What non-HGVC timeshares do you own

[JIMinNC]

And I really like WPORV, and prefer it to Marriott Waiohai/Kauai Lagoons/Kauai Beach Club. It's my favorite Kauai property.

Is WPORV any easier to book than WKORV-N/S on Maui? What do you like better about it versus Marriott Waiohai/Kauai Lagoons/Kauai Beach Club? We've never stayed on the north shore of Kauai since that's considered the rainy side of the island.

 

[GregT]

Yes, availability at WPORV with StarOptions has been very accessible.

I like that I can book a 1BR at WPORV, which aren't available at Waiohai or Kauai Lagoons. KBC does have 1BR units, but the units at WPORV are much nicer.

Separately, we love Hanalei Bay, which is very convenient from WPORV, and there are some terrific beaches on the north side. It definitely rains up in Princeville, but it has never disrupted our vacation. Typically, it rains for 15 minutes and then the sun is back (but we go in June).

Independent of the properties themselves, I prefer the predictability of point systems (which is why I love HGVC). WPORV is very accessible with StarOptions. I view the Marriott point system as very expensive for Hawaii properties, and am reluctant to spend my precious Marriott points when I can easily access an equivalent property in a more economical manner. For the same reason, I can't see myself staying at Marriott Waikoloa over HGVC Kings Land. This may not apply to others, and may just be my quirk.

Best,

Greg

 

[CalGalTraveler]

This is very helpful information.

What is the best way to trade for a 2BDRM at WPORV or Waiohai in June/July in 2019? Are such units readily available via staroptions / II? or II Cash Getaways?

Alternatively, Would we have better chances trading Hilton points via RCI to get a Wyndham Kauai property? (need recommendations)

Other ideas? We don't plan to regularly visit Kauai.

 

[JIMinNC]

Yes, availability at WPORV with StarOptions has been very accessible.

I like that I can book a 1BR at WPORV, which aren't available at Waiohai or Kauai Lagoons. KBC does have 1BR units, but the units at WPORV are much nicer.

Separately, we love Hanalei Bay, which is very convenient from WPORV, and there are some terrific beaches on the north side. It definitely rains up in Princeville, but it has never disrupted our vacation. Typically, it rains for 15 minutes and then the sun is back (but we go in June).

Independent of the properties themselves, I prefer the predictability of point systems (which is why I love HGVC). WPORV is very accessible with StarOptions. I view the Marriott point system as very expensive for Hawaii properties, and am reluctant to spend my precious Marriott points when I can easily access an equivalent property in a more economical manner. For the same reason, I can't see myself staying at Marriott Waikoloa over HGVC Kings Land. This may not apply to others, and may just be my quirk.

Best,

Greg

Thanks Greg. Very, very helpful. With WPORV being 148,100 SOs for a 2BR and 81,000 for a 1BR, a fairly cheap resale mandatory SVV Bella/Key West 2BR worth 81,000 SOs suddenly would look like a reasonably economical way to access Kauai. May have to add that to my list of future options.

Our goal is the ability to book 3 weeks in Hawaii EOY. Our 7000 "new" HGVC points give us access to Bay Club/Kohala Suites/Kings Land/Ocean Tower on the Big Island, and our pending EOY Odd Marriott MOC gets us Maui. So two weeks down and one to go! For Kauai, an EOY Odd Marriott Waiohai for about $3000-$3500 looks appealing, and maybe the StarOptions could be an alternate path. A second week at MOC has some appeal as well, but unless it could be enrolled in Marriott's points system cheaply (not likely), it wouldn't offer us access to Kauai.

We hope to have our EOY Odd Marriott MOC in our account by the end of February so we can start looking for a March 2019 week on Maui. Then, instead of using our HGVC for the Big Island in 2019, we hope to take advantage of the usual HGVC RCI March 2019 bulk bank to burn some leftover RCI TPUs that we need to get rid of, and snag one of the HGVCs in Waikoloa (recognizing we still have the HGVC points as a back-up). Since we don't yet own anything specific for Kauai, we'll either just go for two weeks in 2019, or rent a few Marriott Destinations Points to add to our remaining 2019 DPs to book Marriott Kauai Beach Club (if we decide on 1BR) or Marriott Waiohai (if we determine we need a 2BR). Leaning toward the DP option right now, we just need to figure out if one or both of our kids might join us for one of the weeks. Using owned/rented DP points would cause the Kauai week to be the most costly of the three weeks, so before the 2021 use year we'll need to figure out a longer term strategy for that third week.

