[2008] New Construction at Cypress Pointe

[AwayWeGo]

Whoa! That's Gorgeous!

Makes me proud to be an owner.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[pedro47]

The owner's of this resort should be very proud of the HOA Board and the Resort Manager's (CYP I & II) for an "Outstanding Job for running this Resort."

To Stu and Timeos2, I would like to nominate both of you for a T/S Academy Award Oscar for the outstanding service in overseeing this resort operations over the past years.

 

[AwayWeGo]

I Second That Nomination.

To Stu and Timeos2, I would like to nominate both of you for a T/S Academy Award Oscar for the outstanding service in overseeing this resort operations over the past years.

Hear, hear !

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[dwmantz]

Am at CP2 right now, completing a week stay with the whole family. Everything at both complexes is looking better than we've ever seen it! Pools, buildings, everything looks fabulous. Kids absolutely love the refinished volcano. Funny enough, but the CP1 pool might be too hot!

After years of staying at CP2, we've purchased several resale units at Grand Beach down the road. The wife and I think its that much nicer, but the kids will miss the volcano. The only saving grace with the kids is the beach front and hammocks to play in at GB.

 

[mmthomas]

CP WiFi?

What is the cost of WiFi at Cypress Pointe?

Is it a priemier roaming location for ATT WiFi?

 

[timeos2]

What is the cost of WiFi at Cypress Pointe?

Is it a priemier roaming location for ATT WiFi?

$4.95 / day OR $19.95 / week.

Not an AT&T premier location (what does that involve?) that I am aware.

 

[LynnW]

What exactly is the difference between Cypress Pointe and Cypress Pointe Grande Villas? We decided to take our 3 youngest grandkids to Disney next Feb and I got lucky last Thursday night and grabbed Disney Boardwalk Villas for Feb 7th. We are sending them home on Feb 14th and are looking for a second week for just the 2 of us. Being presidents week there is not a lot available but I am seeing Cypress Pointe Grande Villas. Would this be a good choice. There is a 3 bedroom available at Cypress Pointe but that doesn't make sense for only 2 people. Would we be happy with Grande Villas?

Lynn

 

[AwayWeGo]

Cypress Pointe Is Outstanding -- Both Phases.

What exactly is the difference between Cypress Pointe and Cypress Pointe Grande Villas?

Cypress Pointe Resort = Phase One.

Cypress Pointe Grande Villas = Phase Two.

They are side by side, right across the street from each other. Click here for a Google map showing the location.

-- hotlinked --​

The condo buildings identified by numbers are Phase 1. The condo buildings identified by letters are Phase 2.

(The Phase 1 building marked "Administration" is gone -- replaced by an attractive recreational area.)

The main physical difference between Phase One & Phase Two is in their respective 1BR "B" units. In Phase One, it's a nice king-bed master suite with luxury bathroom & minimal kitchen facilities (mini-fridge, microwave, Mr. Coffee). In Phase Two it's a nice queen-bed master suite with luxury bath plus a mini-kitchen lacking only a dishwasher to be considered a full kitchen -- you know, apartment-size range, apartment-size fridge, kitchen sink, kitchen cabinets, microwave, Mr. Coffee, & dinnerware, etc., for 2, plus a smallish breakfast table with 2 chairs.

Another small detail is that all the Phase 2 condo buildings have elevators & all the Phase 1 condo buildings are 3-story walk-ups.

Owners & renters & exchange guests at Phase I get to use all the recreational facilities & amenities over at Phase II & vice versa. Check-in for both phases is in the main lobby of the Phase I clubhouse (marked X in the diagram).

We like both Cypress Pointe phases so well that we own Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off units on both sides of the street. Both timeshares are independently managed by owner-controlled HOA-BODs.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[timeos2]

Some differences for sure

What exactly is the difference between Cypress Pointe and Cypress Pointe Grande Villas? We decided to take our 3 youngest grandkids to Disney next Feb and I got lucky last Thursday night and grabbed Disney Boardwalk Villas for Feb 7th. We are sending them home on Feb 14th and are looking for a second week for just the 2 of us. Being presidents week there is not a lot available but I am seeing Cypress Pointe Grande Villas. Would this be a good choice. There is a 3 bedroom available at Cypress Pointe but that doesn't make sense for only 2 people. Would we be happy with Grande Villas?

Lynn

Alan did a good comparison. See the full list on the web.

A couple other tidbits. CPR is a Silver Crown ranked resort - CPGV is unranked. The units at CPR are actually newer than those at CPGV as they were all renovated in 2004-5. CPGV is just starting renovations on the 1 bedroom side. The second bedroom at CPR has a twin bed and a trundle while CPGV has 2 twins (but no television).

Both are very nice, share a great location and you should be happy either place. For us the true "Cypress Pointe experience" will always be at Phase 1 as it is closest to the original idea for the resort. Some things in Phase 2 are pluses - such as the elevators if you really need them and more units facing the pools (but parking further from the units).

