# TUG Opinion---Minerals Resort and Spa, Vernon, NJ  ?



## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 2, 2014)

Do any TUGgers have knowledge/opinions of Minerals Resort and Spa (NJ) ?
(I am considering an exchange.)

I can access tripadvisor reviews, but those are from a 'hotel' that is a few miles away.  TUG reviews of the 'TIMESHARE' date back to 2009.

We love to golf-----it looks like that is the main attraction, with several courses nearby (that is what piqued my interest).

The OLD reviews from TUG are not good---but they are OLD.

Wondering if there are any TUGgers with more recent experiences.


Thanks,
Pat


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## tschwa2 (Mar 2, 2014)

Here's an opinion from not long ago: http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205441


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## vckempson (Mar 2, 2014)

I live near Minerals and am very familiar with the place.  Here's the good.

The sports center is awesome.  I belonged to it for many years to play racquetball.  The center has a full indoor basketball court, NICE indoor pool, great outdoor pool, huge heated lounging pool/hot tub (think Roman Bath House), 6 or more racquetball courts.  The gym is a full, membership grade fitness center with complete nautilus machines, free weights, step climbers, treadmills, elipticals, rowers and bikes.  Boxing bags are hung in the corner of the basketball court and tanning beds are available poolside (indoors). They also have outdoor volleyball courts in a park like setting.  I'm sure I'm missing some items.

This is without a doubt the nicest on site fitness/sports/activity center I've ever experienced anywhere, let alone at a timeshare.  I'd truly call it a top of class center.  There's also a nice restaurant upstairs and a pizza/deli in a village store next door.  

Next is the golf.  You won't be disappointed.  Crystal Springs Golf Resort is a collection of 6 or 7 courses, all within a 10 minute ride.  The onsite course is a 9 hole executive course but it's very difficult.  The others offer a wide variety, from links style to mountainous, to open and hilly, to very demanding shot maker courses.  I've played them all can answer any questions you might have.

Now The bad.

The units themselves are just so so.  They were built as low end condos aside the ski mountain.  The skiing is pretty icy.  I gave up on that years ago due to the conditions, though it's the only close place near me to go.  Anyway, they were built in the late 80's, if my memory is correct.  The architecture is period dated, historically not well maintained and not well appointed.  (I haven't been in one in many, many years)  They had a hard time selling them and timeshared out a many of them.  They then gave up on that and just kept a great many that they rent out.  Most require lots and lots of stairs to get to, sometimes up to 3 stories worth.  

Besides the golf and the sports center there's really nothing to do up here for a vacationer.   If you want a place to golf every day, hit the pools/gym afterward, hang out at the restaurant/bar at night, go back to the unit to sleep and then get up and do it all over again, you'll love this place.  This is a Poconos or mountain vacation type place.  If you don't have overly high expectation of the units you'll enjoy it.  Clearly, if you want a golf vacation spot in the Northeast, I don't think you'll be disappointed if you can live with a mediocre unit.

As ratings go, I'd give the units themselves a 6.5 out of 10, the spa/sports center a 10, and the golf an 8 to 9 depending on the course.  Hope this helps.

BTW, I checked link above.  It's spot on as to my recollections of the place.


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 4, 2014)

> The units themselves are just so so. They were built as low end condos aside the ski mountain. The skiing is pretty icy. I gave up on that years ago due to the conditions, though it's the only close place near me to go. Anyway, they were built in the late 80's, if my memory is correct. The architecture is period dated, historically not well maintained and not well appointed. (I haven't been in one in many, many years) They had a hard time selling them and timeshared out a many of them. They then gave up on that and just kept a great many that they rent out. Most require lots and lots of stairs to get to, sometimes up to 3 stories worth.



All is true about the architecture and lay out, but when was the last time you stayed?  We were there for MLK week 2 years ago and the unit we stayed in was worse than so-so.  It was borderline gross as I posted in the previous string.  I completely agree with you about the amenities.  It's a pretty nice facility - and the amenities are maintained just fine.  The location is great.  In the summer, they have a waterpark next to the ski area, not to mention the best selection of golf in the northeast by a wide margin at Crystal Springs and all courses are within a few minutes.  As for the skiing, Mountain Creek is what it is - a local day trip ski hill.  Yes it can get icy, but after a good storm conditions can be great too.  IMO it's comparable to the Pocono ski mountains, Hunter, Wyndham, etc.   It's a shame that the timeshare units are poorly kept.


