I have stayed at the Bonnet Creek resort a few different times now. I usually stay in a two-bedroom unit when I stay here as most of the time I book Bonnet Creek when my Dad joins me during my winter stay in Florida. The resort is huge, encompassing several different tower buildings and they are still building, so it is worth noting that construction projects are on-going at this property. Personally, I have never been bothered by it, except for the occasional poor view from the unit. Construction equipment doesn’t make for great scenery.
Location
As far as location goes, you are smack dab in the middle of Disney. It is less than a five minute drive from the resort to Downtown Disney and only a few minutes more to either Epcot and Disney Studios. Of course, the Magic Kingdom is still annoying to get to as you have to transfer to either the boat or the monorail at the Ticket and Transportation Authority.
That said, you cannot exactly walk to Downtown Disney as there are no sidewalks, so the advantage of being so close is not that big a deal as far as I’m concerned. You will have to get in your car and drive anyplace that you want to go, or rely on the resort’s shuttle to the Disney locales. Since there is little in the way of food at this resort, when I’m in Orlando by myself and not staying at a DVC resort, I almost always choose to stay at Wyndham Cypress Palms rather than the Bonnet Creek Wyndham because there are many restaurants within walking distance of the resort, as well as a 24 hour CVS. I only stay at Bonnet Creek because my Dad likes it, but lately I’ve been booking Sheraton Vistana Village and he likes that just as well and they have tons of amenities (i.e. FOOD) on-site so if we don’t feel like going out to eat, we don’t have to.
Availability
Since the resort is so large, it is generally easy to book the Wyndham at Bonnet Creek if you own Wyndham points. There is almost always availability here through Wyndham. In fact, I sometimes will wait until the 90-day express reservation window to book so I can get the unit for discounted points, but if you don’t have date flexibility for your travel arrangements, or want to book a holiday week or at peak travel times, then you should probably make your reservation as far in advance as possible.
For those who don’t own Wyndham I have occasionally seen the Bonnet Creek timeshare in the listings on RCItravel, but since it is such a popular resort, you will probably want to conduct an “on-going search” if you are looking to snag specific dates. It is rarely available as an RCI Last Call or Extra Vacation though, so plan on doing a timeshare exchange if you really want to stay here and don’t already own Wyndham.
UNIT SIZE and FURNISHINGS
View into the Living Area and Kitchen Bar at Bonnet Creek Wyndham Resort. If you want to use the internet, you
Wyndham Bonnet Creek floor plans are pretty generous. I usually stay in a two bedroom deluxe unit which is around 1200 square feet. The master bedroom has a king-size bed and I think the other bedroom has two doubles in it. There is also a jacuzzi in the Master Suite and both bedrooms have their own bathroom attached. The living area is quite sizable with a full-length dining table and there’s plenty of room in the kitchen to move around. The furnishings are comfortable and the beds more than adequate. They are not as good as Sheraton’s beds or Disney’s, in my opinion, but they are good enough.
Living Room at the Bonnet Creek Resort. The couch folds out into another guest bed.
Even a 1-bedroom deluxe at the Bonnet Creek Resort is between 800-900 feet, so I doubt you will be feeling cramped here. The three bedroom units are 1500 Sq. ft. and up and the brand new four bedroom presidential units are over 2200 square feet, so you can bring the whole family. All units, regardless of size, have a balcony (very nice), washer, dryer and jacuzzi. Whether you have a flat screen tv in the unit, or an old fashioned tv, depends on how recently the unit has been refurbished, but the last few times I stayed here, it was a flat screen TV so maybe all the older televisions are gone now.
Master Bedroom at Wyndham Bonnet Creek
My only complaint about the units here — and actually is is a pretty big complaint for me since I work when I travel — is that if you want to use the ethernet port to get online, you will be stuck sitting at one of the bar stools at the kitchen area counter, since the ethernet port is just behind the the phone on the kitchen counter. It is massively inconvenient, and there is no wifi in the units, so if you need to be online a lot, I highly recommend bringing a long ethernet cable of your own. Theirs is rather short. If you are going to be using more than one computer, you may even want to bring your own router.
Jacuzzi in Master Suite at Bonnet Creek Resort
Amenities
Now we get into the nitty gritty. For such a large timeshare resort, I find the Bonnet Creek resort to be oddly lacking. Other resorts of this size usually have at least an eatery or two and usually a small grocery. There is a small store in the lobby, but it is mostly touristy knick-knack crap. I think they offer pizza delivery and the pool bar (Escudo’s) has burgers and such, but they aren’t that great and I would never eat there again. So you really have to leave the resort or go grocery shopping and cook in your unit if you want some decent grub, or even just a snack to tide you over.
Bonnet Creek does have a lot of pools and a nice lazy river (or two),and a lot of their scheduled activities revolve around these great pools, but that big lake in the middle of their property is just for walking around. There’s no water sports there. Oh well.
Also, while you have to drive onto Disney property to get to the Bonnet Creek resort, this resort is NOT on Disney property, so you get none of the Disney amenities such as early entry to the parks, Evening hours, the park shuttle service, or shop deliveries from the theme parks to the resort. You can be just as close to Downtown Disney staying at Saratoga Springs and then you will be able to walk to Downtown Disney as well as take advantage of all the amenities that Disney offers. For my money (and points), I would sooner stay at Wyndham Cypress Palms Resort or the Sheraton Vistana Resort which is nearly as close to all the Disney action as Bonnet Creek is.
And finally, the sales staff at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort are very aggressive. You’ll get your first pitch when you go to get your parking pass and if you don’t sign up for an “owner’s update” or “breakfast” then you can expect many phone calls. So if you do stay here, I highly recommend unplugging your phone as soon as you get in the room, unless you really enjoy timeshare presentations. I usually go to them myself to get the freebies, but I usually skip it here because I find them much more aggressive than other Wyndham sales teams.