 

[LynnW]

Thanks to both of you! I put a 2 bedroom at Grande Villas on hold so I guess I'll confirm it. Since I'm using RCI Points it's a great deal for only 38,000 pts.
We'll probably be so tired after a week at Disney we'll just want to relax and maybe play a couple of games of golf.

Lynn

 

[AwayWeGo]

Mini-Golf On-Site At The Grande Villas.

Thanks to both of you! I put a 2 bedroom at Grande Villas on hold so I guess I'll confirm it. Since I'm using RCI Points it's a great deal for only 38,000 pts.
We'll probably be so tired after a week at Disney we'll just want to relax and maybe play a couple of games of golf.

Cypress Pointe Grande Villas has mini-golf right there on the landscaped grounds -- in between the Turtle Pool & the Free Form Pool.

They charge a nuisance fee for mini-golf. It's been years since we've played the Grande Villas course, so I'm not sure how much they charge these days.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[LynnW]

Is there any particular building which would be best to request in Grande Villas? You mentioned that the 1 bedroom units are being renovated but not the 2 bedrooms? I decided to go with the 2 bedroom because of the amount of points I had to use plus it's great to have the extra bathroom. Thanks again!

Lynn

 

[AwayWeGo]

They're All Good.

Is there any particular building which would be best to request in Grande Villas?

About the only significant difference among units -- significant to some people, that is, not necessarily significant to everybody -- is that the even-number Grande Villas units have views looking inward toward the pools & interior landscaped area while the odd-number units have views looking outward toward the parking areas & outer landscaped grounds.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[DianeV]

Isnt "G" the newest building?

 

[AwayWeGo]

That's Above My Pay Grade.

Isnt "G" the newest building?

That could be expected if they started with Building A & continued with construction in straight alphabetical order -- which may or may not be how they did it. That is, I don't know whether construction order was the same as drawing board order. .

I mean, Building G sits right next to Building A, so for all I know Building G could have been the 2nd condo building to go up, assuming the project started with construction of Building A.

We bought our Grande Villas Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off unit via eBay in 2003. By the time of our initial visit to the resort, all the buildings were complete & everything at the resort was totally good to go.

In fact, everything was complete & good to go in September 2002, when we were vacationing at Phase One & took the "owner update" tour of Phase Two. (Back then, we were such newbies that we thought "owner update" meant updating us owners about important things at our newly acquired timeshare. Silly us. It didn't take long for us to catch on that what it means is getting an update from the timeshare sellers about the latest thing the timeshare company has come up with to try to get us to buy for big bux. Live & learn, eh?)

The condo units are all the same in all the Grande Villas buildings.

Any time we've gone there, we've requested an even-number unit (i.e., with pool view) but we've never asked for any particular building. The only difference from 1 to another which I'm aware of is that some buildings are double the width of Building A & Building B -- also, some buildings are 5 stories & others are just 4 stories.

Phase II is a few years newer than Phase I, but that's semi-deceptive in that Phase I has undergone extensive renovations that have resulted in an overall quality of appearance such that the Phase One units could be perceived as newer than the Phase Two units.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Stu]

2nd round of landscaping photos are in...

See them at:
http://cypresspointe.net/Graphics/041609/041609.htm

Best regards,
Stu

 

[carl2591]

Yes i believe the "G" building is the last one built.. We stayed in "B" building in april 2000 and "A" was built and they were working on "G" building and I think finishing up "F" building..

at that time the Grand Villas were gold crown.. not sure why they are not GC now.

nice place, we went to timeshare sales pitch to get tickets for Arabian nights and tried the just sign us up routine ,, it still took 3 hrs.. we cancelled the next day at resort sending the cancel stuff by mail.. we still have the "Public Offering Statement" book which is very comprehensive on the resort..

 

[pgnewarkboy]

What is the cost of WiFi at Cypress Pointe?

Is it a priemier roaming location for ATT WiFi?

I enjoyed Cypress Pointe but am not at all a fan of the wifi. The hoa seems to be a pretty savvy group. There is really no reason they couldn't set up wi-fi all over the place for free to all users and at a minimal expense to the resort.

The regular internet terminal set-up in the "club" or "rec" room is really outrageously expensive. I had to use it to print boarding passes for my return flight. I think it was 30 cents per page to print plus a minimum fee of 5 buck for x minutes (I don't remember because I wasn't surfing). The DRI people at the front desk who sell tickets etc would do it for free but they were not there as early as I needed to get it done because of my early flight.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Be Not The 1st By Whom The New Are Tried, Nor Yet The Last To Lay The Old Aside.

I enjoyed Cypress Pointe but am not at all a fan of the wifi. The hoa seems to be a pretty savvy group. There is really no reason they couldn't set up wi-fi all over the place for free to all users and at a minimal expense to the resort.

When wi-fi 1st came out, I naturally assumed it would become an expected free service at timeshares, just like premium cable TV channels.

