You may remember their faces…  These are the wonderful people who…. If you’re in your unit, and have a question or need an extra cot, blankets, light bulb, paper towels, baking dish or something else, will be the friendly voice at the end of the line or the knock at the door just minutes later. They’ll be the ones who cheerfully guide you to coffee in the clubhouse, who ask how your vacation is going, who recommend restaurants or area activities, who hand you a map and show you — with a highlighter — the most scenic route to Falmouth or how to drive to North Truro.  They’ll be the ones who ensure everything in your unit runs smoothly, who’ll respond swiftly if anything needs attention and who keep the lawns manicured, the flowers blooming, and the walks free of snow in winter.  And they were the ones who prepared the rooms of your unit for the most restful, comfortable stay, and who’ll be back to ensure everything is just right for the next visitors.

Occasionally, you might walk in the Clubhouse and see a small gift, card or flowers at the front desk.  If you ask, and only if you ask, you might happen to learn it was left there for one of our staff members — as a token of thanks by an appreciative guest for an extra step taken, such as care for an elderly relative or additional help with a small child.  

This kind of incident quietly typifies the warmth and unassuming nature of the service that defines Cape Winds.  Perfecting the art of hospitality? You can be sure…  



 
Monday, December 2, 2013

Resort Rejuvenating

On December 6, 2013, we begin our annual maintenance weeks at Cape Winds, and we’ll be closed for guest stays.  We’ll open for a week over New Year’s ~ December 27 through January 3 ~ and then re-open for our new year February 14, 2014!


For most of our year -- especically during the spring, summer and into the fall -- we're just about in a state of perpetual motion at Cape Winds!  Day in and day out, we're carrying on the business of running our resort -- welcoming new owners and guests, booking stays, responding to inquiries and guest requests, planning and performing daily maintenance and grounds care, attending to any needed repairs, ordering equipment and supplies, readying our condominium units for each new guest stay and in all ways helping and accommodating our owners and guests so they enjoy the best vacation possible!








   



           Cape Winds Maintenance Weeks are Dec. 6-26 and Jan 3-Feb. 14, 2014

While our work is absorbing and gratifying, it almost goes without saying that as much as we love it,  we also welcome this ‘down’ time to reflect, assess, reorganize… Essentially to tune up and reboot!   

During maintenance weeks, throughout the resort, we physically take inventory of everything, and each of  our units undergoes an annual intensive cleaning and review that we’re just unable to do when the units are filled.  We’re also able to implement resort-wide upgrades and improvements, including evaluating and adjusting heating, electrical, and plumbing systems — things that are a lot easier to do when we have complete access to all of our units at the same time!  The property maintenance also includes draining, cleaning and then refilling our indoor heated pool and jacuzzi, and ensuring all mechanical components are performing efficiently.

From a managerial standpoint, we review our annual budgets to ensure our owners’ maintenance fee dollars are spent wisely, with a continual eye to cost-effectiveness of systems and purchases.  Administratively, we continue the daily tasks of booking stays for the upcoming year, assisting owners with questions or promoting summer rentals, reviewing and updating owner and guest records, collecting maintenance fees, and overall streamlining our databases so we can move efficiently into the new year!  Our office and managerial staff continue to work —  full time (9-5) during maintenance weeks, and are at the phone ready to answer inquires and book future stays! 











  




This year, we’re also preparing our second unit remodel ~ one-bedroom Unit 22 in Building 2 (we completed Unit 16 last year). The project will involve a complete unit redesign ~ which we’ll detail more later ~ and we’ll use some of our maintenance period to prepare for that.   

So although technically we call maintenance weeks ‘down’ times… it’s not really that way for our us!   But it is a period of rejuvenation.  And you can be sure by the time February 14 rolls around, we’ll be ready to open the doors and welcome our owner families and guests to a brand new 2014 at Cape Winds!  


 
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Cape Winds.. And an Easy Thanksgiving ~ Pt. 2

OK!  TO RECAP, HERE IT IS!  (AGAIN, FEEL FREE TO SHARE!) OUR..

CAPE WINDS RECIPE FOR AN EASY THANKSGIVING!


 INGREDIENTS:

  • 'Natural' Backdrop - Original Thanksgiving took place 30 miles away...
  • Organic 'Feel' - Cranberries and oysters first cultivated on Cape Cod
  • Vacation Ambience - Happy memories fill Cape Winds
  • Cape Cod Location - Stress-free, a short trip to far-away!
  • A Cape Winds Stay - Full condominiums and spacious comfort, with complete kitchens and flatscreen TVs


Topped off with:

Resort Amenities - Proximity to Beaches, Hyannis harbor and Hyannis Main Street for great vacation walks; Clubhouse big screen TV; Keurig coffee station; fireplace; exercise room; pool & jacuzzi to finish.


