"Roughing it" while on vacation, at some timeshares

Does anyone else feel that sometimes their long-awaited vacation is more like a downgrade from your own home?

We have the king pillowtop bed at home, which provides a "heavenly" night's sleep, night after night. Plus, we have the nice whirlpool tub, just like the ones at the better resorts. So when I go to a timeshare that has an average queen bed that has no pillowtop, and/ or if there is no whirlpool tub, I feel like vacation is a "roughing it" kind of experience. I choose not to camp for the same reasons.

Sure, I still enjoy the rest of the timeshare, the views, the pool and hot tubs, and I relax the entire time (don't even make the bed because the bedspreads are just icky), but I miss home quicker.

How about the rest of you? Ever feel this way, or am I just too picky?

I know exactly how you feel. I do not want to vacation anywhere that is not as nice as my home. I realize that I will probably never have a smooth surface cooktop at a timeshare. However, I will not accept a unit with out a whirlpool tub and washer dryer in the unit. I am now starting to report in my comments to RCI after a stay if the bed is not up to par or if the sofa cushions are sagging.

I do not want to rough it on vacation. Guess, there at at least two of us who are picky !

CJ

Exact location isn't as important as overall quality

cjareed said:

I know exactly how you feel. I do not want to vacation anywhere that is not as nice as my home. I realize that I will probably never have a smooth surface cooktop at a timeshare. However, I will not accept a unit with out a whirlpool tub and washer dryer in the unit. I am now starting to report in my comments to RCI after a stay if the bed is not up to par or if the sofa cushions are sagging.

I do not want to rough it on vacation. Guess, there at at least two of us who are picky !

CJ

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No smooth cook top? Where are you staying? Our resorts have had those since 2004. New bedding about the same time (due again within the next year or two). Yes, laundry is a must (FAR too many II resorts with the putrid pineapple rating - supposedly top notch - don't have any in the units) but I can do without the whirlpool tub if the resort has a good hot tub. Overall I agree that a quality, upscale unit is very important and one of the reasons we often choose a ranked resort perhaps a mile or two (or across the street) from the local attractions - be it the beach, the Boardwalk, theme parks, waterfalls - whatever. We want the nice unit & access to the attractions. They don't have to be on the same property just close by.

I have to admit I am starting to draw the line at no W/D in the room when looking at resorts.

We've only checked bags 2x since Nov 2006. I don't like to lug laundry down to the end of the hall or out by the pool, then having to wait for a free dryer reminds me too much of college.


Only bed I have come across recently that was the equal of mine at home was at the Hyatt Metro Center hotel in Washington DC.

Evidently I'm not on the same page as the rest of you. I'll take a low ranked slope side resort over a mansion in the middle of nowhere anytime. Other than making dinner and sleeping, I don't typically spend much time at the resort. I've got a minimum quality I'll accept, but the minimum is pretty low. I'm on vacation to see and do new things. If I'm going to sit around, enjoy the whirlpool tub, watch the big screen TV, etc, I can just save my money and stay home.

Good to see so many of you feel differently. Less competition for the resorts I'm looking for.

Sorry Dave, you've still got competition with me. I'll wash my undies in the sink and hang them on the shower curtain rod in order to be in a timeshare in Italy (or Austria or Santa Fe, etc.).

When I have the choice (i.e. a place with lots of options like Hawaii) I'll work hard to get the best timeshare resort or the best unit at the resort (thanks TUG reviews). But I'm happy getting to spend a week in a great location as long as the timeshare is clean and well kept.

Not nearly that picky here. I go on vacation for location, location, location. I would rather have an oceanfront balcony with a woodgrain laminate counter top and no crown moulding than a luxurious room which is as nice as my home with granite counter tops and crown mouding which is located across the street from the ocean with no view. I have a very nice large house on 2 acres. I have never stayed in a timeshare with over 1600 square feet of interior space, and none on 2 private acres, so anywhere I stay will not be as roomy or nice as my home. I am a member of a country club where I can play golf every day. There are numerous lakes near my home where I can fish in my boat. If I simply want to stay in luxurious accomodations, play the same old golf course, and fish the same lakes, I can just stay home and save a lot of money. I like to have a mountain vista view, ski slope views, or ocean views from my room when I vacation because that is something that I don't have at home. I don't want home when I vacation, I want a different experience.

