Wyndham Seawatch Villas

[regatta333]

I have a reservation booked next month and was wondering whether the villa buildings have elevators. Also, I have requested an oceanfront room. Is there a particular building I should request?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jtmcgarry]

Yes, there are elevators at the Villa's. The Villa's are a hundred yards or so back from the ocean and create a U shape at the back of the resort. So the "oceanfront" Villa units are the ones at the bottom of the U which face the ocean. The ones on the left and righ sides of the U are "oceanview". In my opinion, they are ALL oceanview.

 

[HitchHiker71]

AFAIK all buildings have elevators. None of the Villas are oceanfront really - at most they are oceanview and this all depends on which unit you get - only the North and South towers have oceanfront rooms. Map below for ease of reference.

 

[regatta333]

Thank you. Seems like Villa 2 might have the best views.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Thank you. Seems like Villa 2 might have the best views.

What the map doesn’t show is the dunes that separate the resort from the oceanfront/beach area. They aren’t huge dunes but they are large enough that I doubt you could even see the ocean from the villas unless you are on the upper floors/decks.

That said we’ve only walked through Seawatch resort, we have not actually stayed there yet. We always stay at TOTG which is a much smaller and less crowded resort without as many kids, which we prefer.


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[chapjim]

Thank you. Seems like Villa 2 might have the best views.

Of babes at the pool maybe, but not of the ocean. You might be able to see a horizon depending on what floor you're on.

SeaWatch presents another upgrade dilemma. If you book a 2BR unit in one of the Towers and opt in for an upgrade to a larger unit, you could end up in a 3BR Deluxe unit in the villas. When I book SeaWatch, I ask for unit 1604 in the South Tower. It's a 2BR with a wrap-around balcony with an oceanfront view and a view down the beach. I don't opt in to an upgrade to a larger unit.

Back during Covid I was teleworking from all over the place, SeaWatch included. Spent almost two weeks in Unit 1605, a 3BR unit right next to 1604. Honked off some people because I had my back to the ocean so the camera showed the ocean as background. One of the widest balconies anywhere.

 

[chapjim]

What the map doesn’t show is the dunes that separate the resort from the oceanfront/beach area. They aren’t huge dunes but they are large enough that I doubt you could even see the ocean from the villas unless you are on the upper floors/decks.

That said we’ve only walked through Seawatch resort, we have not actually stayed there yet. We always stay at TOTG which is a much smaller and less crowded resort without as many kids, which we prefer.


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Does TOTG have privately owned units? One of the recurring complaints about SeaWatch is the abundance of dogs, something that is easily understood once one realizes that Wyndham owns only 38% of the units at SeaWatch.

The largest two bedroom units at TOTG are about 75% as large as the largest 2BR units at SeaWatch.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Does TOTG have privately owned units? One of the recurring complaints about SeaWatch is the abundance of dogs, something that is easily understood once one realizes that Wyndham owns only 38% of the units at SeaWatch.

The largest two bedroom units at TOTG are about 75% as large as the largest 2BR units at SeaWatch.

Yes there are privately owned units at TOTG - but my understanding is that Wyndham owns a large majority of the units in the building, which I don’t believe is the case with Seawatch as you indicated. The two bedroom units at TOTG can have odd layouts depending on the unit you get. If you reserve a two bedroom deluxe oceanfront unit - ask for a unit with numbers ending in either 20 or 34 - these are the corner units with better layouts and larger corner balconies. We were in unit 634 when we were last there - which is actually a three bedroom lockout unit - however because it’s a lockout design - they can separate it out into two different units when needed - a two bedroom deluxe and a one bedroom deluxe unit.


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[Deb from NC]

We’ve stayed in the Villas at Seawatch many times and have alway had a (somewhat distant) ocean view. We actually like the villas better than the towers…they’re a little quieter and the units we’ve had seem to be in better shape

 

[regatta333]

Well, my son and his family are checking in on Saturday. I called today and was told that he was assigned a third floor unit in villa 1. I asked if it would not be possible to get a higher floor for the ocean view. We are actually deeded at Seawatch, so should have owner preference, but I was told that since a guest is checking in, that does not apply. This is kind of frustrating since this reservation is for immediate family and they will not give it any priority.

 

[paxsarah]

The only owner priority is in booking windows, not room requests (regardless if it's an owner or a guest on the reservation). Also, I believe Villa 1 is only 4 floors, so they couldn't be much higher anyway.

