Bonnet Creek?

[moepanz]

Does anyone have any info on it? My friend just bought there and I would like a DIS point of view? Pro's con's etc...

Thanks!

 

[calgarygary]

I would suggest that your friend visit http://tugbbs.com to learn about timesharing as soon as possible. In general, if your friend has purchased from the developer, your friend may have paid too much for their timeshare.

 

[Chuck S]

Also, there are no "onsite" benefits associated with Bonnet Creek. It looks like a lovely resort, but as the PP said, if your friend purchased directly from the developer they likely could have gotten it a lot cheaper through resale.

As far "onsite" benefits, there is no free theme park parking, free package delivery, EMH or park room charging. And it has been reported that the bus service to the parks is not nearly as timely as the Disney transport. Plus the MK bus will drop you at Ticket and Transportation instead of at the park. So if any of those perks are important, they are not available.

But, it is the best "offsite" location relative to Disney.

 

[amw]

Here's an older thread that shows pics and perks. Looks good to me

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1402846&highlight=renting+bonnet+creek

 

[5boyz]

Looks good to me too AMW

 

[moepanz]

Thank you all for your input!!!! The pics are great. I am trying to see how it compares to the DVC. (I know nothing will) but the DVC just seems so pricey to me. Trying to keep cost low and be able to go to Disney at least once a year. Value's will just be too small for us as we are a family of 5 now.

 

[Brian Noble]

A BC 2BR rental in peak season will run you approximately 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a DVC 2BR rental at Old Key West in the same season.

 

[FayeW]

How do you figure out how many points you need to buy? Can you buy points at any Wyndham property and use them at any other Wyndham property, or do you need to buy points specific to the resort you want to stay at?

ETA: Is internet access available in room at Bonnet Creek?

 

[swilphil]

We've stayed at Bonnet Creek (guests of an owner), and it's an awesome place. I've heard you get the best deal by buying resale and at a different Wyndham resort.

 

[Brian Noble]

FayeW: I'd encourage you to take a look at the Wyndham Owners group:

forums.atozed.com

 

[Ella's Mom]

We've always stayed at Disney properties. We are trying BC in March. I can't wait. It looks great. We can't afford to rent DVC but want some extra space.

 

[CPM]

I just got back from staying at BC. It's sooo nice there. This is our second time staying there. We had a three bedroom this time.
It's such an easy drive to all the parks, it doesn't matter if you have Disney transportation IMO.
Every day they have lots of activites going on right at the resort. The kids loved the dive in movies at the pool too. The staff couldn't do enough for you.
They have more amenities than DVC resorts too. You can check out almost any board game at the activities center, movies, make your own sundaes, lounging area with pool, chess and checkers available for you. Games and trivia at the pools. Free mini golf and more.
Nice gas grills to use for free, that are actually filled with propane.
They don't have a full service restaurant yet, but I guess they will. If you have an opportunity to stay there, I would do it!
BTW, they asked us once at check in, if we wanted the whole timeshare tour thing, we said no and they never asked again.

 

[froggygrrrl]

We own at Bonnet Creek and love it! But like anywhere, there are pros and cons. The units are large and the property is well-maintained. They are still building on the site, so not everything is done yet, but you really don't notice. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out after everything is done. There is supposed to be another high-end hotel/resort built next to it and will include several restaurants and a spa.

The only improvements we could see so far is to increase the times that the buses run to the parks. Although it was never a problem for us, the buses are on set schedules in the morning and evening, but are really lacking with any midday runs. Once, we took a cab from Boardwalk and it was less than $10, tip included. I think that once the full scale restaurant and swim-up bar are completed BC will be fantastic.

If you decide to go to one of their presentations, be prepared for a hard sale. The first time we went to their presentation we almost walked out because the rep was extremely rude and condescending...until we bought something, then she was peaches and cream. She's not there anymore, thankfully, but I still get a bit angry when I think that she made a commission off of us. If you are interested in buying, I would strongly suggest looking at the resale market first. You won't be eligible for any of the VIP perks, but I dont think many people would even notice the difference.

Hope this helps!!

 

[CPM]

Oh, speaking of VIP perks. The person we rent from is a VIP. She can book 13 months out for BC. As a guest of a VIP (or renter) you still get the perks.

 

[WDWBoundAgain]

We stayed there last September. Rented from Ebay very cheap. Like previous poster stayed there is so much to do here. This was the first time I have ever spent so much time at a resort and not in the parks. We tried to do all of the activities and the staff was super nice. The other guest we really nice and I met many people that week.

