Greensprings Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia: A Relaxing Place to Stay
Greensprings Plantation is a gated timeshare resort community, located between old Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. Yorktown is also accessible. Upon arriving at Greensprings, I pulled up to the security gate. The guard verified that I was expected, and gave directions to the registration building. Check-in was simple and fairly quick. The next stop was the “Hospitality Desk”, which is the timeshare sales desk. I was offered a free breakfast and $50 dinner gift certificate to do a sales presentation and sales tour, which I declined.
The units are in three-story buildings, each having about a dozen units per building. The buildings do not have elevators. If you choose to book at Greensprings Plantation, be sure to ask for a ground floor unit if navigating stairs is difficult for you.
The two-bedroom unit I was assigned to was very clean and quite spacious, especially considering that the smallest unit type available is the two-bedroom unit. I would estimate the square footage of the unit to be at least 1,200 square feet. Upon entering the unit, the living room area was to my left. It was well-appointed, having a gas fireplace, TV, DVD player, queen sleeper sofa, rocker/recliner chair and a regular sitting chair. Beyond the living room was a balcony with seating for four and a table.
To my right when entering were the dining area and the kitchen. The dining area easily can handle six to eight people. The kitchen was well stocked with cutlery, pots, pans, toaster, and all the usual items found in a kitchen. The kitchen also had full-sized appliances, including a refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher.
There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master bedroom had a dresser, TV, VCR, and connected to the master bath with twin sinks, shower, and a two-person hot tub. The other bedroom had a dresser and in this case, a pair of twin beds. The second bathroom is accessible from the common areas, and contains a single sink and combination shower/bath. The way the unit is designed, the two bathrooms, as well as a hallway closet (where I found a vacuum, mop, broom, iron and ironing board), and laundry room, act as a sound barrier providing an extra degree of privacy between the two bedrooms.
I did check out the activities area, located in the registration building. The fitness room is fine for keeping toned, and has all the basic fitness machines normally found in a gym. The indoor pool and Jacuzzi were both nice; neither was huge, but both appeared big enough for a resort of this size. The outdoor pool also appeared to be well-maintained.
I also noted several child play areas in the resort, as well as a few outdoor grills and picnic tables.
The Greensprings Plantation is nice, yet it has room for improvement. The living room TV was smallish, approximately 20″ on the diagonal; a larger screen would have been appreciated. The regular heat proved to be unreliable, as it did not work for the first two days, so I heated the unit using the gas fireplace in the living room. Working electrical outlets in the bathrooms would be useful, such as plugging in a hair dryer. One of the windows in the master bedroom would not stay open. The registration area only has one computer for guests to use to check email. It would be a nice extra touch if there were wireless internet available in the units.
During my stay, the timeshare sales representative called two more times to ask that we attend a sales presentation, despite having already been told when checking in that I was not interested in the sales presentation.
Overall, I felt it was a nice place to stay, and would consider returning.
