The Summer Season Has Begun!

We survived Memorial Day weekend and those of you that were able to take advantage of this holiday weekend and stay at one of the resortswere able to enjoy the beautiful weather we had!  With the summer season officially underway, InnSeason Resorts has so much to offer at each of our resort locations! 

We had our first succesful Sunset Cruise yesterday.  The weather couldn’t have been better yesterday for the cruise around Buzzards Bay!  Our own Front Desk Agent from HarborWalk, Brenda, went out with some of our members.  She said the service offered by the captain and crew of the R & R was second to none!  She also said it was a great way to experience Cape Cod.

If you have a stay coming up on Cape Cod and you’ll be staying over on a Monday night, book a seat on this great cruise!  You can use your points or pay cash for the tickets – it’s your choice!

Call Owner Services at 888-333-1535 today to book your seat for this great summer activity that the whole family will love!

Getaways to Lincoln New Hampshire

The InnSeason Resorts in Lincoln NH have started to plan their off-season getaways.  Below I’ve listed the first-draft list of events. As always, if you have something you would like to see us do, just drop me a note.

March 28  – Maple Sugar-ing at The Rocks Estate. Join us in Bethlehem, NH to see how maple sugar is tapped from the trees and converted into the stuff we find in the supermarket. There is a “sugaring” demonstration on Saturday afternoon, wth dinner to follow. Breakfast and departing gifts (maple flaovoured) follow on Sunday.

April 4 – Wine Dinner. Not to be outdone by the great event at The Falls in Ogunquit, the Lincoln team is developing a wine dinner, north country style.

April 24 - Brewery Week End. The gang at the Woodstock Inn hold a Friday Night and Saturday event where you taste different beers on Friday night and then make beer starting at 8 AM on Saturday. The Saturday class lasts all day and includes lunch and dinner.

May 24 – Lincoln/Woodstock Mountainfest. This one is still in the works but we are combining a festival planned by the Chamber of Commerce with dinner and our own event schedule. We’ll make it fun and be back to you with more details.

June 13 – Mountain Golf at the Jack O Lantern Country Club. This should be a fun event with a course the rolls along banks of the Pemi.

Winter Update

We had the “chance” to tour all of the resorts last week. We started in Falmouth, drove to Ogunquit and then traveled to Lincoln where my group spent the night. In the morning we traveled to Jackman, Maine and back to Ogunquit before calling it a night at Angelina’s Restaurant. In the morning it was over to NH for a quick resort tour at Crotched Mountain Resort before returning to the Cape for a late day meeting. In 60 hours we had traveled approximately 1000 miles, eaten at 7 different restaurants, visited 5 Dunkin Donuts, a NH State Liquor store and three gas stations! What an adventure. In the same amount of time we could have driven to Florida!

What I learned on this march was that the resorts are in great shape. Cape Cod was cool and clear and you can’t beat the view from either Surfside or Captains Quarters. We’ve closed Harborwalk for several weeks for maintenance, deep cleaning and sound financial planning. Our first Shopper’s week end on Cape was a mild success. Upcoming Cape week ends include Spa treatments and cooking classes.

Ogunquit had plenty of snow. That town is just as pretty with snow as it is in the Summer, as long as you are inside. We have just completely renovated the indoor pool and deck at The Falls. That looks great. We just finished our first Stonewall Kitchen week end where members learned how to cook two meals, in their commercial kitchen, and then enjoyed dinner at a choice of 4 restaurants. It was an overwhelming success! Angelina’s Restaurant, next door to the resort is always a great spot and you can walk to and from it! We are now planning a wine week end and then a brewery tour week end. Watch your email for dates and rates.

Lincoln NH was snow filled and cold. Great weather for making snow and skiing. Loon Mtn opened a new double diamond ski run this week end to great reviews. It’s steep. There will a VCU class in Lincoln on Saturday January 24. Shortly after that meeting I hope to tackle that new run with my granddaughter!