 

[Denise L]

Just recently purchased our HGVC 7800 points (Elara) because I wanted to use it to get to NY. Our other purchases have adhered to the "buy where you want to go" advice, so when we wanted to go to Maui, we bought Vistana (SVO) WKORV in 2012, retail price. Everything else has been resale. We bought a Sheraton Desert Oasis (SDO) for II trading. Then we wanted to go to Walt Disney World, so we bought DVC (Beach Club Villas), and we added on the DVC in Anaheim because we wanted to stay at the Villas at the Grand Californian. Then we wanted to stay at the Hyatt in Tahoe and Carmel, so we bought Hyatt Incline Village. We usually always stay at our home resorts except with our SDO trader, and now with the HGVC Elara points. Just practiced using them to get West 57th Street for a few nights in March.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Thanks Greg. Very, very helpful. With WPORV being 148,100 SOs for a 2BR and 81,000 for a 1BR, a fairly cheap resale mandatory SVV Bella/Key West 2BR worth 81,000 SOs suddenly would look like a reasonably economical way to access Kauai. May have to add that to my list of future options.

Our goal is the ability to book 3 weeks in Hawaii EOY. Our 7000 "new" HGVC points give us access to Bay Club/Kohala Suites/Kings Land/Ocean Tower on the Big Island, and our pending EOY Odd Marriott MOC gets us Maui. So two weeks down and one to go! For Kauai, an EOY Odd Marriott Waiohai for about $3000-$3500 looks appealing, and maybe the StarOptions could be an alternate path. A second week at MOC has some appeal as well, but unless it could be enrolled in Marriott's points system cheaply (not likely), it wouldn't offer us access to Kauai.

We hope to have our EOY Odd Marriott MOC in our account by the end of February so we can start looking for a March 2019 week on Maui. Then, instead of using our HGVC for the Big Island in 2019, we hope to take advantage of the usual HGVC RCI March 2019 bulk bank to burn some leftover RCI TPUs that we need to get rid of, and snag one of the HGVCs in Waikoloa (recognizing we still have the HGVC points as a back-up). Since we don't yet own anything specific for Kauai, we'll either just go for two weeks in 2019, or rent a few Marriott Destinations Points to add to our remaining 2019 DPs to book Marriott Kauai Beach Club (if we decide on 1BR) or Marriott Waiohai (if we determine we need a 2BR). Leaning toward the DP option right now, we just need to figure out if one or both of our kids might join us for one of the weeks. Using owned/rented DP points would cause the Kauai week to be the most costly of the three weeks, so before the 2021 use year we'll need to figure out a longer term strategy for that third week.

Wow, I couldn't keep up with your agenda with weeks here and there and family coming or not and when I saw that you were worrying about how to deal with a third week in 2021 I knew your were a long term planner which is required to get the best benefits from timesharing. We also plan far ahead and although we only own 2 HGVC weeks in Las Vegas and 4 HGVC weeks in Florida we are able to use our timeshare points to stay in the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a great number of weeks every winter.

However, we have a friend who has a condo in Honolulu that we mentioned last Thursday that we booked 2 weeks in Maui in April 2019. Her response was, I am having a hard time figuring out what I am going to do this weekend. Well some people can use timeshares to their best advantage, and some people can't.

 

[JIMinNC]

Wow, I couldn't keep up with your agenda with weeks here and there and family coming or not and when I saw that you were worrying about how to deal with a third week in 2021 I knew your were a long term planner which is required to get the best benefits from timesharing. We also plan far ahead and although we only own 2 HGVC weeks in Las Vegas and 4 HGVC weeks in Florida we are able to use our timeshare points to stay in the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a great number of weeks every winter.

However, we have a friend who has a condo in Honolulu that we mentioned last Thursday that we booked 2 weeks in Maui in April 2019. Her response was, I am having a hard time figuring out what I am going to do this weekend. Well some people can use timeshares to their best advantage, and some people can't.

Yes, I've learned in almost 20 years of ownership that advance planning is necessary. Drives our kids crazy. Was asking our son on the phone tonight if he would like to go with us to Hawaii in March 2019, and it was like - "I guess, but I have no idea what I'll be doing next month. That's over a year away..."

I'm actually not really planning that much for 2021 yet, it's just that since we're buying an EOY-Odd Maui unit, that sort of commits us to an every odd year Hawaii trip. So, if we want to try to stay 3 weeks each time, we know we'll need a longer term solution for that third week by the next trip. Marriott points are great for flexibility, and I don't mind using them for Kauai in 2019, but they are a more expensive way to do recurring types of trips when compared to HGVC points or resale Marriott weeks.

