Westin Los Cabos!

My partner had owned at the Westin Club Regina in Cabo (NOT part of the SVN) and last year spent a bundle to purchase a new development on the other side of the hotel, Grand Regina. It is to be ready in 2008. We checked it out last February and it was magnificent but pricey - it's sold in a minimum of 2 week increments at over $50,000 per week, more for dedicated holiday weeks.

He just got a letter informing him that the project has been acquire by SVO and will henceforth be known as the Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas. I checked out the SVO website and there is no mention of it, but if you go to www.StarwoodVO.com/loscabos, you can see information there. Nothing listed about Staroptions, etc. The come in 2 and three bedroom models, and are lock-offs.

Here's the information from the above website:



Starwood Vacation Ownership is proud to now include The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas in our family of resorts. Starwood Vacation Owners experience the spacious comfort of villa accommodations intuitively designed with every comfort and convenience. They travel to the world's most sought-after destinations with confidence and ease, and they create a lifetime of cherished memories to share with loved ones year after year and for generations to come.

An impressive collection of villa resorts provides unique environments and experiences to complement any lifestyle. With amenities like the refreshing Westin Heavenly Bed® and the Sheraton Warm Welcome, each Owner can expect an unforgettable getaway with exceptional service.

From the alpine wonderland of Colorado, to the breathtaking beaches of Hawai‘i and the rolling fairways of Arizona to the ancient mystery of Atlantis, Starwood Vacation Ownership offers an endless world of extraordinary vacation possibilities at 19 resorts in the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico. Plus, with the most flexible usage options in the industry through Starwood Vacation Network, Owners can vacation like never before.

To learn more about Starwood Vacation Ownership, please visit starwoodvacationownership.com. If you should have any questions, please fill out and submit the form found on this page, so we may respond directly to you.

That's great news! Your link to me to the main SVO page and I couldn't find the Los Cabos info. Where did you find it?

Can someone explain to me the difference between Starwood Vacation Ownership and Starwood Vacation Network resorts. I know the network is used to exchange between resorts with star options. On mystarcentral there are two resorts (Villas of Cave Creek and Vistana's Beach Club) that are not affiliated with SVN and have no star option chart. How do you trade into them or can you? I'm confused and wonder if the Westin Los Cabos will be the same as the other two resorts. They also now have the star options listed in the chart for Westin Aruba but it's not on the list of resorts.

Jonelle

nell said:

Can someone explain to me the difference between Starwood Vacation Ownership and Starwood Vacation Network resorts. I know the network is used to exchange between resorts with star options. On mystarcentral there are two resorts (Villas of Cave Creek and Vistana's Beach Club) that are not affiliated with SVN and have no star option chart. How do you trade into them or can you? I'm confused and wonder if the Westin Los Cabos will be the same as the other two resorts. They also now have the star options listed in the chart for Westin Aruba but it's not on the list of resorts.

Jonelle

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Villas of Cave Creek and Vistana's Beach Club are owned by Starwood, but they aren't part of the SVN. I haven't been to either of them, but I believe they are a step lower in quality than SVN properties. You would have to use an outside exchange Co. to exchange into them.

Thanks Denise. I guess I'm just confused why they would acquire resorts under SVO and not include them in SVN.

nell said:

Thanks Denise. I guess I'm just confused why they would acquire resorts under SVO and not include them in SVN.

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They are Starwood timeshares - i.e. Starwood Vacation OWNERSHIP, but I don't think they meet the quality standards to be in the SVN. Because exchanging is such a big issue, I think Starwood wants to maintain a high standard of quality, so people feel like they are getting a good value when they exchange within the SVN.

Steve,

That's very exciting! It sounds great. I've never been to Cabo and its high on my list of places I'd like to visit. I've seen pictures of the Westin resort and know its gorgeous. I can't wait for it to be completed and try to make a reservation there. Thanks for the news!

See the other thread on the new resort for some thoughts. By the way here is the link to the Club Regina at the Westin Los Cabos.

http://www.clubregina.com/ingles/cabos1ing.htm

Thanks for posting the link. It looks like it will be a beautiful resort!!

Club Regina is NOT to be confused with Grand Regina - two separate places. Starwood acquired GRAND REGINA. You can get more info by going to www.grandregina.com

It is MUCH more beautiful than the pictures show it to be. And Cabo is magnificent. The biggest worry was "will it be 85 or 88 today!" Still, until I see a Staroption value, it's just talk.

