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Williamsburg: which Wyndham for a family trip?

massvacationer

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Hi All:

We are planning to go to Williamsburg next spring for about a week. DW, DS11, DS7, MIL, FIL and me.

I am looking at either a three bedroom at Governor's Green or a three bedroom L/O at Kingsgate.

I'm leaning towards GG, because it gets higher scoring reviews here on TUG, on Trip Advisor and on RCI.

We have not stayed at any of the Wyndhams in Williamsburg before.

I do see that Kingsgate may have more kid appealing stuff though (game room, theater, etc?)

What do you-all think? Anyone been to both recently, who can comment on unit conditions, etc ?
 

vacationhopeful

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Kingsgate does NOT have elevators. A few units can be on the 3rd floor (very few) but you can request a 1st floor unit.
Kingsgate can be noisy if the people above you are heavy walkers/clumpers.
Kingsgate is walkable - more compact.
Governor's Green has a better indoor pool. Kingsgate has a better outdoor pool. Kingsgate has better indoor stuff for kids (all kids) with the FREE gaming/video games.
Kingsgate has some activity fee ... cheap compared to have BORED to death kids underfoot.
Kingsgate movies are NOT all kid ONLY oriented - free popcorn is nice - yes, been to a couple of the movies there.

My sister and her band of mothers with KIDS travelled down to the Wolf 'thing' indoor water park for several days of insanity ... asked her if she wanted a couple of nights at Kingsgate (her in-laws do the family retreat there EVERY Thanksgiving Week) ... she had booked a single LARGE room at Wolf Park for mega-dollars and at the last minute her husband decided to go... told her he could HIDE at Kingsgate to do work & business calls and she could nap if she could pawn the boys off. She told me it was a WASTE of points - booked it anyway. Turns out the video games at Wolf Park complex were EXPENSIVE as all get out and she took the entire group (about 8 boys) to Kingsgate to play video games there ,,,, husband slept/nap at Wolf Creek except after a couple of hours, the other 3 moms came hunting for their boys. Husband finally remembered my sister taking them to Kingsgate ... great afternoon for all. Sister said the Wolf Creek place was great for the water park,,, video games way too expensive. And she thank me VERY much for the Kingsgate unit ... work out great for the $20 resort fee. :D
 

lisa101

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Agree with everything above.

I am a truly crazy and get 2 3 BR LO at Kingsgate every fall for my kids and their gaggle of geeks friends.

They all love the game room and these kids are not typical game players, but when unlimited they take advantage. They have also gone to movies there as well. Kids can be left alone to travel the grounds freely and do their own thing.

My husband and have have about 10 kids with us and we are still able to relax and do our own thing.
 

jebloomquist

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I can't add anything, but no one mentioned Patriots' Place as an alternative. How does it compare with Kingsgate and Governor's Green?

Jim
 

lisa101

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We like PP when don't have teens with us who are interested in the game room. Units comparable to KG, but seem a bit smaller to me.

Only has a generic outdoor pool
 

massvacationer

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thanks !!

which has the best rooms: GG or KG?
 

vacationhopeful

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If you are so in love with the Governor's Green look .. please stay there. They have a nicer indoor, pool table (I think it is coin feed) and a prettier setting.

Anything OLD about Kingsgate (like the noise from the unit above) or the pictures or the color of the wallpaper, will make you unhappy.

Or you can book a unit at both places and flip-flop your activities between resorts.
 

Whoozr

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GG vs. Kingsgate

We live 1.5 hours away from Williamsburg so we visit one of the two resorts every 2-3 months.

I prefer the rooms at Governor's Green because there are two beds in either the second or third bedroom and there's a jetted tub in the master bedroom that the kids like. The pools tend to be less crowded and there's an indoor hot tub. Miniature golf and the adult pool area is a nice little hike away from everything else.

I prefer the activities at Kingsgate. There's always something going on in the summer. Friday night Karaoke is always a big hit; the game room and movie theatre are a plus. Everything is centrally locate (pools, tennis courts, adult only area, miniature golf, movie theatre, activities, and game room). Only 1 hot tub outdoors, none inside. Some activities have a price tag, the kids attended a chocolate truffle making class a couple months ago. There is a $6 activities fee charged for each day which isn't bad if you attend the movies and the kids play in the game room. I just find this location to be move lively, especially in the summer. There's a lot of scheduled activities in the pool area.

