Hey ProTurbo -
Here's an easy way to learn more about UVC's properties and memberships:
1) Here's the member website
http://www.myuvc.com/
2) Here's a link to a member presentation that does a great job of explaining the various levels of UVC memberships that Bill (Easyrider) was describing. Check it out
http://www.myuvc.com/files/Members_101_Class - New Feb 2014-No Senior.pdf
My personal observations and recommendations regarding UVC membership:
1) Resorts - I really love most of the properties...especially Villa del Arco in Cabo and Villa del Palmar Flamingos in Nuevo Vallarta. We just returned Saturday from a week at one of the two new resorts - Villa del Palmar Cancun. Absolutely stunning resort. Some pros and cons...I prefer Cabo. As Bill mentioned, one of the great UVC membership benefits is that once you own a membership you own at all the resorts. Your membership "floats" across all the inventory in all the resorts. Very flexible.
We're obviously fans of UVC - we own four weeks - three of those weeks purchased resale.
2) Buying a membership:
- The memberships are RTU.
- Do NOT buy a points (VPA) membership on the resale market. You'll likely pay a premium and resale points memberships revert to Premier memberships when sold but retain their higher maintenance fees.
- I think the best option is to buy a resale "Winter Gold" membership. Don't opt for a summer week...those are essentially worthless unless you plan on visiting the resorts only during the summer months. Opt for the winter memberships
- Look on eBay and search for Villa del Palmar...currently there is only one listing - an expensive one at that. As Bill mentioned, the eBay market for UVC memberships has really dried up. I've been looking for a two bedroom Gold Winter week for a friend = I've seen one listing on eBay that meets the bill since last April...and we lost out on that one. Your other options for finding a resale unit would be on the TUG Marketplace or on RedWeek. Remember to look at listings for all the UVC resorts...a Gold membership at one has equal rights across all resorts.
3) Maintenance Fees: UVC does not have the special assessments or every 5/10 year additional maintenance fees as some other Mexican properties do as referenced earlier in this thread.
UVC has held maintenance fees flat - no increase for the past three years. That's pretty good compared to some others.
4) Member update meetings:
I always read horror stories here about people having terrible experiences with the timeshare sharks. I have no doubt the stories are true. However, that said, I've been to 6-7 update meetings at UVC and with one exception they have been pretty short and painless.
5) All-Inclusive:
Everyone has their own opinion on AI...I prefer not to be on the AI - especially in Cabo where there are dozens of great restaurants a short walk or cab ride away.
All-Inclusive is offered as an option at all the UVC resorts. The costs vary by season and resort. It was $105 per person per day in Cancun last week. $89 per person per day at Villa del Arco in late Feb this year.
If you elect all-inclusive it must be for all people staying in the unit for a minimum of three days.
6) Exchanging:
All Gold/VPA memberships include an "optional" week. As a member you have the right
but not the obligation to pay a second maintenance fee in any year and reserve a summer week. You can then use this week and stay at the resort or use it as a "trader" and exchange for a week via Interval International. This is a poorly understood feature of the UVC memberships. Sort of a two for one. Buy a winter week pay the maintenance fee and stay in a great UVC resort...but, wait, there's more...pay one more maintenance fee and stay at another great resort somewhere else during the same year. One membership, two weeks of vacation...but never forgetting you also pay two maintenance fees.
UVC Premier memberships trade via RCI. I'm not a RCI member so I can't speak to that.
UVC Gold/VPA memberships trade via Interval International.
We've exchanged this optional week via Interval Int'l several times in the past few years...contrary to public opinion expressed earlier in this thread, I've found these weeks to trade just fine...
We've traded into the Marriott Frenchman's Cove in St Thomas, USVI, (this is a pretty hard trade), Westin Lagunamar in Cancun (Mexico to Mexico trade so pretty easy), Grand Solmar in Cabo (Mexico to Mexico...but this is a rare trade...Grand Solmar is something else), Grande Bay Resort in St John, USVI (another tough trade).
7) New resorts.
Membership contracts explicitly state that the membership includes all future UVC resorts. During my owner update meeting in Cabo in February they announced that they have acquired property and will be building another resort in Cabo on the corridor north of the current resorts and south of where the Westin is located. This was confirmed by the General Manager of the resort and the Regional Manager of all the Baja resorts.
UVC usually builds two resorts at a time...they alluded to but were not specific about something south of the Cancun area. They own a ton of property next to the existing Cancun resort. I wouldn't be surprised to see that they build out phase 2 there rather than at a new location. Time will tell.
FWIW
Good luck.
bbb