Bonnet Creek has me questioning my DVC contract

[Simba's Mom]

The only thing I've heard about Bonnet Creek is that they've got a great golf course, and since Disney is closing golf courses, not building new ones, DH is a little grumbly. And he hasn't figured out how you can play golf at Bonnet Creek unless you're staying there. Is their course just for the members?

 

[JimMIA]

does wyndham charge for every reservations (except to your home resort)?

Yes and no. They have "reservation credits."

You get a certain number free each year, depending on the number of points you own (1 per 77K points). One reservation credit covers all transactions you do in one day, so you can do multiple things (e.g. make a reservation, change a reservation, deposit points to RCI, etc) for one credit .

If you run out (which doesn't seem to be a problem for most if they plan well), you can buy more for $30 for online transactions or $59 for telephone transactions.

They have a similar system for housekeeping credits, but those don't seem to be a factor unless you take a lot of very short trips.

 

[JimMIA]

The only thing I've heard about Bonnet Creek is that they've got a great golf course, and since Disney is closing golf courses, not building new ones, DH is a little grumbly. And he hasn't figured out how you can play golf at Bonnet Creek unless you're staying there. Is their course just for the members?

I'm not sure the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort is affiliated with the golf course of the same name. Their directory shows golf "nearby," but doesn't claim any special access to any courses...except to their minigolf on-site.

 

[Brian Noble]

I can try and rent points on Ebay, should I choose, which I think (?) would cost me less than dues each year.

If your only interest in Wyndham is Bonnet Creek, I would recommend just renting from a Platinum VIP owner. They paid big bucks for their deeds (direct from Wyndham) and get point discounts/room upgrades when booking within 60 days. And, except for the biggest holiday weeks, there is usually some inventory available right at the 60 day mark, because the resort is so huge. A lot of DISers rent from a guy by the name of Ken Price at http://vacationupgrades.com/ but there are others. You can find some at http://forums.atozed.com/ which is probably the Wyndham owners' board with the best traffic. Most will pass along some of that savings, and that will end up keeping your costs below what you'd pay in fees on an average deed. Buying Wydnham makes more sense if you are looking at the system as a whole; most of the time, there isn't much in the way of inventory at most resorts during peak seasons at the 60 day mark.

does wyndham charge for every reservations (except to your home resort)?

Sort of. You get some number of free reservation transactions based on how many points you own. Making reservations at any resort consumes those transaction credits, but you can make multiple reservations in the same day for just one credit. When you are out, you have to buy more, but it's $40 or so online. With proper planning you can avoid this most of the time, but even in years that I have to buy an extra transaction or two, the total cost of the vacation is still so low that I don't much care.

Wyndham are fairly easy to get on RCI (except BC - because of location)

Many of the non-Orlando resorts are not easy to get during prime seasons---this includes atlantic coastal or florida panhandle in the summer, south florida coastal in the winter, San Antonio in the spring and early summer, the resorts that include waterparks in the summer (Dells, Smokies, etc.), Anaheim in the summer, Steamboat Springs in ski season, and Washington DC nearly all year round. Unlike DVC, Wyndham doesn't deposit until a month or two after owners have had a chance to make non-home-resort reservations, so only the "leftovers" get sent to RCI.

Orlando is so well-supplied with inventory that it's the exception, rather than the rule. Some of the older resorts are easier to get as well. And, even Bonnet has been plentiful in RCI for the past few years as the newer towers have been completed---but it takes a better-than-average deposit to see it because of trade power requirements. Only DVC is higher on the Orlando totem pole based on my trade tests. For my only stay at Bonnet so far, I exchanged in rather than booking internally because my overall costs were lower that way.

And he hasn't figured out how you can play golf at Bonnet Creek unless you're staying there. Is their course just for the members?