Now if it was me I would not buy there simply because I don't want to be tied down to the same resort each time going to Disney World. The only thing I would buy would be the Disney Vacation Club from a resale company. I prefer staying onsite but I don't count out other places. We hope the next time we go with a bigger crowd we will stay at Bonnett Creek but when it is just me, dh and ds we will be staying onsite.

 

[calgarygary]

We own at Bonnet Creek and love it! But like anywhere, there are pros and cons. The units are large and the property is well-maintained. They are still building on the site, so not everything is done yet, but you really don't notice. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out after everything is done. There is supposed to be another high-end hotel/resort built next to it and will include several restaurants and a spa.

The only improvements we could see so far is to increase the times that the buses run to the parks. Although it was never a problem for us, the buses are on set schedules in the morning and evening, but are really lacking with any midday runs. Once, we took a cab from Boardwalk and it was less than $10, tip included. I think that once the full scale restaurant and swim-up bar are completed BC will be fantastic.

If you decide to go to one of their presentations, be prepared for a hard sale. The first time we went to their presentation we almost walked out because the rep was extremely rude and condescending...until we bought something, then she was peaches and cream. She's not there anymore, thankfully, but I still get a bit angry when I think that she made a commission off of us. If you are interested in buying, I would strongly suggest looking at the resale market first. You won't be eligible for any of the VIP perks, but I dont think many people would even notice the difference.

Hope this helps!!

If you don't mind, how much did you end up paying for BC and for how many points? It's good that you are suggesting looking at resale because too many people get hooked at those meetings before finding out how many thousands they can save by first being educated to timesharing.

 

[froggygrrrl]

As a preface, please do not flame me for not buying resale and saving a bundle or for buying into BC and not DVC.

We have actually had contracts with BC twice. The first time we bought, it was the lowest package they had (and it took them about 2.5 hours of selling to even offer it to us) which was something like 168,000 points every other year on the even years. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of $12,000. Definitely not a bargain by any means. But we did receive 216,000 bonus points along with it. Then we ended up basically buying the other half of our points (for odd years) so we now have 189,000 points every year. I'm not sure of the price breakdown because we did something in between that gave us 300,000+ bonus points, and we ended up not paying for it because the money was put towards the larger sale of the yearly points.

Even though we did not buy through the resale market, I don't regret our purchase. With all of our bonus points, we have basically taken 4 vacations and have only used our yearly points once.

 

[froggygrrrl]

I will also add, as a caution, that it seems that the Wyndham/Fairfield people are not the best to deal with on the phone. We get the feeling that all of the departments are run separately without any integration of information, and they can be frustrating to deal with on occasion. I'm hoping that this is just a temporary fallout stemming from Wyndham buying out Fairfield, but who knows. When you are forking over a good chunk of money, you like knowing that everything is being handled meticulously (which certainly isn't the impression I've gotten).

Then again, an issues we have had have been resolved favorably, so I guess it's not a completely negative situation.

 

[Chuck S]

As a preface, please do not flame me for not buying resale and saving a bundle or for buying into BC and not DVC.

We have actually had contracts with BC twice. The first time we bought, it was the lowest package they had (and it took them about 2.5 hours of selling to even offer it to us) which was something like 168,000 points every other year on the even years. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of $12,000. Definitely not a bargain by any means. But we did receive 216,000 bonus points along with it. Then we ended up basically buying the other half of our points (for odd years) so we now have 189,000 points every year. I'm not sure of the price breakdown because we did something in between that gave us 300,000+ bonus points, and we ended up not paying for it because the money was put towards the larger sale of the yearly points.

Even though we did not buy through the resale market, I don't regret our purchase. With all of our bonus points, we have basically taken 4 vacations and have only used our yearly points once.

Trying to compare that to DVC pricing...about how many days per year, in what size unit, does that get you...and about how much do you pay yearly in dues? BC may be a good way to supplement my DVC ownership, especially though resale. Do they trade with II or RCI?

 

[froggygrrrl]

189,000 points would get you one week in a 2 bedroom unit during high season. Bonnet Creek is considered one of Wyndham's "prime" locations (along with Las Vegas, Hawaii, and somewhere in Cali) so they cost more points. Depending on the size of the unit, time of year, and destination, you could probably stretch the points into 2 vacations. I believe our maintenance fees are in the vicinity of $600 annually. BC trades into RCI.

We have also thought that it would be a nice supplement to DVC, but until I am done with my Master's we have neither the time to take several vacations per year nor the cash to buy DVC. Someday though, someday.