What is your favorite Bluegreen BG resort and why?

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

I'm a BG owner but not in points, only weeks so my exposure to BG has been limited although I've stayed in a few over the years.
So far have stayed at Solara, Oasis Lakes at the Fountains and World Golf Village.
Gotta say that I liked them all but so far Solara & Oasis Lakes have been my favorites.
Hoping to add a few new favorites real soon.

How about you?
What are your favorite BG resorts and why?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I haven't stayed at many Bluegreen properties.

Christmas Mountain - Timbers Unit
Shenandoah Crossings - 2BR Yurt
Solara Surfside 3 times - 2 x 1BR (1 + 1.5bath units) and 1 x 2BR Oceanfront
Gulfstream Manor

My favorite is Solara but a surprising close second is Gulfstream. Both are oceanfront properties, small and have great staff.

I have to admit the Yurt was very cool. I couldn't imagine a tent with granite and stainless but it was quite luxurious.

CMV was fine too. The resort is very nice but I felt the soundproofing between units could have been done far better.


I am hoping to check out Atlantic Palace in the fall, La Cabana one winter and Big Cedar to see what all the fuss is about.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

I definitely need to try out Gulfstream Manor.
Maybe I can squeeze it in sometime this year.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

I'm so bad at the favorites thing...

Highly recommend the ShoreCrest I oceanfront units. They're small for us, and the parking lot is annoying, but that resort still ties with Harbour Lights, which we really liked. If you want to hang out at the resort, pick ShoreCrest. Harbour Lights is not on the ocean and not very near the ocean, either. OTOH, if you want to go and do, Harbour Lights is terrific because you can get a free state park pass there and because the drive out to Brookgreen is better from there than from ShoreCrest. The Harbour Lights units that front on the waterway there have nice views, IMHO; some of the others, not so much. Off season the Myrtle Beach traffic isn't bad.

Big Cedar's another one where the size of units is a drawback for us, however the views from most of the units must be nice, and from some of them, fabulous, plus the resort is big and beautiful with many pools and some restaurants and all that good stuff. We haven't stayed there (we were at the Falls and the Cliffs), but it's on my list; the fact that the units are kind of small and that it's a ways out of town keep it from the top, though. If it were just hubby and I going, it'd be higher.

We like Mountainloft, Laurel Crest, the Falls and CMV a lot not because any of them are a big deal as resorts -- although they're all fine -- but because they're quiet and nice resorts close to a lot of stuff to do but not right in the fray. CMV has a bit of an edge because you can get to it while avoiding the tourist strip entirely (probably can with the other three as well, but nothing we thought worth trying since we were so offseason anyhow). CMV has some units with really nice views (if you like hilly farmland or midwest golf course kind of scenery), and we generally luck into one of them; some of the others may as well but our units the view was just okay. I wouldn't do any of them without a car.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I REALLY am enjoying my BG ownership and the versatile ways I can use my points.

I have stayed at Solara Surfside - a really nice, small boutique hotel style reset in North Miami - went for 6 days with friends, sent my DD to stay for her Bachelorette weekend and am returning with family next year for a 10 day stay.
Beautifully decorated, spacious units right on the beach. Great helpful staff. Nice area with great restaurants.

The reason I purchased with Bluegreen was to have access to La Cabana Aruba. Another beautifully renovated resort managed by BG. I had visited the resort 6-7 years ago and would not have happily stayed there - since the total renovation, it is a very nice resort. I like to be able to get multiple units for multiple days according to my families needs.

I visited Atlantic Palace in Atlantic City in March 2013. Great boardwalk location - I saw the renovated units which are 'standard' IMO but I would stay there once they complete the renovation of the lobby and other common areas. I do not know what the rental policy is at the resort but I feel they must be doing 'cheap' rentals/promos to the public….time will tell.

Would like to get to Marathon and some of the other FL locations. Christmas Mountain so I can see what a 'dell' is
Big Cedar??? nah, not my thing!

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Oh come on Pat, Big Cedar may be your sort of thing once you see how nice it is.
I swear it feels like you are in one of the Disney lodges.
It's really a beautiful resort.
Now Branson, well maybe that's not your cup of tea but I think you'd enjoy this resort just for the natural beauty of the area.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Hobbitess, glad to hear you like CMV so you will like it even better once the renovations are done.
I'm putting a visit on my radar for once the renovations are all done.
I own there so should probably do at least one visit in my lifetime.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Oh come on Pat, Big Cedar may be your sort of thing once you see how nice it is.
I swear it feels like you are in one of the Disney lodges.
It's really a beautiful resort.
Now Branson, well maybe that's not your cup of tea but I think you'd enjoy this resort just for the natural beauty of the area.