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## vckempson (Mar 4, 2014)

bonk2boy said:


> All is true about the architecture and lay out, but when was the last time you stayed?  We were there for MLK week 2 years ago and the unit we stayed in was worse than so-so.  It was borderline gross.



As I said in my response, I haven't been in them in "many, many years."  I also alluded to your assessment from another linked post and said your review was "spot on" with my recollections.  I guess I just wasn't willing to say it was crappy when I hadn't seen it in years to know if they'd done any updating.


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 5, 2014)

> s I said in my response, I haven't been in them in "many, many years." I also alluded to your assessment from another linked post and said your review was "spot on" with my recollections. I guess I just wasn't willing to say it was crappy when I hadn't seen it in years to know if they'd done any updating.



Gotcha - I missed the part about you not staying in many years.  In fairness, I obviously only saw the one unit we were in so maybe some of the others are better.  But I wouldn't take a chance on another exchange there though.  I would rent from an owner at the Appalachian through VRBO as I suggested in the earlier thread.  It seems like the best deal in the area (though I haven't actually stayed).  I was very disappointed when Appalachian pulled out of the TS pool.  There had been a few fall deposits in II years back - I'm not sure what happened.   A real shame as it's the kind of area that's nice for a quick getaway during any season.  Even in the fall - Mountain Creek still runs the chair lifts and there are lots of hiking / biking trails and other climbing activities for kids.  Plus the foliage is probably very pretty there.   Also -
the area itself is supposedly adding a shopping outlet in the next year or so.  It's really a shame that there isn't a nice TS option to choose from.


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 7, 2014)

I have asked my wife if we should exchange, and she is wondering 
"....how GROSS is 'gross' ?" ('gross' is used in comments above).

We simply couldn't accept:
FILTHY/DIRTY
MOLDY
STAINS (multiple)
BUGS

We would be able to handle
OLDer
WORN


We've been to many timeshares, Marriotts, Westins, etc.
We are NOT expecting that type of facility.
Those are generally rated 8.5-10.
We can handle a 6 or 7, but not with the BAD words listed above.

So, should we make the exchange??

Thanks,
Pat


p.s.
We are considering this-----as a Golf getaway for DW and myself.
(It sure looks like I won't be disappointed there!!!)


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## JudyS (Mar 8, 2014)

A few years ago, I stayed at one of the condo-hotels on the same grounds, and it was quite nice. I rented through VRBO. I don't know what the golf course access is for people staying at the condo-hotels, but the person renting the condo-hotel should be able to tell you. If you want to use the facilities at this resort, but don't want to stay in their timeshare rundown units, that might be a solution. 

I think there are also some newer timeshare units at the same resort. These are called Minerals Hotel & Spa at Crystal Springs, II resort code SPS. I rarely see these sitting online, but you could call Interval and ask if you might be able to get one.


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 8, 2014)

Yes. - if you see my comments on the original string about this place, I mentioned the hotel based timeshare units.  I believe those units would be nicer but I rarely see them deposited.  Units rented on vRBO are obviously maintained by an individual owner so they are likely to be kept much nicer.

The reality of this place is that the grounds are nice and as far as the tri state area goes this is easily the best golf location around.  

As for the unit being gross - our view was that the bedrooms are fine as far as cleanliness.  The sheets are the old kind but they weren't dirty and we didn't see any bugs.  We went in the winter though.

The living area really wasn't nice.  The stuffing in the couch was falling out.  Furniture looked like it was meant for a fraternity house.  As I said - there was gum and something resembling a marshmallow devil food cake to the glass enclosed window.  It was high up and looked like someone had throw it.  We called asking for maintenance to clean it but nobody ever came.   The kitchen and bathrooms clearly haven't been updated since the 70s but again, no bugs or mold in our unit.  Smelled musty though.  Definitely not a unit where you'd want to spend a lot of time but probably fine for just sleeping.


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 8, 2014)

I made a few calls today.

Calling the Hotel gives minimal info----they are where you get your keys----not much info beyond that.

I called another number, I think they represent the owners of weeks there.
They were NOT on-site; so could not provide the specifics of the units, etc.
They told me to call Interval International------I knew that wasn't going to be a great place to ask.