Directions:

Mix well.. use any amounts... add your own variations!!  Congratulations - you've just created a great Thanksgiving!  And that's something to be thankful for... ENJOY!ja




Friday, November 15, 2013

Cape Winds... and An Easy Thanksgiving ~

Part 1

We just wanted to share with you our Cape Winds Recipe for an Easy Thanksgiving.
                                 
First, start with a natural, historic backdrop...  We’re just 30 miles away from what’s widely regarded as the first Thanksgiving — a 3-day feast shared by Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in Plymouth following harvest in the autumn of 1621.  There’s something about celebrating the holiday so close to its origin that makes it more of a unique and special experience!  (Should we say, it brings out the color and intensifies the flavor?)













                                
                 A Cape Winds' Thanksgiving blends into a terrific holiday. 

Enhance this organic ‘feel’ by knowing Cape Cod also brought forth two of the dishes it’d be hard to imagine Thanksgiving without ~ cranberries and more extravagantly, oysters (for oyster stuffing)!  Cranberries were first cultivated in Dennis, and oysters in Wellfleet!
                      
Next, blend in a touch of the great memories thousands of Cape Winds owners and guests have had here over the years (they seem to fill the resort)!  At the same time acknowledge that while Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, it can also be stressful.  Yet just traveling to Cape Winds —  crossing over the Cape Cod Canal enroute to Hyannis —  seems to take your cares away!  Your everyday work/home life is behind you, and you’re heading to a stress-free holiday!

Now, add our wonderful Cape Winds condominium units.  You and your family or friends can really stretch out here.  The spotless kitchens are fantastic for cooking a Thanksgiving meal, equipped with nearly EVERYTHING you’ll need. (It’s also possible you’ll find our two-bedroom units kitchens have more counter space than the kitchens at home… )  There are 40- and 32-inch flat-screens in every living room and bedroom (three TVs in a two-bedroom unit) so you can virtually eliminate any fighting over who wants to watch the parade, game or movie.  (And there are DVD players in every living room, with free movies at the front desk.)

Finally to top it all off,  combine:
Our proximity to Hyannis Beaches, Harbor, and Main Street (magnificent spots for holiday walks and Black Friday shopping) and our Cape Winds Clubhouse amenities (big-screen TV — if you still need room to watch); Clubhouse sofas by the fireplace;  Keurig coffee maker for an after-dinner sip;  exercise room to adjust holiday calorie intake; and heated indoor pool with jacuzzi for a warm and luxurious finish).

Another sure variation to this recipe is to enjoy your holiday meal at one of the many excellent area restaurants open for Thanksgiving.   (Our Facebook page lists some…)

It’s that easy~!!  Of course feel free to share this ‘recipe’!  We’ll be back tomorrow to summarize... ! 

 
Sunday, November 10, 2013 
The Comforts of Home

Cape winds units are beautiful… light, airy, spacious, calming.  And fairly unique in terms of layout!  The condominium units are essentially one- and two-bedroom apartments.  Each has a living room, dining area, complete kitchen, full bath, and master bedroom with either a queen or king-sized bed and a half-bath (the two bedroom units offer two full baths).  Stylish, the design and furnishings are unpretentious — reflecting a’ keep it simple’ attitude.  Some may recognize this as an ‘old Cape Cod’ type of mood!

For many, and perhaps most, a Cape Winds condominium is a base from which to explore and re-discover their Cape Cod…. whether locally at Craigville Beach, Sandy Neck, Hyannis Harbor or Hyannis Main Street or through short rides to Nauset, the lower Cape and Provincetown, Falmouth, or the islands.  Cape Winds is a central place to return to after a day’s journey — to relax and rejuvenate.

And, rather than simply staying in their units, our guests and owners can actually live in them!  A Cape Winds  one-bedroom sleeps 2-4, with either a pull-out couch or living room futon.  Additional bedding/linens is supplied in the unit, and cots are just a call away to the clubhouse front desk.  There is a full bath, and a half-bath off the bedroom.  


    









         Our beautiful Cape Winds one- and two-bedrooms provide the comforts of home.   

