Newbie help needed please

Hi,

Anyone up for a challenge?

I have started the search for a timeshare and found this board which has been brilliant, and I have learnt so much already! Thank you!

I think from all the reading I've done a Marriot TS would be good, but I'm not sure which one would be best for us. So I thought I'd explain abit about what we need and see if any of you kind people can point me in the right direction

Firstly we live in the UK. We have 2 children (11 & 8 ) so need to travel in school holidays (vacation!) times, mainly the summer, but sometimes Easter.

Our summer break is mid July to end of August, with 3 weeks at Easter. We currently own DVC points (Animal Kingdom Lodge) and we usually travel every other year to Disney with those points.

My hubby thought about buying more DVC points to use for our alternate years holiday, to try and exchange in to RCI thorugh DVC, but I have read on a Disney forum that it is not a good use of points, and it's better to buy other TS instead. Sorry for all the info

We need a resort that we can exchange rather than always go to, so from reading on here that seems to mean buying a platinum week at the resort in order to get a good chance?

The resorts I have looked at in detail and seem to me to be good are,

Grand ocean -HHI
Barony Beach Club - HHI
Ocean Watch villas at Grande Dunes -SC
Manor Club at Ford's Colony VA
Cypress Harbour - FL
And Desert Springs villas (I believe 1 not 2?) + Plat week not good for us here though and summer too hot!
and there is closer to home Marbella Beach Club in spain.

Which of these would be the best to go for for value for money verses trading power?

Can I get away with Gold season for any without losing trading power?

I'm not sure we would stay in any of these regually as we prefer the island resorts, but I concerned about the high MF for these properties so feel those listed would be better for us? Am I wrong?

And one final question ( I promise!). Can you role a week over to the following year like we do with DVC points, as we would need 2 weeks due to the travelling distances involved? I'm not sure we could run to buying 2 weeks at the platinum level at the moment!

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice Feel free to add to my list!!! Hubby has left me to find out all the info. as he did with the DVC purchase and I want to get it right
Cheers!
Kate

Kate,

Welcome to TUG!!!!

I'll start off with a couple points. Usually TUGgers do not recommend a TS purchase just for trading. I know, there are many examples where people do that...

For (most) Marriott resorts, you will need to join Interval International to exchange. You can bank a week with them and use it up to two years after the week you deposit. (So if you bank a week that is one year away -- you will have 3 years to use that week.)

Have you seen these recent threads with lots of discussion on Marriott trading power, Orlando, Islands, etc?

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96131
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96353

Finally, please join TUG so you will have access to the reviews and other members-only data. Good luck, and hopefully you will get plenty of TUG advice!

I am a DVC member with a lot of points. I love DVC. I wouldn't ever trade my DVC points in RCI or anywhere else for that matter. They are way too expensive and the resort options for equal trade are slim to none.

The way you vacation does not lend itself to a Marriott Timeshare. Yes, I own several Marriott weeks as well. Marriotts are best used in places you want to go. I got tired of the trading and exchanging and whittled my portfolio down to places I want to visit each year.

That being said, I love Marriott. You can easily complement a DVC timeshare with Marriott and not go down in class. BUT, from reading how you vacation I would suggest a point based system in a high end resort system like Hilton Grand Vacation Club HGVC or Starwood's SVG group. Both offer wonderful options for internal trades that negate the use of exchange companies. Hilton works VERY similarily to DVC and you will find you can bank and borrow points like you do with DVC.

I don't own either HGVC or Starwood, because as I said, I now own where I want to go. Both HGVC and Starwood allow you to buy resale with little give backs. I think with Starwood you can't use your points for hotels if you buy resale but who would do that anyway. I would go to the resale sites, Redweek, My Resort Network, Tug Market Place and Vacation Timeshare Rentals and look for a good resale. I wouldn't go the eBay route even though others will tell you to do that. I found that I made a ton of costly mistakes on eBay when I was new, and since you only need one timeshare system dto fit your vacation needs, you won't need to use eBay.

There are also legitamate brokers who sell resale. If you need a few of their names I will be glad to list them for you.

Also look on Tug for the HGVC forum and the Starwood Forum. And ASK QUESTIONS before plunking down a lot of cash for a timeshare.

Take care and feel free to send me email carlyle@comcast.net or a PM (private message) if you have questions. AND WELCOME TO TUG

Thanks for the welcome and both your comments

FlyerBobcat, thanks for the info re banking the weeks. I have read a lot of the threads on here about trading etc. and although I know you should buy where you wish stay, we sort of did that with the DVC points as we like to stay onsite at disney. My hubby wants our 'other' years vacation to be varied but we are fairly laid back as to where we go as long as we can guarantee the accom. is going to be quality, which the marriotts mostly are!

Icydog thanks also for your advice. I don't know anything about how the points systems you suggested work so I will have a read to see if I can get my head around that! I did like the idea of II though as this would hopefully give us a lot of options nearer home if we decide not to slpash out on air fares one year.