Denise-

The link I inserted was a special one that is not reachable through the website. I got it from the letter sent to my business partner. Again, it was www.starwoodvo.com/loscabos

Steve

The link above just drops me into the standard starwoodvacationownership.com web site. I then tried to just add loscabos to that url and it did take me to a page that talks about this and has a form to request more infomration. The link that works for me is:

https://www.starwoodvacationownership.com/loscabos/index.jsp

stevens397 said:

Denise-

The link I inserted was a special one that is not reachable through the website. I got it from the letter sent to my business partner. Again, it was www.starwoodvo.com/loscabos

Steve

Click to expand...

That's weird - it just takes me to the SVO homepage.

Below is what the link says.





Starwood Vacation Ownership is proud to now include The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas in our family of resorts. Starwood Vacation Owners experience the spacious comfort of villa accommodations intuitively designed with every comfort and convenience. They travel to the world's most sought-after destinations with confidence and ease, and they create a lifetime of cherished memories to share with loved ones year after year and for generations to come.


An impressive collection of villa resorts provides unique environments and experiences to complement any lifestyle. With amenities like the refreshing Westin Heavenly Bed® and the Sheraton Warm Welcome, each Owner can expect an unforgettable getaway with exceptional service.


From the alpine wonderland of Colorado, to the breathtaking beaches of Hawai‘i and the rolling fairways of Arizona to the ancient mystery of Atlantis, Starwood Vacation Ownership offers an endless world of extraordinary vacation possibilities at 19 resorts in the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico. Plus, with the most flexible usage options in the industry through Starwood Vacation Network, Owners can vacation like never before.
To learn more about Starwood Vacation Ownership, please visit starwoodvacationownership.com. If you should have any questions, please fill out and submit the form found on this page, so we may respond directly to you.

I toured Grand Regina in late-2005 during a stay at Club Regina. This is an absolutely stunningly beautiful resort, and the units are incredible!!

I'm curious how the folks who previously purchased fractional ownership will be integrated into the SVN timeshare world. Would they simply own several weeks of timeshare now? In my mind, fractional and timeshare have always been different, but I guess when you really think about it, it's nothing more than multiple-week ownership, right?

Assuming the building plans haven't changed since I toured, I think this might just be the new crown jewel in SVN.

What about a Club Regina Raintree Holiday Week Owner and SVN?

Just curious, do you think the units at the original Club Regina in Cabo adjacent to the Westin Hotel will now be part of SVN? I own a fixed week 52 2 bedroom unit and would love to add it to my Starwood units.
steve b

I'd be surprised. I stayed at a 2 BR in Club Regina last year and we had a blast - but I don't see it comparing in any way to the quality of the Starwood SVN resorts we've visited. I think they would have to totally redo the project before the could add it to the program.

Grand Regina, on the other hand, is a step above.

Is Grand Regina partially open now? Does anyone know when this project is scheduled for completion? The website seems to be in need of updating - see below:

"Completion of the construction of Phase I, which includes the 20 two-bedroom villas, motor lobby, swimming pool, restaurant and amenities, is scheduled for Summer of 2005. The completion of Phase II, the three-bedroom condominiums will follow there after. All owners will be notified one year prior to the completion of Phase I, giving them time to make their reservation ten months in advance".

As I recall, the oceanfront units were complete. The ocean view villas that faced both the ocean and the El Dorado golf course, were the ones being built when we were there in February. My partner bought there and bought a dedicated Spring break week. He was led to believe that his first occupancy would be 2008. The pool and restaurant were both open.

Be advised that the ocean in this area is really not usable - they don't even have lifeguards as they want no responsibility whatsoever. For those who love the beach, this is definitely not the place to go.

We just came back from Cabo yesterday. We did stay in Westin Cabo for two nights to bridge our stay in Worldmark Coral Baja.

Westin Cabo must be most overrated Cat 5 resort(we used starpoints); the pools were cold, dirty and the one and only hotub in the resort was so dirty that finally they had to drain it and it was out of action for the rest of our stay. We brought these issues to the attention of the front desk and nothing much came of it.

The resort is scenic no doubt and we were placed in a beautiful 6th floor unit; the beach is pretty and like many Cabo beaches unswimmable. The restaraunts had typical Westin prices & were average quality and the food in San Jose Del Cabo was much better.

We loved the Club Regina units and even discovered belatedly that their adult pool was heated very well. Club Regina side had friendlier people and I am sure many SVN members would be happy to exchange into them albeit at 81,000 staroption level for a 2-bed unit after they have been "Westinized".