 

[regatta333]

When I called several weeks ago to make a room request, I was told that owners get priority on room assignments.

 

[HitchHiker71]

When I called several weeks ago to make a room request, I was told that owners get priority on room assignments.

Only VIP owners can even request room assignments when making a developer reservation. Resale points do not get this benefit - even if the owner is a VIP - like me - I own both developer and resale points - I am well aware that any reservation made with my resale points - any requested rooms are just that - unofficial requests entirely subject to Wyndham's discretion. Even when making a VIP developer points reservation - it's still only a request - there is never any guarantee. Guest reservations explicitly do not include any VIP benefits or priorities. This is documented in the membership directory for all to see.

 

[regatta333]

We are VIP gold and the reservation was made in the 13-month ARP window with developer points. Yes, technically this is a guest reservation. I guess I am going to have to try to get my son added to our ownership to avoid this problem in the future.

 

[paxsarah]

Only VIP owners can even request room assignments when making a developer reservation.

Is it still the case that the VIP request is specifically a unit number reservation at the time of booking? That is, calling a requesting a building or floor is just something anyone can do unrelated to level, but it's really only a request, not related to a benefit of any sort? (I know the VIP request is also just a request - but I guess what I'm asking is the only one where VIP level is taken into consideration is the unit request at booking?)

 

[HitchHiker71]

We are VIP gold and the reservation was made in the 13-month ARP window with developer points. Yes, technically this is a guest reservation. I guess I am going to have to try to get my son added to our ownership to avoid this problem in the future.

Yep, that is what many folks end up doing, however even in that instance, it is still only a room request and sometimes such requests cannot be fulfilled to the liking of the owner in question. IME sometimes we get what we request, sometimes we don’t.


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[HitchHiker71]

Is it still the case that the VIP request is specifically a unit number reservation at the time of booking? That is, calling a requesting a building or floor is just something anyone can do unrelated to level, but it's really only a request, not related to a benefit of any sort? (I know the VIP request is also just a request - but I guess what I'm asking is the only one where VIP level is taken into consideration is the unit request at booking?)

Yes, if you do this via the Special Request section online you have the most success requesting a specific unit number, but then you have to know a specific unit that matches the room size and type reserved. We tend to keep track of unit numbers based upon room size and type over time at various resorts so we know what unit numbers to request. You can also call the resort and ask them to input a more generic room request type - such as corner room or whatever is desired - and supposedly they take into account your VIP level from a priority standpoint when possible.


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[regatta333]

I don't think any status should actually trump someone who is actually deeded at the resort. We also have several floating weeks at a different resort, where reservations can be made up to two years in advance. I pay the maintenance two years in advance so that I can request the dates and indicate room preferences. The rooms are assigned on a first requested basis, which seems like a fair way to do it. Since I am reserving as soon as the window opens, I've never had a room request not honored, even if a "guest" is checking in.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I don't think any status should actually trump someone who is actually deeded at the resort. We also have several floating weeks at a different resort, where reservations can be made up to two years in advance. I pay the maintenance two years in advance so that I can request the dates and indicate room preferences. The rooms are assigned on a first requested basis, which seems like a fair way to do it. Since I am reserving as soon as the window opens, I've never had a room request not honored, even if a "guest" is checking in.

Interesting, I've had the opposite experience as VIPG owner - most of our room requests are not honored. I'd say we get about 25% of our requests fulfilled. The older fixed/floating weeks are treated differently than points based demand inventory in comparison - so I'm not sure which type of inventory you're referring to with regard to getting the majority of your room requests honored? We only own Wyndham CWA/PIC points for our part.

 

[chapjim]

I don't think any status should actually trump someone who is actually deeded at the resort. We also have several floating weeks at a different resort, where reservations can be made up to two years in advance. I pay the maintenance two years in advance so that I can request the dates and indicate room preferences. The rooms are assigned on a first requested basis, which seems like a fair way to do it. Since I am reserving as soon as the window opens, I've never had a room request not honored, even if a "guest" is checking in.

Not a Wyndham resort, right?

Chances of a unit request being honored increase if the reservation is a Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun. Same with upgrades. Even though Wyndham got off the "start or stop on a weekend day" some time ago, a lot of people still book a weekend check-in, probably because people start vacations on Saturday. I've found that my occasional Wed-Wed reservations never get upgraded nor are unit requests honored.

 

[regatta333]

Yes, the floating weeks are at a Wyndham resort.