Bonnet Creek - Any Reviews?

[viluvsdisney]

Hi - we're thinking of looking into a rental at Bonnet Creek - although we've planned on staying at the Swan and Dolphin.....I came across the info for Bonnet Creek and it sounds like an option we may consider. Any thoughts or reviews we should hear? Thanks!

 

[can]

We are staying for the first time at Bonnet Creek in 2-1/2 weeks and cannot wait! We are usually onsite guests, but last year for the first time stayed offsite at Windsor Hills and just loved it. Being able to have a 1000+ sq ft condo or townhouse just sounds so much more appealing than a small hotel room. We weren't able to get the townhouse we had rented before at WH, so decided to try Bonnet Creek. My biggest negative about WH was the fact that there is only one community pool for the entire resort and unless you are very close to it, you would need to walk or drive there. We had gone Easter week and if you weren't at the pool by 9 am you weren't going to have any luck in finding a chair by the pool.

I also like the ability to pack less and throw a load or two of clothes into the wash and come home with clean clothes. Personally, I would rather do that than have several suitcase loads of clothes to wash once we return home. I also like being able to have the flexibility of having snacks and drinks available to us anytime we want them and not having to go out and get them when you are in your jammies! One of the biggest perks, enough bathrooms for all--especially when traveling with two 17 year old girls.

The worst that can happen is you have tried staying at Bonnet Creek or maybe another offsite condo/townhome property and not like it. IMO, you can stay in small hotel/motel rooms and have worse experiences. Good luck!

 

[TxRabbit]

I'm really interested in hearing this also. We drove to WDW for the first time for our recent trip. We ended up driving ourselves around a LOT and really liked it! It made me think that staying off site wouldn't be too bad.

While we were driving around, I noticed that Bonnet Creek is RIGHT THERE. It's next to Caribbean Beach Resort and Epcot! So CLOSE!

We have RCI, so we could book there through them.

Would love to hear about people's experiences as I am trying to plan a multifamily trip for next year.

 

[Portugal1000]

My DH & DS(8) stayed at Bonnet Creek last December for 11 nights in a 2 bed and just loved it. The year before we stayed at SSR and I would put this in the same league. We wer ein the main buidling on 3rd floor with a pool view so it still had a hotel feel which we loved. My son loved the lazy river and other pool with slide. The room was huge with a fantastic main bathroom. Balcony was very large and nice to sit out on. The staff were all very friendly and we never once were asked about attending timeshare presentation. We moved onto Hilton Grand Vacations for the last 10 nights of holiday but really wish we had just stayed here. We paid $120 a night through Ken Proce at www.vacationupgrades.com and I would not hesitate to recommend him as he was great.
For this August we had already booked 18 nights at SSR before our December trip as UK residents were offered a great deal of 44% off and free dining. This actually worked out cheaper than Bonnet Creek as this period is considered high season there still. If it hadn't I would have definitely have stayed at Bonnet Creek again and hopefully won't be long until I do. My husband always says that he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't stay here and is always amazed when I tell him how much it is for a just a room at the Poly! Feel free to ask any specific questions.
Thanks

 

[TxRabbit]

My DH & DS(8) stayed at Bonnet Creek last December for 11 nights in a 2 bed and just loved it. The year before we stayed at SSR and I would put this in the same league. We wer ein the main buidling on 3rd floor with a pool view so it still had a hotel feel which we loved. My son loved the lazy river and other pool with slide. The room was huge with a fantastic main bathroom. Balcony was very large and nice to sit out on. The staff were all very friendly and we never once were asked about attending timeshare presentation. We moved onto Hilton Grand Vacations for the last 10 nights of holiday but really wish we had just stayed here. We paid $120 a night through Ken Proce at www.vacationupgrades.com and I would not hesitate to recommend him as he was great.
For this August we had already booked 18 nights at SSR before our December trip as UK residents were offered a great deal of 44% off and free dining. This actually worked out cheaper than Bonnet Creek as this period is considered high season there still. If it hadn't I would have definitely have stayed at Bonnet Creek again and hopefully won't be long until I do. My husband always says that he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't stay here and is always amazed when I tell him how much it is for a just a room at the Poly! Feel free to ask any specific questions.
Thanks

Is there any shade around the pool areas?

 

[Portugal1000]

As far as I can remember there was plenty of shade. I don't like to sit in the sun but with an 8 year old, I don't get much time to sit! Spent alot of time going round the lazy river and sure that was shaded in places. Also a new pool with its own lazy river has opened since we were there.

 

[TxRabbit]

As far as I can remember there was plenty of shade. I don't like to sit in the sun but with an 8 year old, I don't get much time to sit! Spent alot of time going round the lazy river and sure that was shaded in places. Also a new pool with its own lazy river has opened since we were there.

Did they have tubes to use in the river? Did you have to pay to use the tubes?

btw...I hope you were serious about asking questions...

 

[Portugal1000]

There were loads of tubes and they were free. We were then in December so not crowded atall. Infact only ones in the lazy river most of the time. (my sons favourite game was seeing who could swim the wrong way round the lazy river the fastest! Exhausting but good for burning off all that Disney food!)

 

[kreed]

We have stayed at Bonnet Creek twice and reallly liked it. It has beautiful furnishings and the pools are perfect for all ages. Although there are a number of buildings (5 and I think they are still adding #6) they are arranged in a circle around a lake so you never have to walk to far to go from pool to pool. They have nice walkways that go across the resort to get you there. They do not have any restaurants on site that offer sit down meals. I believe the place by the pool offers pizza, sandwiches and salads. I am like the poster (can) and travel with a DH and 17,16,and 13 year old kids. We must have at least a two bedroom condo for it to be a "vacation" for us. We find Bonnet Creek to be perfect especially since it is in the middle of the Disney Resort area and closer to many of the parks than disney resorts. We always rent a car and I would suggest you have a car while you are there so you do not have to depend on their bus service. You can call about two weeks before you travel and request a fireworks view or any other view you may prefer. They will try to do the best they can if others have not already made their requests. We will be staying there August 1-8 and are finally to the point we can't wait. 16 more days until our disney "vacation" and yes with a 2 bedroom at Bonnet Creek, we can say "vacation".
Kathleen

 

[can]

Thanks, Kathleen for all the great BC info. We are staying there in only 8 days and cannot wait! I have seen in posts that buildings 3 & 5 have fireworks views. Does each building view a particular park, and if so, which one/ones?

Was also wondering if you (or anyone) could tell me if the BC pools provide towels or do you bring from your room? Are the towels a "good" size or would you recommend that we each pack a beach towel?

Thanks again for all the great info. We are very much looking forward to our BC and WDW visit!

 

[snappy]

Towels are available at the main pool, I am not sure about the smaller pool between building 3 and 4.

Good place.

Ken is great to work with. We booked through him, and it was seamless.

Very good location, right there by the EPCOT resorts. We stayed at BC 5 nights before a Boardwalk villa stay, and it was amazingly easy to move over, even though someone in our party left one of their chargers in the BC room. The housekeeper already had found it and placed it on the table so we were in and out.

Good activity area, pool table, ping pong table, other table games in the activity room and board games you can check out and bring to the room.
They also screen movies, it rained alot while we were there so the movie was inside but I think in good weather they screen them outside.

They also have other activities by the pool.

There are 4 computers with internet access that you can reserve for a half hour, two with printers.

The walk by the lake to the main building, pool area and lazy river was lovely. I thought the lazy river itself was a bit small, they are usually larger. We had easy parking access to our unit and elevators to our floor. Also, we had a good view, the balcony is very nice.

Enjoy your stay.

 

[pmt3]

Hey, so glad I found this thread...great info. We arrive the 26th and I saw that there are "game systems" in the room. Since we are locals we will be spending most of our time at the resort and shopping/golfing, but I'm sure my kids would like to bring thier video games if they know what to bring. Does anyone remember what system they had (Playstation, X- Box, Wii)? Also did anyone participate in the resort activities? If so, were they fun and were they appropriate for tweens and teens?

I'll let you know how our stay goes...looking forward to our little "staycation".

 

[kleldridge]

We are very impressed with the price and amenities of this resort but haven't stayed there yet.

What Disney perks do you get by staying at BC? Are extra magic hours included? Do you have to pay for parking at WDW parks?

We just returned from a week at CBR but I wish we would have stayed here instead!

 

[pmt3]

Well we had a great stay at the Bonnet Creek Resort. We stayed in a two bedroom lakeview in one of the newest towers which was very clean and tastefully decorated. The unit had three flatscreens, washer, dryer, jacuzzi and just about anything you could imagine in the kitchen. I had requested the main building and did not get it but in the end I was glad because we were close to the new pool and lazy river which just opened in July. The new lazy river is fantastic-piped in music, tropical lansdcaping, plenty of lounge chairs, activities some days. The putt-putt course is free, the tubes are free to use, the ping pong and pool tables free to use. The newest bar area was open and they said they are going to serve food starting this week.

There were activities and games for the kids (lame prizes), which kept them busy. We are local so our goal was to relax, not spend time at the parks (we do that on weekends). I do not think staying at Bonnet Creek allows any Disney perks other than it is close to everything and offers free transportation. If you do not want to take the shuttle, you can get a taxi-for the amount you will save staying here, it is worthwhile. You can stay here in a 2 bedroom for much less than you can stay at a Disney resort (think online auction), and save money by eating some meals in. If you are vacationing to go to the parks, leave some time to enjoy the resort and "chill". Trust me, the parks get old real quick and your best vacation memory might be floating around the lazy river listening to some regge!

My kids were sad to leave, we'll go back again.

 

[Janet Hill]

What Disney perks do you get by staying at BC? Are extra magic hours included? Do you have to pay for parking at WDW parks?:

You get no Disney perks. The resort is not affiliated with Disney. No free parking at the parks and no extra magic hours. It's still a great place to stay.

 

[kidsister]

STayed there last year cuz I'm too cheap to use my DVC points for weekend stays Got an awesome rate from a BC owner and upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite in the main building that was great. (Liked the close access to the lazy river as we had one handicap in our party). At the time we were there, you couldn't walk around the lake as there was lots of blockages by the contruction. I think we'll stay there again in October and look forward to the newest lazy river. (is it bigger than the orginal?).

I'd definitely rec'd a car and yes, you do have to pay for parking at the parks. And nope, you can't take advantage of early or late entry. But the rooms are bigger and with nice amenities.

 

[pmt3]

Have fun...yes the new lazy river is bigger than the first and more fun (tunnels, water cannons, palm trees). Forgot to mention they had live entertainment (guitar players/singers) most days at one of the pools plus a movie night, casino night, and karaoke night.

 

[Disneyliscious]

My best friend and her family stay a BC and they LOVE it. They are going back next week. I had never heard of this resort before her......we always stay in a private home.....but if we ever stayed at a resort....I'd definitely consider this one!!

 

[tripletots]

Can someone tell me the name or number of the building with the new lazy river? We will be arriving at BC on the 16th and while I may not get what I request, I still want to try.

 

[jjan]

Can someone tell me the name or number of the building with the new lazy river? We will be arriving at BC on the 16th and while I may not get what I request, I still want to try.

I would like to know this as well. I am also hoping for somewhere there isn't construction noise and the suites have the larger whirlpool tubs. Anyone know the building name/number for this location? TIA