Help me decide where to exchange to..... - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

holdem · April 21, 2007, 09:53 AM

I'm trying to decide where to go in October. Just me and the wife. We are on a budget and have ff miles we can use for our air. We just want to relax at the beach and pool. We like to have a few drinks by the pool ( usually bring our own) and usually only go look around the area if it rains. In the evening we like live entertainment hopefully at the resort. We will be cooking most meals at the condo. Here are the resorts I'm thinking about:

The Royals in Cancun. Worried about the beach condition.

La Cabana in Aruba. Not sure how nice the rooms are.

Oyster Bay in St. Martin. Not sure about the rooms and beach.

Marriott Ocean Pointe in Palm Beach Fl. I like the blue water of the tropics and white sand beach. Never been to that part of Florida so I'm sure what it's like.

Since we will be cooking and supplying our own drinks we would need to have a decent grocery. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Dori · April 22, 2007, 03:34 PM

I'm not familiar with those resorts, but I would think that SW Florida would be very nice. As regarding grocery stores, Publix is great!

Dori

tashamen · April 23, 2007, 09:23 AM

I see you've already gotten some good responses on the Mexico and Florida boards but thought I'd add a few thoughts. I'm looking to book a similar kind of trip in October also, and have basically narrowed it down to Florida. Cave Creek AZ, or Palm Springs (because I don't have to have the beach).

Personally I wouldn't want to go to the Caribbean or Mexico if we were on a very strict budget, but that's our preference. I would say that Oyster Bay in SXM is very far from pretty much everything, though there is a new Westin that may have opened by now - however that may be taking over much of the beach. There is a restaurant at the resort but most other places are a hefty drive. If you would consider another location on SXM you might like it better. We stayed at the Royal Islander Club la Plage last summer, and you can walk to many restaurants there. There isn't much entertainment at the resort except on two nights, but again you can walk (short walk) to several other places either along the beach or right across the street. There are good grocery stores on the island and relatively inexpensive food from Europe.

I'm also considering Ocean Pointe in FL as the beach looks great and there are the pool bars there for drinks and light lunches. However the lack of places to walk to for dinner has me hesitating.

I like the Tampa Bay area quite a bit - the timeshares there are not fancy, but there are several that are on wonderful beaches, and some of them (Jamaican on the Beach and All Seasons) are very close to Johns Pass where you can get decent and relatively inexpensive meals. However no entertainment at these resorts, though again you're not far from that (walking distance).

If you don't have to have the beach I'd recommend the desert - in October pretty much guaranteed to be warm, sunny and dry, whereas the beach (in the US at least) could be cool, wet and definitely will be muggy. And though it can be expensive it doesn't have to be since there are lots of good grocery stores available. I'm leaning towards the Palm Springs Tennis Club since we've been to the area before and don't need to tour it, so don't need a car at all there and can walk to everything (plus it's available with an AC in October), or one of the resorts in Cave Creek AZ which is a smaller town away from the Phoenix/Scottsdale sprawl. Rancho Manana looks like a great resort.

lvhmbh · April 23, 2007, 09:51 AM

I haven't been to the FL board yet so don't know if they pointed out that hurricane season lasts until November 1 here in FL. I'd do Aruba (go every year and the beaches are wonderful) but La Cabana has no evening entertainment as far as I know. Linda

ArtsieAng · April 23, 2007, 10:10 AM

I'll be in Palm Springs in late October. There's no beach, but plenty of reasonably priced restaurants, nice pools, and scenery. Really looking forward to our trip.

Good Luck!!!

Timeshare Von · April 23, 2007, 12:55 PM

Using your FF miles for free tickets may be a bigger issue than "where" to go. You should see what the availability is for using those and then try to find a timeshare that matches up nicely.

tashamen · April 23, 2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timeshare Von

Using your FF miles for free tickets may be a bigger issue than "where" to go. You should see what the availability is for using those and then try to find a timeshare that matches up nicely.

