Mystic Dunes Resort and Golf Club

Mystic Dunes is a family resort in Orlando Fl. I’m creating this post for my sister. Sandy always wants to see what the resorts are like and where I stay when I travel. Since I am a Timeshare owner through Diamond Resorts International I’ve always found the resorts to be top notch.

Mystic Dunes is no exception. Its located close to all the family attractions, Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld. If you try to squeeze everything in you’ll be singing “And I Had The Time of my Life”.

Mystic Dunes and Hurricane Irma

My scheduled trip coincided with Hurricane Irma’s visit to Florida. With the Orlando Airport closed it was clear my trip was on hold. A few phone calls later my new dates were 2 days after Irma. I had no idea what to expect. Was I headed to a disaster area? The Golf course was closed but not because of the hurricane. It was just getting a face lift.

My home away from home at Mystic Dunes

No Phone, no Cable, no Internet

Living area of the condo at Mystic Dunes

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that reception had no air conditioning. The second was the large hole in the ceiling. But the resort personnel were intrepid. They sat at card tables with lap tops checking in the guests. My unit had A/C. in fact it was downright cold but the tables and chairs for the deck were in the corner of the living room. The phones, cable and internet were down but expected to be back on sometime before I left.

Amenities

I didn’t spend much time at the resort but I made a check of the grounds to see what damage there was. A few trees were down. Grounds keepers were busy cutting them up and repairing the decorative fountains. The club house restaurant, Kenzie’s, was open for business.

The pool was clean and waters flowing. Even the grill area was all set up and ready to go. By the time my brief vacation wrapped up, the hole in the ceiling at the reception area was repaired and the A/C was on for them. They were still on generators but it was business as usual. Kudos to the dedicated staff. They made sure the hardships of Hurricane Irma never touched their guests.

Mystic Dunes turned out to be on the south side of Disney so several exits beyond my old friends at Cypress Point. Entering the grounds you have to go through a check point. As many places as I’ve stayed as a Diamond Resort Owner, I’ve never been in a gated community before. I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a good addition or a nuisance but the guard was very warm and friendly and gave me directions to the Welcome Center.

Easily one of the largest properties I’ve visited, Mystic Dunes is located on a “hill” I use the term loosely as I don’t think Florida has hills. Ok so it’s located on one of the highest elevations in the area and is over 600 acres. The grounds include a golf course, tropical landscaping, a nature preserve , 4 swimming pools, a clubhouse and restaurant.

View from my window

Diamond Resorts pride themselves on their friendly manner and over the years as the brand has developed I’ve watched this welcoming attitude grow but it was never more apparent than at Mystic Dunes.

When I walked into the Welcome Center I felt like Norm from Cheers where everybody knows your name. Well, they might not have known my name but they all said “Welcome Home” with wide smiles. The atmosphere was very warm and friendly! Check in was at 4 pm and I was early, yet they did not bat an eye. They issued my room key and handed over parking permits for me and for a guest.

My unit was a small single with the usual kitchen, washer & dryer, living room and bedroom. My voice echo’d because the only furnishings in the living room was the TV , a sofa bed and the coffee table.

When I mentioned my observation I was told it was because Diamond had only recently taken over the property and they were upgrading to bring all the units in line with their standards.

I was in a standard single, not the deluxe so they had not gotten to my unit level yet. Even so it was a perfectly nice unit and certainly suitable for my needs.