Just back from the Wyndham Palms Resort & Country Club -- any ???'s

[cinamin27]

Just back from a WONDERFUL stay at the Wyndham Palms Resort & CC. I'll sit down & write a trip report tonight but in the mean time, if anyone has questions, I'll try & answer them as quickly as possible while I'm here at work

 

[Luv2trav]

Yes we are arriving on Friday and will be staying 9 nights in a 2 bedroom. Please give me as much advice as possible. Is there a certain building or floor I should request? How is the check in? How is there customer service? Most important, how are the pools? We will have a 19 month old with us and we really want to be close to the zero entry pool. Do you know what building I should request to get this...

Last but not least,,, How was your stay? I am very interested..

 

[cinamin27]

We were in building 21 which is closest to the entrance. The 2 bedrooms that are booked thru hotelkingdom are the 2 bedroom standard in Bldg. 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, & 23. they are 1552 sq ft. when I get home, I will check my map & figure out which building is closest to the main pool near check in, I assume that would be the pool with zero depth entry.

We were on the 1st floor & the screened patio had a screen door that led out to a grassy area that your child could play in if you allow so. The upper floors would be better for privacy & had a great view of parts of the golf course. I highly recommend asking for a room furthest from the elevator for less noise with people walking by the 2nd bedroom window & noise from rolling suit cases or the rolling bins that the resort staff uses for maintaining the units. There are only about 4 or 6 units on each side of the elevator so the walk will be very little if you asked for an end unit.

Our stay was wonderful, the unit is very large. The living room had a huge sectional sofa & the 52" TV. The screened patio had a table & 4 chairs (& not the cheap plastic chairs either!) The dining area has a large glass top table with 6 chairs & the breakfast bar had 2 barstools with back rests matching the dining room chairs.

I am a Wyndham by request member & even though check in representative did not seem very familliar with the program, I did receive the benefits. I received my requested chocolate chip cookies (3) & 3 bottles of water (we had 3 total people in the villa). I also received early check in of 12pm & the late check out of 2pm. The person that checked me in said only 12 but when I spoke to the Wyndham by Request manager, Wendy, she confirmed the 2pm late checkout. The check in agent also said since they are a timeshare program, they did not offer the welcome gift of the snack/drinks, but when we got to the villa, they were there with a note from Wendy. My sister requested cheese, water & beer & all was waiting for her in her villa as well. I also requested extra down pillows & they were stacked up on the bed in the master bedroom. Be sure to sign up & update your preferences for your Wyndham by Request membership & add the # to your reservation by calling the resort directly.

 

[Luv2trav]

Are those buildings on the golf course? Did you eat on site? If so how was it? Did you get a lot of pressure to do a timeshare presentation?

How close is it to WDW?

Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

[dtauer]

I also have a couple of questions. Hope you don't mind answering.

We'll have some time to spend at the hotel so we're looking for a few time fillers. Is there a game room? If so, is it a few machines in a corner, or a full game room? Did you ride the bikes? Did you play mini golf?

I understand there is no maid service during the stay. How do you get rid of garbage during the week? Are there fresh towels and linens available?

Is anything provided in the kitchen such as utensils, pots, pans, dishes, glasses? We had planned on bringing disposable dishes and glasses, but won't if they supply them.

Thanks for you help!

 

[cinamin27]

Luv2trav,
Building 20 & 21 are the closest 2 bdrm villas to the 2nd pool, this was the pool we were closest to but I did not walk down there to see if it offered 0 depth entry. I did notice it had sort of a mushroom shaped water sprayer for kids.
Building 14 & 15 according to the map are facing a green & a bogey, the green is also right next to building 22. According to The Palms Resort website, those are the only buildings with the 2 bedroom villas so I'm not sure how accurate the website is. If building 10, 11, 12 or 13 has 2 bedrooms, those would be the closest to the main pool. Building 10 would be my first choice pick not only due to how close to the pool, it also has the miniture golf course adjoining & has a view of the waterfall. 10, 11,12 & 13 are across from The Caddyshack poolside bar & grille. It seemed to offer some good specials on food & drinks.

