The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread Part 3

[Calirya]

We are in tower 6.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Left yesterday. Stay was great. Parking wasn't so great. We ended up getting a parking pass on Tuesday. No high pressure sales talk. Unfortunately, won't be goon back for another 5 years or so, and DH wants to stay onsite. We will see.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

I just came back yesterday from our one week stay. I got nothing from them either. I did call up around 2 weeks prior just to confirm my name/reservation was in their system. They confirmed it was there and that was good enough for me. We showed up and I just gave them my name and showed them my driver's license. It was no problem whatsoever. So don't worry if you don't get any kind of written confirmation, it must not be unusual.

I would suggest calling them at some point this week to confirm and then you will have peace of mind.

My wife and I came back about a week ago for 12 nights and did the same thing as you did. I called about a week in advance to see if the reservation was in their system and it was. There was no issue at all. At first, I was worried with Vacation Strategy, But everything worked out perfectly. We would have no problem using Vacation Strategy again when we take our next trip down there in 3 to 4 years

BTW, We were in building 6 4th floor room #6416. The only downside of our stay was that we had a view of the parking lot. Everything else was fine.

 

[RainK]

Can someone tell me if Bonnet Creek is a compact resort? My mom will be traveling with is and she has mobility issues. I was wondering how "walkable" the resort is.
Can you compare the layout to any of the Disney resorts?

It looks amazing.....we are excited to go.

 

[carlbarry]

Can someone tell me if Bonnet Creek is a compact resort? My mom will be traveling with is and she has mobility issues. I was wondering how "walkable" the resort is.
Can you compare the layout to any of the Disney resorts?

It looks amazing.....we are excited to go.

You can pull a car up to any building, as far as I know, and let a person off right by the entrance.
However, to access the features of the resort can require walking.
For example, your building might be near a pool. Or you might have to walk a distance to a pool. Or you might be near the pool that's by the mini golf, but want to go to the new lazy river pool. That will require quite a walk. Even if you drive near there, you still won't be very near.
You could be on the opposite side of the lake from where the movie is shown.
So if you are asking about just getting into the room, there is minimal travel. To get from one side of the resort to the other, there is quite a bit of traveling.

 

[akadada]

We just returned. Here's a quick review of the resort given our first time there.

Before I get to that; a big thanks to all who contribute to this forum. It helped us a lot in planning the trip. I hope my review helps those going forward.

Summary...

Positives: Pools; location; unbelievable price for the space.

Negatives: Construction quality horrible; timeshare people were atrocious; bad initial front desk experience.

Would still stay there again, though.

Detail....

Booked Vacation Strategies. 3BR Deluxe for 8 nights at $1300 plus a $140 moving fee (see below). No problems there. VS was super easy to work with. Would work with them again.

Check in around 6:00 PM.

There was no ability to make a room request, though. That was disappointing. We were given a room next to the elevator Tower 5 overlooking the parking lot. They said no other rooms were available anywhere, but to check the next day for check outs of folks leaving to see what pops up and to come early before people start checking in.

We went to do the parking pass because it was clear at the gate it was helpful to have a pass. (by the end of the week they asked for it about a half dozen times).

The timeshare people were horrible. I refused to fill out anything and told them (Two people side by side) none of this was necessary, I just wanted the pass. One said I was obligated to give the information. I said no I wasn't and that I just want my pass and that none of my personal information is any of their business. As they filled out the pass, the same person said you clearly have no idea what your responsibilities are if you rent from another timeshare owner, implying I was obligated to comply. What a scumbag. I just grabbed the pass before they could finish talking and I left without ever giving information.

Luggage took 50 minutes to get even though they told us 10. Called three times and they just kept telling us it was on the way. It was moderately busy so it didn't make sense it would take so long.

The bellman that finally came was very nice and apologetic though, but that was a horrible way to try to get our kids to bed.

The room we were in in Tower 5 was dated, beat up, could hear the neighbors like they were literally just feet away. The room construction was just cheap all around. Bed sheets were a mess; torn; didn't fit on bed. Lamp shades torn up; fridge door broken, dish washer not screwed in properly. A metal screw was laying on the ground that my DD4yo found. Just a total mess of a room. It was clean though. But, alas, it reminded me a dingy 20 year old large motel.