I had no idea TS were quite this involved! I got to grips with our DVC TS quite quickly, but all the others seem to work so differently

Thanks again

Since you are in the UK I would think the Marriott properties in Spain and France make the most sense. You seem to like Disney so France might be perfect.

I have not checked resales but knowing the eco climate right now I would think you could get a steal for a Platinum week!!!

I am a Newbie myself but I also did a lot of research before buying and like you, I wanted to buy to trade.
A lot of people will say to buy where you want to go (or where you can drive to) but that does not make sense for everyone. It depends where you live, if the resorts nearby are those you are interested in etc. I think those that live in California have the best selections of resorts to drive to.
We chose the Hyatt system and I will give you my take on why (not in order of importance):

1. A point system which means that you can trade easily into a different Hyatt resort. You don't have to stay a full week so you can stretch your points into many little vacations.
2. Exchanges through II (which will complement your DVC which exchanges through RCI)
3. A very good exchange rate within II for the Hyatt points. Depending on how many points you have, you can take up to five weeks vacation with just one week's maintenance fees!
4. Free II membership
5. Great reservation staff. Helpful and friendly.
6. Good resale potential if it turns out it doesn't work for us in a few years.
7. Upscale resorts.

The negative I see with Hyatt so far (as far as trading) is that you can only book a week ONE YEAR in advance. With other resorts it's two years in advance.
Also, if you have a desirable week, you can't get trading mileage out of it. Hyatt keeps it for their own inventory. So there is no advantage in buying a "tiger" (other than the extra points) just to deposit.

catlady said:

... Can you role a week over to the following year like we do with DVC points, as we would need 2 weeks due to the travelling distances involved?

Click to expand...

FlyerBobcat said:

... For (most) Marriott resorts, you will need to join Interval International to exchange. You can bank a week with them and use it up to two years after the week you deposit. (So if you bank a week that is one year away -- you will have 3 years to use that week.)

Click to expand...

(*First, is it possible to deposit a week for a trade back into your resort, in your season, at every resort? I seem to remember some discussion about not being able to do this? Or, I could be way off base. If it is allowed, then: )

Kate, if* a deposit into II does allow for the opportunity for you to bank your one week one year in order to use two weeks at your resort in another year, I'm not sure that I would rely on the Marriott/II system to work as you intend here. (Or certainly it won't work as easily as DVC logistics allow.) You're looking at popular resorts and platinum seasons; the majority of those weeks are used by owners. You would have to deposit and make the trade request for the following year as early as possible, and then hope that the trade will come through AND that a consecutive week will be available for you to book as an owner. That's a lot of hoping, especially if you want to do this on an every-other-year basis. I think you'd actually have better luck trading your one week for two years, into two consecutive weeks at a resort other than where you own.

There are also fees attached to trading with II that you'll want to consider, especially if you trade frequently. That's almost like adding more fees to your annual dues.

This is another thing to think about. So many things! Good luck with your decision - it's so exciting to think of the possibilities.

Hi,


I am a HGVC member and can give you some info about that. I am also thinking about marriott. but the week stay is kinda holding me back and the trades from resort to another, I need more info about that, the owners I know aren't that familair.


With HGVC its based upon pints and you can go for 3 nights or as long as there are points and availability. Its nice if you go to hawaii you can break up the big island with waikiki and reserve smaller or larger rooms than you own. Its similar to disney in the home resort advantage, but you have to book for the week and what you actually own, IE a 2 bedroom or 1 bedroom.

Also when purchasing resale you can still convert to HHonors, which isnt a great deal but a better deal than paying for a week at a Hilton Hotel.

Hope some of the basics info helps

Nathan

Welcome to Tug, btw.

Since you seem to favor beach type vacations, perhaps your needs would be better served by looking at the Marriotts in Spain. They are reputed to be beautiful and the trip would be much closer for you. Realistically, while coming to the US or the Caribbean for 2 weeks at a time might be very inviting for you now, as the kids get a little older logistically 2 weeks together may get a bit more difficult, with schedules, etc. Also, teenagers tend to have a lot going on and you may find there are years that a one week vacation will be more appealing.

That said, if you pick a destination, whether on the Costa del Sol or elsewhere, that you can see yourself happy visiting half the time, then buying would be a good choice. Trading is always iffy, and even more so when you want two consecutive weeks. Another option might be to buy 2 every other year units, either both even or both odd, which would enable you to make consecutive reservations at least at your home resort. II allows you to place request firsts in, so if you buy where you'd be happy going, you can request consecutive weeks early elsewhere and if that doesn't seem to be happening in a given year you can use your reserved weeks at your home resort. I would think that would give you the best options and security of knowing you'll have something that meets your needs.

As far as what season to buy- buy the season that you will want to travel. That said, Platinum weeks generally trade better than Gold weeks at the same resort, but in several resorts there are certain Gold weeks that may trade better than some of the less desirable Platinum weeks. Also, there are certain places whose Gold weeks always trade well and will out trade many Platinum weeks elsewhere. Since you mention the islands, Aruba summer weeks are Gold (Aruba is a year round destination, below the hurricane belt, but it is a very popular winter getaway for Northeasterners so the winter season is Platinum, but it holds a lot of appeal all year), but they are very strong traders and will out trade many Platinum weeks elsewhere. So it is not Plat., Gold, Silver, etc., that is critical- it is where you buy and what week you reserve that determines the trade value (as well as unit size).

