Margaritaville Resort Orlando — Hotel in Four Corners

I am visually impaired and use a white cane. This was my first real outing since getting sick and going into remission, so I was excited. Even though we are Floridians and live about an hour and a half from Margaritaville Orlando Resort, I wanted this to be a really fun back to school getaway and have it feel like a real vacation. ||We booked three rooms for our group so the teens could have their own space. The reservation included access to H2O Waterpark. We arrived early and had no problem leaving our luggage with bell services. We chose valet in case of a medical emergency. Our friends arrived later and met us at the waterpark.||Included with our reservation was access to the H2O waterpark nearby. ||The complimentary shuttle took us to the waterpark, which was nice while we waited for check in time. The driver told us pickup would be in the same location and to call when ready to return. ||Because of my vision impairment, light sensitivity, and medical issues, we had reserved a cabana at the waterpark and at the hotel the following day, in advance. We went to the waterpark gate, and were provided with wristbands for our cabana rental. We were not provided any additional instructions, location, or information on the cabana. After finding the cabana ourselves, we were confused, and then we learned that check in was inside the gift shop, so we left our bags inside the cabana and checked in properly. ||The H2O waterpark cabana had a table, chairs, loungers, a cooler, and shades that could be pulled down. The cabana does not have controlled access, like at most of the other waterparks we’ve been to. There was no safe like at Aquatica, but the shade made all the difference for me. Our waitress was wonderful, the slides had short wait times, and most staff were friendly.||Midday, a manager came over and bluntly told us to “get out” of the cabana we had paid for. No greeting, no explanation, just those words. We were confused and shocked. We had our wristbands and our name on the reservation. After showing our receipt, he apologized, but the lack of professionalize and rudeness was not lost on me.||Near the entrance, there is a smoking area. The sidewalk there had been blocked by a stray sign lying flat across it. I did not realize what it was at first and nearly tripped over it before someone moved it out of the way. For someone with low vision, that kind of obstruction is not just inconvenient but dangerous. It was one more reminder that the park’s practices are not designed with accessibility in mind.||The wave pool was underwhelming. The majority of the pool is roped off, and there is a small entrance about 6 feet across to gain entry into and out of the pool area. The rest of the entrance is entirely roped off. In front of the pool area are chairs and loungers under shade, which were popular with other guests. The narrow walkway to the pool was often blocked with bags, towels, or people literally sitting on the ground between the chairs and the rope fence. For someone with low vision or accessibility issues, this was difficult and unsafe to navigate. Aquatica’s setup is much more accessible.||Leaving the park was worse. The shuttle would not pick us up at the entrance as we were previously told, and told us to wait in the middle of a traffic median at the shopping and restaurant area. Walking out into the middle of the street to stand on a median was not an option for me, so we walked to the nearby shopping area and flagged it down there. In hindsight, it would have been far easier to just walk back to the hotel ourselves, and it felt like the shuttle just didn’t want to make the extra stop at the waterpark, opting to just drive between the hotel and the shopping area.||When we returned to the resort, the front desk line was long. We had partially checked in earlier, but at prime check in time, only two stations were open. The process moved slowly. At first, the staff member told me she couldn’t find our premium pool view room reservation. She was holding my driver’s license the entire time, yet somehow kept entering my name backwards into the computer. The reservation itself was correct, but she was creating the error as she typed. For a hotel in Florida, you would think a Florida driver’s license would not be so puzzling. ||We did not realize what was happening until we had already been digging and trying to find a copy of the reservation. Once that was fixed, she initially gave us a first floor room regular room. I then had to ask what made a room premium since we had paid for a premium pool facing room. Only after showing proof, were we switched to the pool view on the higher floor with additional space. The welcome cocktails we received afterward helped, but it was an exhausting way to start the stay.||We met with a timeshare representative who was kind and considerate. I was interested because of their cottages, which would have worked really well for our group instead of booking three separate rooms. The added benefit of having space and all being together sounded fantastic, and as former DVC owners, we were interested in buying into the timeshare. He gave me a wristband for spa and cabana discounts, which was nice. I even started thinking about a couples massage, something I had not done in years due to my illness.