Hubby and I decided to take the kids for a quick Thanksgiving getaway to Florida. We had Marriott points which was nice. They upgraded us to a Lake View room. Over all the Grande Lakes was a nice choice. It is a JW so it was nicer than your typical Marriott. However, the rooms were very small, two double beds, they allowed us to have a rollaway bed which made the room even smaller. Beds were very uncomfortable, housekeeping was inconsistent. We asked for extra towels and extra shampoo soap as they only had enough for two people and we had four. Housekeeping brought it up when asked for and the next day housekeeping took the extra towels out that were not used. Hmmmm. We were on the 26th floor which was really nice as we were able to see the fireworks and a great view of the amusement parks, however, the shower water turned off right in the middle of a shower. This happened the morning after we arrived and brought it to their attention. Maintenance came up and said he would adjust the water pressure. Hmmm, still happened the whole time we were there. I think it was because we were on the 26th floor, when I asked, they said that had nothing to do with it and no other complaints. Hmmm. ok...There is a lot to do at this hotel, the pool was big and had a winding lazy river, sand volleyball those carnival bikes, not sure of the name, canoeing, golfing, arcade and pool service and much more. We had our Thanksgiving dinner at Citrone. The food was excellent so many choices, and the desserts were to die for. The price however, is another story! It was worth it.

Be careful and look at your bill as they charged us for two valet, and something out of the mini fridge that we did not take. They adjusted it, but had we not check we would have paid for that. My hubby is a foosball wizard, and found a recreation staff member to play with. He ended up sending us a basket of goodies to our room. Do not know his name but he was very nice. He did not put his name on the card, it was from the recreation dept staff. This hotel is very large bring your walking shoes!!!!

The highlight, other than being together, was experiencing the lazy river. It's beautiful, relaxing & fun. Rooms are very nice & the location on a lake is very pretty. We mostly ate elsewhere except for breakfasts, a buffet that was very good & extensive & lasted us til dinner pretty much.

First, get out of your room. The decor is a cross between 1975 and a bad beach towel. The views are amazing, the staff is some of the best I have seen and the food was good too. Don’t sit in your room, go to the lazy river, or LKPP - little kid pee pool, and set sail - I’m kidding. The lazy river is nice, the hotel was set to perfection and the rooms are fine, just a little neonishshsh. I was upgraded to a suite, and what a difference. Here comes the staff comment again, GREAT! Stayed here twice and will be here again, but sorry, I don’t golf. You will have to get Old Man Putters swing on the course...

So, I mostly liked this hotel. The JW's in my experience all have beautiful decor with dark wood and wrought iron accents. Very minimalist. This JW had nice sound proofing in the rooms. If the heater hadn't made a lot of noise during the night, it would have been a very quiet room. The pool area is nice. Not as big and wonderful as the one in San Antonio, but nice. The rooms seemed smaller than the JW in San Antonio, but man I love their decorating. I also found the staff to be super nice. Josh at the front desk was so incredibly sweet, I almost adopted him on the spot and volunteered to pay for his college tuition...almost. I also liked the location. It was close to the major highways but we could get in and out of our hotel with little traffic, which is saying something in Orlando.

The only downsides to the hotel are you have to pay for the lazy river tubes ($7) and the "free" Internet in the lobby would bounce you out every two minutes. Not much of a deal on those fronts. But I am planning on staying there again the next time I am in Orlando, so that should clue you in on how much of a problem it was for me.