As you know from previous posts, my parents own timeshare. So we began looking for our June trip back in January. Our original hope was to go to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but apparently that needs to be booked more than six months in advance to get a good place. So our second choice was the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. There are a ton of places in the area, but we were specifically looking for a resort with a full kitchen and three bedrooms. We ended up booking with Pocono Mountain Villas by Exploria Resorts for the first week of June. Pocono Mountain Villas has more than one section. We booked to stay in the Fairway Villas.
Where We Stayed
As I read the reviews I was slightly concerned because they weren’t very positive. I noticed, however, that Exploria had recently taken over the resort from another company and many negative reviews were from before their time. My other concern was that I could not find any specific pictures or layouts of our unit. This was with looking both on the Exploria website and the timeshare website. Let me just say we were pleasantly surprised to show up and basically have a luxury condo!
Fairway Villas 3 Bedroom Unit
We walked in and were in the formal dining room. This led to a large kitchen with an island that had two seats. On the other side of the kitchen was a huge living room with two couches, both of which had pull out beds, and two arm chairs. There was also a smaller eating area in the corner by the sliding glass door. That door led to a deck that ran the length of our unit and included another door to the master bedroom. There was a powder room off the living room and a door that separated the bedrooms.
The first bedroom had a queen bed and was completed with a full dresser and flat screen TV. Then there was a full bathroom. Next was a bedroom with two double beds and also included a space for a dresser and TV. Finally we got to the master which opened up with French doors. In the master bedroom was a king sized bed, double sided fireplace in front of a jacuzzi, a large bathroom with shower, AND a sauna. We had no idea there was going to be a sauna (and did not use it), but seriously!
Now, I it was obvious that the unit had not been updated in some years, but it was clean and well maintained and worked perfect for our family. If we were looking to go back to the Poconos, we would absolutely stay there again.
Around the Resort
Most of the resorts in the Poconos are listed as four seasons resorts. Meaning they have activities all year round. It was basically the off season because it was early June before the summer started. We realized too late the the zip line park on the resort was only open on the weekends. There were other things around the resort, though, that we were able to enjoy.
Our first full day was a Saturday. They had listed on the activity schedule arts and crafts. So me and M hopped on the resort shuttle to get us there. We were a little early so we were able to do some exploring first. They have several outdoor pools around the resort as well as two indoor pools. Although there were two pools located next to what they call Activity Central, only one was open. We did not swim so we can’t speak to the quality of the pools. But they looked large enough to hold a big crowd once the summer season got going.
Activity Central
The craft time was nice, but not what I was expecting. My parents’ home resort is another four season resort and their crafts are very well organized and structured. However, they usually have a charge and this was free. Which made sense as it was more of a make and take activity. They had tables set up for either a beaded bracelet or a paper turtle. You picked your supplies and basically followed the example to complete it. I had to do most of the cutting, but it was otherwise good for children.
The Activity Central room had a nice set up. There were book cases with comfortable chairs for a reading area. A small toddler table was next too chunky puzzles and larger toys. It also had a foosball table and tv with game systems where some tournaments and thing were done throughout the week. There was alsa a “business room” with desktop computers, a printer, and free wifi access. When we were ready to leave we simply asked the desk attendant to call the shuttle and were taken back to our unit.
One of our biggest disappointments of the day was when we returned to Activity Central later for the scheduled ice cream social. The resort is listed as being cashless. It is posted many places that you must use a card or do a room charge. When we got to the ice cream social we found out that it was cash only. I only had a large bill that they couldn’t break. we were told that there was an ATM at check in. Unfortunately, after my husband walked over, up a huge hill, he was told that the closest one was at the gas station. This was supposed to be a treat for our girls so it was frustrating to have to pack them up and leave. We ended up going to the gas station convenience store and getting treats there.
Playground
Later in the day, we took all the girls over to the play ground. It was nice but wasn’t the best set up. The playground area was up on a hill and the swing sets were separated from the playground. It was not fun to push a double stroller basically up a mountain. However, there was an awesome bench swig that we were able to sit on with the twins as well as a couple of traditional swings. The downside was that if one parent was by themselves with multiple children they couldn’t let one swing without the other because it was too far to see the swings from the playground and vice versa.
There was a nice pavilion there that you could use to have a gathering in with grills and also a basketball court. From this location you could also see the zip line course. It was very cool to see people literally walking through the trees.
Mini Golf & Game Room
In this same area on the hill was mini golf. Later in the week my husband took M out to play and afterward they spent some time in the game room. He and I had visited the game room the night before for our date night (one of the benefits of vacationing with my parents). The game room was nice with many regular arcade games as well as air hockey, pool, and ping pong. One of the indoor pools was in this same building and there was an outdoor pool behind the building as well.
Other Activities
There were many other things to do around the resort. I mentioned the golf course in my first post. There was also horseback riding, bumper boats, and a tubing hill. There is snow tubing in the winter and snow-less tubing in the warm months. We never made it over to try out the tubing although we did see people go down the hill. There was also a restaurant on site. We wanted to try it out, but it was closed on the day we planned to go (Wednesday). There is a shuttle that takes you anywhere on the resort. You could either call it to your unit or just hop on when you saw it near a stop. This was great resource. When one of us wanted to go out alone or with M, we didn’t have to leave the other person stranded. Also, M loved the idea of a “trolley”.
Summary
To sum this all up, I would highly recommend the Pocono Mountain Villas by Exploria Resorts. Unfortunately, the drive from our house in Maryland wasn’t the best. So we don’t plan to go back anytime soon. However, when we do we would definitely stay there again. Both the check in and out experience was good. While they did ask if we wanted to do a timeshare tour, there was absolutely no pressure when I declined. Everyone that we met working at the resort was courteous and I can’t wait to visit again!
Martina