||The room was beautifully decorated. I liked the separate water closet, the walk-in shower with a handheld option, and the comfortable bed. Closet space was generous, and the hooks and bench by the door were perfect for hats and swimsuits. There was not much drawer space, but it worked for us. The only issue was that the body wash bottle was empty our entire stay, and the conditioner bottle seemed to be filled with either shampoo or body wash. We bought our own instead of asking for complaining and asking for it to be refilled, hoping that it would be refilled properly the next day. It was not refilled throughout our entire stay, which was disappointing.||We had reserved our first hotel pool cabana in advance for our first full day at the hotel. We checked in at the pool, and the pool hut attendant was excellent. He was very helpful when I would try to enter the pool entrance, as it’s gated, and it was kind of difficult for me given my vision problems. The cabana was spacious with loungers, a table, a dresser, a cooler, and great service. Drinks were cold, food was good, and the attendants were friendly and attentive. ||The problem came when we decided to rent another hotel cabana later in the trip. The person working the entrance to the pool said they did not take reservations, the front desk said the same, and we were told to book online. When I asked about the timeshare wristband discount, I was told bluntly it meant nothing. That was the moment I lost interest in the timeshare, and didn’t even consider booking a spa treatment - we have plenty of spas at home. We ended up going back up to our room a different cabana on our own, this time on the other side of the pool area. It was as if the entire resort wasn’t working in concert with other parts. We laughed while waiting in line with other guests experiencing similar issues.. joking that, tell me this isn’t a disney property without saying it’s not Disney. But we just rolled with it, and continued on our vacation.||The next cabana we had was smaller, closer to the water, and had a safe, but it was harder for me to get to. The pool gate required a card scan and a push swing door that was difficult for me. At times guests waited five to ten minutes to enter while the attendant chatted with others. Other guests helped me when I struggled to open the gate. On our first pool day, the attendant was quick to assist, but the second day that was not the case, and felt very different.||Dinner at the hotel restaurant was delicious. I would absolutely eat there again, and we even ordered an appetizer one evening to take back to the room. ||We also went to the eating and shopping area, where the hotel offered the complimentary shuttle. The Wharf, although good, did not compare to the restaurant at the hotel. ||We had no problem getting dropped off there by the shuttle, but trying to return was impossible. The phone number to request pickup did not work, and we ended up taking an Uber back. The valet later told us this was a known problem, and he would let management know of the problem. When we used the shuttle the next day, we explained the difficulties with the shuttle and the telephone number not working. The response caught us off guard, and we were told to “prove it.” Which was easy, since cell phones keep track of telephone calls and we had an uber receipt. The issue was dismissed, despite having been previously told it was a known problem. ||There is a provisions area for quick snacks, breakfast items, and essentials. One evening I went to get a yogurt and granola. When I asked for a bag for the yogurt parfait, utensils, and napkins, the woman working made somewhat snarky comment like “for just this?” I lifted my white cane and explained that yes, I needed a bag. It was upsetting to feel like I had to justify asking for a bag for my disability. shouldn’t have happened in my opinion, and I should not have had to justify requesting that she put what I had purchased in a bag. ||Overall, Margaritaville Orlando has stylish rooms and some great staff, but there is no sense of connection between departments. The shuttle is wholly unreliable, accessibility is inconsistent, and service quality varies greatly depending on the day of the week and team (it seemed like the usual staff was not present Monday or Tuesday). Some staff were warm and professional, while others were dismissive, unhelpful, or rude. The experience had bright spots, but it lacked the seamless hospitality you find at resorts like JW or Disney. ||While I understand that the H2O waterpark is separate and distinct from the resort, it’s offered as a package deal, which is why I chose to mention my experience in this review. We came for some time at the resort, which included passes to the nearby waterpark. I get they are different companies, yes, but it’s a perk of staying at the resort - so I decided to include the entire experience here. ||Would I return? Maybe. But it would not be my first choice. While I was initially very interested in a timeshare, after experiencing the difficulties, we decided against it. It’s a really nicely decorated resort, but as former dvc owners, it isn’t the seamless vacationy experience we would want to...

