Founders Pointe

Founders Pointe is located within easy walking distance of Winter Park's ski lifts. It is directly across a small street from the main village. The distance is short enough that most guests make the walk in their ski boots. The condos have heated parking, and provide ski lockers on the first floor to store equipment. The locker is included with the room, and padlock keys are located in the room. Parking costs $19 per night, and is an additional charge. The hot tub was very warm.

The room itself was great but after getting called on for "loud noise" I heard dogs barking each night that I was there which were all louder than my noise complaint. Why goes this hotel allow dogs? Not just that but on my last day one of the dogs coming out of the hotel BIT ME while I was walking in! It wasn't enough to get through my jeans but again, WHY ARE DOGS ALLOWED HERE?!?!? And why was I BIT on my last day from someone who couldn't control their dog. Will NOT stay here again and that's a shame given how nice the hotel room was.

Pros: 1) Very nice unit, interior is exactly as described and pictured. 2) Giant hot tub was always hot and working. 3) Received a free ski rental package as part of our stay. 4) When the “failsafe” code lock on the condo door broke, the management company was able to solve a complex problem relatively quickly. They also provided us with another unit to wait in while they figured out how to gain access to our unit. Cons: 1) NOT ski in/ski out. Not even close. To those of us who travel the world to ski, this term means something. It usually means you can ski to and/or from the building. In my experience, most resorts are pretty honest about using this term. This is not the case at Founders Pointe. The building is situated behind the Zephyr lodge across the busy Winter Park Drive. There is no possibility to ski in or out of this building, you must walk with your gear to the base of the ski resort. The listing claims a 3 minute walk to the base of the Gondola, which is true if you’re just walking with no gear. Add in all your gear and that of your child’s/children, and it’s much more of a haul. If you’re travelling with smaller children that don’t ski the Gondola, there’s only one lift from the base that accesses the beginner area, the Gemini Express. This is a 0.4 mile walk from the condo building and was exhausting for our 6-year-old with all his gear. As long as you know what to expect, it’s all doable and can be very enjoyable. There are two locker rooms at the base, one across from the Gondola and one further down closer to the Gemini Express lift. We ended up getting one of the little wagons from the plaza area, bringing it back to the condo building, leaving it outside the front doors (wagons aren’t allowed in the building) and loading our boots, skis, poles, etc., into it and hauling it all to one of the locker rooms to change into our boots. This made it a little more comfortable, but still quite an effort to get to the slopes from a “ski in/ski out” condo. We wished we had not believed the listing and looked closely at the map before booking so we knew what to expect. When we brought this to the attention of the property manager, we received a very terse and unprofessional reply. When we then had other issues to deal with near the end of our stay, the same property manager was very responsive and accommodating. 2) Somewhat minor, but there is no front desk or central point of contact within the building. Anything you need or questions have to go through the property management company via phone or email. This might not matter to folks who know Winter Park, but we found ourselves wishing there was somebody to ask some basic questions about the area. Again, just something that would have been nice to know ahead of time. 3) Xplorie. Where to begin? When you book this unit, you’ll get an email telling you about all the great stuff you can do at a discount through Xplorie. Unfortunately, none of it is anywhere near the condo or the resort itself, and they are not easy to deal with. We decided to try the “sleigh ride” for which we were supposed to receive a free ride for one person. The stables are about a 25 minute drive from the condo. When we got there, they told us they have no relationship with Xplorie and keep telling them not to offer free rides. The “sleigh” was a giant wagon with benches on it. Not a sleigh. The conditions were very hard for the horses given the spring melt, and we were somewhat horrified at how rough they were with the horses. One of the horses apparently has bad asthma, and we found ourselves wondering why they would force a sick animal to pull a huge, heavy wagon with 10 people on it through deep, wet snow, and then whip it when it stops to rest? We don’t recommend any of the Xplorie stuff – it’s a rip off and a hassle, except for the free ski rental. Back to the condo: overall, this is a very nice place to stay if you know what you’re getting into and are ok with it. We would not book here again, but only because we’re partial to actual ski in/out properties. If you don’t mind the walk to the lifts, this is a very comfortable place to stay.