The Gardens Resort

I’ve known this place since it was being built as condos. I nearly bought one to add to my RCI, and now I visit a good friend who lives here. The whole building unit was recently sold to a national company, so its future is uncertain. The property is well used and needs some minor maintenance. The elevator’s license has expired, and I wouldn’t ride it. The units were designed for timeshares, with large living areas for vacationers but not much closet space, which is actually a neat layout. The Lakeview would be much nicer with a little mowing. The new owner has vacated all the units it owns, which aren’t titled to individual owners; other units have renters, and none are owner-occupied. As of now, the building’s future is still in question.

Holy mother of God, this place is run down. From outside, you’d never guess you were heading to a timeshare. There are cats living in boxes, the registration booth doesn’t work and is covered with a blue plastic tarp, and the grounds are overgrown. To reach the parking lot, which has about 25 spaces, you have to drive through the lot of a closed building. Inside is passable, I guess, but nothing special or premium. There was a widescreen TV from 2001 and a couple of cheap prints on the wall. It feels like an old apartment. In the room I saw, the carpet wasn’t even pinned down and was coming loose, and the sliding door to outside barely worked. If you saw The Gardens website, you’d think it looked beautiful. That’s a lie. The place is trash and seems very unsafe, just a plain, run-down building.

We’ve stayed here several times, and there are things we really like alongside some clear shortcomings. The spacious one and two bedroom condos have nice layouts, large kitchens, and lovely lake views. We book through RCI. Housekeeping has always been friendly and done a good job, and the location is handy for downtown and some pleasant areas, though the neighboring area isn’t great. The buildings and units are showing wear. We’ve seen a couple that badly need fixing, and once asked to move from a dirty, worn out unit. The parking lot is dirty too, and the check-in staff weren’t good with customer service. There’s no Wi-Fi, seriously. From the street the place looks awful, so you’d never guess the condos are nice. It has some strong points, but some things really need improvement.

There’s room for improvement at The Gardens Resort. The units are roomy and fairly clean, but maintenance is lacking, and having no Wi-Fi holds the place back from earning a higher rating. Renovations and new construction are being talked about. We’ll see what happens.