Review of Worldmark BirchBay

[DaveNV]

According to my reservation:

Worldmark Blaine
7854 Birch Bay Drive
Birch Bay WA 98230

Well, there you go.

Dave

 

[bbodb1]

Another related question about this area if I might: we plan on traveling around a bit while at this resort. We know we will cross the US / Canadian border several times, head to Vancouver (and perhaps points a bit beyond but near there).

Question: Are there any toll roads in this general area? If so, are there express lanes similar to what we have in the U.S. with Ez-Pass?

After our experiences with toll roads in the northeastern U.S., I want to be prepared if we will have to deal with toll roads.

 

[DaveNV]

There aren’t any toll roads near the border on the U.S. side. The closest you’ll find is near Seattle, which is more than a hundred miles from the border.

I can’t speak to the Canadian side of the line.

Dave

 

[BevL]

The only toll road I can possibly think of at this time is a toll for across a bridge called the Golden Ears Bridge. You can enroll your vehicle online. If you are renting a vehicle, the rental company will likely be able to sort it out for you.

I should add that the Golden Ears Bridge isn't a bridge that goes anywhere touristy so I'd be surprised if you used it unless you're visiting family or something. And there are lots of alternative routes. The toll is only a few dollars.

 

[bbodb1]

I'll be adding more to this thread throughout the week as we are back home now from our recent stay at WM BLAINE but as I am cleaning up my receipts and papers, I came across this map provided by the resort of its rooms. We stayed in room 409 (which faces to the east - toward the mountains with NO view of the bay).

 

[TUGBrian]

be sure to upload any new/useful photos to the resort page as well!

https://tug2.com/timeshare-resort/photo-upload/?WorldMark+Birch+Bay&ID=11977

 

[bbodb1]

be sure to upload any new/useful photos to the resort page as well!

https://tug2.com/timeshare-resort/photo-upload/?WorldMark+Birch+Bay&ID=11977

Hello Brian,

...edited by bbodb1 to remove the rambling incorrectness......

At any rate, what is the best thing to do in this case? Update the info on the resort pages?

it is a reference mess for sure (caused by Wyndham / Worldmark) .....

 

[TUGBrian]

hmm...interesting...for cases like these its difficult to find a "right" answer that will work for everyone.

few questions that will help me decide and sort it out.

i dont see a listing in TUG for worldmark blaine? is it just a different phase of the same resort at birch bay?

we can easily combine/add to the wm birch bay to include wm blaine as well...but that would be frustrating if the rooms/phases are completely different? it sounds like perhaps they are the same though? would anyone actually notice a difference if staying in a blaine room vs a birch bay room?

 

[bbodb1]

hmm...interesting...for cases like these its difficult to find a "right" answer that will work for everyone.

few questions that will help me decide and sort it out.

i dont see a listing in TUG for worldmark blaine? is it just a different phase of the same resort at birch bay?

we can easily combine/add to the wm birch bay to include wm blaine as well...but that would be frustrating if the rooms/phases are completely different? it sounds like perhaps they are the same though? would anyone actually notice a difference if staying in a blaine room vs a birch bay room?

Unfortunately, I did not think to ask about the history of the two resorts so I can't add much to this. There is definitely confusion when it comes to these two resorts. One thing I can add is this: part of the issue is Birch Bay is served by the Blaine Post Office. I have another photo to add here. Stand by a moment.


Also found this You Tube video.....

 

[DaveNV]

Brian,

Definitely two different resorts. From the WorldMark website:

WorldMark Birch Bay
WorldMark Managed
4810 Beachcomber Dr
Blaine, WA 98230
(360) 371-0880
Fax (360) 371-3162

WorldMark Blaine
WorldMark Managed
7854 Birch Bay Drive,
Birch Bay, WA 98230
360-371-4900

Dave

 

[bbodb1]

My suggestion is the current listing for the Raintree's Sand Castle at Birch Bay would benefit by having some sort of notation that this building has units that can be reserved through WorldMark Birch Bay and / or is also known as WorldMark Birch Bay

The current Worldmark Birch Bay listing page should actually be changed to Worldmark Blaine.

From my time in I.T. and working with Post Office related issues like this, Birch Bay is a vanity city name (postal service for Birch Bay is performed through the Blaine post office). This definitely confuses this issues here....

 

[bbodb1]

Brian,

Definitely two different resorts. From the WorldMark website:

WorldMark Birch Bay
WorldMark Managed
4810 Beachcomber Dr
Blaine, WA 98230
(360) 371-0880
Fax (360) 371-3162

WorldMark Blaine
WorldMark Managed
7854 Birch Bay Drive,
Birch Bay, WA 98230
360-371-4900

Dave

Mapping this info from Dave:

 

[TUGBrian]

whew...making it even harder to organize for sure lol =D

the "correct" answer would be to add a new resort in tug for wm blaine, and then add to all 3 the distinction/notation that they all share the same resort complex.

my fear is that splitting them all up will result in LESS people finding the info they need vs more.