The golf course is attached to the Waldorf Astoria, not the timeshare development. Waldorf guests get a break on greens fees, and as Waldorf is a Hilton brand, guests at the Hilton next door get a discount as well. As far as I know, Wyndham owners/guests have no special privileges there, but the public is allowed to play. Here's a link to the details:

http://www.waldorfastoriaorlando.com/golf/

 

[Granny]

Not at all true. Bonnet Creek is part of the "Club Wyndham Plus" timeshare program, a points-based program that in some ways has a setup similar to DVC. You have points deeded at a particular resort, with a home resort priority period, and also a period where you can use your points at *any* resort with availability. Wyndham has *more* options than DVC---with Club resorts in more than 40 different locations in the US.

Edited: here's a link to the resort directory. The Affiliate and Associate resorts have very little inventory in the system, and can be safely ignored, but that still leaves a large set of resorts to choose from.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory0910/

I was referring to on-site at WDW. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

 

[eliza61]

I think every so often most people will do a re-evaluation. I would suggest though that you think of things you love about owning your DVC and if you would miss them.

For me, I absolutely adore the boat ride from WLV's to MK early in the morning. I am over the moon walking "home" from Epcot after it's closed and seeing the little twinkle lights in the sidewalk on the way to BCV's.

I love waking up early on a summer morning and walking over to the boardwalk to get some thing gooey and sweet to go with my coffee. The boardwalk pipes in music and it's magical watching the "world" wake up.

As I get older there are certain "intangibles" that make my vacations. Cost while important is no longer the #1 reason for me to pick a place.

 

[Brian Noble]

I was referring to on-site at WDW. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

I see. I do sometimes take vacations elsewhere, and forget that that makes me weird on DISboards.

 

[Chuck S]

I see. I do sometimes take vacations elsewhere, and forget that that makes me weird on DISboards.

Oh, you're one of "those people."

 

[Brian Noble]

Indeed. We need a "shame" emoticon!

 

[littlestar]

To the OP, we went through the same thought process as you. Wyndham's Bonnet Creek has an awesome location and incredible views of Epcot. We stayed there in May and loved it. There are frequent free shuttles to the parks, Stacy/Disney TV station, Disney Cast Member desk in the lobby, and tons of free perks - free miniature golf, free face painting and balloon making, free lemonade in lobby, free inner-tubes for the lazy rivers, etc. The resort is surprisingly wooded, too, and very pretty. My problem with renting Bonnet Creek from an owner is that I like complete control of my reservations - so renting on a regular basis would probably give me an ulcer.

We actually ended up buying two resale Wyndham contracts on Ebay for around $500 a piece. That gives us 280,000 Wyndham points a year. We bought at a Wyndham within a day's drive of home (smoky mts). Bonnet Creek was ONE of the reasons we bought, but mainly we bought because of the various resorts we could use our points at within Wyndham's system - Washington DC, Destin, San Antonio, Waikiki Beach, etc.

We still own DVC points and usually stay 3 days at DVC and then switch over to Bonnet Creek for a week (or Marriott in Orlando since we own Marriott, too).

If I had only been interested in Wyndham Bonnet Creek, I probably wouldn't have bought resale Wyndham points and just rented from the mega point renters (if I could find somebody I trust). Like you have posted, you can find some really good deals. What I really like about owning Wyndham is I can book online and they discount point stays for off season (when we travel) at the 60 day mark. For our upcoming September trip, Wyndham has discounted Bonnet Creek's two bedrooms from a normal 112,000 points to just 84,000 for the week.

I wouldn't give up my DVC points totally because I love Disney's theming and immersion experience, but with the terrible economy, I have to admit that I want value for my money. And I feel Wyndham gives me very good value for my money. If the economy was better, though, I'd add another 200 or 300 SSR points resale and not blink an eye because I love Disney's wonderful theming and escape experience.

 

[Sammie]

I see. I do sometimes take vacations elsewhere, and forget that that makes me weird on DISboards.

Put me in that category too. And actually the more I visit other areas, the less pleased I am with the level of service we are now getting with DVC.

There was a time I was not interested in staying anywhere but with Disney. But Disney is not keeping up with industry standards of others.


