Williamsburg: Greensprings vs. Powhattan

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

I was looking at what a week for next summer costs for a 4BD lockoff ... and noticed GS costs so much more points than Pow (13k vs. 8k). Is GS that much better (ammenities, quality of resort, location, ambiance, etc.) ??? I mean, sq footage wise, I am getting just a tad more at Pow? Also, Powhattan seems to be a much larger resort with same amt of pools as GS and it has more onsite ammenities (listed) than GS. Something does not add up. Yes, GS is located in a golf course, but...

I would appreciate comments on how we can justify the extra cost of staying at GS rather than Pow.

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

I was looking at what a week for next summer costs for a 4BD lockoff ... and noticed GS costs so much more points than Pow (13k vs. 8k). Is GS that much better (ammenities, quality of resort, location, ambiance, etc.) ??? I mean, sq footage wise, I am getting just a tad more at Pow? Also, Powhattan seems to be a much larger resort with same amt of pools as GS and it has more onsite ammenities (listed) than GS. Something does not add up. Yes, GS is located in a golf course, but...

I would appreciate comments on how we can justify the extra cost of staying at GS rather than Pow.

Why justify, Powhatan is so much better! More pools and lots more activities going on. I just came from a stay there this weekend, I almost always stay at Powhatan vs Greensprings. The reason it's more points at Greensprings is the phenomenon known as points creep.

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

Why justify, Powhatan is so much better! More pools and lots more activities going on. I just came from a stay there this weekend, I almost always stay at Powhatan vs Greensprings. The reason it's more points at Greensprings is the phenomenon known as points creep.

I just got off the phone w/ a rep at Powhattan. about 50% of all units have been renovated fully in past 1-3 yrs. The other 50% are being actively worked on, with "ones in dire need being done first" (quoting words of rep).

Does this seem accurate?

Do you feel there is a good chance we may be stuck with a 'bad unit' that just hasn't been taken out of service yet?

"Points creep" are you referring to GS's being built newer so they charge more points? or was it originally say 1000 pts per stay and they increased it to 1500 pts per stay (maybe due to some HOA vote or what not) ?

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

I just got off the phone w/ a rep at Powhattan. about 50% of all units have been renovated fully in past 1-3 yrs. The other 50% are being actively worked on, with "ones in dire need being done first" (quoting words of rep).

Does this seem accurate?

Do you feel there is a good chance we may be stuck with a 'bad unit' that just hasn't been taken out of service yet?

"Points creep" are you referring to GS's being built newer so they charge more points? or was it originally say 1000 pts per stay and they increased it to 1500 pts per stay (maybe due to some HOA vote or what not) ?

That's BS. Every unit at Powhatan has been renovated (at some point) some more recently than others. They are in a constant cycle of renovation. I had a reunion there this weekend and noone had a bad unit, the one I got was probably the worst because the carpet had numerous bleach stains. Six units, no complaints. I've stayed there six times in the past two years and not had a bad unit. There are some people that are just not happy people.

Points creep - no, once the points were set, there have been very few minor changes. It's newer inventory that costs more, when EPIC resorts were folded in it was obvious, when Polo Towers got added, obvious. At Powhatan the brand new Deluxe units are priced like Greensprings.

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

Powhatan "MODEL" units

I strolled through/around the open unit in building 87 today. This is a tiny building with two 4BR lockoffs. It looks like it was completely gutted to be the model for the C/D total renovation/upgrade to be voted on at the next annual meeting, whenever that is. In my opinion, this is all a show and a farce as the "vote" is whatever DRI says it is as they have a block vote that cannot be touched right now.

Everything but interior doors had been removed, don't think they pulled down the sheetrock, the bare walls had been treated with a texturized finish similar to what you see on ceilings but much smoother, my guess to be easier to clean and to hide blemishes better. Cheap (defunct steam) shower enclosures had been trashed and hand set tile work on the walls was in both bathrooms and all the way to the ceiling in the formerly wood hot tub room, fancy new hot tub was in place. All glass had been replaced, windows and sliders. This is gonna cost owners big time when DRI votes it in.

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

Got it. Guess we have our summer destination lined up for 2010!!!

Hey, on the online reservation for Pow, I do not see distinctions between "normal" and "deluxe" units. is this b/c all the deluxe units have already been reserved by owners with 12 mo booking window (meaning there is very limited supply at this time and I seeing 10 months out is just seeing the remains....) ?

BTW, it's funny how II ranks GS as "Premier" and Pow as only "Select"

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

Got it. Guess we have our summer destination lined up for 2010!!!

Hey, on the online reservation for Pow, I do not see distinctions between "normal" and "deluxe" units. is this b/c all the deluxe units have already been reserved by owners with 12 mo booking window (meaning there is very limited supply at this time and I seeing 10 months out is just seeing the remains....) ?

There are only two buildings that have "Deluxe" units. There is much confusion and I can never tell if things have changed again or someone who posts doesn't understand.

It used to be that they called the downstairs units with hot tubs - Deluxe. Now it's the new construction that is Deluxe. So there is not much inventory that is Deluxe in the first place and my opinion is that the developer (who has many points unsold) holds much of this Deluxe inventory for their own promotional or rental purposes. For this past summer you only saw the Deluxe "pop up" once in awhile when, in my opinion, DRI decided that they had no other use for it. All the new construction has been sold through their Trust vehicle so there is no owner that has direct access to a week, access is only through points.


I base this on comparisons of two sites - the Club reservations system and the diamondresortsgetaway.com rental site. Take an arbitrary low occupancy date like 10Jan09 and ask for a week. Through THE Club, there are no Deluxe Units available but at the rental site it's no problem.

[funtime2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close funtime2]

We stayed at Pow. about 6 years ago and toured GS. I was satisfied with Pow and it had everything that we needed. I am sure the units have been referbished since we were there.....

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

My family loves the Williamsburh area and we've been going there for the past six years. We've always stayed at Powhatan. The first year, we went there just because it costs fewer points. However, the second year, we toured GS just to see the resort (still stayed at Powhatan). I was actually disappointed in GS. It seemed very sterile and more like an upscale hotel complex. Powhatan is much more relaxed and down-to-earth. It has great ambiance and is in a quaint, historic area. We've never had what I would consider a three-star or four-star unit. They are all worn around the edges. I've noticed some minor upgrades in the units this year, like DVD players instead of VHS decks. The TVs had been replaced and the mattresses were new and very comfortable(THANK YOU RESORTS MGMT! - badly needed). The only ongoing issue has been the hot tubs. Only once in the past few years have we had a hot tub that actually worked right. Some didn't get hot, some didn't bubble. Last year, the hot tub didn't work at all. Those of you who don't care about a hot tub, take an upper floor. It's brighter and roomier anyway. Powhatan is supposedly undergoing major renovations and updates this year. We are planning to go back in 2010 (reservations are in FL this year for my daugher's HS graduation). We can't wait to see that the resort looks like.