# Star Island looking a bit rough..



## webkrawlerr (Aug 2, 2013)

We live in Orlando but still love visiting the Wyndhams around us for
short 3 day get-aways.

We read how great Star Island was so I booked a few days in October the same week as our 10 year wedding anniversary.

A few days ago we were driving past Star Island and decided to just take a walk around the property to get a feel for the place.

One of the pools was closed and there was a film on the water. There was a guy there working on it. I know, things break. But, there was like a mountain or something in the center of the pool with water shooting out into the pool..it had discolored kind of stains on the side of the mountain (or whatever it was supposed to be) and looked like it hadn't been kept up.

They have several tennis courts but 2 of the courts had nets that needed attention (sagging too much or half of it was down)...

In the game room one of the games had a broken up piece of plastic where the name was like someone had punched it or something. One of the racing games. 

Also, a strange site. There was some kind of wooden house next to the volleyball net and it looked like one of the workers had drove his car from the parking lot through the grass, through some mud (big track marks, looks like he could have gotten stuck in the mud there was so much) and parked
on the grass next to the white wooden house. If the folks need to drive there, why not build a driveway?

Well, anyway. We're still looking forward to our getaway there. 
Just was expecting it to be nicer I suppose.


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## lilpooh108 (Aug 2, 2013)

Have a nice trip!

What's your favorite Wyndham location in/near Orlando, and why?  Just curious b/c we haven't tried any as of yet.


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## webkrawlerr (Aug 2, 2013)

Of course, Bonnet Creek!

We stayed at WBC over the 4th of July week and had a blast. It was a third
time staying there.

The pools and lazy rivers are awesome. Pool tables, game rooms, hot tubs, several restaurants on site including a great seafood place.  

Right outside Disney!


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## lilpooh108 (Aug 2, 2013)

webkrawlerr said:


> Of course, Bonnet Creek!
> 
> We stayed at WBC over the 4th of July week and had a blast. It was a third
> time staying there.
> ...



Have you stayed in 1BRs yet.  Is it ever loud from the studio side?

What do you think of Cypress Palms?

BTW, thanks for the recap on Star Island.  The reviews on this property have been a bit rough.


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## Andythefox (Aug 2, 2013)

Can't disagree with the OP. We stayed for 3 days. It is an outdated dump.


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## webkrawlerr (Aug 2, 2013)

We have not stayed at Cypress Palms yet but since we own there
we have been meaning to.

1 bedroom at Bonnet Creek?  All 3 times we stayed at Bonnet Creek
we stayed in a 2 bedroom. They were nearly identical even though
they were in different buildings each time. Rooms always amazing
and comfy!  Never any noise issues.

Actually, I originally booked our anniversary get away at Cypress Palms
but my wife read a post about Star Island having it's own bar and
golf range and she asked me to switch our reservations to Star Island

One reason why we are having a 10 year anniversary, as any guy in
any successful marriage will tell you, do as your wife asks


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## ronparise (Aug 2, 2013)

webkrawlerr said:


> We live in Orlando but still love visiting the Wyndhams around us for
> short 3 day get-aways.



Star Island is not a Wyndham managed property


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## webkrawlerr (Aug 2, 2013)

I never said Star Island was managed by Wyndham.

But, there are signs on the property saying Wyndham and
its available on the Wyndham website to book.

I consider that "Wyndham".


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## simpsontruckdriver (Aug 2, 2013)

> One reason why we are having a 10 year anniversary, as any guy in any successful marriage will tell you, do as your wife asks



Or... "A happy wife is happy life".

As a side note, I tried to go see STAR ISLAND (which we own for the time being) on a Friday. The sales staff said they do not sell on Fridays, which meant there was no one who would take us on a tour. Since 2008, we've stayed at Orlando International Resort (like a hotel but with 2 bedroom suites) and Wyndham Bonnet Creek (phenomenal). And, we stayed at Orange Lake (HIVC) with my wife's parents in 2009 (Week 20 East Village top floor). So, the two resorts we love: WBC and OLCC.

TS


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## lilpooh108 (Aug 2, 2013)

webkrawlerr said:


> I never said Star Island was managed by Wyndham.
> 
> But, there are signs on the property saying Wyndham and
> its available on the Wyndham website to book.
> ...



So confused.  I thought it was managed by Wyndham, and it's bookable on their website....and people own Star Island points.  Is this a remnant of Fairfield or something?


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 2, 2013)

lilpooh108 said:


> So confused.  I thought it was managed by Wyndham, and it's bookable on their website....and people own Star Island points.  Is this a remnant of Fairfield or something?