 

[TUGBrian]

ok..step 1 done...added a note (and your photo) to the sandcastle review page noting its in the same location as birch bay/blaine.

also added similar note to WM birch bay (and uploaded that photo as well)

 

[TUGBrian]

I think perhaps the best option at this point would be to add the blaine name to the birch bay resort so that searches for either would take someone to the same page with all the info on it.

unfortunately simply renaming wm birch bay to wm blaine might mess other things up if all the reviews are for birch bay vs blaine

 

[DaveNV]

Guys, note that in the mailing addresses I posted, both have the same zip code, although they show two different town names.

Also, the community they're both in has always been called Birch Bay. Blaine is a different town. Not sure what WM was thinking with this naming.

Dave

 

[bbodb1]

Guys, note that in the mailing addresses I posted, both have the same zip code, although they show two different town names.

Dave

That is vanity city name at work for you - those things really confuse the actual physical location of some entities.
Check out post #37 above.

 

[sue1947]

Unfortunately, I did not think to ask about the history of the two resorts so I can't add much to this. There is definitely confusion when it comes to these two resorts. One thing I can add is this: part of the issue is Birch Bay is served by the Blaine Post Office. I have another photo to add here. Stand by a moment.

View attachment 7341

Also found this You Tube video.....

You have the two resorts reversed. The one at the bottom is WM Birch Bay; your orange arrow and your purple circle. In the photos these are the blue buildings and the larger resort.
see https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/ob/ from the official WM website. This is the original WM resort and is next door to Jacobs Landing (at the bottom of the photo).
The one at the top of the photo is WM Blaine (the sand colored building), i.e. your yellow arrow and yellow circle). In reality, it used to all be Raintree Sandcastle. WM bought some of the Raintree inventory, but not all and renamed it as WM Blaine to differentiate it from their existing property next door. It would have been less confusing to call it WM Sandcastle.
see https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/bn/ from the official WM site.

They aren't really in the same complex. There is a string of businesses along the same side of the road that are a mix of restaurants and lodging with parking lots in between. Jacobs Landing, a third timeshare, is also in the photo (at the bottom) but has more landscaping to differentiate itself. There is a 4th timeshare down around the corner at Cabana Club which has been showing up in the II AC list a lot lately. As a side note, WM started with a few condos at Eagle Crest, Otters Crest and Jacobs Landing. Once they got going, the Jacobs Landing condo was sold and replaced with the Birch Bay resort.

The brochure with the unit locations is also of WM Blaine not WM Birch Bay. This thread started with a review of the original Birch Bay location and was then hijacked to include reviews of the separate and different, but next door location of WM Blaine.

Sue

 

[bbodb1]

Well *&!@%^#(&!@%^&(%!@^&(%!@^&(#%!@^&(#%!@^&(#%


This is what I get for trusting my memory.....ARRGH!

You are correct Sue - and my bad Brian for the confusion on this....

 

[DaveNV]

So then what happened with the addresses you mapped? I took those street addresses directly from the WorldMark website. You deleted your map, so I'm not sure where the disconnect was?

Dave

 

[bbodb1]

So then what happened with the addresses you mapped? I took those street addresses directly from the WorldMark website. You deleted your map, so I'm not sure where the disconnect was?

Dave

The disconnect was my memory......a bad, bad, thing.....

Here is that map - updated and corrected.

 

[bbodb1]

You have the two resorts reversed. The one at the bottom is WM Birch Bay; your orange arrow and your purple circle. In the photos these are the blue buildings and the larger resort.
see https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/ob/ from the official WM website. This is the original WM resort and is next door to Jacobs Landing (at the bottom of the photo).
The one at the top of the photo is WM Blaine (the sand colored building), i.e. your yellow arrow and yellow circle). In reality, it used to all be Raintree Sandcastle. WM bought some of the Raintree inventory, but not all and renamed it as WM Blaine to differentiate it from their existing property next door. It would have been less confusing to call it WM Sandcastle.
see https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/bn/ from the official WM site.

They aren't really in the same complex. There is a string of businesses along the same side of the road that are a mix of restaurants and lodging with parking lots in between. Jacobs Landing, a third timeshare, is also in the photo (at the bottom) but has more landscaping to differentiate itself. There is a 4th timeshare down around the corner at Cabana Club which has been showing up in the II AC list a lot lately. As a side note, WM started with a few condos at Eagle Crest, Otters Crest and Jacobs Landing. Once they got going, the Jacobs Landing condo was sold and replaced with the Birch Bay resort.

The brochure with the unit locations is also of WM Blaine not WM Birch Bay. This thread started with a review of the original Birch Bay location and was then hijacked to include reviews of the separate and different, but next door location of WM Blaine.

Sue

Okay, I have updated the maps now. Thanks for pointing me in the correct direction Dave and Sue.

WorldMark Blaine and WorldMark Birch Bay are separated by the shared parking lot (mostly seen to the left of the tip of the orange arrow, but the parking area does extend away from the road a bit).

Even with all of my screwups here, that still does not change the fact the listings on the TUG Resort page is/was in need some updating. Hopefully some good will come from my produced confusion!