Worst timeshare resort you've stayed in?

[timeos2]

A standard II "Quality" experience

Now Interval International we called only to have to hear them defend the rude behavior of the clerk, pass the buck back to the resort, and they didn't even offer to speak to the resort to verify that we were taken care of, and this was after speaking to 5 people and being on hold for over 30 minutes. This was my first experience with Interval and probably my last. At least with RCI on the 1 and only time there was a minor confusion, they far exceeded my expectations by refunding me my $169 trading fee, and giving me my week back (maybe I was just lucky to get a nice Customer Service Rep).

You will be better off without II as this is typical of the type of unit the majority of trades really are (after all, "Quality is a slogan" at II) and typical "customer disservice". You got a little bigger first taste than most but if you stick around using II you'd get smaller doses nearly every time. Drop them.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I think you're going a bit overboard with your feeling of being called a "liar". By your standard, anytime anyone told the desk clerk anything, the desk clerk should automatically believe what is told, else the desk clerk will be calling the person a liar. If someone claims they had reserved the room for $10/night, would you say the desk clerk was calling the person a liar by verifying that was the quoted rate?

If you''re a parent, I'm pretty sure that you don't follow that standard with your children. If you did, you would automatically believe everything they told you, else you would be calling them liars.

Taking the time to verify information is simply not the same as calling someone a "liar".

 

[gmarine]

You will be better off without II as this is typical of the type of unit the majority of trades really are (after all, "Quality is a slogan" at II) and typical "customer disservice". You got a little bigger first taste than most but if you stick around using II you'd get smaller doses nearly every time. Drop them.

John, you just posted in another thread that you belong to II and you trade into Marriott's whenever and wherever you want. Why then do you always say that you cant get good exchanges with II ?

In this case it was obviously a resort issue that was resolved by the resort in a way that gave the exchanger a larger unit and a free dinner.

 

[brother coony]

You traded once tru RCI, had Problem and RCI refund exchange fee, now you try 11 and it was a nightmare, at this time I would Just stick to my home resort and ask the question Why Me

 

[lprstn]

First off, let me clarify that my mother is currently a manager at an upscale hotel that she has worked at for over 10 years, my husband also was a regional manager at Choice Hotel. NEVER in my mother or husband's years in this industry did they have to verify what a customer told them, usually they would just comp the room and settle up in the morning. They would never have put a customer through this at 12:00 am in the morning, then want them to attend a TS presentation to sell a product that is way overpriced. Hmm, I wonder if you sympathetic sorts would feel the same way if you had been up since 5 am in the morning, driving 4.5 hours with kids in the backseat, and had to endure all of this for an additional 2 hours (we didn't get to bed until 2:30am, after moving our stuff 2 times).

I didn't ask for sympathy for me, or for the unfortunate rude, non-trusting, resort clerk.

I asked if anyone else had a similar or worst situation that they could share so that I wouldn't feel so bad. Also, I did give the resort credit for graciously trying to make up for the confusion. Which I am sure is more than most would do.

So, I will ask again. Does anyone have a similar, or worst story to share? I would appreciate reading some of them.

Thanks.

 

[timeos2]

Does II have good weeks/ Sure - some

John, you just posted in another thread that you belong to II and you trade into Marriott's whenever and wherever you want. Why then do you always say that you cant get good exchanges with II ?

In this case it was obviously a resort issue that was resolved by the resort in a way that gave the exchanger a larger unit and a free dinner.

There are good exchanges to be had with II no doubt. It's the impression that II gives - bolstered by their great slogan "The Quality Exchange Company" that somehow they are, on average, offering better resorts/units than say RCI does. Nothing could be further from the truth as the majority of II deposits tend to be older, smaller resorts just like RCI or DAE or Red Week has because the majority of resorts that exist are of that type. Yes there are a few brand names that are almost always quality as well as some independents that reach that level but the vast majority are middle of the road or worse.

