Visited unit 206 in bldg 4216. Paid extra for a premium 3 bedroom condo in the gated area on the lake. Lovely amenities. The full kitchen and laundry area are convenient. HOWEVER, there was one bait and switch that RUINED our trip...

I warn you. Please read the Terms & Conditions. Especially if you are on a short stay (as we were). I usually do not read the fine print. But if you fail to do so (as I did), you will regret it. I promised the front desk I would warn TripAdvisor readers. It didn't seem to bother them. Not even a little.

There are extra charges that are never called out when you book your stay. But in the fine print of the Terms & Conditions, you will find this little gem:

"CLEANING FEE: All bookings 3 or less nights will incur a one time cleaning fee of USD 75.00 which is charged in addition to full balance of the reservation."

If this were clearly marked on the web site, or on the itinerary or anywhere during checkout, I would have no concern. But it was never, ever, ever mentioned until I got to the front desk. At check-in, they did not seem surprised I was unaware. They said it was "in the fine print" of the Terms & Conditions.

What a pleasant surprise when you arrive. Option 1: pay the surprise $75 overcharge for "one time cleaning," or Option 2: find other accommodations while your family is waiting in the car to check in. I believe this is a clear case of false advertising.

Another pleasant surprise: I noticed the unit had signs warning guests: "DO NOT set thermostat below 72 degrees Fahrenheit, or you may incur a $500 charge." The heat was already set to 69 F when we walked in. So I raised it to 72 F. But the thermostat was PROGRAMMED to return to 69 F every few hours. I had to play around and learn out how to reprogram the thermostat so that it would stop resetting to the original 69 F setting. Had I done nothing, I would risk a $500 charge if the unit froze up.

Also disappointing, we arrived on a Saturday when the property was DEAD. On Superbowl weekend, the parking lot was empty our entire stay. Parks were dead too. You would think that would be awesome. So it is hard to understand why check-in was denied us when we arrived at 2 PM Saturday. We had to wait for our room. They told us that check-in is 4 PM. At 2 PM, the front desk said they would call us when the room was ready. They never called. We finally got our room at 6 PM.

Also: if you travel for work, like I do, you'll be accustomed to major hotels scheduling check out between 11 AM and noon. But at the Vista Cay, check-out is scheduled for 10:00 am. The property could not accommodate our request for late checkout... on a dead Monday. So we spent our last night here doing laundry and packing for morning checkout. How fun.

At first, I thought this place would be a bargain. The place is gorgeous and has so much potential. The unit is huge and well accommodated. But management really blew it. Next time, we will try somewhere else. I recommend you do too.