Now I am not so sure.

That is, because of the rapid expansion of high-speed personal wireless Internet service which totally bypasses local Internet connections including wi-fi, it may be smarter of the savvy HOA-BODs to stand pat for a while before investing in costly wi-fi infrastructure.

It would be non-savvy to spring for fancypants wi-fi installations that soon grew obsolete as more timeshare owners & renters & exchange guests used their own personal wireless Internet service units instead.

A little foot-dragging on wi-fi may turn out to be the savviest move of all. (Just guessing here. In actuality, who knows?)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[timeos2]

Balancing act

I enjoyed Cypress Pointe but am not at all a fan of the wifi. The hoa seems to be a pretty savvy group. There is really no reason they couldn't set up wi-fi all over the place for free to all users and at a minimal expense to the resort.

The regular internet terminal set-up in the "club" or "rec" room is really outrageously expensive. I had to use it to print boarding passes for my return flight. I think it was 30 cents per page to print plus a minimum fee of 5 buck for x minutes (I don't remember because I wasn't surfing). The DRI people at the front desk who sell tickets etc would do it for free but they were not there as early as I needed to get it done because of my early flight.

As with everything at a timeshare, where any expenses must be paid for by the owners since they are the primary source of income, trying to balance expectations with expenses is a real juggling act. Cypress Pointe Resort was one of (maybe the) first resorts to offer high speed internet in the units back in 2002. Since then the service has been upgraded twice - first to wireless from hardwired then to Wireless G from Wireless B level service along with doubling the back end service speed. While we could have made the service "free" in reality that meant raising the annual fee to owners $3-$5 per week per year. Not a big jump but, as we all know, every dollar counts. So we opted to subsidize the cost by making the capital improvements needed to the infrastructure but having the users pay to access the service at the rate of $4.99/day or $19.95/week. That helps us recover some of the capital expense while making a desired service available for a reasonable amount. We have polled owners a few times regarding making WiFi available at no use fee for owners / guests and each time less than 50% felt it was justified now. Adding the expense to every owners annual bill when less than 50% feel it is needed wouldn't be representing the owners desires well. So we have a compromise that makes the service available but at a low cost - well below what most resorts that do charge ask. By the way it was DRI's recommendation to continue charging a fee as they do it at the majority of their resorts. Having your owners pay for it in annual fees when there is no guarantee it will even be available or free at other resorts doesn't make sense either. Those owners who trade out may end up paying twice.

As Alan points out there may never come a time when WiFi does make sense to offer as a service (such as phone & tv) as in the rapidly changing technology world by the time you design it, install it and pay for it something has come along to replace it. Unless far more than 50% of owners say they want it included it is unlikely the Board would decide to change the current set up. But discussions such as this are important so we can continue to reevaluate what makes the most sense.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Hey, Maybe You Stayed In Our Grande Villas Unit.

We stayed in "B" building in april 2000 and "A" was built and they were working on "G" building and I think finishing up "F" building.

Our unit is in Building B -- B36 A & B (lock-offs).

Of course, it's only our unit during Week 10.

During all other weeks, it belongs to other people -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

Because of the Floating Weeks system, we have no special occupancy rights for "our" unit anyhow, not even during Week 10 -- not that there's anything wrong with that either.

And, as it happens, we have not ever stayed in B36 A or B -- not even during Week 10 -- & we've never even seen the inside of that unit.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[pedro47]

Alan, you ask a question about wifi and its costs and you received an answer.

You rec'd a logical answer from the head source in a timely manner. Great Job timeos2.
.

 

[LynnW]

I have my confirmation for Presidents Week next year and I feel that $19.95 for a week is really reasonable. Starr Pass in Tucson and the Legacy in Phoenix charged $9.95 a day and no weekly rate available. Hopefully in the near future it will be free at all resorts.

Lynn

 

[AwayWeGo]

My Fearless Wi-Fi Prediction.

Hopefully in the near future it will be free at all resorts.

I predict that in the future wi-fi either will be free at virtually all timeshares or it will have become passé & obsolete & nobody will care about wi-fi any longer because it will have been outpaced by advancing technology like personal wireless Internet.

As it is right now, practically nobody cares any longer about in-suite telephones at timeshares, because so many people carry their own cell phones.

In the days before cell phones became so widespread, free local calls was considered a big deal. Today, not so much.

I'm not ready to bet money on it (not yet), but I can see a day coming when the advance of personal wireless Internet technology makes the whole issue of free wi-fi completely mox nix.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Frasdorf]

First off - I am impressed with all of the improvements that have been highlighted on this forum. I am 1 month out from my week at CP and can hardly wait.

I am in The Club through DRI so I am renting two 3 bedroom units for me and my closest friends and family. Is there ever any consideration to a polite request asking for these units to be close by or is that pretty unrealistic. We are checking in on a Friday.

Thanks for sharing your lovely resort