Parc Soleil by Hilton Grand Vacations

Reviews 3

BR

Brian Noreika

I received a call from Hilton offering a 3 night 4 day stay at one of their resorts at a price of around $300...which would be refunded after our stay as long as we sat through their 2 hour vacation club talk. Ive always been extremely happy with Hilton properties and have been a Hilton Honors member since 2003 so I accepted their offer. Upon arrival at the Parc Soleil you drive up a long driveway with open fields all around...which I assumed were for future expansion...which they are. After getting our key we headed up to our room. Upon entering our room I was instantly disappointed. The room had a small narrow kitchen as soon as you enter with the bathroom off to one side and then an extremely small living space with a king size bed, small dresser and a table with two chairs. No carpeting and one window which did not open and overlooked two crappy work trailers, the parking lot and the open fields. The air conditioning unit was behind a locked door in the room and was extremely loud when in use. Ive stayed at hundreds of Hilton properties over the years and this was by far the worst room Ive ever stayed in. What I couldnt believe was they invite us to stay at this property with hopes that well spend thousands of dollars to join their vacation club and then put us in this crappy room. I also couldnt figure out why the room was so small and unappealing. Also...after dropping off our bags in our room we went out to grab lunch and when we returned I could tell someone(housekeeping or maintenance) had been in our room and had used our bathroom. There was someones hair on our soap and it definitely wasnt mine or my wifes. The following day we attended the vacation club sales pitch. Our sales girl was very nice and knowledgeable. After touring the suites at our hotel I finally realized why we had such a crappy room. Our room was the extra bedroom attached to the beautiful 2 bedroom suites. Probably the room where youd stick the kids if you brought them along. They called it a studio suite...I called it crap. A Hampton Inn room is bigger, more comfortable and inviting than these rooms. When our sales girl came back with their vacation club offers... instead of pushing their cheapest option she was pushing the next level up. She just ignored the cheapest option. We were somewhat interested so we asked could we have the next couple days while we were at the resort to think about it. We were told that was not possible and everything had to be signed that morning. Here they are asking you to make a $30-$50K investment and you have no time to think it over. We said we werent interested. At that point I could tell our sales girl was not too happy and said shed send her boss over to wrap things up. When her boss shows up she has a new offer which is more attractive than the $30k offer and lower than their cheapest option. My first thought was...why wasnt this included with the first batch of options she showed us since it was much lower than any of the other options? Also at this point...the room where we are talking is filled with other sales negotiations and the noise is deafening. We just wanted out. You guys might want to take a page from the Disney Vacation Club...when we took their tour years ago we had a private meeting in a private quiet room and they also provided a room for the kids to play in while you took your tour. A much better sales environment than what you guys are doing. Bottom line...I was extremely disappointed in our stay. The room was horrible and right from the very beginning it put a bad taste in my mouth. Had they put us in one of their suites which they were pushing for their vacation club...we mightve thought more seriously about investing. The resort itself is very nice...as long as youre not on the backside of the facility facing the work trailers, parking lot and open fields. I know I shouldnt complain since we were refunded our $300 plus a coupon to redeem another nights stay at any Hilton property but Im sorry...I expected a little better treatment from the Hilton chain.

AM

Amanda Ahlstrom

I would like to share an experience I had at your Orlando Parc Soleil location back in March. I am a single mom raising my son on my own, and had the opportunity to stay at Parc Soleil as part of the timeshare promotion. Since I travel for work, I used frequent flyer points for both of us to get there from Ohio at no cost, and the chance to stay at your resort was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to visit Disney World/Legoland (especially given our situation, money is not easy to come by as a single parent!). The day we got into Florida, I took my son (Mason, he is 5) to Clearwater beach and we spent the day there. Long story short, when we got to Orlando around 8 pm I realized I had lost my wallet at the beach. I didnt have any cash, credit cards, nor my id. I was frantically calling businesses at the boardwalk to see if they found a wallet, with no luck. Meanwhile, the staff at your resort were amazing in this situation. Since I had prepaid for my room, they let me check in and were helping me brainstorm what to do next. I had no way of paying for food for Mason and I; couldnt receive wired cash from my family in Ohio because I had no ID; wouldnt be able to get on the plane to come home; and my bank was not local to the area. I sat out by the front fountain while Mason played and I cried because I absolutely had no idea what to do and I felt like I had ruined our vacation. I was stranded thousands of miles away with my child and no money. One of the hotel clerks, Alex came outside and talked to me. He gave me reassurance that everything would be ok, gave me a hug, and $40 of his personal cash so that I could buy Mason dinner. He said he had been saving it from his tax return for something personal, but thought I needed it as this time more than he did. I was able to buy some food for my son with that $40, and the next day, someone called from Clearwater and they had found my wallet. 2 hours driving there, and 2 hours driving back, and I had my wallet in my hands (with all of my cash, credit cards, and giftcards still there)! And we were on our way to Legoland. Your staff (especially Alex) were amazing and were absolutely what I needed at that time. We had a blast over the next few days at Legoland, Disney World, and just hanging out at your resort. This was the first time my son took a vacation, rode a plane, saw the beach, and got to experience Disney World. He wouldnt have been able to do this without your timeshare promotion (Mr. Bruno was awesome as well!). Your staff added to this experience, and it will be something we will always remember (and now I can look back at laugh at this story!) Thank you so much Parc Soleil! Hopefully one day we can visit again, but without the drama :-).

ME

Melanie Montique

The hotel and facilities can be awarded 3.5 stars, but the internet trash and their sales office for the Hilton hotel grand vacation program sucks and is heavily pressured. We first got pulled into this HHGV program in Las Vegas where we were offered a fairly good price, number of points and a workable tax and maintenance fee for the Elara hotel in Las Vegas. We were not ready to buy just yet so we did the HH VIP program where the price is frozen for "18 months" and then the money you paid for the two vacations is deducted off the HHGV program if you join. Being a dual military couple we could not afford to take two vacation because our schedule is very busy and constantly changing so we booked a 7 day stay at the Parc Soleil approximately 6 months after, and had to attend a 90 min "presentation" or well be charged $500. Upon attending the presentation we were bombarded by one of the sales representatives with a completely different offer than the price freeze we originally signed and was told that that was the final chance for us to decide whether we wanted the price freeze or not. First off, what $@%! price freeze because you just tried to shove a new, and more expensive price down our throat, and the we arent even half way through the 18 month price freeze. Then here come their terms and conditions fine print that we never saw or signed, because we only saw the first page that says the term is 18 months and the price is frozen, and the document doesnt even have page numbers, (I will like to see that document be honored in court). My point is HHGV dont give a damn about your vacations. Theyre simply trying to take your money, offer you a 10 year loan so they can make double the price on a vacation package, and charge you outrageous taxes and fees on a "hotel room" thats being "sold" to several other thousands of people for different prices. The same way you are saving money to pay their ridiculous monthly payments, and yearly taxes and fees is the same way you can deposit your money into a savings account or certificate with a yearly lock and gain interest for yourself, instead of paying these crooks interest on something you will really never own, because they will always have all the control over it, and once you miss a payment they can snatch it right out your hands. Oh and the best part was my husband said hes taking a copy of the offers that were given to him, and the sales rep said no, and threatened to call security! These people are CROOKS!!! DONT BUY HILTONS TIMESHARES!!! And last but not least, the room service throws away your belongings as she sees fit, so dont leave anything out.

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