[hoseman]

Thinking about coming down for our first visit...too late for a lifestyle visit...was thinking about a hotel stay instead.

Questions please:
1. The Waterfront Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express..are they all inside the Villages where we can get a good flavor of The Villages?
2. Any comments as to which one would be best to accomplish a "do it yourself familiarization visit"?
3. Any other suggestions on lodging and/or not to miss activities?

Thanks!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by hoseman

Thinking about coming down for our first visit...too late for a lifestyle visit...was thinking about a hotel stay instead.

Questions please:
1. The Waterfront Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express..are they all inside the Villages where we can get a good flavor of The Villages?
2. Any comments as to which one would be best to accomplish a "do it yourself familiarization visit"?
3. Any other suggestions on lodging and/or not to miss activities?

Thanks!

Having never stayed at any of the motels surrounding The Villages, I would have no opinion on them.............

However, even though we did our Lifestyle Visit in Creekside Landing for four days, and then rented a private home for one month thereafter, if we were to go back again and didn't have a home lined up to rent.......we would stay at THE WATERFRONT INN.

Perfect location near everything. Nice veranda out back, on the water, to sit and have a beverage, relax after a meal, etc..........pool too.

Nice front veranda with comfy chairs to catch a breeze...........

We ate many breakfasts there..........quite a few lunches and one dinner.
All good.

The hallways, etc. and front lobby were always attractive and well taken care of and the staff was friendly and helpful. Never got to look at a room, but I'm pretty sure they would be equally nice.

I would recommend it to an "overflow" of visiting relatives or friends if everyone came to visit us at once and our own guest rooms were filled up.

[Love2cruise]

I would stay at the Waterfront, in Lake Sumter Landing, or Marriott town suites in Spanish Springs. Both are in walking distance to the town squares they are in. The best thing to do is talk to everyone you can and ask them how they like the villages, pros & cons. Go to the sales office & ask about the trolly tour. Get a paper and visit open houses. There is no pressure from sales people. Most important get a map from either the sales office or Publix (5.00).

[njbchbum]

waterfront in is right at/in lake sumter landing and walkable over to restaurants and the squares; golf cart accessible; never stayed there so can't comment on rooms; had sunday buffet dinner there one time and will not return for any dining.

hampton in is not golf cart accessible but lovely rooms.

holiday inn is golf cart accessible; stayed there 4 yrs ago before moving into villages house; good breakfast included, small pool and suffers from noise from the nearby pickleball courts.

if i had guests who wanted to stay in a motel - i'd suggest the marriott town suites in spanish springs. lovely ambience and right in the spanish springs square.

re a diy visit - buy the $5 map at a sales center!

take the trolley tour - BUT - be sure to drive thru as many neighborhoods as possible - they are all so different and the trolley only focuses on the new build areas. be sure to visit the historic side and villages near spanish springs so that you can develop a sense of how the villages all started and what it has become.

talk to folks in stores and the squares; but be forewarned, we can go on and on about how happy we are and that we made the move!

get a copy of the recreation newspaper [available in any of the big rec centers] - it is a great resource for seeing all that there is for rec activities and social clubs.

and check The Villages Vmail - July 2013 - Special Events to see the special events schedule while you are here.

ya might wanna do a search on this site for lifestyle visit and see what suggestions have been suggested in the past!

most of all - have a great time!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Love2cruise

I would stay at the Waterfront, in Lake Sumter Landing, or Marriott town suites in Spanish Springs. Both are in walking distance to the town squares they are in. The best thing to do is talk to everyone you can and ask them how they like the villages, pros & cons. Go to the sales office & ask about the trolly tour. Get a paper and visit open houses. There is no pressure from sales people. Most important get a map from either the sales office or Publix (5.00).

Great Minds Think Alike. Good Post.

I forgot to tell them it was at Lake Sumter Landing though......

Also, I got our map ahead of time by calling the Mercantile Store; it was shipped out to me very quickly. We have since updated the map many times to the latest version and also sent them to friends and relatives for the $5. each.

[AriaGrandparents2013]

We stayed at the Waterfront Inn in Lake Sumter Landing in March of this year for 2 nights. The rooms are very nicely decorated and beds are extremely comfortable. The hotel is a great centrally located location and within easy walking distance of the LSL stores, restaurants, and activities. We ate breakfast and dinner there and the food was very good. Most nights there is some sort of activity going on in the lobby.....from dancing to karaoke.

[asianthree]

i would also say waterfront...walking to LSL, resturants

[tv2016]

Have a meal at one of the country clubs. Arnold Palmer is very good. Also Mallory, Cane Garden, Evan Prairie Get the Daily Sun each morning for info on open houses and entertainment.

[Happinow]

How exciting for you! You should have a great time. There is so much to see and do. I have stayed at 3 hotels here in TV. I've stayed near Spanish Springs at the Holiday Inn Express and TownePlace Suites. Both were very nice....TownePlace Suites are newer. We've also stayed at The Waterfront. That was very nice too. We ate at the Waterfront......in our opinion it wasn't good. We would never eat there again, especially since there are so many other places to eat. We like Toojays for breakfast and do try the country clubs for lunch and dinner. Cane Garden, Evans Prarie, Mallory, Lopez legacy and Arnold Palmer. If time permits, take a look inside the rec centers. They are nicely done and each has its own personality. On Thursday, there is a paper that comes put along worth the Daily Sun that has all,of the recreation activities in it. Give that a look to see all of the fun activities you can do here. Hopefully you are spending a week or more so that you can take everything in. Have fun!!

[hoseman]

Awesome responses! Thanks so much for your efforts and comments!

[BritParrothead]

We stayed at the Waterfront in June for 3 days.
Lovely rooms, breakfast was very good for $10 buffet, servers real nice.
Only problem I had was (sorry folks) the singles night. The noise, O M G, never heard anything like it!! It was so raucous we went to sit outside. A lady coming to check in was not impressed!

[gingersnap]

We have stayed at The Waterfront, the Hampton Inn and The Holiday Inn when visiting TV. All are very nice places. The Waterfront would be the best place if you want to be able to walk to the square, etc. Also, The Waterfront will give you a discount if you are looking at real estate in TV. I think it's only 5%, but hey, at least it is something. On our first visit to TV we were not aware that The Hampton was so far away from the squares so we only stayed there 1 night. It is a beautiful place tho. We enjoyed The Holiday Inn. The first time we visited there, we were upgraded to a suite and it was great. Their breakfast was great and the staff was very friendly. You may be able to get a nice rental home for a week or so. Check rentthevillages.com or thevillages4rent.com
Good Luck!

[Blessed2BNTV]

In need of a rental golf cart? We highly recommend Scott at Grandpa & Grandma's Village Buggies LLC - Services

We used others when we first starting to go to TV often and Scott was the best! Good clean and well running carts.

Please tell him the DeAngelo's recommended him.

[wendyquat]

FYI, I got a better rate for Waterfront on Expedia.com than through their website. I would recommend The Waterfront Inn for your visit.

[ilovetv]

The Waterfront, for sure. The rooms and beds and linens and lake views are extremely nice.

It's also quite affordable and convenient to the square at Lake Sumter Landing, and to Barnes & Noble, TGIFridays, Cody's, RedSauce, City Fire, Starbucks, Panera, TV Sales Office, etc. etc.

Be sure to bring your checkbook.