Wyndham Shawnee

We just got back from Wyndham Shawnee and we were really really disappointed with the place. (YES, I also submitted a review on TUG). This is the first Wyndham timeshare that we have been disappointed with and even shocked at how poorly the unit was! It looked beautiful on the outside but inside the unit smelled and the furniture was so outdated that it should have been in the dump. What's up with this??? Are there other Wyndhams like this??

Which section did you stay in? Crestview is nice, Ridge Top is a bit more worn down, and I have never stayed in River Village or Fairway, but I hear that they are pretty worn down.

We stayed at Ridge Top. From the outside they look lovely, however once we got inside the place literally smelled really really bad. We asked to change, and the attendant on duty that all of the units basically smelled the same. Could not believe that this was a Wyndham resort- musty old furniture, rust in the refrigerator and freezer, leaking washing machine, outdated furniture and bedspreads. It was a step up from a motel unit- no kidding. It was sad really because the area is beautiful with plenty of activities to do. If we ever go back, we will stay at the Crestview. I can't imagine what the other places were like, if this was considered 2nd best.

There are a few tiers in quality of Wyndham resorts.

There are the Wyndham specific built resorts like Bonnet Creek or Grand Desert or La Cascada, or WAMM model (nicely build condos that were not selling, that were sold to Wyndham, like Emerald Beach in Destin. Those are the cream of the crop of Wyndham. I often think that resorts with Presidential units fall into this category, but some HOAs at a resort with Presidentials don't always comply with this categorization.

Then there are the nice HOA run, mature resorts that keep things nice. Flagstaff and Pagosa come to mind. A lot of these are legacy Fairfield properties.

Then there is older legacy resorts from Wyndham or new conversions to Wyndham Resorts, but of established resorts. There are also some larger existing resorts that have multiple HOAs and each HOA has a different level of care. Shawnee falls in here, as does Ocean Ridge and Sea Gardens. Perhaps Durango.

So bottom line, when there are that many resorts in the Wyndham fold, not all resorts area going to be created equal. Read the reviews, especially of the older resorts.

Shawnee

We stayed at Fairway last summer...ICK. BUT, my children had such a good time in the pool, playing mini golf, taking walks around the area, going to activities that were close by. We are going back to this resort July 2015, staying at Ridge Top. Goodness...I hope they get the smell issue taken care of before we get there. I can deal with old furniture, but smells/dirt are another issue entirely. Too bad, isn't it? This COULD be such a nice resort if the ownership would take a little bit of care with it.

Hmmm that explains some things. We own at bonnet creek, and have stayed at la cascada, both of which you mentioned. We were just so surprised at the condition of the units inside, it's sad because it has so much potential. As for the smell, ummm we had to wash all if our clothes when we came home because of the smell in the unit. Best of luck, but be prepared.

Shawnee is a relative new addition to Wyndham, but an existing resort. It likely may need a Special Assessment to bring some of the HOA up to par. Some HOAs are reluctant to have a healthy reserve or charge a SA to bring things up to par. So they underfund the HOA to keep people paying. But in the end that hurts everyone.

Rising HOA fees has an the effect on older resorts, the higher the MF run or if a SA is required, the more people fail to pay. Not to mention all the fixed week blue/quiet owners that no longer get value for their ownership. Leaving even more who are 2 wanting to just walk away. Leaving the remaining people who do pay, having to also cover those who default and stop paying. This is a problem for a lot of resorts, especially older resorts with big maintenance issues, that have been left for too long.

One size MF per unit regardless of season sets up this imbalance. Not all weeks are equal but lower season weeks are being abandoned more quickly than premium season weeks. This is not an issue where nearly all weeks are Prime/red weeks. But is a huge issues where more low season weeks than prime season weeks. A pure points system, like how new Wyndham resorts are sold as UDI, solves this imbalance when MFs are based on points and not on underlying units.

Converting legacy units, (taken back, foreclosed or equity trades), to CWA has also solved the legacy week issue where all week paid the same MF, now they are all convert to points and a blended rate is calculated spread out across all ownership. It also takes out the hit of a special assessment on a single HOA, as all weeks in the CWA cover the cost of the SA not just the HOA that needs to work done. It is a great future model for Wyndham to deal with all the legacy weeks out there.

Read the reviews next time, it will help. Provide reviews, help others.

Sandy VDH said:

Then there is older legacy resorts from Wyndham or new conversions to Wyndham Resorts, but of established resorts. There are also some larger existing resorts that have multiple HOAs and each HOA has a different level of care. Shawnee falls in here, as does Ocean Ridge and Sea Gardens. Perhaps Durango.

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I would put Smugglers Notch on this list too. Some are really nice and some are not very updated.

I would also include Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Mountains (Lake Lure).

Shawnee the timeshare resort has been around since at least 1975. How do I know? Because I personally attended my very FIRST timeshare presentation there in 1975. And Shawnee is the very first resort number in RCI, too.

What I still remember from that presentation was, YOU had to buy a pair of weeks --- and they were on ONE DEED. There is a current eBay listing by a BIG reseller who even has the deeded listed as the ownership described as "2/52" of a unit #... a deed from 1975. And that kept the issue of offseason and PRIME season going for years at Shawnee.

Wyndham's older way of trying to convince people to own an off-season week, is to sell them on a conversion to POINTS. Until, the person gets SMART and realizes they are paying $7-8 per 1K of points.

Wyndham's newer way to get the off-weeks paying is to put them into CWA ... lots of availability of points and the MFs get paid, except NOW they have to worry about those rising costs. Guess their NEWEST answer is the NEW BUILD resorts costing LOTS of points to book, keeping the MF per 1k lower but convincing us long term owners to buy the BIG POINT stays there. But if in CWA, they will KEEP the $ cost per 1k lower (averaging out the costs).

Smoke and mirrors ...

Sandy VDH said:

Then there is older legacy resorts from Wyndham or new conversions to Wyndham Resorts, but of established resorts. There are also some larger existing resorts that have multiple HOAs and each HOA has a different level of care. Shawnee falls in here, as does Ocean Ridge and Sea Gardens. Perhaps Durango.

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So, let's assume that you find yourself in one of these old legacy, "smelly" units. Are there any ideas that one can easily do to quickly and inexpensively to eliminate odds, and to make the stay more pleasant?

Jim

jebloomquist said:

So, let's assume that you find yourself in one of these old legacy, "smelly" units. Are there any ideas that one can easily do to quickly and inexpensively to eliminate odds, and to make the stay more pleasant?

Jim

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1. Become a member and read review before you book.
2. Ask for / Bring an air freshener/ionizer machine or something like that AND Bring air Freshener like Fabreeze for something like that

I have used "oderize" to kill a bad smell --- esp if I get a unit where a cannabis user lived. Home Depot.