If II really wanted only quality they would reject off season or non-ranked resorts as SFX does. That is the only way to really have only quality out - take only quality in. But they, like most others, are willing to take anything as thats how their model makes money.

The occasional decent to great trade that falls through the rigged system of priorities and hold backs that II has established for the ever so favored developers / managements they lured in with deals hardly comes close to making up for the fact that 80% or more of all trades are standard resorts, at off times and in so-so locations as that is what they are given to distribute. Just like RCI and others that are willing to take them all.

Great slogan. Zero meaning. Poor operation.

 

[vacationeer786]

my 2-cents

I strongly beleive in you get what you trade! I have traded a substandard resort and gotten a roach hotel!! I have also tradfed a good resort and received a good to better resort, and I have traded a high rated resort and received high quality and goo quality.

Bottom line..... do research before you confirm and if you are getting bad exchanges stay home!:ignore:

 

[Polly Metallic]

If II really wanted only quality they would reject off season or non-ranked resorts as SFX does. That is the only way to really have only quality out - take only quality in. But they, like most others, are willing to take anything as thats how their model makes money.

For the record, SFX has lots of off-season inventory. They also take a few borderline resorts if the resort is in an area that has high demand.

As for II, I have found that most of their inventory is nice resorts. Thanks to TUG and other similar timeshare sites I sift through the list of potential trades and only accept the nicer resorts, so if they do have some marginal properties, I sure won't be the one to exchange into them.

Now back to the OP's experiences. I must agree with others that despite being off to a bad start, the situation had a happy ending since a bigger unit and other compensation was offered. I personally would be appeased by that. I happen to have a week booked for this same resort next fall and am looking forward to staying in a two bedroom unit there. It sounds like the upper management takes customer satisfaction seriously. I look forward to hearing the full review to hear the positive aspects.

So much of what happens in traveling is impacted by one's frame of mind. We made an exchange once to a resort in Puerto Vallarta. We were not given the unit indicated on the exchange confirmation, despite being told that we would be getting that particular unit. They put us in an older style building that had two walls of folding doors in the living room that could be opened up to make the unit very open to the outdoors. This was a rather novel arrangement and quite pleasant except the unit didn't seem as secure and it wasn't very weather-tight, either. We had a chameleon visitor on the living room wall one evening and it really startled me. The style unit we should have been assigned to would have been nicer, and it was somewhat annoying to pass our assigned unit everyday and wish we were there instead. We could have stewed about this and let it completely ruin our vacation, but we didn't. We made the best of our rather odd but charming condo. The grounds, pools, and restaurants were extremely nice and it wasn't hard to be happy there and have a good time.

When we returned from vacation I wrote to RCI and told them about our unit assignment and the presence during the week of the "uninvited resident." I wasn't expecting compensation, especially since we hadn't contacted RCI to complain while we were in Mexico. I really just wanted to let RCI know that exchangers were sometimes assigned to the odd, older units. RCI gave us a replacement week for the cost of an exchange fee, which I thought was very good of them. As I said before, attitude is everything. We could have allowed our vacation to be ruined, but we didn't, and I look back on that vacation with many fond memories. The unit wasn't all that bad and it got us an extra week of vacation to boot.

 

[bilfbr245]

I am not sure I understand why it took two hours for the night clerk to view the room and ascertain that it would not accommodate 4 people. I would have thought that this would require ten minutes or less.

 

[barndweller]

John said

Nothing could be further from the truth as the majority of II deposits tend to be older, smaller resorts just like RCI or DAE or Red Week has because the majority of resorts that exist are of that type.

Here is the problem.

This is what the majority of people own & what they use to exchange. I agree with vacationeer786 ie: you get what you give. The OP does not say what they traded for this "hotel room" that they received. We here at TUG agree that most timeshare owners believe they can exchange their unit for anything they want but we know that is not what really happens. I agree with you, John, that certain developers are given special treatment but most timeshares are not in that category. If I have a simple, medium level one bedroom timeshare to exchange that is what I get from all the exchange companies in return. I don't expect to get better so when I do I am thrilled. Nor do I want a roach motel so if that's what I get then I am to blame for not doing my homework not the exchange company.

