Villatel Orlando Resort — Hotel in Orlando

Pros: We stayed in the apartments and they were truly spacious and convenient for us as a family of four. Convenient location to Universal and downtown Orlando attractions. The amenities were amazing- there is a lazy river, a large pool with a large shallow area which was perfect for our toddler, a poolside restaurant, a waterslide area with multiple slides, a splash pad that had mini water slides for the little ones, basketball court, pickleball court and a covered playground. It’s a huge property with beautiful ponds so it is a great place to be able to go for a walk or run.

Cons: we went when it was not very busy considering it was the week after spring break and I worry that once all of the units are finished building that the amenities will be way too crowded as some of the villas have many bedrooms per unit. The amenities didn’t open until 10am which was a huge letdown. They also closed at 8pm (including the playground) so once 8 hit there was nothing to do at the resort so definitely rent a car if you’re wanting to have evening activities. Our unit was very nice but there were some sloppy issues- our fridge water and ice machine was not hooked up so we had to go buy and pay for drinking water and they were not able to fix it until right when we were about to check out (we stayed 6 nights). A bathroom door had white paint all over the handle hardware and whomever painted it closed the door when it was wet so paint was missing. Housekeeping never replenished the shampoo/conditioner/body wash and I had to call 3 times to get someone to bring any. For the restaurant the prices are deceiving- they add a service fee which I can’t understand since no one brings it to you- they leave it at the bar counter to pick up so the prices won’t reflect what you’ll actually have to pay. Our second and last order there was for lunch one day for our kids. Waited 45 mins so I finally asked for them to check. The crew then ignored me for a good while until I asked another person to let me know what was happening since the kids were starving at that point. It wasn’t until I told the workers ignoring me that if they had not started making it to please cancel since I just cant wait any longer. Rather than be honest they were going to try to play it off like they had started making it when they never had. No one apologized or cared. My son had a meltdown over hunger so wen to the room and had to give him snacks we bought while trying to get lunch elsewhere. My biggest issue was with the front desk- when we checked it I had my Marriott bonvoy credit card on file to use for our stay. The gentleman said it declined and I asked him to try once more. He said it declined again and rather than manually try it that was that. So we had to give our debit card for the nearly $2000 room cost and we did not budget for that to go on there. I called chase the next day since we didn’t arrive until 10pm and they said the hotel had the wrong expiration date. I went to fix the error but they had already charged our debit card. The gentleman and woman at the desk did not know how to refund so they said to leave my card info and they would fix it so I didn’t have to wait any longer. I was then charged the almost $2000 on my credit Marriott card on top of the same charge still our of our debit account. Three days later I didn’t see any refund so I went back to the front desk. The same man was there and he said he called our room to tell me they needed the physical debit card for a refund. I told him we are hardly ever in our room since we went to the parks and the pool. He said he left a voicemail and that was not true- no voicemail. I asked if he could possibly help expedite the refund since we had been charged almost $4000 and he couldn’t have cared less. We did not get the money back until a day after we got back home.

They have a beautiful location with excellent amenities but the staff is not trained well and they definitely need to have a bit better customer service when it comes to dealing with mistakes they make. Amenities...

