Vacation Village at Bonaventure

We firts rent a week from another owner WE LOVED THE PLACE.....WE BOUGHT....WE SHARE.... See you 4th of July!

We just returned from Vacation Village at Bonaventure in Weston, FL. Be aware that Weston is about 25 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale so a car will be necessary if you plan to do any touring of Ft. Lauderdale or the surrounding area. Weston is a very nice upscale community, but if you don't golf (several golf courses) or swim (6 pools), there's really not that much to do there unless you just want to relax and enjoy the resort. Also, it was hard for us to find our way around Weston as all the streets and shopping centers basically look the same and the streets are confusing with no north, south, east or west designation. The Publix grocery stores in Weston are small and usually very crowded or perhaps we went only during crowded times. I would suggest shopping for your groceries in the morning.

Also, be aware that the timeshare resort buildings in Weston (Vacation Village at Weston, Vacation Village at Bonaventure and Mizner Place) and are very spread out among the city of Weston (not together on one campus). We requested a high floor facing east as we didn't want the west sun bearing down on our patio in the afternoon. We were given a unit in Flamingo I. It looked to be an older building but very well maintained. This unit faced the back of the country club and part of the golf course. We saw 2 weddings on the terrace of the country club. The Flamingo I and II had covered parking (nice due to south Florida sun and glare). The Flamingo buildings also had their own swimming pool, but there was a huge pool at the check-in building with a waterfall and a huge jacuzzi (more like a small swimming pool).

We had a 2 bedroom unit (both A and B side). The A side was very spacious with a king bedroom, huge walk-in shower with 2 shower heads, double vanity and a big whirlpool tub next to the bedroom (partially surrounded with square glass) inserts. The living room was furnished with bamboo furniture (very nice decor) and had a big screen TV. The dining and living room was one big room and the dining room with bamboo chairs and a glass table seated 6. The kitchen was spacious with a full size fridge, dishwasher, stove/oven and microwave. The patio was spacious with a table and 4 chairs. The unit had also had a TV in the bedroom.

The B side was fine for 2 people (or perhaps two people and two small children) if you don't care for a patio. It had a very nice queen bed, a bathroom with a tub/shower combination, single vanity, small living room with a bamboo convertible sofa, a small (4 person) dining table, a studio kitchen with a medium size fridge, coffee maker, microwave and sink (no dishwasher). The unit had a TV in the living room and bedroom.

We took a tour bus from Weston (ask at front desk) across the Florida keys to Key West Wednesday (always wanted to do that). We left Ft. Lauderdale at 8:30 a.m. ... got into Key West at 12 noon (3-1/2 hours). We had until 8 p.m. to see everything we wanted to and we left at 8:30 p.m. heading back to Ft. Lauderdale (made for a looooooong day but it was worth it as it only cost $75 each and the tour bus was very nice.) We arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale at 12 midnight (3-1/2 hours). We had been to Key West before in 2001 but it was from Ft. Myers on a Key West shuttle boat across the gulf and ocean. By the time we got to KW that time, rode the conch train around historic KW and ate, we had very little time to do any touring. This time we had 8 hours and saw everything we wanted to.

Our south Florida neighbors previously told us it would be hot when we went to Ft. Lauderdale May 4-11, but the weather was actually nice all week. The humidity was low and was a record breaking 28% humidity the day we went to Key West. It was starting to heat up yesterday though and it was m-u-g-g-y .... we left just in time. When we got off the plane in Chattanooga today it was downright cool .... a cold front had just come through.

We took the water taxi Friday on the New River and the intercoastal waterway in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Saw many beautiful mansions (some owned by movie stars) and some awesome yachts (humongous). Can't imagine in my wildest dreams having that much money. One mansion recently sold for 28 million down from 32 million due to the slow economy . I don't know if you're watching Dancing With The Stars or not, but we saw Jason Taylor's (plays for the Miami Dolphins and is a guest dancer on the show this year) mansion on the intercoastal waterway .... awesome.

I stayed at the Sandpiper I building in the B unit. The room was clean and spacious but can definitely use some updating. The couch was old and ripped and de decor was outdated. The Telivisions were small with a VCR (no DVD player). For business reasons, I stay in a lot hotels and resorts and I would rate this unit to be just barely a step above an Extended Stay which is a 2 star. Since my stay was for buisness reasons, I did not paticipate in any of the amenities.

The BEST resort for your money! This place has everything and is close to everything so rent asap because you cannot beat the price for a full timeshare rental, compare hotel prices to a fully equipped condo!

We stayed in a 3 bedroom in the Egret building. It was essentially off -site from the rest of the resort although the guy who checked us in made it seem just around the corner. This is the only building with 3 bedrooms and appears to be older than the rest of the resort. In the future I would prefer to be in a lock-out 2 br unit closer to the "goings-ons". The units could use a little updating but were clean. The hot water ran out after one shower. There was a small pool walking distance. I did'nt like that there was no restaurant or poolside bar and grill on the resort. I dont like cooking while on vacation and hate to have to go out to get something to eat every meal. At least these units had their own washer and dryer. We had a recurring problem with noisy neighbors that security promptly took care of. The Sawgrass Mills outlet mall was only impressive due to its size. No real bargains to be found that you cant find at any local mall. If you want bargains, go to the flea markets.