We received absolutely no requests to do a timeshare tour.

Once you get to the end of Old Lake Wilson Rd (the road leading to the resort) (approx 3 miles) you take a right onto Hwy 192 at the redlight & about 4 miles down will be the exits to Disney. I would say it takes 10 minutes tops to the parking entrance to the parks.

 

[cinamin27]

dtauer,

I will list all of the activities that were listed in the brochure I received at check in:
Monday:
breakfast 8-9:30 (complimentary continental, can only be eaten poolside & no take outs)
sidewalk art 10am
hula hoop contest 11am
family poolside party 12-2p
potato sack race 2:30p
sand dollar painting 4:00p ($5 fee)
kid basketball tournament 6p (13 & under)

Tuesday:
breakfast (same as above)
scavenger hunt 10-11am
token tuesday 11:30am (they throw arcade tokens in the pool for the kids to get as many as they can to be used in the arcade)
painting fun 1p
tie dye tshirts 2:30p ($5)
couples challenge 4p (kind of like the newley wed game?)
Hoop it up basketball tournament 6p (Adults)

Wednesday
breakfast (same)
pasta art 11am
ice cream party 1-1:30p ($1.50 fee)
water sport 2p
limbo contest 3p
closest to the pin tournament 4p (mini golf challenge)

Thursday:
breakfast (same)
mummy wrap 11am (wrap someone in toilet paper & the one who does it the fastest wins a prize)
water balloon toss 11:30a
poolside bingo 1p
pool volley ball 2:30p
t shirt decorating 4p ($7 fee)
ping pong tournament 6p

Friday:
breakfast (same)
child arts & crafts 11a
free throw & horse (basketball) 1p
family karaoke 2-3:30p
mini golf tournament 4p
& the best offer of all (if you have kids):

Friday Kid Movie Night 6pm-8pm
2 hours for $7 plus tax per child out of diapers, you can drop the kids off for all the pizza they can eat & soft drinks they can drink & includes a kiddie movie. You HAVE to pick your child up by 8 or there will be a $25 charge every 1/2 hour after 8 & $50 charge for every 1/2 hr after 9. 2 hours should be sufficient time to run to dinner on the corner at some place like the Black Angus or even to go to dinner alone at the Mystic Dunes Clubhouse onsite.


We did not ride bikes or play mini golf (we were at SeaWorld or shopping)

No maid service but you can request extra towels or extra linens but you will have to change them yourself.

You can request additional housekeeping service at the rate of $35 per time you request it (in a 2 bedroom).
the services will include:
cleaning floors/vacumming carpets(all tile in the living room, dining room, kitchen & bathrooms, carpets in the bedrooms)
garbage collection
change linens
clean bathrooms
place dishes in dishwasher
provide extra supplies as needed (paper products, laundry detergent etc)

In the 2 bedroom the kitchen is equipped with 8 of everything as far as wine glasses, plastic cups, coffee mugs, plates, utencils, etc. They also have a small pot, medium sauce pot & a spaghetti size pot & 1 pan & large serving spoons & a spatula. There was also a complimentary packet of coffee (maybe 2 packets?) a coffee maker, 2 slice toaster & a microwave. Refridgerator has an ice maker. Under the kitchen sink was a small bottle of dishwashing soap & 2 packets of dishwasher powder & a roll of paper towels. On top of the washing machine was 2 single load boxes of Tide, no dryer sheets.

Garbage pick up is 10PM nightly (place outside your door no earlier than 9:30pm) or you can walk yours to the refuse bins adjacent to the buildings.

The room service had very decent prices (no higher then any normal restaurant) 16" Pepperoni or Sausage pizza for $8.95, Family size roasted chicken dinner with sides & rolls $18.95, 2 person steak dinner $39.95 & regular entree items or sandwiches in the $5.95 - 12.95 range. Breakfast in the $3-6 range, $2 delivery fee & 17% gratuity automatically added. They also offered grocery delivery service.

