Wolf Creek Village II, Eden, USA

The heater stopped working on New Year's Eve, and after more than 26 hours we were still waiting for a fix. Every time we called the emergency line, they said it should be fine in a few hours. Inside it had dropped to 49 degrees and was still getting colder. I'll update this review as things play out. We were there December 28th-January 3rd. It's a very clean, tidy place in a nice secluded spot, good for getting away. The kitchen has plenty of dishes, utensils, and equipment, the managers' office has things like games you can borrow, and the living room couch is comfortable. The bedroom is cramped, though, and the furnishings are in decent shape but dated, somewhere between a motel 6 and an average house. Unforgettable place.

Wolf Creek Village 1 in Eden, Utah, the section managed by VRI/Capital Vacations, has a great location. It's a 5-minute drive to Powder Mountain and 20 minutes to Snowbasin, with the Bower Lodge bar and restaurant, owned by Powder Mountain, just a 2-minute walk away. We also saw deer roaming around for most of our stay. We were lucky to get a two-bedroom unit in late March, still prime ski season in Utah, through an Interval getaway for about $500. At that price, it was a great deal. Would I go back? Maybe for a similar deal, since I like staying ski-in/ski-out or within a 5-minute drive. I'd only stay here with a multi-day Powder Mountain pass, not just the Ikon pass that meant a 20-minute drive to Snowbasin. I definitely wouldn't pay retail or normal hotel prices. Our unit was spacious. We'd booked two bedrooms and were pleased to find an extra loft with four single beds, plenty of room for our group. Staff were friendly and responsive, and they handled snow removal in a timely way during a record snowfall season. Wolf Creek Village 1 can use WorldMark by Wyndham's gym and club facilities, but they close at 8pm, which feels early for a clubhouse. The keys are old-school, not FOBs, so someone has to be present during club hours. FOB keys could allow longer hours and later gym and sauna use. The front desk told us WorldMark was charging VRI a significant amount for facility access. They hinted the contract might not continue. Since VRI advertises the facilities online, and access is probably part of the owners' contract, it seems likely VRI may have to agree to whatever rate WorldMark asks going forward. The downsides were hard to ignore. The property felt tired and worn, as very little seemed to have been upgraded since it was first built. We could hear our neighbors clearly, and smoke from a neighbor's balcony often drifted into our unit. Cleanliness wasn't great either: there were long black hairs in the shower, and some glasses and plates looked poorly washed. We ran everything through the dishwasher before using it. The kitchen pots and pans were in poor shape and almost unusable, with most of the non-stick coating worn away. That made cooking frustrating, and we worried the coating could flake into food. Wolf Creek Village 1 includes 10-15 units owned by VRI/Capital Vacations, though there are also WorldMark by Wyndham units on the same property that may be more updated. It made me wonder how timeshare owners' maintenance fees are allocated. Given the substantial fees they pay, probably $50k per unit per year, it's disheartening to think only a fraction may go to cleaning and upkeep, maybe $10k-$15k. The location and unit size were impressive, but the dated facilities, noise, and cleanliness issues dragged down the experience. If I'd paid a lot more, or were an owner paying higher maintenance fees, I'd be disappointed.

The rooms and living areas are always clean and ready, and the staff are always smiling. I love coming here for the great hot tube, racquetball courts, and good-sized fitness center. My one wish is that the pool could open earlier in the year when the weather's good.

The area is beautiful, but you can't charge $200+ a night for a place this old and worn out, location or not. Room 109 was built in the early 90's and still looks and feels that way. All the beds were so saggy that our backs were killing us the next morning, and we had to go home early. The mattresses were well over 10 years old, the pillows smelled like campfire, and the carpet and bathrooms badly needed remodeling. The cleaning staff had made it as clean as you can make a unit that old, but everything was worn. The front office was closed Sunday, so we couldn't ask for a refund then. I called the next week to see if they'd consider even a partial refund, but they wouldn't budge, and the staff were curt and cold. I told them I planned to review the place and hoped I could at least say they were friendly and tried to make things right. They didn't. I wouldn't recommend staying until they remodel and replace the beds. The owners should be ashamed to charge what they do for a dump like this.