I mainly sleep and bathe in my room when I am on vacation while spending all day away from the room at the pool, the beach, hiking, sightseeing,snorkeling, or enjoying a theme park. I never use the whirlpool tub at home or on vacation because I never take a bath, only showers. I have a pillowtop king at home, but all I need on vacation is a firm bed that gives me a good nights sleep where I can wake up in the morning without a back ache. I need the room to be clean and I want everything to be in good working order, but I understand that things do break at vacation locations and at my home. My trip is not ruined if a knob is missing on a drawer or if I find a tear in the sofa. My trip would be ruined if we had an auto wreck, an illness, if a family member was injured, or if we had rain all week keeping us in the room and away from our planned activities and excursions.


Some of the best vacations my family ever had were in dumpy rooms with 2 double beds, old worn out furniture, there was no kitchen, no internet, and not even a TV. These rooms are very high demand and you must book a year in advance to get a summer week. If one couldn't relax and enjoy spartan accomodations then you would definetelly not enjoy these rooms. I wish more people felt that way because it wouldn't be so hard to reserve one of those rooms in Yellowstone or Yosemite National Parks. In the weeks I have spent at those resorts I never heard a person complain that their vacation was ruined because the rooms were dumps ( which they are). It actually makes your family interact more because there is no internet or TV to entertain everyone. It will bring you, your spouse, and your kids closer to spend a week without TV, cell phones, or the internet. I highly recommend a week in one of those dumps if you can ever get one. Go ahead and make a reservation for a 2010 week 12 months in advance and experience the joy that roughing it for a week can bring a family. Try it you will love it!

If you think that lack of a whirlpool tub and the abscence of Pillow top king beds is roughing it akin to camping, you have obviously never camped. A Motel 6 room with 2 double beds is luxurious accomodations compared to camping. Even a dumpy room in a National park is superior to camping, and I know from personal experience since I grew up camping on family vacations. To each his own, but I have never let a vacation be ruined because something was less than perfect, including the accomodations. I look for the good things and I don't sweat the small stuff.

I go on vacation to relax and enjoy different sights, experiences, and cultures, not to sit in my room obsessing over anything that doesn't equate with my accomodations at home. If you have ever had your vacation ruined because you didn't have a pillowtop mattress, a whirlpool tub, granite counter tops, or accomodations as nice as your home, you really need to take a lot more vacations to lower your stress level and to learn to relax IMO.

We stayed at Vacation Village at Parkway a few years back. Great location, had not just one, but two washers and dryers (one on each side of the lockout), beautiful kitchen and decor, and nice amenities, generally.

The bed was hard as a rock, and I couldn't sleep at all that week. I am tired after a day at the parks, but geez, I think the floor would have been softer than that bed.

We loved Maui Lea at Maui Hill, and it had queen bed, awful kitchen, and no whirlpool tub, but the location was perfect, and I still slept well there.

I just won't take any old resort in Orlando, and I won't take any resort in Hawaii, either. We will still try to get the better resorts when we go to Europe, if ever, but I don't expect the same that I get at Marriott's Cypress Harbour.

I always pick where I want to go by location. Then I try to find the best availible timeshare most convenient to the things I want to do. If there is no timeshare, like on my upcoming June trip to Crimea, they I go with hotels. Again, location matters. A timeshare or hotel in a historic property, such as a manor house or castle, will always win out for me over anything of modern construction.

Ever feel this way, or am I just too picky?

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Even if folks don't agree (and it seems many do) that doesn't mean you're too picky. Rather, you want what's important...to you. Other folks want what's important to them.

That's why Baskin Robins has 31 flavors.

I'm flexible on the amenities since location is most important to me. But I have to draw the line on the bed. If I cannot sleep (I'm a light sleeper), I will not enjoy anything! I'll be a cranky tired mess. :zzz:

We have been known to pack pillows, including body pillows, as well as the memory foam toppers when we drive. We use two cheap $20 twin toppers (from target) on our king bed so they were easy to roll up and take with us. And so worth it because I slept just as well as I do at home that week!

I think if I found a horrible bed after flying, I'd go buy a cheap twin topper the next morning.

Thankfully our home isn't the Ritz, so anyplace other than here is fine!

But seriously, I am with the folks that choose location over amenities.

For example I would never have been able to stay at the Lagoon Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village if a W/D in the room was required.

Nor would I have been able to stay at Rosedale on Robson in Vancouver, if I just had to have a big jetted tub in the room.