Breakfast buffet available on the weekends for $9.95 per person

They also offer complimentary shuttle service (probably in golf carts) around the resort (yes its that big) from 8am to 4pm

 

[dtauer]

Wow! Thanks for all the help. My family is devoted to Disney resorts, but after seeing the rooms on the webpage and reading your great summary of activities, we're all looking forward to it.

Thanks again.

 

[Disney Chick2]

I'm just wondering how far it is from Disney? What routes did you use? Was it worth the extra drive?
Thanks for your help!!

 

[cinamin27]

Darren

My sister, brother-in-law & I kept saying over & over how we will not stay onsite anymore after being spoiled in a place like this. We have stayed at Carrib Beach, all 3 of the All Star resorts, the mobile home type units at the Wilderness, Animal Kingdom Lodge & 1 of the other moderates (cant remember off hand). The Animal Kingdom Lodge was by far the nicest but nothing compares to being able to spread out in a large villa like this one. We had 6 adults & 3 kids & had 2 2bedroom villas on 2 different floors of the same building. No one stepped on each other because of how spread out we were. Everything seemed basically brand new. I will have a hard time staying in a hotel room when it is just my daughter & I now that I've spoiled myself. Our next trip at Easter is at Cypress Pointe in a 2 bedroom even though its just my daughter & I. I'm thinking about booking a 1 bedroom villa at Wyndham Palms again for Memorial Day weekend but the one offered on hotelkingdom.com for only $65 a night is the smallest of the 1 bedroom units (650 sq ft) & does not have the big screen TV. I take monthly trips to Orlando & this resort was by far the nicest. 2nd best was the Animal Kingdom Lodge, they are of course 2 completely different types of resorts but I like the space the villa offers.

I used to be a devoted Disney fan but we are now addicted to Universal & just this past weekend bought Gold passes to SeaWorld & have 2 year passes to Universal. Disney has just gotten too expensive to me & Universal offers better deals on the annual passes. Plus I think we have gotten alittle burnt out on Disney after going so often for so long. Even though you are not staying onsite, you will have the Disney "magic" once you get to the parks & will have the relaxation of the Wyndham Palms resort when not at Disney.

 

[cinamin27]

Disney Chick2,

The drive is nothing, maybe 10 minutes max & WAY worth it for the tremendous space that the 2 bedroom villa offers over the small size of just a hotel room onsite in places such as the moderates or even the size of a regular room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (we had the queen with twin beds at the AKL). The villa is over 1500 sq feet & to be able to relax on your own sectional leather sofa in front of a 52" big screen TV or outside on your screened in porch after a long day at the parks or even not having to wait to use the bathroom or take a shower in a foggy humid bathroom because everyone has to share the same one puts this place over the top!!!

To get from the Wyndham Palms to the parks you would take Old Lake Wilson Rd to Hwy 192 east (3 miles) to the exits for Disney (maybe another 4 miles)

 

[chris1gill]

I just wanted to ask how long it would take to get to Seaworld from this resort? I'm in agreement with you about Disney passes just becoming too expensive... We also have Seaworld AP's & we're going to try Universal as well... Our next visit is planned over Thanksgiving, so I'm looking outside of the Disney properties....

 

[momof2inPA]

Just made my reservation on hotelkingdom yesterday. Was the pool crowded? Was the resort sparkling clean? I am not terribly familiar with the 192 corridor. Is that an o.k. area? The last two visits we stayed at the Vistana Villages, but I could not find any deals on the net and the Wyndham seemed too good to pass up, being new and all. Have you stayed in other time share places and how did it compare? Thanks.

 

[cinamin27]

SeaWorld took us maybe 15 minutes or so to get to.

The resort is very clean & everything looks brand new. We did not use the pools but the main pool near the check in building looked quite crowded. The pool across from building 22 did not appear crowded. In October there may not be as many people using the pools. I'm not sure if the pools are heated but in October the water will not be very warm to swim if it isnt heated.