I am sorry that the OP was disappointed but the exchange company, no matter which one was used, is not to blame. Is II to blame for a dirty room with missing items and broken lamps at Marriott Desert Springs? Is SFX to blame for the worst possible view at Mayan Palace? Is RCI to blame for dumpster view and AC that doesn't work at Hilton in Oahu? Of course not. Stop with the crap about the rotten timeshare exchange companies, John. It doesn't help anyone to continually blame the go-between. Blame the timeshare owners who expect to pay for the average timeshare but exchange it for the top of the line. Sheesh. Your line is getting old & boring!

 

[theo]

Truth or consequences?

You asked the night clerk if he was calling you a liar and he said no. So I agree with the previous post that it is not helpful to continue with the inflammatory rhetotic.

I heartily agree with this (and several other) posts expressing this particular viewpoint.

By OP's own accounting, OP seems to have been the only person to actually utter the word "liar". The clueless desk clerk may have been surprised, confused, and yes --- perhaps even disbelieving, but never actually "called" anyone anything, least of all a liar. In his clueless confusion and/or disbelief, he sought to verify an observation -- so what?

Long hours on the road can shorten one's patience, but the facts remain the facts. It sounds to me like management ultimately went out of their way to try to make things right. But that's just me....

It's probably just as well that I'm not in the hospitality business...

 

[dougp26364]

First off, let me clarify that my mother is currently a manager at an upscale hotel that she has worked at for over 10 years, my husband also was a regional manager at Choice Hotel. NEVER in my mother or husband's years in this industry did they have to verify what a customer told them, usually they would just comp the room and settle up in the morning. They would never have put a customer through this at 12:00 am in the morning, then want them to attend a TS presentation to sell a product that is way overpriced. Hmm, I wonder if you sympathetic sorts would feel the same way if you had been up since 5 am in the morning, driving 4.5 hours with kids in the backseat, and had to endure all of this for an additional 2 hours (we didn't get to bed until 2:30am, after moving our stuff 2 times).

I didn't ask for sympathy for me, or for the unfortunate rude, non-trusting, resort clerk.

I asked if anyone else had a similar or worst situation that they could share so that I wouldn't feel so bad. Also, I did give the resort credit for graciously trying to make up for the confusion. Which I am sure is more than most would do.

So, I will ask again. Does anyone have a similar, or worst story to share? I would appreciate reading some of them.

Thanks.

Never is an awfully powerful word.

Still, we are talking timeshare here and not major hotel chain. There are differences. Major hotel chains rely on ongoing rental business. Timeshare's rely on sales. For a major hotel chain, comping, discounting or even changing a room assignment may not be a big deal.

Timeshare's on the other hand do not rely on repeat rental business. The developer selling the units may not even have anything to do with the management of the resort. Management is generally the HOA's business and not the sales department. Timeshare's have owners that return to them or exchange for other resorts. This may greatly limit the rooms available and there may not be anything else availabel, even when a mistake has been made in assigning rooms. They also don't have agreements with other local hotels to accept their clients/guest when an overflow situation exisits.

So while I can appreciated your prospective from other members of your family's point of view, I still do not see where they desk clerk called or implied that you were a liar. Only that the information you presented him ran contrary to what you were saying and that he needed to verify what you were saying before contacting someone with authority to make a change.

IOW, I feel that a mistake was made but you took this FAR to personally. It would be great if every time a mistake was made in any business that the customer would always get exactly what they wanted but, you should know as well as the rest of us that this won't happen. It appears to me they put you through a little stress just when you needed it least but, in the end you walked away with more than what your were initially promised.

Just because someone verifies what you say does not mean they're calling you a liar. It might mean that one or two people in this world have lied to them before but not that you're lying at that very moment. Again, it's not the poor bad experience I find fault with. It's the calling of a name only because a person needed to verify what was said in one particular situation.

