The we loooooove Bonnet Creek thread Part 3

[akadada]

I have read the reviews on Yelp and tripadvisor and I think a lot of the complaints are re: not understanding what you were buying when you did.

This is a timeshare resort not a 4 or 5 star resort. THere are spacious rooms complete with a kitchen and living room. The 2 bedroom we stayed in was well equipped and up to date. There are several pools, hotubs, mini golf and activities. It's location can not be beat. We opted out of our last theme park day and rented a cabana for $50- awesome!!!! The staff around the resort was very friendly. Having a separate bedroom/bath for the kids was priceless!

Because it is a timeshare resort they are going to encourage you to attend a sales pitch. A firm "NO" works wonders. There will not be daily house keeping. There will not be 4 star restaurants, but tons of restaurants close by. There will not be door men or room service. There will not be any hidden Mickey's. But what you get for $120 night (what we paid for a 2 bed in April 2013) is an incredible value IMHO. I advise renting a car. Some people want to be pampered on vacation and I respect that. Having ample space, a kitchen and ability to do laundry is so much more important to me. You would be best comparing this experience to renting points from a DVC owner to stay at one of those resorts, which I have done. DVC rooms are not as well kept and 4-5x the money for the same space. My family can not wait to go back to WBC!

This is a great summary.

 

[padams626]

My family and I checked into a 2 bedroom Presidential room at WBC. In a word..... WOW! We've done a 2 bedroom Deluxe before, it was very nice. But, the Presidential is far better.

 

[angell52]

Any word on working with Laru Resorts? I am also very close to booking with them, they beat everyone's quote for my 5 nights in April but they're not mentioned often so I am curious on your experience with them. they seem very nice so far.

Anyone else used LaRue resorts? I have a booking with them for July.

 

[eeyoresnr]

I don't think you even have to have it noted. When we stayed at Bonnet Creek this past May for ten nights, we just came back to the room one night to find it had been cleaned. I think it was around maybe the eighth night. I was there for eight nights in Sept and did not get housekeeping though.



Both my trips last May and again in Sept had two separate reservations. I stayed in the same room for the full trip though. You do not even have to check back in for the second reservation. For that matter our upcoming Dec trip that we booked through Aaron Washburn has three confirmation numbers. He has said they will keep us in the same room for the full ten nights though.

We booked through Vacation Strategies for our trip last May. I called the resort about a week out to confirm they had our reservations. I was told they had us down for seven nights. Our reservation was for ten nights. The lady I spoke to at the resort, told me that their reservations are usually in 7 night increments, so not to worry, and just call back in a day or two to see if the last three nights were downloaded. I did so and sure enough it was listed at a 7 night reservation linked to a 3 night reservation. She told me at that time, that I would not have to move or even check back in for the 3 night reservation and the resort was used to linked reservations like that.

feeling much better about it...thanks

 

[eeyoresnr]

does anyone have pics of the crib or pac n play from the resort? thanks

 

[celerystalker]

I've stayed at WBC about 5 times and never had any problems.
Don't worry!

 

[Kemette]

We arrive tomorrow for 7 nights! First time and very excited.

 

[DEJ07]

We arrive tomorrow for 7 nights! First time and very excited.

So do we! We're excited to finally see WBC in person!!!

 

[Kemette]

So do we! We're excited to finally see WBC in person!!!

Agreed!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

MinnielovesMickey12 - you really don't want to buy into the Wyndham system. Your maintennance charges will be more money than renting from someone else for when you want to stay at WBC. Not to mention what you will be charged to buy into the sytem on top of the yearly maintennance charges. Time shares are great to stay in for trips but they are expensive to own. When you read about WBC replacing the furniture - the owners pay for that - the owners pay the salary of all the workers, the upkeep on the building, new roofs, etc. Just like owning a house.
With so many folks willing to rent to the general public it is foolish to waste your vacation dollars on buying when renting is so afforable. When I bought into the timeshare system you could not stay in a timeshare property unless you owned somewhere and were swapping out your week for someone else's week. That is no longer true with the internet and all the folks that are willing to rent out to the general public.

