Confessions and apologies first...long time lurker that's decided to give back for all the great advice we've received from the DIS boards. Apologies for the length of this post...we just had too much fun.
My DW, 2-DD's (8 & 15) and I have been DVC members since 2002. We have 200 points and call the BCV home. After three family vacation for 11 at BCV last year, we decided to go to the mountains this year. In fact, we've just returned from 7 nights (May 29 - June 5) at the Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Let me begin by saying we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and definitely thought it was worth the points. We would do it again. We had no problems making the reservations, and the GTL was our fist preference. We even had to change the reservation after it was booked at 12 months out. At 6 weeks out we had to change to Memorial Day week because of DD's schedule. MS handled the change with no problems, even though we did have to pay the additional $95 fee.
We traded 124 points (low season) for a 1-bedroom in Building #4, Room 411, which is on the first floor. The unit was at the end of the building and faced north with views of the mountains. However, since the GTL is a ski-in/ski-out resort, all views could be considered mountain views. A fox came within three feet of my DW & DW while we were sitting on the porch/balcony one afternoon. Buildings 7 & 8 are still under construction, and will complete the resort in 2005/2006. We hardly even noticed.
The room was in great shape and up to Disney quality. The kitchen was fully equipped, right down to the Cutco knives and appliances. The living room had a gas fire place that was easy to turn on and off using the switch on the wall. DD's slept on the pull out sofa. The living room also had two leather recliners, a TV and VCR. The bedroom had a king size bed and TV. There was a split bathroom with a double shower, toilet and dressing area connected to the master bath, which had a large jacuzzi tub, double lavs and make-up area. The living room and bedroom had ceiling fans, which were nice because the resort is not air-conditioned. However, the lack of air-conditioning was not a problem because the weather in Breckenridge at this time of year is fantastic.
The Memorial Day week is considered off season because it's after ski season and the summer rush hasn't started, so there were alot of 2-for-1 discounts at the local restaurants and shops. Many thanks to the GTL staff for this tip. The staff was very helpful and laid back, which is typical of people fortunate enough to live and work in the mountains of Colorado.
We arrived Saturday afternoon around 6:00 pm and our room was ready. It was snowing and we all swam outside. Our DD's were in heaven. They never dreamed of seeing snow this time of year. After 3" of snow, we were back in shorts enjoying brilliant sunshine and cool weather for the remainder of the week.
The resort theming was rock, exposed timber, mountian landscaping and somewhat reminicent of the VWL. Who would have thought it? The resort has 6 indoor/outdoor hot tubs and 2 indoor/outdoor pools located in two different buildings, both of which were within walking distance. The common areas were very nice, with a large gathering space that included a pool table, leather sofas, two story rock fireplace, lots of windows and a big screen TV, which played recently released movies on designated nights. Exercise equipment, locker rooms and showers were also available. Parking was under the building with controlled access for security. This would be a big plus during ski season.
There is an on-sight restaurant, but we didn't eat there. As reported by my DW, the full service spa was nice, but pricey. We attended a 90-minute presentation on the property and received a $100 gift certificate that we used for dinner downtown and my DW's massage. The presentation was optional and not high pressure. We would consider buying there, but it was signficantly more than DVC and not in the budget at the time. The main selling point vs. DVC was DVC's expiration date, which was never a concern for us.
In Breckenridge, we shopped, ate well and took a horse and buggy tour of the historic buildings. Outside of Breckenridge, we rode the Georgetown loop train and toured an old silver mine, white water rafted the Arkansas river, visited Vail, attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field, breathed clean mountain air and found out that the house we lived in twenty years ago in Denver had been torn down and the area redeveloped.
The only negatives were the VHS player, because we had to huddle around our laptop to watch our DVD'. Sharing one toilet was inconvienant at times, and I'll leave it at that. Lastly, our unit was a long way from the elevator and there were 4-5 steps in the hallway, so it was difficult for us to transport our luggage with the self-service valet carts.
All in all, we had a great vacation. It also reconfirmed how lucky we are to belong to DVC. We intend to return to WDW in December 2005, but before that we'll just have to look forward to our trip to The Plaza at Thanksgiving this year. Best value or not, we intend to fully utilize every aspect DVC has to offer. We love our DVC.