Next morning at 6:45 AM I go straight to the front desk and ask for a new room. Somehow a room is now available (immediately at 6:45 AM) in Tower 6. Not after checkout time of 10:00 mind you, but a room all along. How can this be?

I said that yesterday when I asked about other rooms, they said none available, she couldn't answer me...never got an explanation either. But for the low $140 cleaning fee we could change rooms. That was frustrating too, but the difference between an unupdated elevator room at Tower 5 and updated Tower 6 at the end of the hallway was worth the change and charge.

The bellman who moved us was incredibly helpful and nice. Every bellman we met was super nice.

Tower 6, I learned, is the most in demand.

The tower 6 room was significantly nicer than Tower 5, but still, the construction quality is horrible. Granite was lipstick on a pig is all I could tell. Found constant cheapness throughout.

For a weeks stay, you’d probably not notice or at least should not care. I only notice these things having spent a few years in Multifamily construction. Dishwasher, again, falling out; fridge wrong size for its space and shelving broken. Shelving through out was not level. Again, bed sheets didn't fit. And the TV reception was constantly static-y. The remote was broken and the DVD player skipped disc's a lot.

Although noise was not a problem in tower 6. We had a parking lot view and even though it wasn't the best view, it was also not horrible either. And honestly, appreciated the quiet (Sans cars) after being out late to swim and hearing how loud it can get pool side. Our family needs its sleep.

The front desk staff in tower 6 was all over the place. Some super nice, some moderately incompetent. For example, we had pool towels taken by housekeeping and when I told the front desk this, they said, don't worry, we'll let the activity desk know so we wouldn't be charged the $25/towel fee. On a whim a day later I decide to double check and of course, no one told activities and had I not double-checked, $100 bill would have showed up.

The once a week housekeeping was okay. Didn't care if they came one way or the other.

Almost everyone we met, though, including groundskeepers,was hospitable if not outright friendly. The activities staff was also super friendly.

They had great activities for the kids. Including a fun trick or treat event and party. My DD loved it.

The grounds themselves are very nice. I was impressed and enjoyed walking the lake every morning with my kids who get up at 6:00 daily.

The playground was great.

The grills were cleaned everyday so being the germaphobe I am, I'd still cook on them.

Most everyone we met staying there was also nice. Lots of families with kids in the typical ranges of 0 - 16.

The pools are great. Although #6 pool is definitely NOT heated. Or at least was not being heated while we were there. I checked the discharge and no heat and it was not warm enough on some days to justify not heating. Many people commiserated about this.

Also, in late Oct/early November, the sun and tall buildings are such that the pool stays majority shaded until late morning, early afternoon, so coupled with some cooler nights, the pools stay chili until mid day.

We used the pools a lot, though.

Morning music on the grounds and in the lobby was too loud and annoying. Nirvana Teen Spirit playing at 8:00 AM one morning was a little bit odd and not relaxing. If we're going rock, at least go Framptom.

The location can not be beat relative to any other onsite property that is not monorail/boardwalk. And given all you get for your price, even though my review is not overly positive, I think WBC is very much worth the price and some hassle compared to onsite.

I understand why some folks are loyal to onsite, though, and agree that WBC doesn't match to the onsite experience. But at three times the costs, I personally can't justify it each trip and would only do onsite via DVC...because as we see it, for every three WBC Trips you take, you get one free compared to staying on site. And then even with the savings, I'd still probably stay offsite.

So anyway, I do realize my review seems overly negative, I'd still stay there again if I wanted to be onsite. You can't be the price, location, pools, and many of the staff. For our family (young kids) I'd worry a lot though about getting a crappy room again.

We're going to try Sheraton Vistana next, though. And will be moving over to the Vistana board in the next year.

Hope this helps!

PS - We've also done these offsites: Floridays (great, would definitely do again); Marriott Cypress Harbour (very good, but would do WBC unless you wanted to be at Sea World); Windsor Hills (Boring!); Gaylord Palms (meh); and Dolphin (love it compared to onsite hotels!).

