I feel inclined to write this with so many recent negative reviews. We are on our 4th day of Spring Break and have little to complain about.
4 star review worthy details: We arrived around 8pm, checked right in. We had bath and beach towels for each person, single use Tide for laundry, single use dishwasher pack, sponge, dish soap, and trash bags in the room upon arrival. We have 2 bedrooms, tv's in all rooms, and loads of space in bathrooms.
These rooms are condos, with some being owned and then allowed to be rented out for vacation by The Grove; there is a possibility that is relevant on what you get when you arrive, but I think knowing that helped our expectations meet with reality. We brought laundry pods from home and grabbed some hand soap/cleaner/snacks from target down the road just like we would do for an Airbnb.
We went to the pool (the one with slides/lazy river) on Sunday, where they was a reserved section of seats to sit in that were all full, but we quickly found seats in front of the lazy river for our family. We had a waiter attending to us and the food came out incredibly fast. It didn't feel overcrowded to us, especially knowing it's Spring Break. Our kids had a great time.
We also have gone to the arcade, which I think actually has better opportunities to win than others at say Great Wolf or similar arcades. We left the arcade with 2 bluey stuffed animals, 1 adorable seahorse stuffed animal, candy, a ton of little squishy or rubber ducks from the claw games, and a few other trinkets. The water shoot game, all you need to do is win that once to be able to receive a stuffed animal with your "big ticket". Our ages of kids are 9 and 6 and they felt excited leaving with their treasures.
We have not tried the shuttles for Disney, but the drive is extremely quick and $30 with re-entry included for the day, so I do not have commentary on the shuttle, but if you can drive, just drive and park.
Regarding upkeep, you can see the staff here are trying their best, they are kind, scrubbing the floors as we walk by, servicing rooms as needed/possible. Again, we've treated this like an Airbnb and kept a pretty tidy space, so we've not needed additional cleaning. We have washed towels on our own (new laundry unit in room), washed dishes, and had multiple new trash bags dropped that we've not needed yet.
1 missing star review notes: The elevators are tough, usually pretty full, so if you aren't able to just take the stairs as we have, that could be frustrating. I'd suggest parking as close to your floor as you can so at least getting to your car is quick no matter what. If you have additional physical needs, I'd try to request low, if not bottom floor.
We came here 7 years ago with our oldest and you can tell it isn't brand new anymore. The furniture has definitely seen some things; it needs some upgrading on finishes, repairs on cracks or scratches on floor/tile, but for us, it hasn't impaired our ability to enjoy our trip. The hallway equally takes a beating, I would assume it's hard to keep up during this time, so we've tried to extend grace there.
There are no towels in the gym and my husband did change the water jug for them because it's been out for a day, but again, it's whatever. It's still been an enjoyable trip for us.
I would say if you're looking for turn down service, daily housekeeping, and updated finishes, this is probably not the right fit for your group. If you are aligned with the idea it will feel more Airbnb than hotel, then, for the cost and proximity to Disney, the beach (New Smyrna is 1.5 hour drive), and also offer amenities, it might be a good fit!
To note: We stay at a variety of levels in accommodations while traveling, from camping to the four seasons, so I think going in knowing what to expect helps a ton! Hope this helps a family!!