Break-in attempt at 2:30 am. Pneumonia. Highlights! The property itself is really nice. It's virtually new and and its location is a ten minute or less drive from Universal Studios resort. We stayed in a townhome estate, four bedroom, three bathroom, which was nicely appointed, and the interior decoration was very beautiful. The amenity pool area was well maintained. The security at the gate was absolutely phenomenal! Those guys are fantastic and thoroughly explained procedures. Those are the highlights. Be AWARE: VENTILATION/ DUST/ CHEMICALS-Upon arrival, we notice that the indoor area of the townhouse really smelled strongly of chemicals. All of the new paint, plush furniture, and appliances were creating a gas like plume? The rugs were outgassing, too. We attempted in vain to open the windows, to air out the place. The windows are blocked and locked shut, and we discover the amount of grime, dirt not cleaned. In most of the bedrooms, including the master bedroom, the beds have been pushed up against the windows, making it virtually impossible to open any of the windows. They are blocked by the beds and locked from the inside. I experienced a full on Asthma attack first night, as the master bedroom window was completely inaccessible and caked in debris and dust and spider webs. I tried to use my camera and phone to take pictures, but it's completely blocked. They are not cleaning behind the beds or in the windows. I imagine it is because it's inaccessible for the cleaning crew, creating a toxic nightmare in the rooms. We contacted Villatel customer service about this several times as it was very hard to stay inside the townhome without experiencing breathlessness, and we were experiencing allergies and swelling, several of our family members are our sensitive to mold, dust, and chemicals. THE VENTILATION WAS POOR. The sliding door to the pool could not be opened as the pool shock, and bleach chlorine gas would start to fill the lower floor of the townhouse. Within three days, half of our party had upper respiratory infections, and I myself was hospitalized with pneumonia upon my return. The kids' soccer themed room at first glance appears to be very nicely appointed, with video games and bunk beds. The arcade style rooms pose additional safety hazards. Our CHILDREN had suffered scratches and cuts due to loose nails and loose staples on the bunk beds and splinters due to rough wood finishes, of course, did not make for an enjoyable trip to the parks. There really needs to be quality control inspections performed, especially on the children's room. These rooms appear to have been put together very quickly with very subpar, cheap materials To make matters worse, the last night of our stay and unknown Man attempted to breach the door and walk into the house. We awoke at 2:30 am, to banging at the door and a man trying in desperation to come straight through the front door. We advised that we would call police and he fled. Again, we contacted customer service and were advised that leadership would be made aware and would call us back. This property has a lot of security cameras. They would be able to see who this was and what had occurred. As of this post, no one has contacted us to apologize or explain why someone was at our door at 2:30 in the morning? It was not maintenance! We had hoped to leave a 5-star review for Villatel Resort as the property appears extremely nice. But the health and safety of our family is paramount, and we can not in good conscience leave a five-star review, given the health repercussions of our stay. A lot of these matters can easily be resolved by VillaTel. Understand the windows may be bolted for security reasons, but given the properties are new, they should be ventilated, ensuring all chemicals are outgassed ahead of guest arrivals or better AC filter, this prevents respiratory issues. Open windows & reconsider bedroom arrangement to allow cleaning and dusting behind furniture. Kumar party stayed at Holly's House 5556 Asterisk...

We visited Orlando Dec 2024 for our twins 10th birthday. We are a big family and had more family joining us so we need something comfortable and practical. I found Villatel Orlando Resort through a FB ad. Through out the entire process I was able to email them with any and ALL questions. Crystals customer service was always receptive, kind and helpful. While the resort amenities are still being built the Villas themselves offered everything we needed for this specific trip. They are expected to be done and ready 100% in early 2025 and we are ready to book our next summer vacation there to enjoy the water park! The home offered a room and full bath downstairs with a large kitchen living/dining area. And the perfectly sized backyard with outdoor dining, pool and lounge chairs. The kitchen was stocked with your every day kitchen utensils and pots and pans to be able to cook the perfect meal. I did bring my crockpot to make our first meal so we can enjoy time as a family and not worry being on vacation and stuck behind the stove. The upstairs had the master bedroom, another room with a king size bed and the kids Mario decorated room with 4 twins and a full size bathroom as well. The split floor plan is great. There is also a laundry room, they extra towels, baby high chair, and playpen; when I tell you they thought of it all they thought of it. With the Villa itself there was not one issue really unless you want to count the TV in the upstairs not working and the tv in the kids room so they could not play the xbox. But that was so minimal considering we did not spend enough time in the room to watch tv and the arcade game and slide in the room entertained them. We did also get the pool heated and the kids did enjoy it on Saturday when we got in. I would easily give the resort a 100/100 however I cannot say the same for shuttle services they have contracted with or the very little offers of time they have to go to the parks and return. When selecting the number of people for the bus there was no way to put we had a stroller or an electric cart. I emailed the bus company as it said in the instructions and no reply. Morning of I called and was assured it was noted in our reservation. To the surprise of our bus driver she knew nothing about it but was very kind and accommodating. When we got to Universal I asked her if she knew how I could confirm we would be ok for the return and she stated she called it in and put in the system. Well that night was a fiasco to the point I had to call in and report the bus driver, they say they were going to file a report. He literally said “I am not taking them” we were in shock. He was willing to leave my family of 10 behind until he called someone and they told him he had to take us. Next morning was fine, bus driver never questioned us so we assumed ok reservations are finally updated as the customer service rep verified with me the night before. Well nope it was not, at night same problems, same driver. I told him when I saw him we are not going through this again and to please just help us get on the bus as he wanted to continue to question us. He did show us his text from his supervisor that said “Villatell?” Meaning no stops. Where the disconnect is coming from I have no idea, but having had to speak and send so many emails was completely unacceptable. Thankfully we are positive people and did not want that ruin our trip. Another downfall is the return time is only at 6:30 which did not allow us to enjoy any of the night shows. I am not sure if that is a bus thing or a villatell thing. However once the resort is fully complete hopefully the bus time offers also change, I also hope the rep did put in a complaint and the bus driver is spoken too and has a better attitude moving forward and I also hope that whatever the disconnect is it gets corrected so no one else needs to experience what we did. Again the Villa itself was gorgeous and we will return but I won’t exactly be thrilled to try the shuttle...