 

[csodjd]

I've already calendared out 2019. Need to book the timeshares a year in advance. With a busy golf schedule that I already know will be taking me to Scotland the first week of August (and my wife wants to go to Ireland before or after Scotland), and three weeks in Hawaii that have to be booked in 2018, it's hard not to plan a year+ in advance.

 

[JIMinNC]

I've already calendared out 2019. Need to book the timeshares a year in advance. With a busy golf schedule that I already know will be taking me to Scotland the first week of August (and my wife wants to go to Ireland before or after Scotland), and three weeks in Hawaii that have to be booked in 2018, it's hard not to plan a year+ in advance.

Sorta the same here - don't have anything booked for 2019 yet - but have a high-level plan in place that should come together as 2018 rolls along - hoping to book three weeks in Hawaii in March 2019, a non-timeshare trip to see the U.S. Open in Pebble Beach in June 2019 combined with some time in Napa/Sonoma and maybe Yosemite, and an already-requested Marriott II exchange to Marriott Newport Coast in Sept/Oct. May also try to work in three or four nights in Vegas at HGVC Elara with a few days after that in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Probably another TBD trip for fall 2019, hopefully somewhere using our HGVC points - but we have until next year this time to figure that one out.

 

[Cyberc]

Just recently purchased our HGVC 7800 points (Elara) because I wanted to use it to get to NY. Our other purchases have adhered to the "buy where you want to go" advice, so when we wanted to go to Maui, we bought Vistana (SVO) WKORV in 2012, retail price. Everything else has been resale. We bought a Sheraton Desert Oasis (SDO) for II trading. Then we wanted to go to Walt Disney World, so we bought DVC (Beach Club Villas), and we added on the DVC in Anaheim because we wanted to stay at the Villas at the Grand Californian. Then we wanted to stay at the Hyatt in Tahoe and Carmel, so we bought Hyatt Incline Village. We usually always stay at our home resorts except with our SDO trader, and now with the HGVC Elara points. Just practiced using them to get West 57th Street for a few nights in March.

Hi Denise

You might already know this, but booking NYC can be difficult as we non-owners can only book W75 45days out and then the availability can be limited.

 

[csodjd]

Sorta the same here - don't have anything booked for 2019 yet - but have a high-level plan in place that should come together as 2018 rolls along - hoping to book three weeks in Hawaii in March 2019, a non-timeshare trip to see the U.S. Open in Pebble Beach in June 2019 combined with some time in Napa/Sonoma and maybe Yosemite, and an already-requested Marriott II exchange to Marriott Newport Coast in Sept/Oct. May also try to work in three or four nights in Vegas at HGVC Elara with a few days after that in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Probably another TBD trip for fall 2019, hopefully somewhere using our HGVC points - but we have until next year this time to figure that one out.

That's a great trip, though a bit late for Yosemite Falls to be active. No more Hilton in Napa... it burned down. Sit behind the 8th green or 14th green at Pebble. Two great places to see the good, bad and ugly up close!

 

[JIMinNC]

That's a great trip, though a bit late for Yosemite Falls to be active. No more Hilton in Napa... it burned down. Sit behind the 8th green or 14th green at Pebble. Two great places to see the good, bad and ugly up close!

Hmm...that's good info about Yosemite Falls. I knew that the fall season is a bad time for waterfalls, but I would have thought the falls would have still been flowing that early in the summer season. When do you think the best time is for a Yosemite visit? I was already a little nervous about the June crowds, so maybe that might be a location to append to a future trip and just focus 2019 on the US Open and Napa/Sonoma.

We were at the 2010 US Open the last time it was at Pebble so I know all about 8 and 14. The 14th green was brutal that year - great pin-high shots wound up rolling off the green - and that approach shot on 8 may be the most spectacular in the world. It can be a frustrating experience watching US Open golf at Pebble with all of the single-sided fairways and huge crowds, but the venue is so spectacularly beautiful, I have to go back one more time.

 

[csodjd]

Hmm...that's good info about Yosemite Falls. I knew that the fall season is a bad time for waterfalls, but I would have thought the falls would have still been flowing that early in the summer season. When do you think the best time is for a Yosemite visit? I was already a little nervous about the June crowds, so maybe that might be a location to append to a future trip and just focus 2019 on the US Open and Napa/Sonoma.

