences at Encore Reunion

210 Clawson Way needs a fair bit of work, even though the house itself is nice. The kids barely got to use the game room because its air didn’t work. Someone came to look, said they weren’t sure, and left. When I asked about replacing the broken PS4 cord, I was told I could buy one myself. The cable didn’t work in every room either, and they only came once about that. The upstairs tub drained so slowly that showering felt like standing in a pool. The toilet leaked every time it was flushed. They came to fix it, then said they had to wait until we left, so we used towels to avoid slipping. We killed about seven or eight roaches. They sprayed one room, but when I asked them to treat the whole house, the worker said he couldn’t. Some pots and pans were falling apart; one broke in my husband’s hand while he cooked, luckily without burning him. They brought replacements, and one of those fell apart too. Just a lot of little problems.

The refrigerators didn’t work, so groceries we bought went bad and we weren’t reimbursed. TVs were out too, so we couldn’t watch as a family, and the games didn’t work during our five-day stay. The pool wasn’t full, so we had to fill it ourselves. We were given two rollaway beds that didn’t suit my husband and several others who were 6'5" or taller. The room had lots of little-kid beds, which we didn’t need since we had more adults than children. I spoke with management, Brian, and he said he couldn’t accommodate us, which was unacceptable on a fully booked holiday weekend. None of these problems were handled in a timely way. We’ve vacationed here for five years and my family really enjoyed the place, so this was especially disappointing. 7643 Wilmington Loop was in need of many repairs, and we won’t be returning, as Brian said. Save your time and money, this place was horrible.

Our nine-bedroom house for the extended family had plenty of kitchen gear missing: no drink pitcher or pizza cutter, and the racks in one of the two dishwashers looked rusty and grimy. Finns restaurant was okay on a couple of visits, but once the staff left empty appetizer platters on the crowded table when our meals arrived. Breakfast was the same every day: Dole fruit cups, three cereals, apples, orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, sausage patties or links, and flaky pastries. We were tired of it by day three. The upstairs bedroom stayed hot every night because the air conditioner didn’t circulate well in that corner and there was no ceiling fan. Our mattress was harder than we like, and neither of us slept well all week. The pool had a run of problems: low water, then maintenance left a hose running overnight and it overflowed; the filtration system needed fixing, and one night someone apparently turned the pool up to 102 remotely, so nobody wanted to swim for 24 hours while it cooled. The skimmer pole had no net, and although I reported it right away, none was replaced. We had two fridges for the large group, but one was missing the glass shelf above the bottom drawer, wasting space, and the other's ice machine didn’t work. At check-in a smoke detector was chirping. It took hours for service to replace the battery, and the worker arrived without a ladder, propping a bundled ladder haphazardly against a door frame to reach it.

The peaceful setting, privacy, easy access, and options for adults made this a fun stay for all ages. After four days and three nights, I really didn't want to leave. I travel a lot and have tried all kinds of hotels, resorts, and Airbnbs, and this is easily one of my ten favorite places in Florida. The jacuzzi wasn't truly hot, and the Wi-Fi could have been better. I know some aren't heated in Florida, but it would have been even nicer to use at night if it could be warmed up. I'll be back.