Did you visit Big Cedar when you were in Branson?

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Did you visit Big Cedar when you were in Branson?

Yes we had lunch there and took a little tour on our own.
Beautiful place.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

I own there so should probably do at least one visit in my lifetime.

If you've got a cottage, I'd recommend you trade into another unit, although that's probably just a personal prejudice. I just didn't like the area where most of the cottages are -- it felt like they were right on the road in a way most of the other units are not. Well, the cottages I saw were on the road from the registration building (where the indoor pool is) to the clubhouse, which is pretty well traveled; the golf-view cottages might have struck me differently. I like it quiet and when we've stayed there we've always been in a unit oriented away from the road or one on a dead end where no one who isn't staying right close is likely to wander by.

Pat, why do you think you wouldn't like Big Cedar? I didn't think it sounded like my thing, either, and to be honest I'm still not sure (haven't actually stayed there). For years I had no interest in Wisconsin Dells because I thought it was a big ol' tourist trap -- which it is, of course, but the Dells were the reason it attracted tourists in the first place and they're still beautiful. Same with Branson -- big ol' tourist trap with a beautiful setting that can still be enjoyed. Big Cedar's got the beautiful natural hills all 'round, and then lovely landscaping on top of that.

It is also, as Chris says, a lot like being in one of the Disney lodges -- lots of people energy and a shopping vibe, shall we say. We enjoyed visiting it in January but this June we're staying at the Falls; not sure what I'll think about Big Cedar during the summer season. I'm sure it'll be beautiful, and it'll definitely not be as quiet as it was in January! But we tend to prefer quieter resorts, and destination resorts tend to have a lot more riot and rumpus going on; not sure if BC will cross our comfort line or not.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Hobbitess, I am sure it is a nice resort - when I say "not my thing" I mean I prefer a 'water' vacation.
I live less then a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and have all my life. So when I vacation, I really prefer an ocean front/water front location with views and snorkeling and sailing.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Hobbitess, I am sure it is a nice resort - when I say "not my thing" I mean I prefer a 'water' vacation.
I live less then a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and have all my life. So when I vacation, I really prefer an ocean front/water front location with views and snorkeling and sailing.

Well there is a big lake in front of the resort. I think it's man made by the Army Corp of Engineers but the locals think it's a lake.
And it really is a beautiful setting. There are other beautiful lake settings in Branson to visit too.

I spent 10 days there and at first was thinking, what have I gotten myself into.
We did a split stay.
Staying on one side of town in a golf course community near the older part of town and the Landings shopping center,
then we moved to the Wyndham Mountain Vista in the newer section closer to the "lake".

There is a beautiful Hotel Chateu on the Lake that has gorgeous sunsets and a nice restaurant on the veranda.
And the shows were pretty good too. We saw a variety of shows, Irish line dancing ala Riverdance,
A Famous violinist/fiddler, Noah's Ark which was fantastic and Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede and we
did the River Boat.
Yeah some of them are hokey but it was still fun and not too expensive.
I can see the draw of the area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbgKC0CQbHQ

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Well there is a big lake in front of the resort. I think it's man made by the Army Corp of Engineers but the locals think it's a lake.
And it really is a beautiful setting. There are other beautiful lake settings in Branson to visit too.

I spent 10 days there and at first was thinking, what have I gotten myself into.
We did a split stay.
Staying on one side of town in a golf course community near the older part of town and the Landings shopping center,
then we moved to the Wyndham Mountain Vista in the newer section closer to the "lake".

There is a beautiful Hotel Chateu on the Lake that has gorgeous sunsets and a nice restaurant on the veranda.
And the shows were pretty good too. We saw a variety of shows, Irish line dancing ala Riverdance,
A Famous violinist/fiddler, Noah's Ark which was fantastic and Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede and we
did the River Boat.
Yeah some of them are hokey but it was still fun and not too expensive.
I can see the draw of the area.

As my friend from Arkansas says, "Not my pig, not my cow"

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

As my friend from Arkansas says, "Not my pig, not my cow"

Well not mine either but I still had fun.
Would I go back? Maybe, maybe not, but for a once in a lifetime visit I'm sure you'll find plenty to do.
I went at the request of Mom & Auntie who found it in the RCI magazine and the senior publications.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

So when I vacation, I really prefer an ocean front/water front location with views and snorkeling and sailing.

Heh. I grew up a couple of blocks off Lake Michigan, and missed it terribly the years I lived elsewhere, so we ended up here after hubby got out of the Army (he doesn't care where he lives), and my kids have lived here all their lives. I never want to live anywhere else, but I do like to go somewhere else for vacation. I still get you, though. We're more likely to hike or bike on vacation, which transfers to other environments a lot more easily than snorkeling or sailing.