Anyone stayed at Shawnee Village lately?

[Floridaman76]

Looking to go in April, i've been twice at Crestview and once in Ridge Top (an unrenovated unit). I tried looking through some forum posts and it looks like maybe Dupuy has been renovated recently, maybe? I know Crestview is the best section, and Ridge Top Summit used to be second best, but I was curious about Depuy. I know some of the sections here, it's a complete crap shoot for bed types, and i want to guarantee a king bed. I can book Ridge Top, River Village or Depuy on the week I want. Crestview isn't available. I know the Depuy units don't have King beds in the 1BR units, so I will be booking a 2BR

Anyone who has stayed there recently, can you give me experiences.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Looking to go in April, i've been twice at Crestview and once in Ridge Top (an unrenovated unit). I tried looking through some forum posts and it looks like maybe Dupuy has been renovated recently, maybe? I know Crestview is the best section, and Ridge Top Summit used to be second best, but I was curious about Depuy. I know some of the sections here, it's a complete crap shoot for bed types, and i want to guarantee a king bed. I can book Ridge Top, River Village or Depuy on the week I want. Crestview isn't available. I know the Depuy units don't have King beds in the 1BR units, so I will be booking a 2BR

Anyone who has stayed there recently, can you give me experiences.

Only the two bedroom deluxe rooms within any of the Shawnee sections have king beds. The only Club Wyndham units outside of Crestview - which are all deluxe units - are Ridge Top Summit units that are two bedroom deluxe and offer king sized beds.

If you have developer points and can book into Worldmark, Worldmark also offers two bedroom deluxe units in either Ridge Top Summit or Depuy. None of the two bedroom non-deluxe units have king sized beds. Worldmark offers two different unit types within Depuy that are deluxe two bedroom units. One is a smaller box cottage type layout - kinda sorta similar to the RidgeTop Summit units in look and feel. Older and most are not renovated. Then there’s the wraparound porch type units that are mostly two bedroom non-deluxe units - but there are a few of these units that are two bedroom deluxe that have been renovated - these are our favorite in Depuy by far. They are hard to get though - because everyone asks for them. Club Wyndham, to the best of my knowledge, does not have any deluxe units in Depuy in comparison.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jp10558]

What do you do at Shawnee anyway? Anything fun in the area? It just looks a lot like a crapshoot but sometimes Wyndham now has it in bonus time??? for cheap.

 

[HitchHiker71]

What do you do at Shawnee anyway? Anything fun in the area? It just looks a lot like a crapshoot but sometimes Wyndham now has it in bonus time??? for cheap.

The Poconos is just like any other somewhat rural mountain area - lots of outdoor activities and small towns to explore. Skiing this time of year - several ski resorts within 30 miles of the resort. Lots of trail hiking, waterfall trails, bike trails, 4x4 trails, water parks, etc. Several scenic train routes, state parks, and the list goes on.

We have hiked a good portion of the hiking trails within a 30 mile radius of the resort over the years. We have certain default trails that we will hit that are 3-6 miles that we hike dependent on the season. Sections of the AT are not far from the resort for example, along with the MRT (McDade Recreational Trail). Lots of small towns to explore - starting with East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg which are the closest - but there are many others. Each town has its own certain appeal. Lots of good hole in the wall local restaurants as well. Jim Thorpe is a popular local town that is probably better known than most other small towns in the area.

Overall the Poconos is a good example of small town America. To some it might feel like the land that time forgot, but we often prefer that over the overly built up commercial and somewhat artificial feel of many larger resort areas these days. Both have their appeal to us overall, but we have spent more time at Shawnee vs any other resort since 2018 when we became owners.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jp10558]

The Poconos is just like any other somewhat rural mountain area - lots of outdoor activities and small towns to explore. Skiing this time of year - several ski resorts within 30 miles of the resort. Lots of trail hiking, waterfall trails, bike trails, 4x4 trails, water parks, etc. Several scenic train routes, state parks, and the list goes on.

We have hiked a good portion of the hiking trails within a 30 mile radius of the resort over the years. We have certain default trails that we will hit that are 3-6 miles that we hike dependent on the season. Sections of the AT are not far from the resort for example, along with the MRT (McDade Recreational Trail). Lots of small towns to explore - starting with East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg which are the closest - but there are many others. Each town has its own certain appeal. Lots of good hole in the wall local restaurants as well. Jim Thorpe is a popular local town that is probably better known than most other small towns in the area.

Overall the Poconos is a good example of small town America. To some it might feel like the land that time forgot, but we often prefer that over the overly built up commercial and somewhat artificial feel of many larger resort areas these days. Both have their appeal to us overall, but we have spent more time at Shawnee vs any other resort since 2018 when we became owners.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fascinating. So it's kind of like the area around Smuggs or Massanutten? Maybe I will give it a try sometime.

 

[Floridaman76]

Fascinating. So it's kind of like the area around Smuggs or Massanutten? Maybe I will give it a try sometime.

The comparison with Massanutten is pretty good, but there's less to do inside the resort at Shawnee. And the majority of the units at Shawnee are much older. I would rate the town of East Stroudsburg and nearby Jim Thorpe on par with Harrisonburg and Winchester near Massanutten.

Smuggs too, the more I think about it. Don't go expecting Bonnet Creek level rooms or Branson/Pigeon Forge level tourist trap type places.

Thanks everyone for the info, especially on beds.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Fascinating. So it's kind of like the area around Smuggs or Massanutten? Maybe I will give it a try sometime.

I’ve not been to either of those resort areas so I cannot compare directly. It is somewhat similar to Bentley Brook area though - that we have also been to several times. A mostly rural mountain ski resort oriented area with a bunch of small towns, each with their own unique charms and experiences, with lots of outdoor oriented activities available.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Fascinating. So it's kind of like the area around Smuggs or Massanutten? Maybe I will give it a try sometime.