It wasn't----but I did find it curious that she provided some numbers from surveys-----93% Customer satisfaction, 89% satisfaction with Unit, .....

I'll call again tomorrow-----I have never been 'privy' to this type of info before......

Pat


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## Bunk (Mar 12, 2014)

Pat I live about 1 1/4 hours from Minerals Resort. I think the discussion about "grossness" is exaggerated.
The golfing in the area is very good. We used to ski there frequently. We try to spend one or two long weekends in the summer or fall (for the hiking and foliage). If you decide to go, I can give you some suggestions as to restaurants, etc. 

The bottom line for us is that we'll probably go for a long weekend in July, 2014 and again in October, 2014 and have a really good time. We own a time share at the Marriott. When you go to a Marriott, the unit is a big part of your experience. Mountain Creek is not like that. You go to enjoy the area, not the timeshare.

As for the complex, I'm not sure whether you are exchanging into the hotel or the condos. This is not the typical time share set up where the overwhelming amount of units are time shares, so let me tell you how it is set up.

The complex lies at the base of the middle of three mountains that are used for skiing. That mountain is known as Granite. There are I believe hundreds of condo units that are accessible from the Granite entrance . You've got to drive through two manned security gates at Granite to get to the condo's. The security gates lead to roads that lead up the mountain. Some of the units are at the lower end of the mountain; while others are at the top of the mountain. Many units are adjacent to one of the ski runs, so you can access the run directly from those units. 

All of the condo units are in clustered buildings. Each building is three stories. I think there are 6 or 8 units per building. Many of the units are two floors.

Many of the units are occupied full time by residents. Some of the residents are owners, many are tenants that rent for a year. There is no separate time share section. I assume that the units that have outdoor decorations are occupied by owners or their tenants. 

I'm not sure how many time share units there are and whether most of them are owned by Northeast Vacation, which is the entity that manages the timeshare, or are owned individually and rented out for the week.

The quality of the units vary. We have not experienced gross units and the last time we were there was July, 2013. The worst situation we had was one winter when the heat in the lower floor was on but not very high. Maintenance gave us a heater and my daughter and her two friends, who are really fussy, didn't complain too much. We've been in units where the furniture was older, but nothing that really bothered us.

There is a maintenance office in the complex and we've always found them responsive.

Because these are condo units, there are full kitchens. Since we go for long weekends, we basically cook breakfast and heat up lunch. My wife is pretty diligent about filling out the equipment form when we check in and tells me that she hasn't noticed a lot of things missing. If something is missing, she calls up housekeeping and they bring it.

Those are what the condo's are like. 

Now let me go to Minerals Hotel. At the base of granite is a big building which serves as a front desk with a basketball court and indoor tennis court, has a restaurant on the second floor, a spa/exercise room, indoor and outdoor heated pool on the lower level. The lower level leads to a really big outdoor pool for swimming. Within the last I believe 10-15 years, Minerals Hotel was built. Those are more traditional hotel rooms. I believe that you can get time share rooms there also. We've never tried to do that because we prefer the extra space and great views with the condo units. But if you have concerns about the condo units, why not see if you can rent the hotel rooms. Since those are fairly recent, I don't think you'll have any problems with those.

The complex offers yoga classes, which my wife and I usually attend. I usually go to the gym. My wife likes doing aerobics or water aerobics. We go to the mountain lake nearby, where we can canoe. There are hikes that are offered and the complex is within a few minutes of the Appalachian Trail. 

As I said at the beginning, if you decide to go and are interested, I can give you some more info about things to do and places to go.


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 13, 2014)

The resort itself is nice - has good amenities.  Nobody is disputing that.  

We have stayed in many II timeshare units over the years and to put in perspective the unit quality, the unit we received at Minerals ranks near the bottom in quality even relative to other non gold properties.  We stayed in a 3BR unit recently at Villas @ Fairway in the Poconos which was MUCH nicer than the Minerals unit - not remotely close.  The unit quality at our home resort in Puerto Rico ESJ has also been significantly better, even though the units there were older and are now being renovated (I understand people are biased towards their home resort, but note that ours is a 30 year RTU which expires in a few years - I really have no incentive to play this resort up - I'm telling it like it is).  Have also stayed at the Flagship in Atlantic City and the rooms there are also better.  The 3 BR unit we received at Minerals also had a lousy lay out.  The master suite was a loft that looked down on the living area and was not private.  The other two bedrooms shared a second bathroom and you had to walk through the kitchen and living room area from one of bedrooms to get there.  The second bathroom was very small.  Not a big deal in itself, but worth pointing out.