Thanks again for all the imput

I'm going to have a good look at the points based systems as these are more what we are used to because of DVC.

I may post on the Hilton and Hyatt boards to answer a few queries I still have after reading so much info. yesterday my brain hurt!

My main concern though with the other TS's, other than the Marriots, is the locations they go to. I really like where Marriot have properties! I'd miss the Carribean, although Aruba is difficult to get to from the UK!

Thanks once again to those of you who took the time to wade through my post and reply

Kate

From a UK perspective.....

Whooo Deja Vu :rofl:

I will give you my personal experience - buy Marriott. Buy Cypress Harbour. Buy Sport - no need to buy Platinum.

Hyatt isn't really present in Europe in the Timeshare market (I think).

Hilton is split between Hilton Grand Vacation Club in the US, and Hilton International Grand Vacation Club in Europe. In Europe they are only in Scotland and Portugal. HGVC and HIGVC are different companies and they each have different quirks.

Marriott are great quality. Its one company (MVCI) globally.

Marriott are in Marbella, in Estepona, in Majorca, and at DLP. Each of these resorts is excellent.

The top factor in buying Marriott is that Marriott have internal exchange priority from Marriott to Marriott.

The normal resale price of 1-week in Sports Season for a 2-bed, sleeps 8, at Marriott Cypress Harbour is $6,000. Closing costs would be $500 or so. It has been reported that such weeks have been bought from distressed sellers for as low as $1,000 on ebay. (I would love to get another at that bargain price.)

We have regularly traded our Cypress Harbour week into Marbella Beach, Playa Andalusia (Estepona) and Majorca platinum or gold holiday (i.e. school holiday weeks). The reason why is because of the Marriott Internal Exchange priority. Whenever a holiday owner at one of those resorts deposits their week, you have first crack at getting it. It trumps platinum with all the other companies.

If you are buying purely to trade and not to use, there might be other Marriott resorts which are cheaper or have lower maintenance fees. Personally we do not use Cypress Harbour purely for trading - we stay there as well, and even trade into there. We are staying there May half term, and spent 2-weeks there at Easter only a few weeks back. Why? Because its such a great and well run resort. In the TUG Orlando resort ratings, it presently ranks 5th and in reality it should rank 4th, as one resort above it is based solely on one review. The Top 5 are:-

1. Villas at Wilderness Lodge.....9.55 (Out of 10) based on 44 reviews.
2. The Fountains....................9.50 based on 1 review so ignore this.
3. Old Key West.....................9.47 based on 110 reviews.
4. Board Walk Villas.................9.31 based on 61 reviews
5. Marriott Cypress Harbour......9.19 based on 200 reviews

Marriott Cypress Harbour has consistently ranked very, very highly.

Finally, if you are contemplating taking the plunge in spending $100s or $1000s on a resort its well worth spending $15 for TUG Membership.

Thanks for your thoughts and advice Hal, it's very kind of you

I just wondered if you have used your weeks to exchange into II at all? Was it easy? We need to book flights as far as possible ahead to get the best price in the summer, so we can't really just go at short notice.

Do you have a link to the II website so I could see what they have to exchange to, (I'm guessing most of it is members only though?)

I can't see us going to Spain at the momment as DH prefers to go further a field. We also find it too hot in August in Spain! It's a different sort of heat than Florida and the carribean (if that makes sense! ) and my daughter has only had prickly heat in Greece and Spain, never Florida! I can see us going to the Spanish Marriots in spring and Oct. though in years to come!

I have been reading about the HGVC and the Hyatt points TS and the points appeal because they work similiar to DVC. We can also roll over the points to make more for our 'other' year holiday, as we do with DVC. However, Hyatt don't really go where where we want to go, but does exchange through II (which I've read is better) and Hilton exchange through RCI but have more properties, but I'm not sure they are quite as good as the Hyatt and Marriot brand

I'm starting to think I shouldn't have started this process, it's worse than buying a house!

Thanks again Hal,
Kate

Just to add I have joined TUG, but via Paypal so it's not active yet!

I have only exchanged via II for other Marriotts. I have also bought Get-a-way weeks at Marriotts from II.

The II website is Members Only. If you want to post a destination, I can tell you what's there.

The way to do other years with Marriott is you book your week in, say, 2009; then you deposit that week with II. When you come to book 2010, you can book your 2010 week and seek to use the deposited week with II.

HGVC, and HIGVC are good quality resorts I believe.

Let me know which destination you are interested in and I shall post what info I can find.

By the way, if you want further afield, Marriott is in Hawaii, and Thailand;` and Aruba (x2), St. Kitts, and St. Thomas in the Caribbean.

And welcome to TUG.