our UN-wyndham palms trip

[littleducksmom]

we just got back from our un-wyndham palms vacation. we had booked this condo back in feb for a great rate..........well again.........you might get what you pay for.......lol.

unfortunately for us we were told upon our arrival at http://www.1st4floridacondos.com/indexmain.htm office that we would be staying at royal oaks condos off poinciana blvd. due to overbooking. not exactely close to the animal kingdam, like i had been told wyndham palms was........

the website never states that any other condo would be an option.........only wyndham palms....so i was surprised that we were being moved in the first place. but since we had been up all nite driving and grandma was along i felt i shouldnt push the issue.

well...........we drive to royal oaks........and are highly disappointed........nothing like wyndham palms...........we had driven thru wyndham palms on our way to the rental office.

we hop back in the car and head back to rental office very dismayed..........at first they arent very helpful and state that their website says no guaranties on location........this is absolutely not true.....i have reviewed their condo website thoroughly since returning home.

well anyways, after my dh went into their office and stated that he expected more to be done by the rental office and that royal oaks was not at all equal to wyndahm palms........we ended up with a beautiful home in eagle point with our own private swimming pool for $55/nite. unfortunately, we were no where close, as far as i am concerned, to wdw. and if we didnt have grandma and our baby we wouldnt have even stayed there.

this information is provided to warn those who may be booking thru this website. unfortunately i cannot recommend them..........we still had a great trip.......just it involved a little more driving than we had planned.

debbie

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Debbie,

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I was so looking forward to your full report on Wyndham Palms. We are going next week and I hope we do not get bumped. We booked thru a differant website. Since you did drive thru WP how was it? Also, we were offered an upgrade to a house on Wyndam Palm way (for a little more $$) did you think that the condos were in a better location than the homes? Again I'm sorry you were disappointed.

Thanks,

Laura

 

[littleducksmom]

laura,
WP was very nice......and very new.........and in a great location! i love the less congested area of 192 that it is located in. the homes and the condos all looked brand new. there was lot of construction going on in the development, but didnt look as if it would interfere with your stay. if you are gonna have your own pool......the home would be worth it.......if you arent gonna have your own pool.......the condos would be closer to the pool from what i could tell. also the stairs to the 3rd floor condos would have been hard for my mother to climb after a long day in the parks. that is the only down side i saw. there are no elevators, at least i was told this by the website i had booked thru, for what that is worth.

debbie

 

[cottontail]

Debbie:

Sorry for your unfortunate experience and inconvience with the condo, especially after being up all night driving with a baby, you do not need a surprise like that.

Laura:

Please post how you make out with the same condo. Just a thought, can you call them ahead and check to make sure you will not have any surprises like Deb had.

Deb.

 

[littleducksmom]

hi deb,
thanks for your condolences.......lol.

you have a really good idea for laura.......call ahead......i actually had called ahead about 3 days before our trip and was told everything was inorder........oh well. i think it has alot to do with this particular rental agency......did i say "never again"?....lol. hopefully laura will have better luck and actually get to stay at this really nice place. let us deb's know how it goes laura. have a great time.

debbie

 

[Robinrs]

Wow! What an experience!

I can't believe they even considered Royal Palms before offering you a house. And Eagle Pointe IS a haul compared to the small trek from WP.

MOMTOMOOTOO: I wonder why they offered you an upgrade? It may be because they overbooked YOUR date also. If they offered you a house in Wyndham Palms, counter offer and tell them you'll take it for about $5 a day more. The houses in this resort are incredible, and at least you'll know you'll get that resort. This might prevent you having a similar experience.

PM me if you need more info.

Robin

 

[Elle]

Sorry to hear about that as you would have loved WP!!!
I have to say though that it is a chance you take when not booking a "specific" home, I will probably get shot down in flames again but this does not happen if you go direct to the owner.
At least you enjoyed your vacation even if you could have been closer.
Elle

 

[littleducksmom]

hi elle,

please take a look at the website i booked thru. it is included in my original post......besides all the phone calls i made to this company to ask questions about our stay at wp specifically. you make a very good point about booking with an individual........but at no time did i ever think i was going to be offered something other than wp by this particular company until we arrived at their office.

i guess we were dooped by the old bait and switch from this company........like i said earlier "never again". actually everyone in our party absolutely loved the house we were given to stay in..............it was just me that hated the increased driving.......everyone else thought that we had quite a deal given to us...........i still have disagree with them on this....... i want to be as close as i can to wdw.

let's just say that after we stay at vistana villages(if we dont get bumped there too...... ) in june........we are gonna stay onsite again for awhile.........

debbie

 

[MouseGirl]

Hi littleducksmom,

So sorry to hear about your experience on your recent trip, and that things didn't work out at Wyndham Palms. I just hope it doesn't sour you on staying off site for good, and that your visit to Vistana Villages is a wonderful one later this year.

Just as a footnote, if you decide you want to try Wyndham Palms again and ensure that you don't get bumped to another resort (I can only imagine how stressful that must have been), just let me know. We were really pleased with renting directly from the owner we used, and plan to rent with him again. Plus, the location there is so wonderful - I know you would enjoy the close proximity to WDW, reasonable rates and his unit was on the first floor, not the third, so stairs were not an issue. Pixie dust and best wishes for your next visit to WDW!

 

[littleducksmom]

thanks mousegirl.....i was so looking forward to staying at wp after i read your review of the place, right before we were leaving for our trip. would you please email the info re: the owner that you rented from. pixie dust for you too..........

debbie

 

[angey77]

I booked through Closettodisney.com for Wyndam Palms. We are leaving in 11 days and I am greatly looking forward to staying there. In fact, I have friends who just called last week for Memorial Day weekend and they were told condos were still open there for the weekend through this site.
I hope no one has had the same unfortunate experience with them, have they?

 

[littleducksmom]

angey77,

i have been emailed by another board member that this IS the same company...."elite homes" with offices by darryls restaurant on 192.

debbie

 

[angey77]

Debbie,
I think the person who emailed you is in my party! Thanks for the heads up. At least we know what can go wrong when we get there. The only thing I have to fight on really is an email that says "Wyndham Palms condo reserved for you," I truely hope they stick to their words, at least for me!

 

[Jane E.]

Angey 77 please update us when you get back. I've had a ressie with them also.

 

[angey77]

Will do Jane. I just emailed them and they confirmed that I will definitely be in Wyndham Palms. We'll make sure all is well when we get there!

 

[littleducksmom]

angey77,

that is great news.........i hope you have a very wonderful trip and let us know how it goes. i hope my posting has helped in some way.....


debbie

 

[angey77]

Debbie,
Your posting helped a GREAT deal. I just thought if I didn't check on my reservations, I may be going through the same unfortunate circumstances you went through. We all now know who not to book with and hopefully, when I'm done, who to book with!

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

You guys got me so freaked. I changed my reservation and booked with a private owner..We were able to get a 4br house confirmed for just a few$$ more. I hope we made the right decision. According to the map the house is really close to the clubhouse and that was important to me..I wanted a resort feel. The kitchen does not mean anything to me when I'm on vacation LOL We leave on Weds, so I'll be sure to post as soon as I get back!!

 

[Jane E.]

Thank you. I'll be watching for your post. It looks like you don't have much time left! Have fun!

 

[littleducksmom]

momtoomootoo,

you did the right thing.......no surprises....no reason to freak out now....you are gonna love it there. have a great trip.........let us know how much you like it when you get back.

debbie