Mountainview Resort loves winter! We saw more snowmobiles than cars while we were in Jackman. The lake is dotted with ice fishing shanties and the fireplaces were roaring. We offer packages at Mountainview that offer either snowmobile or ATV rentals. As hard as we looked we never did see any moose. We did stop at a great restaurant in Skowhegan called The Old Mill Pub, that overlooks the dam. It’s our regular stop on the trip to Jackman, the food, view and staff have always been great.

As usual I repeat my demand: Go Use Your Points!

Specialty Week End in Ogunquit

The InnSeason Vacation Club is pleased and proud to announce the first, of many, educational get aways. We’ve broken our own rules and are offering one night packages in Maine, Massachusetts and Hampshire.

For one of our first, we’ve partnered with Stonewall Kitchen, in York, to offer a week end of cooking classes in their teaching kitchen. On the week end of January 17 and 18, members may book one or more nights (Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and attend two cooking classes (lunch on Saturday and Brunch on Sunday). The package includes the two classes for two people, a dinner certificate worth $50 and one night’s lodging at InnSeason Falls at Ogunquit.  The retail value of the package is $320.00! Club members can reserve it for only 32,000 points.  Each additional night is value priced at just 5000 points.

To book this great package or to learn more please call us 888-333-1535 or email reservations@innseason.com . This should be a great event. Sign up now and watch your email for other packages.

Owner’s Notes about The Ocean Reef Resort

We recently had an owner do an exchange to the Ocean Reef Resort in the Bahamas.  We are sharing this owner’s comments with you just so you are aware in case you were planning a trip to the Bahamas.

 

We wanted to share our vacation experiences at the timeshare, Ocean Reef Resort&Yacht Club. We were confirmed from 10-25-08 to 11-01-08.
We would strongly advise the InnSeasons management to remove any further timeshare exchanges with this resort. We were troubled by the fact we did not feel safe there. In spite of the fact that there was security on the premises, we we awakened one evening by loud pounding on our door which commenced around 1:30 am. We were too afraid to respond. The uninvited guest left in his car about twenty minutes later. We reported the incident to the manager the next day. We never heard anything further about our concerns.
On another occasion, we were denied dining privileges despite the fact that there was another forty minutes before the closing time. A member in our party is diabetic but it didn’t make a difference to the cook or waitress. Again we reported the matter to the site manager. He was very apologetic and instructed the restaurant staff to serve dinner free of charge to us. Unfortunately we could take advantage of his offer until the next day. It was a good thing that we had some food at our timeshare so to prevent any medical consequences to our diabetic friend.
We were also annoyed and awakened by the loud,vicious barking of dogs across the street from this timeshare. It sounded like attack dogs in training. The barking occurred most evenings. Again we reported our concerns but the problems persisted!
This timeshare was outdated in general appearance and amenities by at least twenty years. With rare exceptions most amenities involved some fee or charge. We were charged $85.00 for a surcharge on electricity.
Fr the most part the resort staff was not friendly to us. With one exception, Olive was the only resort staff person that showed any hospitality towards us during our stay. She went out of her way to locate our missing luggage that were delayed by a day. It seems lke delayed luggage happens on a regular basis in Freeport,Bahamas!
We were alaso told that the US economy has taken an early toll on their economy in the Bahamas. Crime is increasing on the island while tourism in general reflected a 90% reduction in occupancy at its major hotels.
We were most anxious to exit from this resort and the Grand Bahamas Island. It was a welcome relief to step foot on US soil at Miami International Airport. Amen!!

Recommendations

We often are asked about restaurants, resorts, bike trails, ski areas, beaches, tours, etc.. While we know alot about all those areas I would guess that you, our owners are at our resorts more than we are. Here’s your chance to recommend or un-recommend your favorite anything to your fellow members.

As we hear about resort and restaurants around New England and the country we’ll post them here.  Enjoy!

New Adventure Club Weeks!

Here are the latest Adventure Club weeks available for you! Call now before they disappear!

Atlantic Terrace Resort, Daytona Beach, FL: February 6-13, 2009 – 2BR unit, sleeps 6. 110,000 points

NASCAR enthusiasts – there are three pre-Daytona 500 events happening at the Speedway during this week: the Daytona 500 Pole Qualifier, The Gatorade Duel at Daytona, and the Daytona 250!

