Using Staroptions for Westin Kierland

Hello, we are long time timeshare users, but new to the Starwood system. Familiar with HGVC.

We want to book late Oct and Nov weeks at Westin Kierland. If we have enough Staroptions from any of the mandatory resorts, and plan to book 8 months out, would we have trouble getting late Oct or Nov weeks? (Note: not Thanksgiving week).

If so, it seems like we should look for the lowest cost Staroption points, regardless of resort. That is how HGVC works in practice - you can pretty much always get the resort you want if you plan ahead, so "points are points', and people look for resorts with low maint fees.

Thanks, Mark

Hi Mark - It doesn't work quite the same way with Starwood, because only a few Starwood resorts have Staroptions on a resale. WKV itself, is often considered to be the best resort to buy for Staroptions, because of it's low maintenance fees.

More Info.: Starwood FAQ

Oct./Nov. should be easy to reserve at WKV, as long as you do so at 8 mos. before check-in, when it becomes available.

If you are flexible, you might want to consider buying a Starwood II trader instead - for a far lower cost upfront and on-going. Oct. and Nov. are off-season, so should be a relatively easy II trade, if you put in an Ongoing Search, a year or more in advance, and you can go any week during that time frame.

Very helpful, thank you!

I have seen that SDO weeks are almost free. I wonder if the II membership and exchange fees would be a significant factor, if we only wanted to trade into Kierland. We are not currently II members.

Mark G said:

Very helpful, thank you!

I have seen that SDO weeks are almost free. I wonder if the II membership and exchange fees would be a significant factor, if we only wanted to trade into Kierland. We are not currently II members.

Click to expand...

II Membership is from about $40 - $100 per year, depending on the discount offer you get.

Exchange fee about $130.

SDO 2 bdm. - MF about $1,130 next year

1 Bdm. Premium - MF about $780 next year