It generally isn't very difficult to get FF tickets for October. At least right now there is lots of availability to Florida, California and Arizona (the places I'm interested in) on American and Delta, and only slightly less availability for the Caribbean. October is kind of an off month for travel.

Timeshare Von · April 23, 2007, 02:49 PM

Maybe it is just with NWA that tickets are so severely limited as I know I often have challenges in booking what I want, when I want to the places I want to go if I don't book the first couple of days when the tickets are available in the reservation system (that is w/o using the non-blackout point scales).

I hope the OP can make it work out for where they decide to go

talkamotta · April 24, 2007, 05:16 PM

I love Florida in October, especially the last week. We are planning on staying in Longboat Key this year. In the past 10 years we have only had to deal with hurricanes once (2 years ago) and we went a week earlier and it was only 2 days.

That being said, I loved Cancun and the Royals. When I use my FF miles I try to get the best value. So I end up using mine for Hawaii. I usually can get cheap airfare to Florida so it doesnt pay to use them for the continental USA. But thats Salt Lake, it could be different where you live.

jules54 · April 26, 2007, 06:56 PM

I agree about getting the most out of your FF miles. If you can get the Royals in Cancun then that should make the decision pretty easy. OK that whole hurricane season thing I know, but what are the odds

the trasnportation system in Cancun is great so no problems getting to a grocery store. If you could get the Royal Haciendas in Playa Del Carmen that would be even better. Take the bus from the airport to Playa for 8.00 per person and get a cheap cab to your resort. They also have great public transportation in that area.

April 21, 2007, 09:53 AM	#1
holdem TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Apr 19, 07 Location: ohio Posts: 150	Help me decide where to exchange to..... I'm trying to decide where to go in October. Just me and the wife. We are on a budget and have ff miles we can use for our air. We just want to relax at the beach and pool. We like to have a few drinks by the pool ( usually bring our own) and usually only go look around the area if it rains. In the evening we like live entertainment hopefully at the resort. We will be cooking most meals at the condo. Here are the resorts I'm thinking about: The Royals in Cancun. Worried about the beach condition. La Cabana in Aruba. Not sure how nice the rooms are. Oyster Bay in St. Martin. Not sure about the rooms and beach. Marriott Ocean Pointe in Palm Beach Fl. I like the blue water of the tropics and white sand beach. Never been to that part of Florida so I'm sure what it's like. Since we will be cooking and supplying our own drinks we would need to have a decent grocery. Thanks for any help you can provide.

April 23, 2007, 12:55 PM	#6
Timeshare Von TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Mar 13, 06 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 2,590 Resorts: FF/Wyndham Flagstaff, FF/ Wyndham Williamsburg - Kingsgate, FF/Wyndham Myrtle Beach/Westwinds, Lifetime in Hawaii (Oahu)	Using your FF miles for free tickets may be a bigger issue than "where" to go. You should see what the availability is for using those and then try to find a timeshare that matches up nicely. __________________ Yvonne Check out my travel journals and photos at: http://www.igougo.com/profile/viewer...emberID=347099

April 23, 2007, 02:49 PM	#8
Timeshare Von TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Mar 13, 06 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 2,590 Resorts: FF/Wyndham Flagstaff, FF/ Wyndham Williamsburg - Kingsgate, FF/Wyndham Myrtle Beach/Westwinds, Lifetime in Hawaii (Oahu)	Maybe it is just with NWA that tickets are so severely limited as I know I often have challenges in booking what I want, when I want to the places I want to go if I don't book the first couple of days when the tickets are available in the reservation system (that is w/o using the non-blackout point scales). I hope the OP can make it work out for where they decide to go __________________ Yvonne Check out my travel journals and photos at: http://www.igougo.com/profile/viewer...emberID=347099

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April 22, 2007, 03:34 PM	#2
Dori TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Scarborough, Ontario Posts: 1,030 Resorts: Harbour Inn and Resort Club Lowveld Lodge	I'm not familiar with those resorts, but I would think that SW Florida would be very nice. As regarding grocery stores, Publix is great! Dori

