Timeshares south of London

[Judy]

We'll be arriving at Heathrow on or after October 9, 2020 and sailing from Southampton on October 15, 2020. We'd like to spend a week in a timeshare in England before sailing. Do you have any suggestions about what we should put in an ongoing search with RCI and/or II for?
I found one RCI cottage in Southampton, but availability is not promising.

I guess what I need is someplace interesting/pleasant and with convenient transportation to the Southampton cruise port, that has a reasonable chance of becoming available for October 2020.

Much of what I'm seeing available for 2019 are November weeks. What's with November?

 

[Pompey Family]

Timeshares are few and far in the UK and those that do exist tend to be on the lower scale. The more upscale ones tend to be very dificult to trade into. Both McDonalds Elmers Court and Rhinefield House in the New Forest would be your best option (via II, I don't know about RCI) however I think you may struggle to find a trade.

Personally I would look at renting a cottage in the area, a much better option than a timeshare and with greater availability although I accept that this would come as an extra expense in comparison to a TS trade however October prices should be more reasonable than the higher seasons.

 

[beejaybeeohio]

Judy, we were in the same situation as you in 2017. I had an ongoing search w/ RCI in for over a year for resorts south of London, many of which were available as pricey Extra Vacations but not as trades. We ended up getting a match to Lidsey Farmhouse Annexe in Bognor Regis, about 20 miles east of Southampton. It was a quaint cottage that worked fine for us and we explored the area nearby as well as leaving the t/s for an overnight in the Cotswolds and visit to Stonehenge. We did rent a car out of Gatwick and returned it to Hertz not far from our Southampton hotel and then set sail across the Atlantic the next day.

The Pompey Family was very helpful in providing tips for our stay in Bogner Regis!! Thanks again!

You could look further north in England and take a train to your destination and back to Southampton. In 2015 we had a r/t cruise out of Southampton and when we disembarked, took the train to Manchester, again rented a car, and spent a week at Sutton Hall in Yorkshire and another at Whitbarrow Village in the Lakes District before flying back to the US out of MAN.

The sooner you put in a search the better!

 

[Passepartout]

We stayed in a lovely B&B in Southampton last November. It was Hunter's Lodge on Landguard road. Dancing Man Brewery is the #1 Southampton eatery and we can't recommend it highly enough. In London we really enjoyed the Nadler Victoria hotel. It's only a few minute's walk from Buckingham Palace and across the street from the Royal Muse, where the Queen's horses, carriages, limo's etc. are kept. Also a wealth of pubs and restaurants in that neighborhood.

The exchange rate of USE to GBP is as good as I can ever remember. A great time to visit Great Britain on the cheap!

Jim

 

[beejaybeeohio]

Dancing Man Brewery is the #1 Southampton eatery and we can't recommend it highly enough.
Jim

Hi Jim!
I recollect we finally met after being TUG friends for awhile at the Dancing Man in November 2017! Fred & I enjoyed our transatlantic cruise on the Eclipse with you & Paula and hope we someday sail with you again.
Barb

 

[Passepartout]

Hi Jim!
I recollect we finally met after being TUG friends for awhile at the Dancing Man in November 2017! Fred & I enjoyed our transatlantic cruise on the Eclipse with you & Paula and hope we someday sail with you again.
Barb

Yes indeed! We keep zigging and zagging in opposite directions. One day, I hope we can be more in step. We really enjoyed You and Fred's company too. If you're not doing anything, we'll be doing multiple stops in Japan, Korea , Taiwan and Hong Kong in November on Millenium.