Actually buying into Wyndham saves us a ton of money and gives us control of our own vacation plans. The amount of points it takes us to stay 10 nights at Bonnet Creek in a 3 bedroom costs us around $900 a year. Now you may or may not be able to book 10 nights through a broker in a 3 bedroom for $900 but I doubt it.

I didn't fly blindly into buying into Wyndham. I did my research like anybody would who was about to buy into any timeshare system.

The only reason those brokers can even come close to being able to book a room for anything close to what I pay in maintenance fees is because if they have VIP status they can rebook at 60 days for reduced points. But for someone who has to book using full points you just buy into a resort with low maintenance fees.

My husband RENTED from someone else a one bedroom suite at Daytona Beach for next March's Bike week. That room only takes 126,000 points but he had to pay $1200 for one week in that room.

He turned around and bought enough points to give him a TWO BEDROOM for Bike week and a TWO BEDROOM for Biketoberfest every year for $1400 in MF's. Just $200 more than his one week in a a one bedroom for an event week.

So maybe if you want to just stay at some random non-popular resort during slow season you may be able to book it through a broker for less than my MF's but again, I doubt it.

And all 6 of my contracts were bought resale off Ebay for less than $200 per contract with no closing costs and no transfer fees.

 

[auger]

I appreciate all of the help and reassurances.
I think we will keep our eyes open for a great deal, and if we find one, we will go ahead and try BC and see for ourselves.
Thanks to everyone who replied!!!

 

[Eaglefan9727]

Bonnet Creek is one of the best resorts I have been to.

 

[Kemette]

Arrived today and we're VERY happy with our 2 bdrm deluxe in tower 1!

 

[PrincessL]

Are there any Halloween activities at Bonnet Creek on Halloween? I am considering going over Halloween next year, but am afraid MNSSHP will be too crowded on the 31st.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Are there any Halloween activities at Bonnet Creek on Halloween? I am considering going over Halloween next year, but am afraid MNSSHP will be too crowded on the 31st.

We were there over Halloween. They had trick or treating around the resort. Several stations in which you could get candy.

 

[PrincessL]

I forgot the rest of my questions! Sorry for posting again! Are there many rooms on the first floor with a patio instead of a balcony. I don't care for heights. Also, if you have 2 rooms are you able to get them near each other? It seems that renting 2 - 2 bedroom deluxe would actually be a little cheaper than renting the 4 bedroom Presidential. Does that seem to be the case? Also, do the restaurants at Bonnet Creek seem to run about the same price as the Disney food courts and TS?

 

[Tigger1221]

We stayed at Bonnet Creek for 16 days this October. It was our first time. We usually stay at a Disney Hotel. We LOVED it and will be staying here again in January. It was clean and everyone was very nice. We loved the extra room and that our 15 month old had her own room (we stayed in a 2 bedroom). We could relax and eat breakfast and then head out. My parents stayed at Pop Century and wished they had stayed somewhere else. They said it was looking run down and they had a broken shower.

 

[PrincessL]

How long is the longest you have stayed an Bonnet Creek and did you have to change rooms?

 

[Portugal1000]

How long is the longest you have stayed an Bonnet Creek and did you have to change rooms?

We stayed 22 nights this July/August and didn't change rooms. 21 Nights last year. Never heard of anyone having to change, unless they wanted to.

 

[Portugal1000]

I forgot the rest of my questions! Sorry for posting again! Are there many rooms on the first floor with a patio instead of a balcony. I don't care for heights. Also, if you have 2 rooms are you able to get them near each other? It seems that renting 2 - 2 bedroom deluxe would actually be a little cheaper than renting the 4 bedroom Presidential. Does that seem to be the case? Also, do the restaurants at Bonnet Creek seem to run about the same price as the Disney food courts and TS?

We booked 2 rooms this year and ended up about 6 rooms away from each other I also dont like heights and 4th floor is as high as I would go. I thinks its easier to get a lower floor as lots of people seem to want to stay up high, never understood why. At work in safety talks they always tell us to never stay higher than a fire ladder can reach and I have always stuck by that. To be honest its the lifts that scare me more.
I would say the food at BC is not too expensive. My son loves the chicken wraps and sandwiches at the pool by building 4. Big portions.