Two-bedrooms sleep 4-6, with a master bedroom, two full baths, and a second bedroom that features two twin beds.  Again, there is a pull-out sofa, and you can add a cot if needed.  The separate bedrooms add a nice degree of privacy to your stay and provide space for a little ‘alone’ time if you need it!  The units also offer three flat-screen TVs -- one in the living room and one in each of the bedrooms.  This is a great ‘peacemaker’ feature… there’s no fighting over whether to watch the game or the movie… and it’s terrific for families with children!  


Just about everything at Cape Winds is presented with an eye for detail, and the kitchens are no exception!  They’re fully supplied — stocked with everything you need for great night-in, lunch on the patio or or a creative omelette breakfast. There’s plates, glassware, cutlery, glassware, pots/pans, and bakeware.  Even measuring cups!  And just about anything you can’t find can be requested from the front desk ~ including lobster pots, blenders and coffee grinders…




  








           Cape Winds' central location frees you to explore the best of Cape Cod.


...You realize that in addition to its comfort and convenience, Cape Winds is also a very efficient place to stay —  leaving you more time to enjoy your vacation!  You can park your car just outside your unit, which makes for easy unloading and loading — and whenever you’re ready, just step outside, hop in the car and head off to explore the Cape!  (It’s even more time-saving when you’re in the car on the way out and realize you have to go back for that camera, beach blanket or something else you’ve forgotten!!) 




Monday, November 4, 2013

You're home on the Cape...

When you arrive at Cape Winds, you drive into a shingled two-story resort property, enveloped in a coral roof and familiar Cape cedar-shingled exterior, set back slightly from a landscaped lawn.  On the right there's parking for your stay in front of -- and just steps from  -- your unit.  As you pass Building 3 on your left, you make a left turn in front of the cape Winds Townhouse units and head past the barbecue area, picnic tables and volleyball net on your right toward the Clubhouse with enclosed heated pool and jacuzzi to check in.  Just on your left again, you can see Building 1 with more units set back and a drive leading back to the street. All units face a green courtyard not visible from the driveway, and each unit (depending on whether you’re on the first or second floor) has either a deck or patio opening onto and overlooking the courtyard.


We’re situated off West Main Street, Hyannis, which at times can make us harder to find… particularly for new guests… (See our directions here.)  West Main is seasonally a fairly busy thoroughfare, but we’re a private enclave of three relatively small two-story buildings set well back from the road.  It’s a setting that’s central, convenient, and like most everything at Cape Winds, comfortable!!  


  










     


To us, Cape Winds has a 'you're-in-it-but-not-of-it' type of feel.  The excitement, energy, heartbeat of Hyannis is just at your doorstep, with Cape Cod and all its possibilities a short ride from the end of the driveway.  But when you're at Cape Winds... in your unit, at the Clubhouse, in the pool, playing shuffleboard, lounging on the patio or sipping a cool drink by the courtyard... you feel removed from it all.  It's interesting how this happens -- and it doesn't always happen right away.  But for most it does -- and it's a great characteristic of Cape Winds!
 


Wednesday, October 30, 2013


A Big Welcome!


"The facility is small... but the welcome is BIG!"

This simple comment made by one of our guests after enjoying her Cape Winds stay may be one of the most fitting descriptions of the resort we've had


Tucked in off West Main Street in Hyannis, Cape Winds is a 34-unit condominium timeshare resort built in 1982. It features beautiful, spacious, fully-equipped one- and two-bedroom units -- apartments, really -- that comfortably accommodate couples, individuals, and families. Cape Winds amenities feture a heated indoor pool and jacuzi, exercise room, free resort wi-fi, Clubhouse with fireplace and large flatscreen TV, Keurig coffee bar, computer/printer station, volleyball, shuffleboard, and a barbecue/picnic area. (and a soon-to-be Bocce court and horsehoe pit!)


As an older property, Cape Winds may not have the array of 'bells and whistles' that embellish some of the newer Cape resorts (we've had some guests note we have fewer amenities than some other properties). And, we're not on the water.













  

                                      There's a comfort and ease to a Cape Winds stay. T

    Having said that, there's a comfort and ease at Cape Widns that's not readily found at other Cape resorts.  Could that be considered an amenity?  We think so. Perhaps because we're smaller, and have a longer history, our owners and guests are not numbers.  After all, they're owners of vacation week homes and guests in our 'home'!  As owners and resort guests, we care about them and how they're doing... We get to know them, and they us.  When owners and guests arrive, we welcome them as family, as good friends coming back home.

