Rocky Mountain National Park

[Timeshare Von]

I'm thinking about trying to piggy-back a few days on the front end of a business trip to Denver over the July 4th holiday weekend. I would love to try to get into the Worldmark in Estes Park for 3-4 nights, but as a Wyndham points owner, I'm not finding any availability.

Any suggestions on lodging in the area?

Thanks,
Von

 

[DaveNV]

I've never been there, and have no idea about other accommodations.

The WM Estes Park may be tricky. I just checked, and there is little availability at that resort over that timeframe. Can you do your own waitlist request? If not, you may be able to have a WM owner waitlist the days you need, then rent from them if it comes through.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[Timeshare Von]

I've never been there, and have no idea about other accommodations.

The WM Estes Park may be tricky. I just checked, and there is little availability at that resort over that timeframe. Can you do your own waitlist request? If not, you may be able to have a WM owner waitlist the days you need, then rent from them if it comes through.

Good luck!
Dave

Good info to have. I will dig deeper into waitlist procedures, etc. Thanks much Dave! Von

 

[Timeshare Von]

Turns out, I can call into Wyndham and pay a $99 fee (like an exchange fee) for access to the Worldmark inventory! I was going to book this morning but found out Actually I responded too quickly. Apparently the "Club Pass" agent yesterday didn't know what she was talking about, as I cannot book for more points than I own until 90 days out . . . so I can't reasonably use my points at this point in time for WorldMark Estes Park.

So I'm back to square one right now.

 

[WinniWoman]

We rented at Rams Horn right at the entrance. It was wonderful. You have your own luxury cabin.

 

[DaveNV]

If you don’t find something that works, ask on the WorldMark forum if someone can help you with a waitlist request. I don’t have enough credits to do it, but there are a number of Tuggers who should be able to help you out.

Dave

 

[bbodb1]

Does it have to be on the east side? Might you consider Granby (on the west side)?

 

[Timeshare Von]

UPDATE:

On Monday we learned what we thought was "just a thermostat issue" was actually a blown head casket on our 16 year old Pontiac Montana. Unfortunately with 180k miles, it is beyond a reasonable repair, so we had to junk it. With being down to just one car and looking at another car note in our future, my vacation plans for June at RMNP are on indefinite hold.

I appreciate the thoughtful suggestions and private messages received. I'll just have to wait and see as to whether or not I can afford to make an extended personal vacation out of my work trip prior to the July 4th holiday weekend.

Happy Holidays to everyone in our TUG Family!

Our van was my "go to" vehicle for my road trips west to Yellowstone and other US National Parks around the country.

 

[OldGuy]

See if you can rent at The Crags/Golden Eagle, or try a vacation rental:

https://boulder.craigslist.org/search/vac?query=estes+park&availabilityMode=0

 

[DaveNV]

Sorry about the van, Von. Head gaskets can be tricky, and often lead to more costly repairs. Hope you can find something newer and better for your needs.

Dave

 

[Timeshare Von]

Well our one car family experiment only lasted about 2 weeks. Earlier this month we picked up this beauty! I am looking forward to road tripping and car camping with it in the future!

 

[Timeshare Von]

Final decisions made & booked . . . gave up on the timeshare route and booked at Grand Lake. Found a nice condo rental that will meet my needs and away from the hub-bub of Estes Park on a holiday week.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions & feedback.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Well . . . I DID this trip! It was awesome to be in Colorado and the lodge I had booked in Grand Lake, CO was perfect. I ended up road tripping from Milwaukee, taking in sights through Nebraska on my way out to Colorado, with a short breeze through Grand Teton & Yellowstone NPs plus the Badlands in SD. Having driven through Granby a couple of times, I'm glad we were where we were . . . the Historic Rapids Lodge in Grand Lake was PERFECT!

My sister and her family ended up road tripping out to meet me there and booked the lockoff side of the cabin/condo I had previously booked back at the beginning of the year.

We really enjoyed our time together.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Well . . . I DID this trip! It was awesome to be in Colorado and the lodge I had booked in Grand Lake, CO was perfect. I ended up road tripping from Milwaukee, taking in sights through Nebraska on my way out to Colorado, with a short breeze through Grand Teton & Yellowstone NPs plus the Badlands in SD. Having driven through Granby a couple of times, I'm glad we were where we were . . . the Historic Rapids Lodge in Grand Lake was PERFECT!

My sister and her family ended up road tripping out to meet me there and booked the lockoff side of the cabin/condo I had previously booked back at the beginning of the year.

We really enjoyed our time together.

Our DD and DSiL enjoyed the reservation at Historic Crags Lodge in Estes Park that we booked last year with much excitement and anticipation. We enjoyed their trip via their photos. Oh well, maybe another time for us.

 

[bnoble]

I stayed in Granby last summer, and had a *fantastic* week hiking RMNP. Definitely not as scenic as Grand Lake, but was probably less expensive. ;-)

I hadn't thought about road-tripping it from here though. That's a very interesting idea...

 

[Timeshare Von]

Here is my Trip Advisor trip report on my road trip. My photos to accompany the report are in my (public) Facebook album. It was really a great trip!

 

[Timeshare Von]

I stayed in Granby last summer, and had a *fantastic* week hiking RMNP. Definitely not as scenic as Grand Lake, but was probably less expensive. ;-)

I hadn't thought about road-tripping it from here though. That's a very interesting idea...

Not sure how much Granby lodging was, but I paid $110/night for a studio type lock-off unit at the Historic Rapids Lodge. It slept 4 and had a private bathroom w/ shower plus small refrig and microwave. My sister & her family rented the other side of the lockoff which was the living space of the full condo/cabin. It slept 4 also (murphy wall bed + sleeper sofa) and had full kitchen with regular size refrigerator and bathroom/shower too. They paid $140/night. There was a cleaning fee added per say ($30 for my side and $50 for theirs I believe). It was very well worth it . . . with great views and the sound of the rushing rapids right outside their side of the unit. WE LOVED IT!

 

[bnoble]

It was just under $50/night via RCI extra vacation.