If you are going to Williamsburg to enjoy the sites either location is good, if you want to enjoy the resort I would choose Kingsgate. I've never been to Patriots Place so I cannot comment on that location. All three sites are convenient to food, shopping, and other activities.
 

pedro47

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One more vote for GG, the rooms are much larger.
 

Explorer7

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Kingsgate does NOT have elevators. A few units can be on the 3rd floor (very few) but you can request a 1st floor unit.
Kingsgate can be noisy if the people above you are heavy walkers/clumpers. :D
A couple of years ago DW went on a girls trip with a few of her friends to GG and she complained to security around 3 am about the noise the tenants above her room were making.
Apparently security must have promptly confronted the culprits because the next day while DW and most of the others were out and about one of her guest who knew nothing about the noise complaint was confronted by a couple of 90 year olds who were ticked off because they were only going to the bathroom at night and required the use of a walker.
I’m glad that I was not the one who had to face them that day.

All that to say that you can hear folks over your head at GG too.

I like the rooms at GG better but Kingsgate has the better resort layout and is more kid friendly IMOP. During peak season Kingsgate is much easier to get into
 

elaine

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We liked Governors. The 2BR (and I assume the 3BR) has a nice, large living area with a big kitchen with a wrap around counter/bar stool area that opens to the living area, good indoor pool, putt-putt. Would stay there again.
 
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Explorer7

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Side note, DW says the 4br pres suite at GG is the best decorated etc. we've stated at compared to Nat harbour, Edisto Island and bldg 4 presidential unit at bonnet creek.
 

MaryBella7

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I am partial to Governor's Green. I really like the facilities at Kingsgate, but when we went last summer, they offered a Groupon for $79 a night in the summer (much less than many hotels), and it seemed like a lot of people in the area where I was overstuffed their rooms. There were coolers with beer cans all around outside of my unit, and lots of unattended kids in the pools who were being really rough (no one was checking for wristbands or monitoring the pool at all, so who knows if they were even staying there). There were, of course, lots of great people, and I know that Wyndham cannot control who rents or stays there. I just didn't even want to use the facilities with things the way they were! We stayed for 3 separate weeks last year, and I was really disappointed when we stayed during the 2 weeks where the Groupon was available.

I have no scientific evidence or proof that Groupon was the cause of any issues. I love to use Groupon myself, but I would have preferred that owners be able to take advantage of discounted point rooms than open it up to everyone in the general public. Owners have a "stake" in the place, the general public doesn't. Even owners who rent are typically renting to a select group of people who are "in the know" about how great timeshares can be!

Governor's Green is always booked in advance, no Groupon offerings. The rooms are gorgeous. So much nicer than Kingsgate, and they do have activities, just not at the level that Kingsgate has.
 

spackler

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Anyone have an opinion about the spa located at GG? Any deals to be had there?
 

massvacationer

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well....Great discussion...thanks

I like the game room and theater at KG for my kids, but I think I'm going to try for GG, based on room quality. I'm also scared by the image of the throngs of groupon guests swarming all over KG.....:D....

We are planning on going next April (2016), so I'll grab a unit when the ten-month window opens up.

I'll still keep an open mind though, in case anyone has anything more that will push me towards booking KG :)
 

MaryBella7

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I like the game room and theater at KG for my kids, but I think I'm going to try for GG, based on room quality. I'm also scared by the image of the throngs of groupon guests swarming all over KG.....:D....

Haha! Sorry for making it sound so drastic!
 

spackler

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Do the owner updates at GG offer decent bribes? I'll be there in a few weeks & hoping to get free/discounted tix for Busch Gardens somehow. :)
 

hjtug

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Do the owner updates at GG offer decent bribes? I'll be there in a few weeks & hoping to get free/discounted tix for Busch Gardens somehow. :)
In August 2013 we did an owner update there and got discounted tickets for Water Country and Busch Gardens in return. I don't remember the amounts.
 
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