Eagle Trace at Massanutten

This was our first visit to Massanutten. We stayed in a 1BR at Eagle Trace in the Valley. The unit was very large and we had no problem sleeping 3 adults and 2 kids. It was nice having the trees behind our unit, but if purchasing, I would opt for units at the Summit to have an awesome view. I went to the front desk and got a listing of all the units throughout the resort that are models, and I went on my own to look at them. The Summit at Grenoble Woods appears to have the best views, but I could not see a model there. The Summit at Hillside, Innsbruck and Sunrise were all very nice inside and some of the units had great views, some did not. The Shenandoah Villas at Killy Court were more like an apt building, and I was not impressed with the inside. The model of the Mountainside Villas smelled funky. It was very large, but there was no view other than some trees. The Woodstone units were very large and new and clean, however, I prefer to be up on the mountain, so probably won't stay there.

We got the heavy-duty sales pitch, and I succumbed to purchasing at Woodstone Casa de Campo. But after reading the fine print about the "bonus" weeks, and seeing that you can only use them at undesirable times of the year, as well as I can buy a place at The Summit for cheaper through resales, I am going to cancel my contract.

The resort is awesome for amenities. We enjoyed the waterpark and go-kart. Didn't do a lot of the activities due to price. We will definitely go back again. After I get my money back, I will probably try to buy a resale because I would like to go there every year.

My stay was mostly pleasant, however, I must report abuse from the overly aggressive sales. Yes, I agree with the many reviews below which praise the goodness and beauty of Massanutten, but, Great Eastern Management has tainted your resort experience with a downright vicious and relentless sales approach. For those of you who value your time, steer clear of the "owner's update/tour" or the free sales breakfast/dinner. You will be offered $100 or so, but the sales staff will pressure you, nag you, and nearly drain your will to live until you either walk away or write a large enough check that satisfies the company's voracious & greedy business appetite.

I have to share a letter with you that was written after being conned by one of the staff at what is suppose to be the Massanutten parking pass desk. Exhausted from the long trip to this resort, I misunderstood the saleslady who is supposed to issue guests a parking pass. I handed the saleslady a payment for what I thought was the parking pass, later to find out it was a $20.00 charge for an invitation to breakfast. It's hard to believe, but yes, the "parking pass counter" will charge you $20.00 for an invitation to a sales breakfast. Buyer beware, do not trust the folks who are supposed to furnish you with your parking pass. The second you hear the check-in desk official tell you to go to the parking pass counter to acquire your pass, you need to mentally arm yourself with the confidence and resolve to strictly obtain your parking pass and accept nothing else from the salespeople. This is unless you have the time, patience, and nerves to endure their high-pressure sales presentation.

At Massanutten, they have a trained sales staff that tries to play on your emotions, and they will hit you with rebuttals when you try to leave or decline their timeshare sale. When I contacted the sales division to decline the sales presentation service altogether, I was not refunded the $20.00 payment. This denial of refund goes against the terms and conditions of VISA's contract with businesses, and VISA was the form of payment used for the transaction. My legal firm is assessing this situation to weigh all options and to determine how best to proceed. For the many vacation-goers who have had run-ins with this kind of scenario, I am with you and I pledge to share any information/results that may help you to avoid or remedy shady practices of this nature. For now, though, the email address for the sales lions at Massanutten is sales at massresort.com. If you run into something like this, or would just like to support the cause; you are urged to copy and paste the second paragraph of the below letter into an email to the sales staff. Together, we can stop what has become a lackluster experience at a pushy timeshare complex, and help restore it into a five star deluxe resort accommodation. Thank you.

Below is the letter written to the Massanutten sales dept. and shared with RCI/Redweek & others to express my displeasure with the sales approach:

[Today I write you to reiterate that I have declined your sales presentation service scheduled for Jan 19, 2009. My method of payment was with a VISA credit card number ending 3821. According to the VISA terms and conditions issued to both businesses and cardholders, any service that goes unfulfilled or unrendered is subject to a full refund. Since I have declined your sales presentation on the above listed date, I ask that you please credit my VISA card the full amount of $20.00 within three (3) business days. Failure to do so will result in my contacting VISA, RCI, and all other concerned entities and agencies to report this incident.

I also request in writing, that in the future I not be approached by any member of the Great Eastern/Massanutten sales staff with any offer to attend a sales meeting. I would like the parking pass and nothing else from parking pass officials. Please do not make liars out of the check-in staff who direct guests to the parking pass distributors only to be dealt an aggressive salesperson . As a customer, I feel that luring vacation-goers into an aggressive sales session by using the parking pass counter is an unethical and dishonest ploy. This tactic gives timeshare resorts a bad reputation. Please restore my pride in Massanutten ownership by reconsidering and changing this practice. Thank you for your cooperation.]

***NO MORE ABUSE from pushy, aggressive and unethical timeshare sales practices!! Enjoy your travels! de

UPDATE 2/9/09: VISA issued a full refund after reviewing the situation***

Prices are very reasonable here for everything, anyone who says otherwise must not travel much. We've stayed at resorts from Canada to the Dominican Republic and this is by far the best value, and with the most things to see and do of any of them. The units are very nice, no complaints there, not the most upscale I've stayed in, but they are Silver Crown, not Gold. They're very comfortable and relaxing, with anything you could need including a gas fireplace. Checkin is fast and easy even on busy weekends. We've been there for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Presidents week when the kids are out of school and always gotten right in with no wait, and they have the nicest people working there. We own here and at a dozen other resorts and this is our favorite. We have had minor problems but you get those anywhere, things break, that's life, but the staff has always fixed anything immediately and on our schedule. We wish they took pets, but there is a great kennel (Wayworn Pet Kennel) we use when we go and it's right across the street. Yes, some activities are busier than others and can fill up but that's a testament to how popular they are. If you can't get your first choice, then try one of the other 165 different activities they offer every week. We found Massanutten by accident through RCI and have been glad we did ever since! If you take the "tour" those sales people get paid commission only, so they will try to sell you, but no one forces you to go if you don't want the $100. Take your car, go, enjoy, and go again.

Bring the entire family, these units are huge. Our friends used our unit for a family reunion and it worked out great!Currently we are SELLing our Killy Court let me know if your interested...its a wonderful resort!

We JUST returned from Massanutten from a Spring Break "2007" trip. I took my family of 8 and we had a 4 bedroom/4 bath (upper/lower units). The kids absolutely LOVED it. The "indoor" waterpark is so wonderful. On the days we did not snow tube, we went to the water park. Oh yeah, and it snowed several inches the day we arrived and the entire place was snow plowed, etc. and not a flurrie on the roads/parking areas... Snow ball fights were the FIRST activity during our stay while WE were unpacking the car. Don't expect to relax in the INDOOR water park unless you are on a lazy river tube! ha ha My kids were so worn out by the end of the day it was funny... We saw lots of deer and the kids loved that too. It was freezing the first of the week and warm at the end. That was a perfect week. The go karts are open now according to weather as well as putt putt. We love that place and it only gets better. There's also an outdoor water park now. AND, I hear there's plans for an extension of that same water park. So with all that said, WE CAN'T WAIT TO RETURN!!! Enjoy Massanutten! We always do.