The Bonnet Creek area looks fabulous to me and the love of all things Disney has faded for us and now we are more into value, comfort and service.

Renting our points is looking much more attractive.

 

[Brian Noble]

I would not necessarily call most Wyndham resorts "high service". There typically isn't a midweek trash & tidy. You usually won't find bell services there, unless the property is mixed use timeshare/hotel. Room service would be unusual, and most properties don't have a restaurant of their own, relying instead on those in the surrounding area.

 

[La2kw]

The point reallocations have shortened our annual DVC trips by two nights. I refuse to buy additional points due to that and the fact that customer service, housekeeping, and maintenance are not what they used to be when I first bought into DVC. That means we stay at Universal an extra two nights (the Loews resorts at Universal are run much better than DVC or the WDW hotels are), or off site at one of the many hotels or timeshares in the area through either Priceline, AAA discounts, or Hilton Hhonors points. We also head to Miami or Key West quite frequently. We haven't stayed at the timeshare, but we have stayed at the Bonnet Creek Hilton and the Waldorf Astoria. These are very nice resorts and you feel like you are still on property, especially if you have a car- which we always do. The timeshare looks just as nice, though much larger than the two properties we have stayed at. There are fewer perks at Bonnet Creek, but we never do EMH and we prefer to have a car anyway because we eat offsite a lot and also enjoy visiting Universal, Sea World, and the beach. We have considered buying points at another timeshare as well since we feel DVC will continue to screw with its members whenever it is good for DVC to do so. However, we do enjoy staying onsite for part of the trip and aren't ready to completely bail on DVC yet.

 

[Granny]

I see. I do sometimes take vacations elsewhere, and forget that that makes me weird on DISboards.

LOL...I wasn't chastising your desire to vacation in multiple places. I think most people agree that DVC makes the most sense if it is used primarily for WDW (or HH/VB/DL) vacations. Within that context, DVC allows us to stay at multiple resorts on-site at WDW.

I don't disagree with any of your comments. But the gist of the thread was surrounding the questioning of the DVC contract. If WDW is not a primary vacation destination point for you in the future, I could see where DVC would no longer be a great fit.

 

[JimMIA]

We bought at a Wyndham within a day's drive of home (smoky mts).

We bought Smoky Mountains too! Hi neighbor!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Hey photobob:

Since you probably drive anyway, transportation shouldn't be an issue.

Do remember that parking at Disney is $14/day if you stay off property and don't have an annual pass.

Maybe you could keep some DVC points.

 

[Sammie]

I would not necessarily call most Wyndham resorts "high service". There typically isn't a midweek trash & tidy. You usually won't find bell services there, unless the property is mixed use timeshare/hotel. Room service would be unusual, and most properties don't have a restaurant of their own, relying instead on those in the surrounding area.

Is your room there clean, does everything work, that is what I call service.

 

[Sammie]

We bought Smoky Mountains too! Hi neighbor!

Where is the property located, this would greatly appeal to us.

 

[photobob]

Hey photobob:

Since you probably drive anyway, transportation shouldn't be an issue.

Do remember that parking at Disney is $14/day if you stay off property and don't have an annual pass.

Maybe you could keep some DVC points.

I do always drive, so transportation wouldn't be an issue but I have always used Disney transportation. I have only driven to a park twice in my 10 or so stays. Transportation is big issue for me and one of the reasons I love onsite.

I'm more thinking out loud here than anything and what better place in the world to get knowledgeable feedback! My MIL has Wyndham points that could be used there, actually she has more than she can use. I may at some point give it a try just to see how I like it. Even if I did like BC, I'd just rent since I don't have any interest in buying.

 

[JimMIA]

Where is the property located, this would greatly appeal to us.

Sevierville, TN...just down the road from Dollywood and Gatlinburg. On the NC side, there is a Wyndham resort in Sapphire, NC, but it's a bit of a drive to the actual Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I think it's about an hour either to Asheville or the park from Sapphire.