There are outlets not too far as well. Not a fan of shopping myself, but if that’s your cup of tea. They’re about 15 minutes away. Mount Airy Casino (also meh in my opinion) is 25 minutes away.

 

[RENTER]

If you like hiking, it is a 1.5-hour hike to the top of the Delaware Water Gap where you will find a glacier pond. Also, there is a NASCAR racetrack at Long Pond which offers rides around the track and races in the summer. Going north is the town of Milford known for its antique shops with Lake Harmony nearby. There is the rafting down the Delaware.

Not as rural as it once was. So you can find a lot of commonly known stores on 209 several miles away. A 24 hour Walmart in East Stroudsburg.

As for Depuy, some people like it because there are no stairs outside. There are stairs inside to the bedrooms but there is a bedroom on the first floor.

 

[HitchHiker71]

There are outlets not too far as well. Not a fan of shopping myself, but if that’s your cup of tea. They’re about 15 minutes away. Mount Airy Casino (also meh in my opinion) is 25 minutes away.

Yes the Tannersville outlets are nearby. There’s a Tesla SC station there so we sometimes stop there to recharge and walk around. There’s a food court there as well, along with a few restaurants.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HitchHiker71]

If you like hiking, it is a 1.5-hour hike to the top of the Delaware Water Gap where you will find a glacier pond. Also, there is a NASCAR racetrack at Long Pond which offers rides around the track and races in the summer. Going north is the town of Milford known for its antique shops with Lake Harmony nearby. There is the rafting down the Delaware.

There’s also white water rafting on the Lehigh River during damn release days. Mount Tammany is another popular ascent trail.

Not as rural as it once was. So you can find a lot of commonly known stores on 209 several miles away. A 24 hour Walmart in East Stroudsburg.

As for Depuy, some people like it because there are no stairs outside. There are stairs inside to the bedrooms but there is a bedroom on the first floor.

Just a heads up that most Depuy units do not have a bedroom on the first floor, only the first section with the wraparound porches does (these are harder to get and only the Worldmark units have king beds in them in a subset of these two bedroom deluxe units). The box cottages in the 2nd and 3rd sections only have bedrooms on the second floor - similar to the other older unit sections (RidgeTop, Riverwalk, Fairways, etc.). It’s also worth noting that a subset of the box cottages you walk in on an elevated platform, and there are stairs down on either side to the kitchen or the living area. These units aren’t conducive to anyone with mobility issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jp10558]

Though the google maps reviews are really mixed - many are quite scary. Then again - I also don't really trust the reviews a lot of the time, but if some of the pics are right, I can see the issues. I didn't click through to the TripAdvisor ones though.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Though the google maps reviews are really mixed - many are quite scary. Then again - I also don't really trust the reviews a lot of the time, but if some of the pics are right, I can see the issues. I didn't click through to the TripAdvisor ones though.

Most of the older units were built back in the 1970s and haven’t been renovated much since really. Honestly even the renovated units in the older sections aren’t really that much nicer - it’s mostly just surface renovations and newer furniture basically. It’s not like they tore it all down to the studs and did a major renovation in other words, at least not that I have seen. The latter would be required to really enhance the older units and I just don’t see them doing this as it would cost the HOA a lot via special assessments and Wyndham doesn’t own these units either. Wyndham manages them for the original HOAs but they don’t have a controlling interest in most cases. There are still many units that are not part of the Wyndham system - if you drive around there are parking spaces allotted to these non-Wyndham owned units that are clearly labeled for example.

My overall point is that even if Wyndham wanted to renovate the older units - and I’m not saying they would - without approval from more than 50% the HOA membership itself - it’s not going to happen.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RENTER]

There’s also white water rafting on the Lehigh River during damn release days. Mount Tammany is another popular ascent trail.



Just a heads up that most Depuy units do not have a bedroom on the first floor, only the first section with the wraparound porches does (these are harder to get and only the Worldmark units have king beds in them in a subset of these two bedroom deluxe units). The box cottages in the 2nd and 3rd sections only have bedrooms on the second floor - similar to the other older unit sections (RidgeTop, Riverwalk, Fairways, etc.). It’s also worth noting that a subset of the box cottages you walk in on an elevated platform, and there are stairs down on either side to the kitchen or the living area. These units aren’t conducive to anyone with mobility issues.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess I have been lucky because I have been getting those units with the bedroom on the 1st floor when I cannot get a mobility room at Crestview. I will not take any other sections because of the outside stairs. Even if I cannot get a unit with a bedroom on the first floor I will take it. It is better than carrying all the luggage and food up the outdoor steps.

As for the condition, because of the low point total it is fine for me as long as it is clean which housekeeping does a good job doing. If you expect it to look like Crestview with a low point total, you will be disappointed.

 

[Insectt]

Looking to go in April, i've been twice at Crestview and once in Ridge Top (an unrenovated unit). I tried looking through some forum posts and it looks like maybe Dupuy has been renovated recently, maybe? I know Crestview is the best section, and Ridge Top Summit used to be second best, but I was curious about Depuy. I know some of the sections here, it's a complete crap shoot for bed types, and i want to guarantee a king bed. I can book Ridge Top, River Village or Depuy on the week I want. Crestview isn't available. I know the Depuy units don't have King beds in the 1BR units, so I will be booking a 2BR

Anyone who has stayed there recently, can you give me experiences.

We just stayed in Ridge Top. I think #97. Very dated looking. Definitely not king size beds. Wood burning fireplace was non-operational. However it was clean and well maintained. We just went there for the weekend to use up some points.