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WorldMark Pinetop - Resort Review |
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WorldMark Pinetop |
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submit your review of WorldMark Pinetop
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| Author: |
dmm9 |
| Visited on: |
05/30/2004 |
| Average Rating: |
5.00 |
| Staff professionalism: |
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| Resort grounds: |
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| Room quality: |
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| Room cleanness: |
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| Submitted on: |
09/07/2004 |
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Pros:
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Love the mountain setting and the entire Pinetop area. |
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Cons:
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Pool adult rules not always followed. |
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Review:
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The resort staff is always very friendly, and their recommendations are great. I suggest buying groceries from the local market that is just down the hill from the resort instead of the Safeway. It will cost you a bit more, but the food is fresher, and the selection better. Plus, the market has a great little cafeteria with apple smoked meats that are very tasty, and not expensive at all. Just follow your nose to find the grill.
If you enjoy outdoor activities, Pinetop/Show Low has a lot to do. Great hiking trails ranging from easy to very difficult are accessible. There are several places that do horseback riding, and there are lakes for fishing nearby. There is also a good executive golf course only a few miles up the road that gives dicounts for WorldMark owners. There are also Native American Indian ruins in the area, and I would suggest taking the short drive to Springerville to view Casa Malpais. Also, in the winter, the resort is very close to the Sunrise ski area, which has some of the best skiing in Arizona.
For those who prefer indoor activities, the main road has plenty of little shops and stores from furniture to antique shops. There is also a Native American casino only about 3 miles up the road. And the resort itself has a nice pool, and two nice spas (one in the pool area and one past the basketball and tennis courts.
One thing you need to remember, is Pinetop is at an altitude of 7,000 feet above sea level. This isn't the desert, and the area gets a lot of snow in the winter. And during the summer, the highs are usually in the low 80's, and lows in the 50's. That's why the locals in Phoenix and Tucson like to joke that during the summer, half the city's residents are either in San Diego or in the White Mountains where Pinetop is located! |
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| Author: |
gordons4 |
| Visited on: |
07/15/2006 |
| Average Rating: |
4.75 |
| Staff professionalism: |
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| Resort grounds: |
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| Submitted on: |
07/22/2006 |
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Pros:
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Beautiful resort and location. Friendly staff -- Eunice is great. Lots to do. |
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Cons:
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People smoking on balcony upstairs prevented us from being on our balcony or having the windows open due to the smell. |
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Review:
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We (husband, myself, teenage son) had a great time. We were in unit 14, which is at the end, and loved it. (Our son would have liked being closer to the pool, but we liked the quiet away from everything.) When the resort was full (a couple of the nights) there were lots of kids and lots of activity at the pool, rec room, and play areas, but everyone was polite and orderly. Really wish we didn't have smokers above us a few nights -- it was impossible to leave our windows open when they smoked (often it seemed).
We mountain biked Monday, leaving from our resort. There is a great book of trails in the lobby, and the staff has copies of all trails. I highly recommend you take copies with you -- at times it got a little confusing. We were caught off-guard by a horrific thunderstorm. It came upon us very quickly. We jumped off our bikes and took refuge under a trailhead kiosk just in time. We saw the lightning strike the street less than 100 yds away. It was the loudest most terrifying experience we have ever been through. We were huddled and trapped for about 20 minutes while the lightning continued to strike around us. When the storm moved a little we were able to flag down a city worker who helped us get back to the resort safely. Just know that if thunderstorms are in the forecast, it is nasty.
On Tuesday we went fishing at Big Lake and Crescent Lake. No bites, but it was absolutely beautiful. The drive is worth it even if you don't fish. Again, we got caught in a horrific thunderstorm, but at least we were in our car. We watched the lightning strike right near us, accompanied by 'nickel-sized' hail. (That's what the news called it.) These storms can be terrifying if you are not prepared.
On Wednesday my husband and son golfed at Silver Creek. (Very nice course -- grumpy men at the desk.) Another thunderstorm and the course didn't blow the horn early enough for everyone to get in. (The storms move fast.) My family waited it out on the patio of one of the homes on the course -- very nice owners.
Thursday, no thunderstorm. We visited Fort Apache on the reservation. Very interesting, but difficult to find. Going from the resort there is absolutely no signage to turn off the main road. Take a brochure from the lobby to help you find the fort. The exhibits give lots of history about the area.
Coming home Friday we took the 60/77 through Salt River Canyon. Absolutely gorgeous. It added lots of extra time to our travels, but well worth it. In many ways we liked it better than the Grand Canyon. There was a place to stop where Native Americans from the Apache reservation were making and selling jewelry. Beautiful stuff, great prices, nice, friendly people. Hot as heck (113 degrees).
I've read other comments where people say they don't know what they'd do for a week at Pinetop. If you enjoy outdoor activites (hiking, biking, fishing, golfing, history) there is too much to do in just one week. We are definitely returning, but not sure about taking bikes again. (We're a little traumatized.) |
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| Author: |
rockymtns |
| Visited on: |
08/13/2006 |
| Average Rating: |
5.00 |
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| Submitted on: |
08/23/2006 |
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Pros:
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Resort was beautiful. Staff was great. |
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Review:
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My husband, 2 adult sons & myself had a beautiful 3 bdrm SN unit in building 6. It was very quiet. Gordons4 was right about the thunderstorms. They are bad when they hit. We visited Fort Apache & enjoyed learning the history of the area. We walked around Woodland Lake (1.1 mile). It was easy & beautiful. We also went to the Mogollon Rim & walked. It was harder for me as it had some uphill areas. We took a lot of pictures. Even though we live in Colorado & have the mountains here we enjoyed the Pinetop-Lakeside scenery. We ate lunch at the casino twice. Big mistake. The first day we were there for gambling & had the buffet. It was ok but limited. The next day we were returning from Ft. Apache & decided to stop at the casino. We only wanted a sandwich. Service was BAD. Food was BAD.
We had stopped at WalMart on the way to the resort to get our perishables. When we came out we had our first thunderstorm. WOW! We had taken most of our food & drinks with us & had most of our meals in the condo.
We did most of our gift shopping at Pueblo Southwest. I even got some Christmas gifts for our grandaughters who live on a ranch. Burly Bear was interesting but nothing that we wanted.
We met 4 people in the hot tub who had exchanged into WM. They were from California. They had been to several WMs. They said they had never stayed in their home resort. We had planned on swimming on Thur. but another storm came through & changed our plans.
The staff were wonderful. They answered all questions with a smile. It was a very relaxing trip. The air was so clean after the storms it was refreshing to just enjoy being there.
We had taken our laptop with us & purchased their internet service. It was $5 a day or $16 for up to 10 days. It worked great.
We would go back. |
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