192 west (where the resort is located off of) is not as crowded as 192 east (east being the side with Old Town). There are quite a few hotels on 192 west but its did not seem to have as many cars & redlights as 192 E. There is a brand new Publix grocery store about 3 miles down on 192W that we shopped at.

We have stayed in a Fairfield timeshare resort called Cypress Palms & the Wyndham Palms was 5X better than that place. I have toured several other resorts such as Horizions & a couple others. Horizions was very very nice & new but I would consider the Wyndham Palms to be more upscale due to it being located on the grounds of a Country Club, plus the 2 bedroom Wyndham villa felt bigger than the 2 bedroom we toured at Horizions.

 

[zaxmom]

Welcome back, glad you had a great trip. Do you know what was on the continental breakfast? We are torn between HIFS and this place, and my husband really wanted the breakfast buffet. Even with a full kitchen, I am not making breakfast! Was it plentiful enough to fill up on?

 

[newmousecateer]

cinamin27

Thank you so much for all of the valuable information you have given us. I am so excited that you liked this resort as much as you did.

I am going to be honest here....the reason I started looking for something off Disney property was of course the cost, since our son, DIL, GS and GD are coming also, but I just feel the amount of money you have to pay for the size of the rooms is just ridiculous. We stayed at CBR our last stay, and yes, the resort was nice, but I felt cramped with just DH and I in the room.

I was excited about staying at Wyndham before, but after reading your review of the resort, I am, well

Also, does anyone have any advice as to where is the best place to buy tickets for Universal? The whole ticket buying experience is new to me. (We were on a Disney Package the last time we were there) I have never been to Universal, and we would like to spend a couple of days there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cinamin27]

zaxmom,

we did not get a chance to see the continental breakfast as we got there Friday early afternoon & it is only offered Mon-Fri. On the weekend they offer a full breakfast buffet for $9.95 but we didnt try it as 10 bux is way to much for the little we eat for breakfast. We went to Publix & picked up some eggs to boil, yogurt & cheese danish and also some oj. That is more than enough for us for breakfast.



newmousecateer,
they do sell tickets to all the parks at the resort but I'm not sure if they are discounted. Right now Universal is offering their annual pass 365 days, no blackouts + free parking & discounts for the restaurants & gift shops (10-20% depending on where you go) for only $149 per person. They also offer a power pass with blackout dates for like $99 but it does not give the free parking & maybe not the discounts either. Those are the best deals I know of. I also think they have buy a 2 day pass & get the 3rd free. check out their website for the specials they are offering on tickets (unlike disney with no ticket specials)
https://tickets.universalstudios.com/USRG/us_store_secure2.jsp?merchant=UO

 

[yyoung1]

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information you have shared! My family and I will be in a 2br there for 2 nights this coming Sunday and are very excited! Do they have down pillows and comforters?

Also, how close is the nearest Publix? I keep hearing about this store but not sure where one nearby the Wyndham Palms would be.

Thank you so much!

 

[yyoung1]

Sorry... I hit the send button too quickly and had a couple more questions....

You mentioned that there was a complimentary shuttle that takes you around the resort between 8-4. Do you mean around the Wyndham Palms resort? Do they have shuttles that take you to and from the Disney Parks?

In your 2 bedroom, were there 2 double beds or 2 queen beds? I've heard some say it's 2 doubles and others say it's 2 queens. I'm hoping they're queen size beds, but it's okay if it's not.

Then also, I heard there is a jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. How many people fit in there? Usually at the end of the day, we like to relax our muscles in a hot tub... is this similar to the hot tub like with jets?

Thank you again for all you help.

 

[luvflorida]

HI, I've tried to find a website for the Wyndham Palms Resort, but I'm not having any luck. I can find info on the Wyndham Palace Resort and other Wyndham properties in Orlando, but nothing for Wyndham Palms. Where is it located in Orlando, and is there a possibility that the name of the resort has been changed recently?