2 brothers built and managed SI. One brother got divoriced - had to pony up real $$$ to ex-wife; SOLD his interest of the unbuilt TOWERs units to Wyndham. Other brother brought some to keep majority control and still manages the resort.

SI was at one time the closest timeshare to WDW.


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## lilpooh108 (Aug 2, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> 2 brothers built and managed SI. One brother got divoriced - had to pony up real $$$ to ex-wife; SOLD his interest of the unbuilt TOWERs units to Wyndham. Other brother brought some to keep majority control and still manages the resort.
> 
> SI was at one time the closest timeshare to WDW.



Interesting, thanks.


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 2, 2013)

Once you learn the backstory, much easier to understand the "How, what, and Whys".


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## jeffwill (Aug 2, 2013)

Just returned from Star Island, where I am an owner, an grandkids are still there.  All activities and grounds are currently top notch. 

 A little fun at invitation to weasel meeting.  My unit is 1963 which is in a Wyndham building.  The reservationist says, "So your a Wyndham owner" and I say NO.  "Then you're a guest or a renter" and I say NO, I own the unit week.  She got the supervisor.

I go to the meeting and am driven to Bonnet.  The big push was convert my non Wyndham week to 224k Wyndham points that would NOT be recognised toward VIP.  I decline.  I am then told I can do some paperwork and bring my Vacation Break 3/2 into Wyndham for FREE.  Honestly, doing something for NO CHARGE.  I thought I would, but then remembered that when I sell this unit (soon) I would have to pay the $299. transfer with them.  The salesman just sat there with no clue what the manager and I were talking about.  This meeting was so much fun I kept THEM for an extra hour.


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## ronparise (Aug 2, 2013)

jeffwill said:


> Just returned from Star Island, where I am an owner, an grandkids are still there.  All activities and grounds are currently top notch.
> 
> A little fun at invitation to weasel meeting.  My unit is 1963 which is in a Wyndham building.  The reservationist says, "So your a Wyndham owner" and I say NO.  "Then you're a guest or a renter" and I say NO, I own the unit week.  She got the supervisor.
> 
> I go to the meeting and am driven to Bonnet.  The big push was convert my non Wyndham week to 224k Wyndham points that would NOT be recognised toward VIP.  I decline.  I am then told I can do some paperwork and bring my Vacation Break 3/2 into Wyndham for FREE.  Honestly, doing something for NO CHARGE.  I thought I would, but then remembered that when I sell this unit (soon) I would have to pay the $299. transfer with them.  The salesman just sat there with no clue what the manager and I were talking about.  This meeting was so much fun I kept THEM for an extra hour.



Jeff

I bet if you stuck with it, that free entre into Wyndham,  was a PIC and the new points to make it happen would cost 12000 plus

By the way I don't recognize the star island I stayed at from the reviews here. What do you think?


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## jeffwill (Aug 2, 2013)

I currently have 508k pick points with two of my Hilton Head Spinnaker properties so I did not need SI for that purpose.  If I converted my week to points, it MF's would be the same BUT would add another $100+ for Wyndham program fee.  I get all the advantages of a Wyndham owner, but they have NO hooks in me at all.  Might just keep it for that alone.  Or not.

I think Star Island should not be compared to other average resorts because it has some unique features.  The next time I go, I WILL have a canoe so I can bass fish in my own lake.  I hit free golf balls every morning.  This 67 yr. old won the highes splash contest three days in a row. Can openers beat cannon balls every time.  The last day the bartenders were hosed down at the new pool bar.  A free beer Thank You.  My granddaughters turned down a trip to the beach so they could stay at the pool and win the hula hoop contest again.  

If you can't enjoy and have fun at Star Island,  you need elivated nose therapy.


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## gjw007 (Aug 2, 2013)

I stayed at star island in may.  The unit (deluxe one bedroom) was great and they were renovating units while I was there.  The pool was fine.  The tennis court looked like it could use some work.  I had no issues there but things do happen.   It was interesting watching some guest set up a picnic and using the luggage racks to move their stuff to the picnic area. I think star island only had two in the building so it would have an impact on guesting moving in or out of. their unit if they had a lot of luggage.  I would go there again as it was nice where i was but I will see how cypress is when am there at the end of the month.

The worst place I stayed was at summer bay in kississimme. The walls in the bathroom bubbled up as it looked like water damage, the bathtub spit out solid objects (I assume it was plaster) making the master bath unusable, the carpet was old and worn with the threads catching your shoes, the furniture was in poor shape.  In fairness to them the building next to me was being renovated and the building I was in was scheduled to start renovation the month after I was there but nobody should have been assigned it especially during a slow season when there were plenty of units available such as when I was there.   Star island has a long way to sink to this level.


