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Wyndham View From the Balcony

Roger830 said:
Royal Vista looking west from a 2-bed 6th floor balcony in the rear of the building.

It was ok because there was a cold wind from the east for the 5 days that we were there in February a few years ago.

Stingers in the corner of the parkade has a good fish sandwich.

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At Royal Vista now and the wind has either subsided or shifted to a northwest quadrant. Ocean has flattened out. Had coffee on the balcony for the first time since a arrival on 12/1.
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Lake Marion, Unit 528

Wyndham Lake Marion is our "most often visited" resort, albeit usually for only two or three nights at a time on the way to/from points in Florida or New Orleans. It's about 450 miles from home and about 400 miles from the Orlando area.

The resort is in Santee, SC, on the south shore of Lake Marion, and only 1.1 mile from the exit off I-95. The resort is separated from I-95 by a rest area but could be on a different planet in terms of peace and quiet.

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I used to stop at Lake Marion for 1 night on my annual Christmas trips from Florida to Old Town Alexandria, it is about half way and we leave after work and can get there around midnight or 1am.

I've never stayed there other than a quick overnight so don't know what there is to do in the area, I know that big lake is there, you cross it on I-95

Back when Wyndham stopped allowing 1 night stays, we started diverting to Myrtle Beach and spending 2 nights there since we had to pay for the extra night anyway and it always ended up being less points because we could get a 1BR unit at Ocean Blvd or TOTG at the last minute and get a free upgrade to 2BR. There are only 2 and 3BR units at Lake Marion.
The week before Christmas is absolute dead time in MB and I have always been able to get a 1BR in tower 2 at OB in the discount window and it always upgrades to a 2BR. I always play the upgrade game at SeaWatch or TOTG, once I was able to upgrade a studio boulevard to a 2BR Ocean Front there, so we ended up staying there once

The downside to this strategy is it adds a couple hours to the drive. I really wish they would bring back 1 night stays. This trip i'm on right now, I stayed 1 night at Fairfield glade, but it was so few points its hardly worth bothering about
 
Floridaman76 said:
I used to stop at Lake Marion for 1 night on my annual Christmas trips from Florida to Old Town Alexandria, it is about half way and we leave after work and can get there around midnight or 1am.

I've never stayed there other than a quick overnight so don't know what there is to do in the area, I know that big lake is there, you cross it on I-95

Back when Wyndham stopped allowing 1 night stays, we started diverting to Myrtle Beach and spending 2 nights there since we had to pay for the extra night anyway and it always ended up being less points because we could get a 1BR unit at Ocean Blvd or TOTG at the last minute and get a free upgrade to 2BR. There are only 2 and 3BR units at Lake Marion.
The week before Christmas is absolute dead time in MB and I have always been able to get a 1BR in tower 2 at OB in the discount window and it always upgrades to a 2BR. I always play the upgrade game at SeaWatch or TOTG, once I was able to upgrade a studio boulevard to a 2BR Ocean Front there, so we ended up staying there once

The downside to this strategy is it adds a couple hours to the drive. I really wish they would bring back 1 night stays. This trip i'm on right now, I stayed 1 night at Fairfield glade, but it was so few points its hardly worth bothering about
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You're exactly right about using Myrtle Beach as a stopover. It's cheaper but takes an additional hour to get there and another additional hour to get back out to I-95. Going south from Myrtle Beach, Google Maps takes you out US 378 toward Manning. But, my nav system takes me down US 17 through Charleston, joining I-95 a little south of Yemassee. The US 378 option is an easier drive. I had a very bad experience on US 17.

Santee has a few good restaurants and we took a boat tour of the lake that was fairly interesting. Congaree National Park and Santee State Park are supposed to be nice but we've never made it to either place.

Commercial activity in Santee centers around fishing -- boat sales and tackle suppliers abound. Wyndham Lake Marion is one of the few places that has a launch ramp and space to park boat trailers. Otherwise, it is a great place to sit on the balcony, watch the birds, and chill.
 
Have you ever walked that bridge that leads into the lake? For history buffs especially now as we approach the 250th anniversary of the shot heard around the world 4 months from now, on the east side of the lake is where the Swamp Fox, Francis Marion is buried in a private family cemetery on the site where his Belle Island Plantation was.

Also nearby is where the Battle of Eutaw Springs occurred. So, I would expect in the next few years a lot of events remembering the Revolutionary War occurring around there.
 
Bonnet Creek, #6417

Edit: Added sunset from the 17th Floor Lounge.
 

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Ocean Blvd, Tower 2 unit 1438. 2 BR DLX Ocean Front.

Booked this on a whim during the "6 day 50% off sale" in December. Booked a 1BR DLX lower level in Tower 2 for 8 nights 22,000 points, thinking it would get upgraded to a 2BR in Tower 4 because this was low season, it's always empty and upgrades are almost guaranteed. The hard part is actually being able to book a 1BR unit because they are only in Tower 2 and there isn't a ton of them. This was probably my cheapest 1 week+ stay ever.

Was upgraded to a 2BR OceanFRONT upper level in Tower 2 on the 14th floor. It's supposed to snow tomorrow... yes, snow. We will see. I like coming here November through February because there's so few people here. The only downside is some of the restaurants I like are closed for the season.
 

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STT Limetree USVI 82° 1/22/25
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Yeah, front coming through, going to get cooler for a couple days. Cool by Florida standards anyway.
 
chapjim said:
Panama City Beach, AM March 9, 2025View attachment 107392
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It looks the same from down here at Marriott's Legends Edge. We just left Club Wyndham Panama City Beach yesterday in the rain. It was nice and sunny on Friday but a storm that blew threw earlier in the week churned up the water and the gulf didn't have its famous emerald color while we were there.
 
dioxide45 said:
It looks the same from down here at Marriott's Legends Edge. We just left Club Wyndham Panama City Beach yesterday in the rain. It was nice and sunny on Friday but a storm that blew threw earlier in the week churned up the water and the gulf didn't have its famous emerald color while we were there.
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It lifted enough to be able to see a horizon, although not a sharp one. Then the white mass came in again from the west with lightning and thunder.

Sea water temp is 62, which is not comfortable at all. Three guys in the ocean now. Alcohol might be involved.
 
Ocean Walk Daytona Beach, FL
3BR DLX, 8th floor, North Tower
Instant Upgrade from 1 bedroom suite to 3BR Deluxe + 50% off flash sale, 5 nights (Sun-Thur) in a 3BR 30,000 points / $199 bonus time ($40/night).
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