 

[eeyoresnr]

I just came back yesterday from our one week stay. I got nothing from them either. I did call up around 2 weeks prior just to confirm my name/reservation was in their system. They confirmed it was there and that was good enough for me. We showed up and I just gave them my name and showed them my driver's license. It was no problem whatsoever. So don't worry if you don't get any kind of written confirmation, it must not be unusual.

I would suggest calling them at some point this week to confirm and then you will have peace of mind.

can you tell me what # you call to verify your reservation? thanks

 

[Eaglefan9727]

can you tell me what # you call to verify your reservation? thanks

1-800-610-9558 was the number that I used to verify my reservation

 

[Silock]

The room we were in in Tower 5 was dated, beat up, could hear the neighbors like they were literally just feet away. The room construction was just cheap all around. Bed sheets were a mess; torn; didn't fit on bed. Lamp shades torn up; fridge door broken, dish washer not screwed in properly. A metal screw was laying on the ground that my DD4yo found. Just a total mess of a room. It was clean though. But, alas, it reminded me a dingy 20 year old large motel.

The tower 6 room was significantly nicer than Tower 5, but still, the construction quality is horrible. Granite was lipstick on a pig is all I could tell. Found constant cheapness throughout.

For a weeks stay, you’d probably not notice or at least should not care. I only notice these things having spent a few years in Multifamily construction. Dishwasher, again, falling out; fridge wrong size for its space and shelving broken. Shelving through out was not level. Again, bed sheets didn't fit. And the TV reception was constantly static-y. The remote was broken and the DVD player skipped disc's a lot.

We stay there yearly and have never noticed anything like this. I guess we're either extremely lucky or you're extremely unlucky.

 

[aubriee]

We just returned. Here's a quick review of the resort given our first time there.

There was no ability to make a room request, though. That was disappointing. We were given a room next to the elevator Tower 5 overlooking the parking lot. They said no other rooms were available anywhere, but to check the next day for check outs of folks leaving to see what pops up and to come early before people start checking in.

Tower 6, I learned, is the most in demand.

The tower 6 room was significantly nicer than Tower 5, but still, the construction quality is horrible. Granite was lipstick on a pig is all I could tell. Found constant cheapness throughout.

I've made room requests when I was there twice this year. I was in Tower 5, 6th floor, two doors down from the elevators when I was there in Sept and the room was spotless. I only heard someone once, when a family was coming back from the parks one night and their kids were excited and talking loudly. The parents quickly shushed them though. I was facing the parking lot, but it was my fault. I checked in early (around 10:30am) and asked if a lake facing room might be available in either the Main building, building 4 or building 5. She told me if I was willing to wait until later that afternoon she could get me lake view in building 4, but if I wanted a room now she had one close to the elevators in building 5, facing DTD. I chose to take the room that was ready, but it was not high enough to see DTD, so I had a parking lot/trees view. I was still happy with the room though and loved being so close to the elevator. We also stayed at Bonnet Creek this past May. At check in, I again requested a lake view and they had a lake view room ready in Tower 4, second floor. I didn't see anything wrong with either room (room was clean, everything worked, nothing broken, sheets fit the bed fine). I didn't have any problem at check in either time either. For the May trip, I sent my husband to bell services to pick up my mom's ECV and checked in alone, checking the lowest income on their sheet. She did not even ask me about attending a time share talk. In Sept I was solo and told her so when I checked in, telling her I'd left my husband at home and again checked the lowest salary. Again I didn't have a problem getting my parking pass, a time share meeting was not even mentioned, and the only call I got was asking if I was having a good trip and was there anything they could do for me.

 

[blessedby3]

We stay there yearly and have never noticed anything like this. I guess we're either extremely lucky or you're extremely unlucky.

We were at WBC a year ago in October and never had any issues either. I thought the place was awesome! We also never heard anyone in neighboring rooms. We did, however, have the toaster catch on fire as housekeeping must not dump the crumbs Dh put poptarts in the toaster and we smelled something burning...turned around to see the toaster with flames coming out!! He unplugged it and ran it out to the balcony and got the fire out

We are staying for 2 weeks in June and hope we have a nice room like we did last year.

