Hi there,
Can you elaborate on Wyndham? I see you're staying in Waikiki and San Diego in Wyndham properties. Are those nice properties? Thanks!
In my travels I have found that Wyndham deliveries lower quality accommodations and service compared to the timeshares I have experienced over the last 20 years and more recently over the last year.
Where I've gone with Wyndham:
Bonnet Creek WDW FL 5 stays
Santa Barbara - Pompano Beach FL
Emerald Grande at Destin - FL
Riversides San Antonio TX
La Cascada San Antonio TX
Kona Hawaiian Resort - Big Island Hawaii
Kauai Beach Resort = Kauai Hawaii
Royal Gardens at Waikiki - Honolulu Hawaii
Wyndham Nashville - TN
I have also toured the following: Royal Sea Cliffs HI, Bali Hai Villas HI, Waikiki Beach Walk HI, Royal Vista FL, Sea Gardens FL and Palm-Aire FL.
Here are my observations.
Understaffed compared to other timeshares I've been too
Extremely aggressive timeshare push, refuse to take "NO" to attend owner's update
Takes 20 minutes to get Bonnet Springs front desk to answer phone
Low number of front desk staff at Bonnet Creek compared to number of units
Bonnet Creek front desk TWICE programed room keys to end at midnight the night BEFORE check out. My niece and husband stayed with us and where at the hot tub past midnight. They could not get back in the building. Went to the front desk and they provided our names, their names, names of their children(all registered guests)but could not remember my street address. They were told to leave the property or they would be arrested. The front desk refused to call us or let them use a phone to call us. (they had no ID since they were in the hot tub). Finally MX person let them in. They will never go back to Bonnet Creek.
Stayed at Bonnet Creek for 2 1/2 weeks and got NO HOUSEKEEPING except for changing out towels once. I made 5 complaints and got nowhere.
At Kauai they only had air conditioning in the bedrooms, no problem - trade winds right? The windows were screwed shut because they were so rusty they would not work. The sliding grass door came off its tracks because the tracks were totally rusted out. The unit was totally DISGUSTING. The rug was extremely strained and the unit needed remodeling 3-4 years before. The beach was beautiful!!!!
At Nashville the Concierge refused to give us our parking permit until I scheduled a member's review. Things got ugly and she ended up throwing the parking permit in my face and stormed off.
I resent the strong arm tactics at check-in to get you to go to another timeshare presentation.
Wyndham will nickle and dime you to death with charges. If you make too many reservations, they start charging you. If you make a guest reservation, they charge you. If you cancel a reservation, points go into cancel points status with limitations, even if you cancel 1 year out. No ability to bank points unless you put them into RCI. Limited ability to borrow.
At most resorts, they restricted reservations in 3, 4, or 7 day increments. Must check-in on Friday, Saturday or Sunday if staying 7 days
IMO - Wyndham buys distressed properties. Example - Emerald Grande was built to sell as individual condos but the market crashed. Wyndham bought 64 units (as of last June) and rents them out.) Another company actually runs the complex and they do it on the cheap. When we were there 90% of the workers were college students doing an internship - and they were lost!
Santa Barbara was an old hotel that they remodeled into timeshares - awkward! Next door was an empty field where an old resort was torn down - an eyesore.
At Kauai they only own about half the resort. Waikiki Royal Gardens had about 6 floors as permanent owners. The resort had the smallest pool I have even seen for a hotel or timeshare.
About 40% of the Wyndham properties I have stayed at are what I consider substandard for major timeshare companies.
I spoke once with an assistant manger at Bonnet Creek and their statement summed up Wyndham's attitude towards its members...we were discussing the difference between
DVC and Wyndham, and I quote exactly..."DVC is an entertainment/lodging company, Wyndham is a sales company"
Better then most, DVC to some degree, treats you like a member, Wyndham treats you like a "mark" to try and hustle to buy more timeshare.
Here is an analogy to make my point:
Wyndham is like buying a car from a sleazy used car salesmen.
DVC is like buying a new BMW or Mercedes.
Your other questions...
The Wyndham Royal Gardens in Waikiki was a very small hotel room with a mini, partial kitchen.
Nothing special, very small pool, valet parking only at $35 per night. OK views of the canal where they practice with the outrigger canoes. No view of the ocean. 2-3 block walk to Waikiki beach and very convenient to downtown.
We haven't stayed at the Wyndham in San Diego yet but have reservations for January and February to stop there on our way to and from Hawaii
Reading that made me laugh out loud. It's very descriptive.