We never toured the Grand Regina side and did see the construction continuing. From our perspective we would never exchange our Maui unit because of the beach issues; but I am sure this would be considered as one of the top SVN resorts by many(especially the Golf crowd). Grand Regina is perched high on a bluff and can be seen clearly from Cabo harbor. We were told there are villas with private pools by friends who took the tour.

One positive for Westin Cabo unlike Westin Puerto Vallarta or Westin Maui is the lack of timeshare sharks in the lobby(at least for now) and to our shock the Concierge was actually a Concierge(a good one at that !).

Our kids were so thrilled to get back to the Worldmark resort with it's warm pools and a calmer beach during low tide.

Can a Club Regina Unit be Westinized?

Skim118
You mention in your post that a Club Regina Unit can be occupied for 81000 starpoints. Does this mean existing Club Regina Cabo Owners can register their unit in SVN or pay an upgrade fee to be part of it?
steve b

I think he was only saying that at 81,000 points for the two bedroom, it would be an acceptable trade. I guess he's right - I would look forward to returning and we did have a great time, but again, the units are simply not up to Westin standards. Actually, being able to trade into Cabo with an internal Starwood trade would truly be great - but I can't imagine the Westin name on them until they are upgraded.

Updated Info on Los Cabos!

Updated info on Los Cabos (pasted in below) found at this link today.

https://www.starwoodvacationownership.com/loscabos/index.jsp

As a Grand Regina Villas owner, we understand that you may have questions about the future of this property. This site is the best resource for finding the answers you need. Here, you'll find trusted communication about construction and start of sales dates, property updates and much more.

Please note: To receive up-to-the-minute news from a dependable source, please bookmark this page and visit often.

Latest Information

= Show Details Updated March 2007

The Starwood Acquisition

On December 20, 2006, Starwood acquired development rights for the Grand Regina Villas and the existing commercial areas. This means Starwood Vacation Ownership will soon begin construction of The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas, a vacation ownership resort.

The Schedule

New construction of The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas is scheduled to begin by the second quarter of 2007. The villas are scheduled for occupancy by early 2009.

Grand Regina Villa Ownership

Your purchase agreement with Grand Regina Villas or Raintree Vacation Club has not been affected by Starwood’s acquisition of the land and development rights. As a Grand Regina Villas owner, you will have guaranteed access to the commercial amenities through a use and access easement. Starwood has not purchased your contract from Grand Regina Villas or Raintree Vacation Club and we ask that you contact Grand Regina Villas or Raintree Vacation Club with any questions about your ownership contract at:

From US and Canada 800.424.6532
Outside US or Canada 317.805.9167
From Mexico 01.800.667.27.11
From Mexico City 52.83.0848

If you own at a Starwood Vacation Ownership property, we would be delighted to answer any questions you might have about your ownership. You may contact Owner Services by visiting mystarcentral.com or completing the "Contact Us" section of this page.

Private Residence Club Ownership

If your purchase agreement indicates ownership at the Private Residence Club in Phases I or II of Grand Regina, we ask that you contact Raintree Vacation Club. As a Private Residence Club owner, you will have guaranteed access to the commercial amenities through a use and access easement. Raintree Vacation Club can be reached at:

From US and Canada 800.424.6532
Outside US or Canada 317.805.9167
From Mexico 01.800.667.27.11
From Mexico City 52.83.0848

If you own at a Starwood Vacation Ownership property, we would be delighted to answer any questions you might have about your ownership. You may contact Owner Services by visiting mystarcentral.com or completing the "Contact Us" section of this page.

An Offer to Join Starwood Vacation Ownership

Each Grand Regina Villas owner will be provided an opportunity to convert their ownership to The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas in the future. You will also be invited to join the Starwood Vacation Network(SM), allowing you to enjoy unprecedented choices at more than 850 Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide through the world's most respected rewards program.

For more information about this exciting opportunity, bookmark this page and watch for updates.

Commercial and Public Amenities

Private Residence Club and Grand Regina Villa owners will continue to enjoy permanent access rights to the fitness center, paddle court and pools. The restaurant, El Ciruelo, is open and ready to serve guests throughout construction of The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas. Additional restaurants and a spa will open as The Westin Los Cabos Ocean Villas are built.

Your Contact Information

To better serve you and to ensure that we have your latest contact information, please update your postal address, phone number and email address using the "Contact Us" form on this page.