Just returned from Grande Villas. Had a good time even though the air was cool the sun was warm during our stay. The site was very clean...
Read more »
Just returned from Grande Villas. Had a good time even though the air was cool the sun was warm during our stay. The site was very clean and the pool was comfortable. It was not heated to 83 degrees but since we are from New England shores we found it fine. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately the concierges were not particularly knowledgable. One maintenance man volunteered info on good cycling routes, another held a light while I attached my bike rack to my car.
Our unit was a one bedroom sleeping four. Believe me it was only large enough for my wife and I. No way would it hold 4 adults. The kitchen was fully equipped, eating area had a table seating four, the "living area"had a newish couch which comfortably sat three, and a very comfortable cushioned chair. IT was quite a fit to get everything into such a small area, so it was impossible to walk around without bumping something. Furniture is well kept and probably fairly new but somewhat mismatched by the interior decorator.My wife is 5'1'' and she had to sit on two cushions to reach the table when sitting and eating.<G> The bedroom was reasonably sized. I found the bed too soft to sleep comfortably. In fact I slept very poorly. I suffer from a mild case of stiffness in my lower back and always woke up early with a stiff muscle. My wife however was comfortable. The mattress was well used with two troughs and a large hump in the middle. However everything was clean. WE toured the two bedroom lock outs and found them to be good sized, so if planning on 4 adults insist on the two bedroom units. We got the impression that the end units are all two bedroom units and the units next to them (like ours) tended to be a bit smaller, while the one bedroom units in the middle of the buildings tended to be larger. However we did not see these other one bedrooms.
Check in was quick and efficient. However the concierge who was supposed to give us our welcome package was back up'ed so we simply went to our room w/o it. No big deal. On Tuesday evening we got a phone call asking if we wanted to take a tour and get a sales pitch the following day. We were told no more than two hours and they stuck to the two hour limit, including the hi pressure put on by the "manager" of the day. Everybody was nice and we did not get any high pressure sales pitch. Other guests got the same treatment, so cannot knock the sales staff.
Grand Villas is 17 miles from St. Augustine, and we spent two enjoyable days touring the historical sites. However be forewarned that the city is wall to wall tourist traps, with the usual assortment of tee shirt and funny hat shops, ice cream stores etc. But the city really does have a few interesting and historically valid sites. A few miles beyond is a wonderful stretch of beach. We are cyclists and found a couple of great and safe bike rides in the Grande Villas area.
We are not golfers but were told by a couple of guys at the pool, that golf can be quite expensive on the two local courses, but there were some courses a few miles a way that were quite a bit less expensive. While using one of the two free computers (there are also at least two pay computers) I could hear the concierge making golf reservations at courses a few miles away for about $65 including discounts. She was quite busy, so obviously not everyone put off by the prices she was quoting.
Would we return...you betcha. We just wouldn't try to stuff 4 adults into a one bedroom apartment.