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## jeffwill (Aug 2, 2013)

Just read some negative reviews on Tripadvisor and want to be fair on some issues.  I can see how a person may start off with a room issue if they receive an older unit.  Most units are Gold Crown but original units may be less exciting.  The drinks ARE way overpriced.  BBQ grills are charcoal and not stainless gas.  The singing and bar noise should stop sooner for everyones consideration.

Now--- there are NINE tennis courts with a tournament court that is host to the Central Fla. Tennis Assoc.  The health/workout facility is the best equipt of ANY timeshare resort I have ever visited.  It has every machine and free weight station that top health clubs offer.  Positives and negatives--yes.  Do I like Bonnet Creek--- yes.  Which is best ?  Depends on who, when, how, why, timing, age, etc./etc.

That's all folks.


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## GeraldineT (Aug 4, 2013)

lilpooh108 said:


> Have you stayed in 1BRs yet.  Is it ever loud from the studio side?
> 
> What do you think of Cypress Palms?
> 
> BTW, thanks for the recap on Star Island.  The reviews on this property have been a bit rough.



The 1BR's at BC are not a half of a lock off unit.  And there are no studios.


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 4, 2013)

GeraldineT said:


> The 1BR's at BC are not a half of a lock off unit.  And there are no studios.



??? This thread is about Star Island. Not Bonnet Creek.


For Star Island units:

 The "B" unit is the lockout side with the balcony and is a 1bdr. Full kitchen and deluxe jetted tub with walk in shower. Sleeps 4.

The "A" unit is the smaller side with a kitchenette, a bedroom with 2 double beds and a door on the LR which has a sleep sofa. Sleeps 6.


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## timeos2 (Aug 5, 2013)

We have not been to Star Island recently so this is a general observation not specific to SI.  All of the "mega - resorts", meaning those with well over 200+ units - some into the thousands, can and often do suffer from a basic inability to keep all those units consistent in look, quality and overall condition. The shear number means there is no way all of them can be recently renovated and as the time increases since a renovation / refresh the tendency is for the maintenance to slip simply due to age, the units to vary in look as things wear out at different rates and often the exact replacements may not be available and the staff can't be large enough to keep even the simpler things like paint touch up completely up to date due to labor expense. 

What we have discovered is that we don't like the mega-resorts as well as the smaller, more controllable sized resorts that have a much better chance of having consistent unit experience.  Add in that some are so large that it is practically required that you drive around the resort just to get to all the features / areas and it isn't the ideal place to visit in our experience. The only real upsides, if there are any, is that available units might be high due to oversupply (not an advantage as an owner as that reduces rental rates and trade value - but can be great for renters/exchangers looking for low rates & an easy trade in) and the amount of on site amenities may be higher than normal. 

Overall we find the mega-resorts have too many downsides to own and even somewhat limited as desirable trades/rentals.  The upside is the easy availability of trade and often low cost to rent.


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## ronparise (Aug 5, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> ??? This thread is about Star Island. Not Bonnet Creek.
> 
> 
> For Star Island units:
> ...



I would add that the B side is a  big one bedroom but according to the floor plan on the Wyndham site the only access to the bathroom is through the bedroom. So when using the sofa bed for another guest or couple, privacy will be compromised

But, in case you missed it in Linda's post the A side has a door on the living room. So if you reserve both sides it works well as a 3 bedroom 2 bath unit

floor plan


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## vacationhopeful (Aug 5, 2013)

ronparise said:


> I would add that the B side is a  big one bedroom but according to the floor plan on the Wyndham site the only access to the bathroom is through the bedroom. So when using the sofa bed for another guest or couple, privacy will be compromised
> 
> But, in case you missed it in Linda's post the A side has a door on the living room. So if you reserve both sides it works well as a 3 bedroom 2 bath unit
> 
> floor plan



Thanks, Ron.

Correct about the "B" side have a private bath - great for a couple traveling alone; not acceptable when anyone has a guest sleeping on the sofa bed. And contrary to almost every other timeshare in the world, the "A" is the NOT the grand unit of a lock off.


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## littlestar (Aug 5, 2013)

My brother's family had a bad experience at Star Island in June.  They were assigned in a unit by the trailer park.  There was some kind of rust stains running down the walls throughout the unit and the carpets had holes and wads of gum stuck on the furniture.  They said even the fountain looked dirty at the entrance like the filter wasn't working or something.  They changed their flights and went home.  We let Interval know about the condition of the unit.


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