 

[DeniseM]

So, I will ask again. Does anyone have a similar, or worst story to share? I would appreciate reading some of them.

Thanks.

We have a long thread of exchanging horror stories posted at the top of the exchanging board and I moved your post to that thread. If you have time, check out the other posts.

 

[swp1216]

Worst Resort

Our worst resort stay with RCI was Silverado II in Winter Park , Colorado. We only stayed 3 days because my Dad lives in Co and we only wanted to go to the mountains for a few days. It was a 2 BR and spacious enough, but the carpet was horribly stained and the unit was dark and depressing. The outside looked okay, but a totally different story on the inside!! We never saw any resort staff in the 3 days we were there. There was a The bathrooms were very small, and had cracked tile, and they were just dingy looking. There was a restaurant and ski/gift shop that were never open when we were there. We were there the 1st week of Dec, which I thought was ski season! Oh well that's it, we will not go back there unless they have been remodeled.

 

[icydog]

First off, let me clarify that my mother is currently a manager at an upscale hotel that she has worked at for over 10 years, my husband also was a regional manager at Choice Hotel. NEVER in my mother or husband's years in this industry did they have to verify what a customer told them, usually they would just comp the room and settle up in the morning. They would never have put a customer through this at 12:00 am in the morning, then want them to attend a TS presentation to sell a product that is way overpriced. Hmm, I wonder if you sympathetic sorts would feel the same way if you had been up since 5 am in the morning, driving 4.5 hours with kids in the backseat, and had to endure all of this for an additional 2 hours (we didn't get to bed until 2:30am, after moving our stuff 2 times).

I didn't ask for sympathy for me, or for the unfortunate rude, non-trusting, resort clerk.

I asked if anyone else had a similar or worst situation that they could share so that I wouldn't feel so bad. Also, I did give the resort credit for graciously trying to make up for the confusion. Which I am sure is more than most would do.

So, I will ask again. Does anyone have a similar, or worst story to share? I would appreciate reading some of them.

Thanks.

I agree with you. I would be very insulted if someone said to me "I don't believe you". I have had similar responses and it makes me see red. I think that the clerk should learn some manners or not be in a job that places him in front of the paying public. I had a similar incident with a clerk in the Marriott customer service dept. When I told him the issues I was having at a resort he said" I don't believe you--All the units at xxx resort are ocean view" I asked him had he ever been to the resort and he replied no but he had read the literature. He also told me he wouldn't give me his manager's name or let me talk to a manager. When I insisted I got a manager who apoligized for his behavior and told me he would be given training on how to talk to a customer. I don't know if this was done but I felt better I was heard.

My worst timeshare experience was the Celebrity Resort in Honolulu. It was a converted motel and the whole room smelled from bleach obviously to kill the mold we found everywhere. Our tiny "studio," aka small motel room, had a queen bed, a small yucky sofa, and a tiny refrigerator. The pool was the size of a small motel pool which is what it was. The only saving grace was the staff were very nice. They arranged for tours and helped us find a place to eat. We only stayed two nights since we hated it so much. Don't bother going there to try it out. It was the pits.

 

[RandyK]

The Pelican Resort in St Maarten.
Run down and what a waste of my vacation investment.

 

[pammex]

Playa Del Sol Costa Sur Puerto Vallarta Mexico was a bonus week thru SFX

Worst service, poor maintenance, mold everywhere, many people got ill. I belive I posted a review...what a nightmare. Resort from hell.

