Should you be lucky enough to buy or trade into this Hilton-affiliated resort, do not be fooled by its small stature, and the fact that it is not a high-rise as are most of the resorts on Marco Island. Club Regency is a most worthy Gold Crown Resort, and a wonderful place to reside for a week or more—preferably more. This post is an addendum to an earlier post that describes the other Hilton affiliates on Marco.
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When we secured this trade, we weren’t too sure that it would be as nice as its big brothers and sisters—the Eagles’ Nest, the Surf Club and the Charter Club. But we were excited because we were in the “E” building, the one that faced the ocean. And what we found was a charming, 2-story, older resort. Many of the owners own multiple weeks, with some spending their entire winters here. There are only 32 units, all 2-bedroom, so the chances of trading in here are not all that great. The “C” and “D” buildings have garden views, and the whole resort is located next to the impressive Marco Beach Resort (where 2-bedroom suites can go for as much as $5000 a week!) Club Regency shares a driveway with them.
The landscaping around the resort is beautiful, with a boardwalk leading out to the beach and ocean. There are several fountains, a wooden bridge, large outdoor swimming pool and a hot tub. The large clubhouse provides a great place for the Monday morning coffee and donuts, as well as the Tuesday pool luncheon. (Raffle prizes—yea!) There is also a Wednesday afternoon “Drink of the Week” special. A small kitchen area supports all of these activities. On the Clubhouse deck, there are 3 nice outdoor gas grills.
The Clubhouse also houses a computer and TV for guests to use, book swap and games. The lack of a fitness room is offset somewhat by the tennis courts. There is a separate office building that handles check-ins, but also has books and DVD’s available for guests.
Another deck, the Sunset Deck, is located in the garden area that overlooks the ocean. A favorite custom here is to gather around sunset time, bringing a favorite food or beverage. Old-timers mingle nicely with exchangers, and it’s a great opportunity to meet other timeshare people.
The resort features covered underground parking. There are no elevators, thus the 27 steps leading up to the second floor units might be rather challenging for some. Even getting to the first floor units requires climbing about 12 steps. Obviously this is a problem for many, but nothing can really be done to rectify it. If you are trading in, make sure that you check with RCI if this is a concern for you.
The kitchen/dining/living room area is all in one large room. Being on the top floor, we had a cathedral ceiling. The kitchen is fairly well-stocked, but could use a few more Corningware-type casserole dishes. There is a bar with 2 stools separating the kitchen from the dining room area.
The living room has comfortable chairs and a sleeper sofa, all done in Florida décor. In addition to the usual end tables there is a beautiful and unusual, round, glass and wicker coffee table with 4 pie-shaped hassocks underneath that pull out. The TV’s in this place are OLD, but most people don’t go to Marco Island to watch TV. Wall-size sliding glass doors open to a huge, screened-in porch that houses a large table, 4 chairs, and 2 additional chairs with ottomans. Near the entrance is a wet-bar area which is going to be renovated soon to provide more storage space.
The master bedroom has a king-sized bed and is fairly good-sized. The bath has a nice shower area, but no tub, and is actually in the bedroom. However, the guest bath is in the hallway, and does have a bathtub, as well as a large storage closet. The guest bedroom has 2 twin beds. Both bedrooms have the usual dressers, nightstands and extra chairs.
A coin laundry ($1.25 per load) is located just outside the second floor units and is shared by a total of 4 units. Since many people stay multiple weeks, it was not a problem with everyone trying to use them toward the end of the week.
We enjoyed several little excursions around the island to include a wonderful Farmers’ Market on Wednesday and an arts and crafts show later in the week. We ventured to Naples one day and visited the Miromar Outlets and made several trips to the Bealls’ Outlet (don’t have those up North!) Everglades National Park was a highlight of our trip—we saw more alligators than we could count! We cooked quite a bit, but did enjoy meals at Porky’s Last Stand and Nene’s. Marco has the reputation of being laid-back, but we always seem to find plenty to do.
The best part of our stay was the excellent weather (mostly in the ‘80’s) and the beautiful white sandy beaches—and the seashells weren’t bad, either! And while all the HGVC Resorts here are great, Club Regency has kind of a special place in our hearts!
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