The property would be completely fine IMO as a rustic ski rental, except that Mountain Creek isn't exactly a state of the art ski experience and the overwhelming majority of Minerals units are nowhere near the mountain - so you have to get in your car to get there.  If your not going to be mountainside there are just flat out better rental choices at Hunter and Windham that are inexpensive.  Either that or in our case, I'd sooner drive the 45-60 minutes and go there as a day trip - sleep in my own bed than stay in a place that's run down.  This is just my opinion anyway.


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 13, 2014)

......oh oh, I already booked it........................

Pat


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## Bunk (Mar 16, 2014)

Pat asked me for certain info about the area.  Not sure if this is helpful to anyone looking into going to Sussex County, NJ or the Hudson Valley region of NY:


Pat:

I’m going to try to reply to your questions below:

Golf: 
I don’t think you’ll need to go far from McAfee/Vernon to go golfing.  
This link is to the golf courses on the complex:
http://www.crystalgolfresort.com/golf/
This link is to courses in the area:
http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/city.aspx?dest=Vernon+nj

Tourist information:
Minerals Resort is located in northwest New Jersey.  It is very close to Orange County, New York.  In fact, you can hike the Appalachian Trail very close to the state line.  We really like the Warwick area, which is in Orange County.  In particular, we think the Village of Warwick is a nice place to visit and the restaurants in that area are worth going to.  
I would check out these websites:
http://www.warwickcc.org/
http://www.vernonchamber.com/
http://www.visithudsonvalley.com/

Depending on when you will be there, there are outdoor activities in Warwick, including Greenwood Lake, which is a pretty area in the Town of Warwick.  I suggest you see whether there are any outdoor concerts are fireworks displays scheduled for when you are there.  Since you are going in October there probably won’t be any outdoor activities.

Farmer’s market:
I believe that Warwick will have a farmers market when you are there in October.
Here is the website.
https://www.facebook.com/warwickvalleyfarmersmarket
But keep in mind that you are in the middle of a lot of farms.  A lot of those farms have stands that sell fruit and vegetables that were just picked.  Depending on the time of the year, some allow you to pick the fruits.  Not sure what is available in October, but I think you can still pick apples and obviously pumpkins.  The farmer’s markets by us sell cheese, meet and wine from the Hudson Valley region.
As for grocery stores selling organic food, I’m not sure whether the A&P does.  There is a Shoprite in Warwick that might, and a lot of big stores on Route 23, but you should call them before you get here to discuss..
I suggest you check out this website: http://www.valleytable.com/
It is a food magazine.  You might want to contact them by phone or email a month before you arrive  and ask them out stores in the Warwick area that sell organic food.  

West Point:
West point is probably the best known tourist location in this area:
http://www.usma.edu/visiting/SitePages/Home.aspx
If you like concerts or shows, check out the schedule at West Point.
Discount outlet near Monroe:
You are referring to Woodbury Common, which is in Central Valley.  This is an easy trip for you.
Here is the link:  http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=7
There are extra benefits for AAA members.
I really don’t like to shop , but I can tell you my wife was very happy because recently she found a wedding dress she really likes at a very good price.  I think that instead of going there and just wandering around, it is best to look at the website before you go.

Other shopping areas:
Other than Woodbury Commons, the best known shopping areas are the Palisades Center and the Shops at Nanuet:
http://www.palisadescenter.com/
http://www.simon.com/mall/the-shops-at-nanuet
Those are close together.  This is about an hour drive from Minerals.