Not to say I don't like all the fancy-schmantzy stuff, it's just that sometimes other things are important.

My number one thing is location. Second thing is washer and dryer in the unit. I have never used a whirlpool on vacation and probably never will. I have just used mine at home once or twice.

Luxury is nice but not a requirement. You would not believe my favorite vacation place. It is not a timeshare but a very rustic cottage we rent on Sanibel. It is right on the beach, no boardwalk to go over. A very few steps and you are in the water. Linoleum on the floor, very tiny unit, very primitive. We take our own repair kit. We have more fun there than in our luxurious TS a mile down the beach.

For me the 'where' is far more important than the unit facilities. Give me a unit in a great location with limited facilities every time over a unit with great facilities in a poor location.
I would actually prefer the unit not to have a whirlpool bath due to the health risks if the unit isn't maintained and cleaned properly. At the last resort we were at that did have a whirlpool we wouldn't use the bath at all, as after filling it with water and switching on, the stench from foul water was literally unbearable. Fortunately there was a second bathroom we could use.
I don't know if those of us in Europe have different expectations, but most resorts don't have washer/dryers in the units and it's never been an issue for me.

For myself I also prefer location. Try to pick an area we have never visited or an activity we have not done and then look for the best possible timeshare in the area. We are fairly new to timesharing(6yrs) but after staying in hotel rooms with 4 children have never felt like we were 'roughing' it in any of the 2 br timeshares we have stayed in. Dawn

I stayed at a place in SC that was nothing more than a made over Holiday Inn. The thing I remember most was that if you opened the door far enough it would hit the end of the bed. It was a dump. At night it was noise,noise noise from the street. I could not:zzz:

It depends on the trip and what I want out of it.

I have mixed feelings on this issue. Sometimes I go on vacation mostly for the location...and the quality of the resort doesn't matter to me all that much. For other trips, the quality of the resort is paramount. It depends on what I am looking for on that particular trip. Overall, I'd say that I lean slightly more towards quality than location, but it really depends on the trip.

For example, last year I spent a week at Crestwood Resort in Whitefish, Montana. The place is old and in dire need of a huge renovation (maybe tear down and start over), but I had an awesome time. The trip was tremendously fun in spite of the resort, not because of it. I love northwestern Montana and the weather was fantastic, so it was a great experience.

A few months later, I spent the first week of December at Four Seasons Troon in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's a gorgeous resort in a secluded setting. I like Arizona, but I have been there many times and I mostly just wanted to relax at the resort and enjoy some sunshine. I had a great time on this trip mainly because of the resort. I have stayed at several lesser resorts in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, and I didn't enjoy them nearly as much. So the Four Seasons experience is what made this trip worthwhile for me.

Just a note: The Four Seasons resorts in Carlsbad and Scottsdale do not have whirlpool tubs in the villas. So if that is a requirement for you, cross those resorts off your list. It doesn't matter to me as I never use the in-room whirlpools at timeshares and rarely use my whirlpool tub at home, but I know this matters to some people.

Steve

I have mixed feeling about this too. Depending on how fancy our home has been, our feelings about this have changed over the years too. We do appreciate our surroundings but the elements that matter more have dramatically changed for us over the last decade - and it's been due more to our change in circumstances (and the ages of our travel party) than to what our home is like.

When we started timesharing, we were wowed by fancy, upgraded kitchens and baths, extensive kids' activities, lounges, golf courses and tons of space in the LR for us all to relax together in the evenings. But with 3 kids and their friends along, we adults felt more like we were on vacation too, when we had all those things. A bit of pampering in the midst of 24 hour Chaperone-ville, I guess.

Now, with the kids all grown, just having a good pool, hot tub and computer access within walking distance is what they want the most. A pool table and/or ping pong is a hit. Being able to walk, bike or drive a short distance to sights or shops is nice too but not really essential as long as its within 20 minutes drive or so.

For us adult parents, location matters! A clean, quiet and well-maintained unit with a decent kitchen, a washer/dryer and a comfy bed are highest on our list. A beautiful view and a pretty and safe place to walk outside in the evenings and computer access have all crept up in the priority list as well. (Never used to care.) The pool, hot tub and good proximity to the area sights are all close but not deal-breakers.

The whirlpool, upgraded kitchen, nicer furnishings, fancy clubhouse, golf course, etc., have all dropped way, way, way down for us. Funny how the things that appeal can change so much over time!