    We have a relatively small staff — two of whom have worked over 20 years at the resort. We’re a tight-knit and responsive group — friendly, helpful and extremely proud of our property!!  And we work diligently so our owners can share our terrific pride in our resort, and so our new and returning guests can enjoy the restful, pleasant Cape vacation experience they expect and deserve! 

    Over the years, we’ve gotten to know so many of the Cape Winds owners and returning guests — and now their children and grandchildren —  they feel like family. When they arrive, it’s like seeing an old friend or family member and renewing that relationship. This would seem to be especially true for owners ~ but actually, it’s the same for our first-time guests! 



      
                           
     



















    The Cape Winds Townhouses are on your left as you head to the Clubhouse (right) to check in.


    We'll also be preparing to remodel Unit 22 in Building 2 during maintenance weeks.

    (Unit 16 - above - was completed last year.)

    We'll have new pull-out sofas in all units in Buildings 2 and 3 this spring!


               a condominium timeshare resort - with nightly rentals - in the heart of cape cod

    Cape Winds Resort     Hyannis

     .

    Tuesday, April 8, 2014


    Our New Spring 'Look'!

    Want a new spring 'look'? We've got it at Cape Winds!!

    Building on work started last season and carried through our recent maintenance weeks, we're updating our one- and two-bedroom condominium suites in Buildings 2 and 3 -- all 24 units!
     
    Our full condominiums have always been beautiful, comfortable and functional for our owners and guests... and so many have enjoyed the familiarity of their Cape Winds 'home' over the seasons.  But as it's been about 10 years (the time does fly!) since our last Cape Winds remodel, we decided it's a good time for an update!

    Here's what's included in our improvements: replacement of carpeting in the living rooms and bedrooms, repainting throughout units as needed, new sectional pull-out sofas in each living room, reupholstered dining area chairs, new wood flooring in designated units (where kitchens had been partially carpeted), and new queen-sized bedroom mattresses!     
                  

     














    In keeping with the sense of bright calm and warmth in our Cape Winds units, the upgrades are built on a sun/seascape motif -- with soft golden earthy tones and blue-green hues.  And there is a freshness and light you can feel as soon as you walk through the door!

    And... we're creating even more lightness in our eight second floor units of Buildings 2 and 3! In fact, we're actually breaking through entryway walls to enhance light and space -- cutting a 'window' between the wall separating the unit entryway leading to the kitchen and the living room/dining area!  This is a great effect... there is a sense of openness and enlarged space in both the kitchen and living room!  We'll complete the new look with a breakfast nook set against the window which will further serve to enhance enjoyment of this area for owners and guests!










            
    The new 'window' under construction in our eight second-floor units in Buildings 2 and 3!

    Needless to say, it's been a busy but exciting time as our changes take shape!  We've been working intensively to implement and coordinate the improvements, while carefully balancing costs against needed improvements to maximize our investment.  In other words, we're working to get the most from our upgrade dollars as we enhance the value of our beautiful Hyannis property!

    We expect most of the work to be finished by the end for the spring... with just a few items left on our improvements 'bucket list' to complete before the summer.  And we can't wait for you to see our new look!!  (And look for Townhouse unit improvements in 2015!)
       

    Sunday, December 22, 2013 
     

    Our Staff on 'Namebook!'


    'Perfecting the Art of Hospitality' is the theme describing the network of resorts of Vacation Resorts International (VRI) -- our owner-management company.  And you'd be hard-pressed to find another resort that comes so close to this ideal as Cape Winds!


    Our Cape Winds staff consists of our general manager, assistant manager, maintenance supervisor, three front desk team members, a housecleaning supervisor and five housekeeping staff members.  (We also have a fabulous board of directors, which is made up of a mostly volunteer group of Cape Winds owners.)


    For a resort of 34 units, it's a relatively small staff.  Yet quite simply, this staff is the glue that holds the resort together, the engine that keeps Cape Winds running... and the smile that greets you every day at the Clubhouse door!


    You may find it hard to believe, but it would be accurate to say this group has collectively worked over 75 years in the hospitality industry!  Yet despite their years of experience, it's fair to say most of our team members don't' care much for special attention or to be singled out for what they consider 'doing their job.' And although they get them, our staff doesn't look for accolades.  Also, we've tried, but at least for the time being you probably won't see their picture on our Cape Winds Facebook page or on this blog... (if ever).  It's certainly not true they don't take a good picture... of course they do!  They're just modest.


    So just for now we'll create a new platform... 'Namebook' -- or more appropriately, 'Firstnamebook' -- and we'll honor our stellar staff with our thanks here, by name: