Wyndham Vacation Ownership, a member of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies has announced it has welcomed its first CLUB WYNDHAM® Plus owners to the long-anticipated, 19-story tower at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla. This latest expansion adds 300 units to the world-class property, which is situated immediately adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort. The property now boasts approximately 1,150 units sprawled across 58 acres. “When we broke ground on this project in 2002 we knew we were taking a calculated risk since Orlando was one of the most heavily saturated timeshare markets in the country,” said Franz Hanning, president and chief executive officer, Wyndham Vacation Ownership. “The fact that we continued to expand this site in spite of the current marketplace is a testament to the popularity of both the resort and our points product. We originally intended to build 744 units, but we had to keep on building because we kept on selling.”
As one of six Mediterranean-style towers, which are centered around a 10-acre lake, this tower features a combination of 182 one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as 118 luxurious one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom Presidential suites. The tower also boasts an expansive pool complete with a water slide, a pool bar, three outdoor spas as well as nine private cabanas, which will be available for owners to rent. Owners and guests will also enjoy convenient access to an activities center, state-of-the-art fitness center, computer library and arcade, all of which are located in the building.
BUILDING A SUCCESS
When the company began development on the first phase in December 2002, it partnered with Bonnet Creek Venture – the master developer on the project – to overcome several substantial construction challenges. In addition to creating an entire series of manmade lakes, they also had to connect to the Orange County, Fla. utility system, which meant installing multiple, 24-inch diameter steel casings under Interstate 4 without disrupting traffic flow.
As construction surged forward, the company began sales in an unassuming off-site sales location in Kissimmee and soon welcomed more than 4,000 owners to Wyndham Bonnet Creek when it opened its doors in June 2004. Since opening, the property has received a variety of industry accolades from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), including three resort design awards as well as the prestigious ACE Project of Excellence Award. In addition to serving as the primary backdrop in Wyndham Worldwide’s first- ever television advertising campaign, which featured golf legend Arnold Palmer, the resort was also showcased to more than one million television viewers on The Martha Stewart Show as the grand prize destination for the winner of Martha Stewart’s “Dreamers into Doers” contest in 2008.
“This property has been an unprecedented success by every measure,” said Jeff Myers, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer. “Our owners and guests absolutely love the resort, the location and the service they receive while they’re vacationing. Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort isn’t just a crown jewel of our company – we believe it’s a crown jewel for our entire industry.”
With an average annual occupancy rate of over 87 percent, the property also boasts RCI Gold Crown status and has consistently ranked among the top ten most highly sought after Wyndham Vacation Resorts properties since 2005.
“We really enjoy vacationing at Wyndham Bonnet Creek,” said Robert Henzel of Enfield, Conn., CLUB WYNDHAM Plus owner since 2003. “Not only is the property absolutely gorgeous but the staff is really committed to ensuring that we always have a great time. And the fact that the resort is located so close to all of the theme parks really makes it an ideal place to stay when visiting Orlando.”