 

[oysterfiend]

Royal crown Hotel Phuket Thailand,
Crungy hotel but perfectly ok for a week.
We had a huge bed - two kingles put together- completely different levels,
and duvet only large enough for standard double or kingsingle between us,
Maid poor english so my husband had to point size of duvet,
Husband changed his mind at breakfast and got two breakfasts,
light bulbs missing- but replaced on request
dingy bathroom,
small pool
way up in hilly area wellaway from town centre,
Complimentary hourly shuttle hit and miss,
still it did the trick and was a very cheap exchange points wise,
so in essence no good complaining - if low in points and few good reviews on tripadvisor I took the exchange - so you go sometimes expecting to be surprised,
sometimes I am overly anxious to get an exchange and take the first exchange too soon-
I always say I'll never do it again but I always do

 

[Zac495]

It would make me hot if the clerk said he didn't believe me. I would be cranky at that hour with the kids up. I would tell my friends and family about our lousy first night. I would expect them to sympathize.

But when I go to tripadvisor and see someone give a low rating and then tell a story like yours, I ignore the rating. To me - it's two different things. I realize your post was moved - you weren't originally posting about your worst timeshare ever - but still - it's only a useful post if you want to vent. It says nothing about the resort. I wouldn't avoid the resort based on your experience.

But I do understand why you were cranky.

 

[Cathyb]

Lucky you are so flexible We stayed at Marriott Phuket and it was the most elegant timeshare we have EVER stayed in -- 23 yrs of timesharing!!!

BTW, we stayed in Taupo, NZ about 10 years ago -- love your country!!!

 

[oysterfiend]

Lucky you are so flexible We stayed at Marriott Phuket and it was the most elegant timeshare we have EVER stayed in -- 23 yrs of timesharing!!!

BTW, we stayed in Taupo, NZ about 10 years ago -- love your country!!!

I would have rather had an elegant place like you but hey I made the trade and we just made the most of it.
We had a bed and hot water and no harm came to us

 

[carlrocky]

The Sonesta beach resort, Aruba, now the Renaissance

Like other worst stays ever its all about perception verses reality. We arrived two days early and spent them at The Marriott. We loved the Marriott and the beachfront location, it spoiled us. Upon trying to check in at the Sonesta there was a crowd there, with little help at the front desk. Finally getting a 2 bedroom at the back of the resort facing the parking lot that had a strong mildew odor was very depressing. The pool tiles were falling off the sides of the pool. You needed a boat ride to reach the beach. The lovely lagoon in the II brochure is actually a mud bottomed pond that was, Yuk !!! We hated the place. Checked out and paid for another week at the Marriott rather than suffer at the Sonesta. This is a good thread...Its nice to Vent !!!!!!!! Aruba is a great destination... We just hated the Sonesta.

 

[rsnash]

Don't just vent, Review!

I hope all those posting about their bad (and good) experiences post reviews in the TUG database. That way the good (and bad) experiences are categorized by location and will edify the next TUGger's decision.

 

[madra dubh]

I hope all those posting about their bad (and good) experiences post reviews in the TUG database. That way the good (and bad) experiences are categorized by location and will edify the next TUGger's decision.

Hello Rnash - You are 100% on target - reviews are key.

This past August we had the timeshare-from-hell experience at Wyndham/Fairfield Pagosa Springs Resort, Pagosa Springs CO. I did not pull any punches in my TUG Review. I also detailed the problems we encountered when I did the II Resort Evaluation.

A few weeks later, I received a letter from an II representative that contained the expected phases, such as "Thank you for submitting your evaluation", "Please be assured II makes every effort to ensure that all affiliated resorts provide an acceptable experience to our members", and "II will provide a copy of your comments to the resort for their review and assist them in making any necessary changes to meet future vacationer's expectations". Although this letter could not change what happened in the past, I was pleased to receive it.

Then, when the 2009 II Directory came out, I noticed that Wyndham/Fairfield Pagosa Springs was not in the directory, nor was it in the on-line directory. Was this a coincidence or did my review cause this to happen? I doubt my review was that instrumental. But maybe it contributed to the resort leaving II.

I will continue to do reviews because I feel they are useful to other timeshare users.

 

[cgeidl]

A Tie

Kuhio Baqnyan-Waikiki
American Resort-Lake tahoe
What they both had in common was their only picture in RCI was of the lobby. Never stay at a resort with a lobby only picture..