We were at the 2010 US Open the last time it was at Pebble so I know all about 8 and 14. The 14th green was brutal that year - great pin-high shots wound up rolling off the green - and that approach shot on 8 may be the most spectacular in the world. It can be a frustrating experience watching US Open golf at Pebble with all of the single-sided fairways and huge crowds, but the venue is so spectacularly beautiful, I have to go back one more time.

I've been lucky enough to play the course well over 100 times. 14 is the hardest par-5 I've played, and I've played all over the world, including in two US Senior Opens.

I've found Yosemite best in May. If you were to go before the Open, depending on the snow pack (this year there's about 0"!) it may still be good. It's all about the melting snow. You'd have to start there and end your trip in Carmel, with Napa in the middle. By July Yosemite Falls are generally pretty dried up and gone by August unless there's a LOT of snow.

 

[JIMinNC]

I've been lucky enough to play the course well over 100 times. 14 is the hardest par-5 I've played, and I've played all over the world, including in two US Senior Opens.

I've found Yosemite best in May. If you were to go before the Open, depending on the snow pack (this year there's about 0"!) it may still be good. It's all about the melting snow. You'd have to start there and end your trip in Carmel, with Napa in the middle. By July Yosemite Falls are generally pretty dried up and gone by August unless there's a LOT of snow.

Thanks for the Yosemite advice. Pebble is on my bucket list to play one day. I'd probably shoot 120, but it's all about the experience, right?

 

[Arimaas]

After reading all the posts, it doesn't seem like many people in the HGVC system are also in the Wyndham system. I try to read the Wyndham board to get a sense of their system, but it is very confusing. Like I said in the OP, I was looking at Wyndham because of the drivable properties to NY, but it doesn't seem to be a very reliable system.

 

[Mosescan]

After reading all the posts, it doesn't seem like many people in the HGVC system are also in the Wyndham system. I try to read the Wyndham board to get a sense of their system, but it is very confusing. Like I said in the OP, I was looking at Wyndham because of the drivable properties to NY, but it doesn't seem to be a very reliable system.

I've considered other systems, but the HGVC system is so easy to use and I'm happy with the resort selection so I'll likely stick with just Hilton for now.

 

[csodjd]

Pebble is on my bucket list to play one day. I'd probably shoot 120, but it's all about the experience, right?

Eh... at about $550, not sure just walking around the course in the evening before sunset isn't a better option. Play Spyglass. Avoid Spanish Bay. Walk around Pebble. And best golf deal in the area are the two courses at Fort Ord.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I've considered other systems, but the HGVC system is so easy to use and I'm happy with the resort selection so I'll likely stick with just Hilton for now.

After looking at most of the major systems (specifically Marriott, Vistana, Hyatt) I believe HGVC is the best in terms of flexibility, they are well run and up-to-date proving that quality is attainable with efficient maintenance fees (MF are bordering on ridiculous at certain Marriott and Vistana resorts), and they strive to be fair to all owners (including resale buyers) which enhances the value and delivers a good experience.

Unlike points offerings at other systems, it would be difficult for HGVC to devalue points at existing resorts because they are fixed to a unit size and view. This avoids the shell games that other points systems deploy and enables owners to get the exact units they want to reserve vs. silver season units that no one wants that have been dumped into these points "portfolios."

Unless you have a specific destination (e.g. Maui or Kauai) where HGVC does not have a presence, I would stick with HGVC.

 

[JIMinNC]

After looking at all of the major systems I believe HGVC is the best in terms of flexibility, they are well run and up-to-date proving that quality is attainable with efficient maintenance fees (MF are bordering on ridiculous at certain Marriott and Vistana resorts), and they strive to be fair to all owners (including resale buyers) which enhances the value and delivers a good experience.

Unlike points offerings at other systems, it would be difficult for HGVC to devalue points at existing resorts because they are fixed to a unit size and view. This avoids the shell games that other points systems deploy and enables owners to get the exact units they want to reserve vs. silver season units that no one wants that have been dumped into these points "portfolios."

Unless you have a specific destination (e.g. Maui or Kauai) where HGVC does not have a presence, I would stick with HGVC.

As a literally brand new HGVC owner, I would say my initial impression of the system is spot-on with what you write here. I've compared HGVC and Marriott head-to-head this week in some places where they both have similar accommodations - and in virtually every case, I believe, HGVC offers the better value. I only wish that HGVC had the more extensive and diverse catalog of locations that Marriott Vacation Club does. Marriott's breadth and variety of locations is still better, IMHO - at least for our needs.

