Disney on a Budget! - Review of Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, Orlando
I stayed here with my family of four (kids age 8 and 12) for a week during our 2nd trip to Disney. The resort is about 10-15 minutes from most of the Disney parks making it convenient for our trip. Overall we enjoyed our stay and would stay at this resort again. There are many different pools, slides, lazy rivers and hot tubs around the resort to enjoy. We were disappointed because we were told there was a volleyball court right near our building and we found out later it was taken out some time ago. This was a big deal for two people in our family who were looking forward to playing volleyball. The court is listed as an amenity on the resort website and the concierge showed us on the map when we arrived where we would find it. It was only when we asked one of the maintenance people that we found out it was no longer there. We did not have a lot of time to enjoy the many activities the resort had scheduled each day but there are a lot if that is something you are looking to do.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom deluxe which was wonderfully spacious for a week's vacation. We took advantage of all the amenities the room offered including the full kitchen and washer/dryer. There were individual packets of dish detergent and laundry detergent so we were able to take those off of our shopping list. The decor is modern and most of the condo was very clean. The only part that could use either some updating or a very deep cleaning is the master shower. The shower floor and bottoms of the glass shower doors looked dirty and the grout on the walls needs a good cleaning. Plenty of towels were provided in both bathrooms. We did request a fireworks view upon arrival and were told we had a lake/pool view and we could view the Epcot fireworks by walking to another tower and going to the Presidential suite. When we got to our suite we found that the balcony view was primarily of the parking lot however the kid's room did have a nice view of the lake and the top of the Epcot ball. Just be sure to ask specifically what your balcony view will be if you are picky about that. We did go to the Presidential suite one night to view the Epcot fireworks and it was a great view. We actually found out during the timeshare presentation (details below) that we could view the Hollywood Studios fireworks from our tower (T2) which we found to be true.
We did eat at one of the resort restaurants. Food is decent but pricey. We saved money by ordering pizza delivery a couple of nights.
As many of the reviewers have stated, this is a time share resort and you will be approached almost immediately upon check-in regarding attending a presentation. They will say you need to go to another desk to obtain a parking pass once you've checked in. Like others have said, your key card gives you access to the resort and to unlock the building doors so I am not sure if the parking pass is actually necessary or just a ploy to get you to sign up for a presentation. The lady who first spoke to us at the desk was very nice and told us we would be given breakfast during the presentation. She also gave us a card stating the presentation would only last for 90 minutes. Our promised gift for attending was a $50 resort dining credit along with a week's vacation at another Wyndham resort. We are interested in going to Myrtle Beach next summer and asked if the voucher would work for that vacation. We were told yes as long as we use it within a year of attending the presentation. FYI, we spoke with another family who attended a presentation and received $290 towards Disney tickets so there are definitely other options for gifts if you are willing to sit through the presentation. If you go to the "breakfast" presentation be advised that "breakfast" consists of pre-packaged Sara Lee type pastries/bagels and small cups of coffee/tea/water. We were fortunate in that our main salesperson was a very nice lady. We decided to be respectful and hear out the various time share or "vacation ownership" options. My advice to anyone before attending one of these presentations is to research time share or vacation ownership reviews to see if it is something that is for you and your family and to also look at the reviews and rankings for the various companies that are out there. A 90-minute or even 3-hour presentation is simply not enough time to give into making such a long-term, very expensive decision. After saying no to our salesperson we did meet with 3 other salespeople who offered other package options to which we also said no. All together we spent about 3 hours with the salespeople. FYI, while you can bring your kids to the kid's club on site we did see many, particularly older children, sitting around in the sales room looking bored and antsy. Fortunately, unlike the other family we spoke with who received the Disney ticket credit, our "no"'s were respected and eventually we were led into the gifting room. The other family was hassled and pressured much more into buying. We did receive and use our $50 resort dining credit. The one week vacation voucher had fine print showing it can be used for off-peak weeks only which would not include a week during the summer at Myrtle as we were originally told it would.
Overall the resort is well maintained and a great place to stay in Orlando, especially if visiting Disney. Be forewarned about the time share presentation and be sure to do your research ahead of time.
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Comments
Post a Comment