April 23, 2007, 09:23 AM	#3
tashamen TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 9, 05 Location: VT Posts: 1,420 Resorts: Club Intrawest points, Trapp Family Lodge, TUG member since Jan 2002	I see you've already gotten some good responses on the Mexico and Florida boards but thought I'd add a few thoughts. I'm looking to book a similar kind of trip in October also, and have basically narrowed it down to Florida. Cave Creek AZ, or Palm Springs (because I don't have to have the beach). Personally I wouldn't want to go to the Caribbean or Mexico if we were on a very strict budget, but that's our preference. I would say that Oyster Bay in SXM is very far from pretty much everything, though there is a new Westin that may have opened by now - however that may be taking over much of the beach. There is a restaurant at the resort but most other places are a hefty drive. If you would consider another location on SXM you might like it better. We stayed at the Royal Islander Club la Plage last summer, and you can walk to many restaurants there. There isn't much entertainment at the resort except on two nights, but again you can walk (short walk) to several other places either along the beach or right across the street. There are good grocery stores on the island and relatively inexpensive food from Europe. I'm also considering Ocean Pointe in FL as the beach looks great and there are the pool bars there for drinks and light lunches. However the lack of places to walk to for dinner has me hesitating. I like the Tampa Bay area quite a bit - the timeshares there are not fancy, but there are several that are on wonderful beaches, and some of them (Jamaican on the Beach and All Seasons) are very close to Johns Pass where you can get decent and relatively inexpensive meals. However no entertainment at these resorts, though again you're not far from that (walking distance). If you don't have to have the beach I'd recommend the desert - in October pretty much guaranteed to be warm, sunny and dry, whereas the beach (in the US at least) could be cool, wet and definitely will be muggy. And though it can be expensive it doesn't have to be since there are lots of good grocery stores available. I'm leaning towards the Palm Springs Tennis Club since we've been to the area before and don't need to tour it, so don't need a car at all there and can walk to everything (plus it's available with an AC in October), or one of the resorts in Cave Creek AZ which is a smaller town away from the Phoenix/Scottsdale sprawl. Rancho Manana looks like a great resort.

April 23, 2007, 09:51 AM	#4
lvhmbh TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 734 Resorts: Bluebeard's Castle, STT Vistana Resort, Orlando Costa Linda, Aruba	I haven't been to the FL board yet so don't know if they pointed out that hurricane season lasts until November 1 here in FL. I'd do Aruba (go every year and the beaches are wonderful) but La Cabana has no evening entertainment as far as I know. Linda

April 23, 2007, 10:10 AM	#5
ArtsieAng TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Feb 21, 06 Location: New York Posts: 357	I'll be in Palm Springs in late October. There's no beach, but plenty of reasonably priced restaurants, nice pools, and scenery. Really looking forward to our trip. Good Luck!!!

April 24, 2007, 05:16 PM	#9
talkamotta TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 7, 05 Location: Sandy, UT Posts: 1,273 Resorts: Sands of Kahana, Longboat Bay, Westgate Vacation Villas, etc	I love Florida in October, especially the last week. We are planning on staying in Longboat Key this year. In the past 10 years we have only had to deal with hurricanes once (2 years ago) and we went a week earlier and it was only 2 days. That being said, I loved Cancun and the Royals. When I use my FF miles I try to get the best value. So I end up using mine for Hawaii. I usually can get cheap airfare to Florida so it doesnt pay to use them for the continental USA. But thats Salt Lake, it could be different where you live.

April 26, 2007, 06:56 PM	#10
jules54 TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 8, 05 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 508	I agree about getting the most out of your FF miles. If you can get the Royals in Cancun then that should make the decision pretty easy. OK that whole hurricane season thing I know, but what are the odds the trasnportation system in Cancun is great so no problems getting to a grocery store. If you could get the Royal Haciendas in Playa Del Carmen that would be even better. Take the bus from the airport to Playa for 8.00 per person and get a cheap cab to your resort. They also have great public transportation in that area.