I stayed in Margaritaville from August 2nd to August 5th. The goal was to stay in a family friendly hotel with excellent service that was in close proximity to restaurants. While we had high expectations, unfortunately Margaritaville was very underwhelming. Here is the Good, Bad and the Ugly.

THE GOOD: The hotel is a large convention style hotel with a ton of activities for families with kids of all ages. The rooms are decent size and the beds fairly comfortable. Pillows not so much but I always bring my own. There is a zero entry pool with a water slide and splash pad area with lounge chairs and an outside bar nearby. You also have free access to h20 water park next door which can be a value for those looking to stay within budget. In addition, there is an arcade, coffee shop and gift shop that seemed very neat. They also had a tablet in the room where you could make requests for towels, extra sheets and other items.

THE BAD: The resort is severely understaffed. Outside in the pool areas, there was never any employees in sight. There were no waiters/waitresses coming by to take your order or life guards or anybody for that matter. You have to walk over to the bar to make your drink/food orders. Not the end of the world but if you have young kids it is slightly inconvenient.

Also, several issues during my visit went unresolved despite my attempts to bring it to management's attention the moment they came up. It was like it fell on deaf ears. One of those issues was asking for a rollaway bed on the 1st night of the stay using the tablet. The ETA said 15 minutes but it never arrived. I walked to the front desk after 2 hours of waiting and it was explained that it is a fire hazard. No harm, no foul. I understood that explanation but walked back to my room a bit confused as to why they would give you the option on the tablet to get a rollaway bed only to deny you the request. I used the tablet again a bit later that night to ask for extra sheets and they never arrived. The next day I walked to the front desk to speak to a manager and was told the manager had not arrived yet but she would leave a message to the manager so she could call me when the manager arrived. We hung out in the room eating breakfast for an hour or so but nobody ever called.

We were excited to go to the pool. Before we left, I turned on the housekeeping light on the door that requests a turn down service. Nobody ever came. I did the same thing on sunday when we left to the pool again and room service did not come yet again. At one point, we had a pile of towels because no one ever came to make the beds, clean the bathroom or change the towels.

I finally spoke to the manager, Flavia, on sunday and her response/attitude was not one you would expect from someone in a leadership position. Hence, see below

THE UGLY: I was met with a lack of assistance and condescending attitude from the Front Desk Manager, Flavia. When I brought these matters to the attention of Ms. Flavia, I expected some level of care and professionalism. Unfortunately, her response was dismissive and unhelpful. It almost seemed like I was bothering her by sharing some of the difficulties I was having with my stay.

CONCLUSION: As a guest, I believe it is reasonable to expect both courteous treatment and genuine efforts to address problems as they arise. I called corporate and they told me they would call me back in 72 hours. It has been over a week, no call. The no call/no response seems to be a theme for this resort. Moreover, the lack of assistance I experienced not only failed to meet the standards advertised by Margaritaville Orlando Resort but also left me feeling disregarded as a customer.

My goal in this review is to highlight to those seeking a smooth seamless family experience that this may not be the best option for you. The stay was not a complete disaster; there were some great times experienced at the pool and arcade. With that being said, there are hotels with better customer service at this price point that will appreciate a loyal customer if that is...

To whom it may concern.

on 12/12/ 2024 my wife and I checked in to the margarita resort

My wife, Gloria suffers from Parkinson’s disease, lupus and Raynards disease. She is 65 years old and I am 66 I Wanted this to be special

On paper and many aspects of the resort are very nice the rooms are above average except for the slippery shower pictures attached to the report say it all

That said there is a new management team at the resort that treated us very badly.

So here is the story we check in and the trouble starts right away in the room they picked for us. They put us in room 247. If we understood, we would’ve complained right away. The facility had a very low occupancy and they sent us outside to the farthest room from the lobby ???? To explain this room. It’s like a cheap hotel at this point where you have to walk outside to get to your room if it’s a heavy rain or a cool windy night like 12/12 we moved to Floridia because Raynards disease does not like cold high 40s is enough to cause discoloration in my wife's hands explaining this to them was indifference

I was shocked by this, but when I opened the door to the room, the room was very nice and we thought since there was a stairwell down one flight, we could park a car by the side entrance and exposer would be minimized but we found out that the first door entrance did not respond to our badges and we were locked out which meant we had to walk about 2 football fields back to the lobby. They said they would try and repair so we walked back to our car and truly said to ourselves we can use the exercise and went out to eat came back and they said they were still working on it and we went to our room after 3 phone calls i realized they were ignoring me so I walked back to the lobby and spoke to the manager and they did offer a new room at this time in the hotel but it was late and my amazing wife ( seven children 13 grandchildren and always tries to make the best of issues ) said it was late lets do it Tomorow My understanding now is this is a new management group that just took over and laid off a lot of people and may not have known what they were doing And maybe this is why we did not a well oiled machine so to speak

My luck only gets worse The next morning at approximately 7 AM I get up to take a shower, which is a large shower a double size shower with a half glass door in front and a clear plastic floor slanted obviously toward the drain if my brain was working better that should have been a red flag (to all who visit this resort please note ) of you turn on the water on from the opposite side before you get in and as soon as I stepped in, I slipped hurting my knee and my back for a moment i thought about grabbing the glass door and still wonder if that might have worked but with no bars i took my lumps

I reported this incident to the manager, who then took pictures of my swollen knee and asked if I wanted to call 911 to which I declined one because it would’ve been embarrassed and 2 someone might be in real need

I have a titanium plate in my neck and compressed nerves from your spinal column will teach you what real pain is which i had prior to the plate in my vertebrae operation and this pain is nowhere near that but definitely worth the occasional Tylenol and ibuprofen

The response from the management team was not very compassionate. We had to stress that we wanted to be moved into the main building especially since we paid for it. We paid over $200 a night and we now wonder how we got put to the outside in the first place the good news is if you do decide to go to Margaritaville get inside the hotel. It is much more convenient. The bad news is the same slippery showers or throughout the facility.

I wanted to make the special for my wife it was like going to a reasonable restaurant that’s very pretty but the food and the service was horrible and it made my wife cry. Notice their response below they say contact us and leave no...