Villas At Regal Palms

I was told when I bought in that I could sell back to the resort if I needed to. When I recently called the corporate office, Ari flatly denied that they do buybacks. She was unhelpful and dismissed my concerns without asking for my contract number or any identifying details. She said there were only two ways out, both requiring me to find a new buyer and transfer the ownership myself. I'm an 83-year-old widow living on a fixed Social Security income, and the rising maintenance fees have left me borrowing money just to keep up. During my time as an owner, I was constantly pressured to upgrade. Multiple people approached me with relentless sales pitches until I felt I couldn't say no, and I had to leave the room to get away from it. The company also ignored the inquiry I sent in August of last year. When I asked the agent for a supervisor, she said a manager would just “tell me the same thing”. I am beyond frustrated. This company clearly doesn't care about the financial stress it's causing a senior citizen. Avoid getting involved if you can.

We liked having a quiet, private place where we could cook and drive our SUV right up to the door. For a family vacation, I enjoyed it more than a typical hotel, and I'd recommend it to the beleaguered family man on vacation. The office staff were responsive and helpful, even when our flight was delayed and we arrived around 1:00 am. We booked a week in one of the villas through Expedia for six people. It was competitively priced compared with nearby hotels, had four bedrooms, and didn't add fees like parking. The beds and pillows were very comfortable, and the privacy and good sleep helped us enjoy the trip. The kitchen and appliances were modern. The rest of the decor felt a little dated, but everything was clean and worked well. The clubhouse wasn't a comfortable walk from the villa, so we drove, and parking was always available. The pools, waterslide, and lazy river were nice and not crowded during our stay. I watched a SpaceX launch from the lazy river. The pool shop was useful and not expensive. The kids liked the arcade, though some games need maintenance. We skipped the restaurant since there were nearby options, including the supermarket next door.

The showers had great pressure, the water was hot, and the beds weren't terrible. That's about the best I can say. We only came here to kill time before our VRBO rental, but it was so bad I begged that rental's owner to let us in early. RCI should be ashamed to offer this place. It's old, outdated, dirty, and nowhere near luxury. The ice maker doesn't work. The coffee pot looked 40 years old, was dirty, and had years of burnt coffee on the hot plate, so I had to scrub it. The TV buffers, skips, and freezes until it's impossible to watch anything. There's no real outdoor space to enjoy, just a dirt gulley with buildings behind us and a postage-stamp lawn in front. I could have put out a chair, but then I'd have to sit beside my car. The master bathroom was awful too. The toilet was covered in mildew, had a ring around the water line, and clearly hadn't been cleaned or used in a long time. It runs constantly, needs the handle fiddled with after use, and randomly refills every couple of hours all night. There were dead bugs in the tub and water stains where the spout drips. Upstairs, the carpets were stained and disgusting, the furniture was uncomfortable, there were crumbs under the TV stand, and somebody's dirty socks were in the TV cabinet.

Even after moving to a second unit, things were only a little better. It was still very outdated, the mattresses were extremely old and uncomfortable, and the carpets remained disgusting. I wouldn't recommend staying here, and keep in mind it's not actually in Orlando. We booked through our timeshare. The first night was horrible: mold on the pull-out mattress, dirty bathrooms, and filthy carpets. We couldn't stay another night. I spent almost a whole vacation day trying to sort it out. The property manager was kind and helpful, showed us the new unit in advance, and worked with us to move to another location. These units aren't managed by Villas at Regal Palms. A separate company manages them, while Regal Palms only handles check-in and check-out.