Willowbrook vs Villa Roma - talked to Doc Holiday
Since we found out that Doc Holiday moved to Villa Roma Resort in Callicoon, NY, we have been interested in checking out that resort. Most TUG reviews of VR have not been good but a recent one from a May visit was much better. We stayed there for a week 6/10-6/16. I will submit a TUG review of that visit eventually but will briefly discuss here a few of our feelings about how VR compares with Willowbrook/SplitRock.
First of all, we had the opportunity to chat with Doc Holiday is spite of the fact that he seemed very busy there from morning until late evening. We had heard many conflicting rumors about what is going on at SplitRock. He filled us in on some of the details. As I understand it, the H2oooh waterpark did not provide enough income to cover the mortgage that the owners had taken out to pay for it. As a result, a new management team was brought in to run SplitRock for six months and to determine whether it can be a profitable enterprise. The conclusion is that it can be a moneymaker if run correctly and it should continue in operation, presumably with some changes. Doc said that he had no choice but to look for another position since the future of SplitRock had been in doubt for an extended period of time.
The two resorts are similar in many ways. VR has a main hotel-type building which, like Galleria, contains hotel rooms and timeshare units. The public areas of that building are much brighter and nicer than Galleria. Other timeshare buildings are scattered around the grounds. We prefer the Willowbrook units to those at VR. Willowbrook is much newer and two-bedroom units come with two kitchens and two living areas and are rated to sleep eight. Those at VR are older but the ones we saw have been upgraded, were in good condition and quite clean. They are rated to sleep six. The VR units in the hotel building seem very similar to those in the other buildings except that they lack decks and patios. We would prefer the VR units to those in the Galleria at SplitRock which seemed cramped to us when we looked at them. The VR units are all closer to the activities than the Willowbrook location is to Galleria. The VR shuttle service seemed to run much more frequently than that at SplitRock - we usually had to wait no more than five minutes after calling to request pickup.
There is no indoor waterpark at VR.
The indoor pools at the two resorts are very similar. The one at VR is a bit more private with a hot tub in a separate room. The pool depth ranges from three to four feet and there is a small waterslide for young children. Unlike at SplitRock, there is a lifeguard.
The outdoor pool facilities are much better at VR than at SplitRock. There are three pools plus a large, adults only, spa. One pool is L-shaped with depth ranging three feet to six feet. There a water slide which makes a couple of circles before discharging into the pool. A second pool is rectangular and was undergoing repair. The third pool is an new wading one for kiddies with a slide, various fountains and a spilling bucket. It was great for our young grandchildren.
VR has an outdoor activities area for kids including a moonbounce and an inflatable obstacle course - both free. There is a high inflatable slide, a climbing wall, a go-kart track and a shooting gallery, all for a fee. They also offer paintball combat for groups and horseback rides. Both resorts have a bowling alley (fee), a game arcade, an exercise room and other indoor and outdoor athletic and game facilities. The activities program at VR reminded us very much of that at SplitRock with activities from morning until late evening. At around 9 or 9:30 PM almost every night there is free entertainment at VR such as live music and comedians.
VR is certainly very popular with seniors but has done a lot recently to attract families with children. Both resorts have golf courses. There is an onsite ski slope with lift at VR, perhaps similar or somewhat larger than the slope at SplitRock that is no longer in use. VR also advertises tubing and ice skating.
Perhaps it is our lack of familiarity with the area surrounding VR but it seemed to be more rural than that around SplitRock with fewer restaurants and activities. There are a couple of markets near VR but they are not as large as Aharts near SplitRock.