 

[Mosescan]

As a literally brand new HGVC owner, I would say my initial impression of the system is spot-on with what you write here. I've compared HGVC and Marriott head-to-head this week in some places where they both have similar accommodations - and in virtually every case, I believe, HGVC offers the better value. I only wish that HGVC had the more extensive and diverse catalog of locations that Marriott Vacation Club does. Marriott's breadth and variety of locations is still better, IMHO - at least for our needs.

I too wish there was a bigger variety of locations, however I expect to own my TS for a long time, like 30 years or so before passing them on to my kids so I would expect that it will improve with time and as I get closer to retirement in 10 years I'm looking forward to exploring the new offerings they will have by then. For now, with young children, Hawaii and Florida are both great destinations.

 

[Oscar923]

I am just a timeshare novice, and am trying to learn as much from all the gurus here. After spending months researching I bought my first time share in 2015 and it was HGVC resale. It is a flexible system and the MF is reasonable (LV Boulevard). I have used my HGVC points to stay in Elara, Flamingo, and Paradise in LV, and also Marbrisa and GPP in Carlsbad. My kids love Marbrisa because of the LEGOLAND next door!

My family also often vacation in Palm Desert even before we got our first timeshare. There are no HGVC resorts in Palm Desert (not counting trading through RCI). We used to rent from Marriott.com to get to DSV or Shadow Ridge. As a matter of fact, I have stayed in all four Marriott Palm Desert resorts multiple times through renting from Marriott.com. I finally bought a resale Gold week at Shadow Ridge Villages (for summer or Thanksgiving). This is a case of "buying where you want to stay". The initial cost was low (practically free) but the MF is relatively high. As an aside, the trading power of my Marriott week is very strong. Through II, I traded for a 2018 summer week at Hyatt/Welk Northstar Lodge in Truckee/Tahoe. I am so looking forward to that.

Getting hooked to timesharing now, I further bought 12,000 Worldmark credits resale last year. Worldmark is even more flexible than HGVC and has many locations along the west coast. They are all in driving distance (I am in California). I will be vacationing at their Big Bear and Bass Lake (Yosemite) locations this year. Just thinking where to go and all the wonderful resorts would get me through the day-to-day grind at work.

Family life is great with timeshares!

Oscar

 

[Arimaas]

Getting hooked to timesharing now, I further bought 12,000 Worldmark credits resale last year. Worldmark is even more flexible than HGVC and has many locations along the west coast. They are all in driving distance (I am in California). I will be vacationing at their Big Bear and Bass Lake (Yosemite) locations this year. Just thinking where to go and all the wonderful resorts would get me through the day-to-day grind at work.

I wish Wyndham and Worldmark would allow for cross-bookings between the programs. I am on the East Coast so Wyndham would be perfect, but from what I understand, many folks are unhappy with Wyndham, while I hear a lot of good things about Worldmark. Strange, since from what I gather, the parent companies are the same.

 

[kukenan]

I wish Wyndham and Worldmark would allow for cross-bookings between the programs. I am on the East Coast so Wyndham would be perfect, but from what I understand, many folks are unhappy with Wyndham, while I hear a lot of good things about Worldmark. Strange, since from what I gather, the parent companies are the same.

I own Wyndham, bought club wyndham access resale, for personal use I think it's a good system, there is a lot of unhappy people because wyndham stopped the "mega renters", cut some VIP privileges and bring a new web reservation system. As a resale "new" user I'm very please with the system, the units and the resorts available. Resonable MFs and very cheap to buy resale.

 

[Oscar923]

I wish Wyndham and Worldmark would allow for cross-bookings between the programs. I am on the East Coast so Wyndham would be perfect, but from what I understand, many folks are unhappy with Wyndham, while I hear a lot of good things about Worldmark. Strange, since from what I gather, the parent companies are the same.

You can exchange your worldmark credits for Wyndham resorts, only if you buy credits directly from worldmark. In other words, you pay a much higher buy-in cost compared to resale. It is just not worth it. Worldmark the club is very different from Wyndham. Wyndham, I think, is only the developer of the resorts for worldmark. They don’t run worldmark the club. By the way, I just exchanged through II to a Christmas week at Marriott grand chateau with my worldmark credits. I would prefer Elara, but grand chateau will do! Awesome exchange!

 

[chriskre]

I own Disney, Wyndham points, Bluegreen UDI,
RCI points and an independent beach resort.
They all have their pluses and minuses.
I bought to use in places that I like to go except for the BG UDI.
That's strictly a rental/trader.