My DW, 2-DD's (8 & 15) and I have been DVC members since 2002. We have 200 points and call the BCV home. After three family vacation for 11 at BCV last year, we decided to go to the mountains this year. In fact, we've just returned from 7 nights (May 29 - June 5) at the Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Let me begin by saying we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and definitely thought it was worth the points. We would do it again. We had no problems making the reservations, and the GTL was our fist preference. We even had to change the reservation after it was booked at 12 months out. At 6 weeks out we had to change to Memorial Day week because of DD's schedule. MS handled the change with no problems, even though we did have to pay the additional $95 fee.
We traded 124 points (low season) for a 1-bedroom in Building #4, Room 411, which is on the first floor. The unit was at the end of the building and faced north with views of the mountains. However, since the GTL is a ski-in/ski-out resort, all views could be considered mountain views. A fox came within three feet of my DW & DW while we were sitting on the porch/balcony one afternoon. Buildings 7 & 8 are still under construction, and will complete the resort in 2005/2006. We hardly even noticed.
The room was in great shape and up to Disney quality. The kitchen was fully equipped, right down to the Cutco knives and appliances. The living room had a gas fire place that was easy to turn on and off using the switch on the wall. DD's slept on the pull out sofa. The living room also had two leather recliners, a TV and VCR. The bedroom had a king size bed and TV. There was a split bathroom with a double shower, toilet and dressing area connected to the master bath, which had a large jacuzzi tub, double lavs and make-up area. The living room and bedroom had ceiling fans, which were nice because the resort is not air-conditioned. However, the lack of air-conditioning was not a problem because the weather in Breckenridge at this time of year is fantastic.
The Memorial Day week is considered off season because it's after ski season and the summer rush hasn't started, so there were alot of 2-for-1 discounts at the local restaurants and shops. Many thanks to the GTL staff for this tip. The staff was very helpful and laid back, which is typical of people fortunate enough to live and work in the mountains of Colorado.
We arrived Saturday afternoon around 6:00 pm and our room was ready. It was snowing and we all swam outside. Our DD's were in heaven. They never dreamed of seeing snow this time of year. After 3" of snow, we were back in shorts enjoying brilliant sunshine and cool weather for the remainder of the week.
The resort theming was rock, exposed timber, mountian landscaping and somewhat reminicent of the VWL. Who would have thought it? The resort has 6 indoor/outdoor hot tubs and 2 indoor/outdoor pools located in two different buildings, both of which were within walking distance. The common areas were very nice, with a large gathering space that included a pool table, leather sofas, two story rock fireplace, lots of windows and a big screen TV, which played recently released movies on designated nights. Exercise equipment, locker rooms and showers were also available. Parking was under the building with controlled access for security. This would be a big plus during ski season.
There is an on-sight restaurant, but we didn't eat there. As reported by my DW, the full service spa was nice, but pricey. We attended a 90-minute presentation on the property and received a $100 gift certificate that we used for dinner downtown and my DW's massage. The presentation was optional and not high pressure. We would consider buying there, but it was signficantly more than DVC and not in the budget at the time. The main selling point vs. DVC was DVC's expiration date, which was never a concern for us.
In Breckenridge, we shopped, ate well and took a horse and buggy tour of the historic buildings. Outside of Breckenridge, we rode the Georgetown loop train and toured an old silver mine, white water rafted the Arkansas river, visited Vail, attended a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field, breathed clean mountain air and found out that the house we lived in twenty years ago in Denver had been torn down and the area redeveloped.
The only negatives were the VHS player, because we had to huddle around our laptop to watch our DVD'. Sharing one toilet was inconvienant at times, and I'll leave it at that. Lastly, our unit was a long way from the elevator and there were 4-5 steps in the hallway, so it was difficult for us to transport our luggage with the self-service valet carts.
All in all, we had a great vacation. It also reconfirmed how lucky we are to belong to DVC. We intend to return to WDW in December 2005, but before that we'll just have to look forward to our trip to The Plaza at Thanksgiving this year. Best value or not, we intend to fully utilize every aspect DVC has to offer. We love our DVC.