We arrived early in the morning on our last trip and they were going to give me a room on a lower floor. I asked for a floor as high as possible and was told no problem, I just had to wait till a little later in the day. We ended up with building 4, high floor (cant remember the floor number) but it was a great location overlooking the pool.

Does anyone know if we get a maid service cleaning after week one? I was thinking that I remember reading that somewhere, but I may be mistaken.

 

[Eaglefan9727]

Does anyone know if we get a maid service cleaning after week one? I was thinking that I remember reading that somewhere, but I may be mistaken.

My wife and I were there for 12 days just last month and we didn't get any maid service after one week. However, They did come up one day while we were out to put more toilet paper and towels into the room, But nothing else.

 

[jlhill4444]

We stayed for two weeks and never received cleaning service. We asked if they could clean the room and all they did was drop off clean towels and bedding that we had to change ourselves. I was not concerned about the linens because I had already washed them, but a vacuum needed run and the bathrooms needed cleaned after two weeks of kid use. I would have cleaned myself but there were no supplies to do so.

 

[akadada]

We stay there yearly and have never noticed anything like this. I guess we're either extremely lucky or you're extremely unlucky.

Could be...thanks for offering another perspective.

 

[akadada]

We just returned. Here's a quick review of the resort given our first time there.

There was no ability to make a room request, though. That was disappointing. We were given a room next to the elevator Tower 5 overlooking the parking lot. They said no other rooms were available anywhere, but to check the next day for check outs of folks leaving to see what pops up and to come early before people start checking in.

Tower 6, I learned, is the most in demand.

The tower 6 room was significantly nicer than Tower 5, but still, the construction quality is horrible. Granite was lipstick on a pig is all I could tell. Found constant cheapness throughout.

I've made room requests when I was there twice this year. I was in Tower 5, 6th floor, two doors down from the elevators when I was there in Sept and the room was spotless. I only heard someone once, when a family was coming back from the parks one night and their kids were excited and talking loudly. The parents quickly shushed them though. I was facing the parking lot, but it was my fault. I checked in early (around 10:30am) and asked if a lake facing room might be available in either the Main building, building 4 or building 5. She told me if I was willing to wait until later that afternoon she could get me lake view in building 4, but if I wanted a room now she had one close to the elevators in building 5, facing DTD. I chose to take the room that was ready, but it was not high enough to see DTD, so I had a parking lot/trees view. I was still happy with the room though and loved being so close to the elevator. We also stayed at Bonnet Creek this past May. At check in, I again requested a lake view and they had a lake view room ready in Tower 4, second floor. I didn't see anything wrong with either room (room was clean, everything worked, nothing broken, sheets fit the bed fine). I didn't have any problem at check in either time either. For the May trip, I sent my husband to bell services to pick up my mom's ECV and checked in alone, checking the lowest income on their sheet. She did not even ask me about attending a time share talk. In Sept I was solo and told her so when I checked in, telling her I'd left my husband at home and again checked the lowest salary. Again I didn't have a problem getting my parking pass, a time share meeting was not even mentioned, and the only call I got was asking if I was having a good trip and was there anything they could do for me.

Good feedback. Thanks!

 

[iamadisneynut]

Not sure if this has been done/discussed but we are travelling the week of Dec 15-22. I am planning on getting a little tree for our room. Is there anyone that has done a tree exchange at WBC? I'm happy to give ours to anyone coming after us?

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

The number is 407 238 3500 to the actual resort. That other number someone posted is for extra holidays. If you want to verify if the resort has your reservation then call the actual resort.

 

[Chelley00]

We stayed for two weeks and never received cleaning service.

We were there for 14 nights and they came and cleaned on day 8.

 

[blessedby3]

We were there for 14 nights and they came and cleaned on day 8.

Did you ask for the cleaning? or did they just show up? Guess I can ask when we check in, but you would think they would clean after a week.

 

[Chelley00]

We just came back from the parks one night and housekeeping had been in and cleaned.