Sea Mist Resort, Mashpee, MA: May 29-June 5, 2009 – 2BR unit, sleeps 6. 135,000 points

Sea Mist Resort, Mashpee, MA: April 3-10, 2009 – 2BR unit, sleeps 6. 65,000 points.

Two great times to visit Cape Cod – just before April School Vacation, and the week following Memorial Day! The weather is beautiful and the Cape relaxing and rejuvenating. The summer crowds will not have arrived. You can shop, see the sights, maybe even use some Playtime Points to get a spa treatment!

Harbor Ridge Resort – Member Comments

The below is an excerpt from an email received from an owner regarding Harbor Ridge Resort in Southwest Harbor Maine.

“We wanted to share our thoughts about our timeshare experience at Harbor Ridge Resort in Southwest Harbor, Maine.  It is an incredible resort that features many amenities geared to all ages, plus the resort is close to many of the areas attractions. 

 Our two bedroom unit was tastefully decorated. We have no complaints about the housekeeping or cleanliness of our unit or the resort itself.  I would however caution people with physical limitations that the townhouse sleeping arrangements involved a living room sofa bed, but the bathroom on that floor did not have a shower or tub. We would suggest contacting the resort to see whether other units were more handicap friendly.

  The staff were personable and professional while they were quite knowledgeable about the area.

  We had a wonderful time at this resort.” …

South Beach Miami

We spent a few days at a conference in Miami a few weeks ago. After the conference I was lucky enough to spend an extra night in the South Beach section of Miami. What a spot! There are dozens of restaurants, most of them are open air that expand out onto the side walk. There was entertainment at each restaurant with a fabulous choice of food and drink.

South Beach has a great beach too. With blue ocean waves and cabanas everywhere. Be aware, that just like Europe or South America, the women are usually topless on this beach.

I stayed at the Crescent Hotel, http://www.clubnavigo.com/resorts/miami/crescent/, which is a Club Navigo resort. It was classic art deco with comfortable yet South Beach styling. The rooms are on the small side but have plenty of personality. My unit had a jacuzzi tub, a partial kitchen and plenty of room for two people. The resort is just across the street from the beach and just a few blocks from all of the South Beach nightlife.

You can go to this desinnation using your points. If interested, please contact our Owner Services department at 888.333.1535. While we can’t provide an instant confirmation we’ll be happy to try and arrange your vacation. South Beach may be as close as you can get to leaving the country, without crossing any borders. I’d recommend it to couples  that don’t require alot of sleep (at night at least.)

Mountainview in May

I had the opportunity to attend a Board meeting at Mountainview Resort in Jackman Maine last week. Spring had definitely sprung! There was green grass, flowing rivers and we only saw patches of snow in the woods.

The resort is looking good. There have been many improvements including a new 3 bedroom cabin and the re-painting of the indoor pool area. Both make a great impression and I hope many people will enjoy the resort this year.

We did brave the US Border Patrol and cross the border into Canada for dinner. There is the town of St. Georges 35 miles across the border that is an easy ride with plenty of scenic vistas. It’s suprising how flat and meadow-like the land is as you travel into Canada. There are large farms and two of the largest logging/lumber plants I’ve ever scene. The town of St. Georges has a lot of restaurants located on the banks of the Kennebec river on 1st and 2nd Streets. Naturally, being in Quebec, the menus are in french, as are the people. So be prepared to either translate or do alot of pointing at the menus. We ate at Monde Cafe. It was good food, casual and enjoyable. Remember just because your server may speak french, and you don’t, there is no need to shout at them in English. They are french, not deaf.

Sandy Stevens, the resort manager is happy to share her great resort with as many people as possible. We have created rafting packages with Windfall Outdoor Center (located in Jackman) and there are new ATV rentals available in town now too!  

We did manage to spot 3 moose, one coyote, one deer, and one gopher, all without leaving the resort!