Transportation and Visit to NYC:
This link gives you the public transportation options to get to NYC.
Can’t comment on them because we don’t use them.
http://www.crystalgolfresort.com/images/pdf/PublictransportationInfo.pdf

The drive to NYC is not terrible.  Driving in Boston is much harder than driving in New York.  Your drive from Minerals Resort to midtown should be between 1 ¼ hours and 1 ½ hours each way.
You would like to avoid driving in New York City between 8 and 9:00 am and 4:30 and 6:30 pm.
If you think you might be intimidated by driving in NYC, I suggest look for parking as soon as you get into Manhattan.  Driving into NYC is usually not that bad.  The bigger headache is driving in Manhattan.
If you drive, assume that you are going to pay for parking. We usually print parking coupons from this website:
http://www.iconparkingsystems.com/coupons/
If you want to see a Broadway show and are flexible as to which show to see, check out the half-price ticket booth at Broadway and 47th Street  http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56

You might want to see a matinee, so you don’t have to drive back very late at night.  
Depending on the show, matinees are often on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
The half price booth in Times Square opens at 10 am.
You could get tickets, visit someplace before the show, and then go someplace after the show.  That also gives you the opportunity to eat at a Mexican restaurant in NYC, which will be much better than anything you find in McAfee.
If there is a particular show you want to see, there are several discount websites available.

Restaurants
This link shows the restaurants that are part of the Mineral Springs/Crystal Springs complex:
http://www.crystalgolfresort.com/content/Category.aspx?SID=10&CID=88
We find Restaurant Latour to be very good but not cheap.
I am underwhelmed by Kites, which is at Mineral Springs.
As I said above, we prefer eating in the Warwick area.
But we like to go to Granny’s Pancake on Route 23 and Milano’s on Route 94 in Hamburg.
Milano’s doesn’t have a liquor license but allows you to BYOB
You asked about organic food.  We’ve eaten at the Grange, in Warwick, which serves organic food.  http://warwickinfo.net/thegrange/index.html


I know you asked about Mexican restaurants. Here is a link from Yelp about Mexican food in the area:  http://tinyurl.com/kcykux9

Layout of complex.
When you check in, you will get a map showing where your unit is.  I don’t have one to send you.  I suggest you go on maps.google.com and ask them to locate “Kites Restaurant, 2 Chamonix Drive, Vernon, NJ 07462”.   Kites is the building where the front desk and fitness center/spa is located.  You can see the outdoor pool s in the photo.  If you zoom in and go up the mountain (which means you are moving away from Route 94), you can see how the condos are laid out.  I have seen black bears from the units.  If you hike in the area, especially by the mountain lake which is part of the complex, it is not unusual to see them.  

You will drive down from the unit to get to the Spa/Fitness Center.  Will only take a few minutes to drive down the mountain.

Interval Directory photos:
I think the tenth photo, which concerns you the most, is of what you describe as the “basement rec room”.  I think your unit will have two levels.  The lower level has an extra bedroom and living room, which is great when you travel with kids or another family.  I think the photo is of that lower living room, and there is no overhead lighting in that room.  That’s probably why it’s dark.  Even though Interval called it a basement, it is not underground.  Because the units are billed on a mountain, that level should have a sliding glass door that leads directly outdoors.

October weather
I’m not sure when in October you will be visiting.
Indian summer in this area can be magnificent.  Sometimes you we go swimming in the lakes in the Hudson Valley region during Indian summer.  I’m not sure that the outdoor pool will be open in October, but there is a heated outdoor pool that is attached to the spa that is open all year round.  We like to use it in the winter after we’ve skied, so you really should plan on taking advantage of it.  It should be really nice in October because not that many people should be there.  Another advantage of going in October is the change in foliage, but that since you are from Maine, that’s probably not too important to you.  It seems that lately we’ve had bad weather, including snow, around Halloween (that’s when Hurricane Sandy hit) but if it snows, it only lasts for a day or two.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

I’m going to post this answer on line because it doesn’t have any personal information about you and perhaps it will be helpful to someone else.


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 16, 2014)

WOW----that's a HELPFUL post!!!

I've got HOMEWORK to do now,------but I have until early October to look up ALL the 'stuff'.

I will probably pm you when I get my multiple questions together.

Many thanks,
Pat


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Sep 28, 2014)

Headed there soon----hope it's at least an 'okay' stay.

Pat


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## Mister Sir (Sep 28, 2014)

I grew up in that area. You'll probably see some nice fall colors. Apple picking is a fun thing to do this time of year. Weather can run the gamut from warm and sunny, to cold and rainy, and anything in between.


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## STEVIE (Sep 30, 2014)

Please write back about your trip. This is a resort I have thought about, because my sister has a condo at Crystal Springs which is very close.
Sue


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