Sometimes less is more

One of the nice things about going on a timeshare vacation is having less to deal with. We have a lot of nice things in our home, but they require maintenance. One of the luxuries of timeshares, IMHO, is that someone else does the weekly cleaning and the rest of the maintenance.

I do like timeshares that are spacious enough that they can be easily be kept uncluttered while we are there. I don't like it when there is no place to put the luggage.

We have so little money invested in timeshares. They are at standard resorts with low maintenance fees. Anything I get in trade will be equal or better. I doubt I will ever get into the high-end resorts you drool over, though I would love it! (But I have been to similar hotels on business trips over the years and got spoiled).
I am happy at any timeshare where I can forget about the responsibilities at home and relax. I also want access to the outdoors and fitness activities. A washer and dryer is desired so I don't have to take dirty laundry home. Beyond that I'm happy as a clam just to be on vacation.
For you with considerable annual fees, you deserve the best amenities.

Understand completely

Even though we usually stay at some very nice places, I have the thought of why did we leave home everytime we return from vacation. We return to a residence just as nice or nicer, much more space, more privacy, a larger TV, more comfortable heating and air, larger patio, quieter neighborhood, private spa (hot tub) and garage parking within about 10 steps to the door.
(If I just had a sandy beach and a coral reef to dive in my backyard, I'd be set)
Yet, I can't wait to start planning our next adventure and see what it's like somewhere else.
I guess I really appreciate what we have and the opportunity visit other places and meet new people.

california-bighorn said:

Even though we usually stay at some very nice places, I have the thought of why did we leave home everytime we return from vacation. We return to a residence just as nice or nicer, much more space, more privacy, a larger TV, more comfortable heating and air, larger patio, quieter neighborhood, private spa (hot tub) and garage parking within about 10 steps to the door.
(If I just had a sandy beach and a coral reef to dive in my backyard, I'd be set)
Yet, I can't wait to start planning our next adventure and see what it's like somewhere else.
I guess I really appreciate what we have and the opportunity visit other places and meet new people.

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I am with you California-Bighorn.
I think of how everyone likes to come here to visit in southern California. There are resorts galore near me like Newport Coast Villas. I live five miles from the beach where The Ritz Carlton sits, and the weather is nice year round. Yet I am always trying to fine ways to get away when possible. I have Dana Point Harbor next door for fishing and three golf courses within five minutes of me. What more can a guy want. I don't have a jacuzzi tub in my bathroom, but I have a pool and jacuzzi in the backyard with a nice size barbecue that I don't have to line up for to use. I think we who are Americans are too spoiled and we take a lot for granted. My DW likes all the perks of Marriott and she is picky like the OP. Me, I am just plain ole happy just to go. However, the older I get the happier I am to sit around my favorite playground- my home. I like traveling but home seems to be better and better with me each year.

california-bighorn said:

Even though we usually stay at some very nice places, I have the thought of why did we leave home everytime we return from vacation. We return to a residence just as nice or nicer, much more space, more privacy, a larger TV, more comfortable heating and air, larger patio, quieter neighborhood, private spa (hot tub) and garage parking within about 10 steps to the door.
(If I just had a sandy beach and a coral reef to dive in my backyard, I'd be set)
Yet, I can't wait to start planning our next adventure and see what it's like somewhere else.
I guess I really appreciate what we have and the opportunity visit other places and meet new people.

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Well, I guess I too am ready to start searching for the next adventure, as soon as I get home. Although, we retired to at one of the places in RCI. I am in Bella Vista, Arkansas -- we have 7 golf courses, 5 lakes and many more facilities, right here at home. Prior to retirement, we had a second home at another RCI location, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. However, sometimes it is nice to get away and visit other places.

For me the most important thing is location. I want a nice unit but do not need a jacuzzzi. It is nice to have one but not essential. I do want a decent bed to sleep on. I live in a resort area so many places that I visit are not as nice as home but so what. Sometimes I just want a change of scenery; other times I want to see and visit other areas. Everything gets old hat after a while. Then when I get back I really appreciate what I have.

Tombo,

I am right there with you. I go for Location, Location, Location also. I don't even use the jacuzzi at the resorts. I have one in my bathroom at home that is better than I have seen at most resorts, and only my butt has been in it. Now that my kids are older we only crash at the resort for the amenities and to sleep. We are active on vacation and aren't too picky on the resort. We do have a very nice home, but it's just a house. We prefer to experience the place we are visiting.