NYFLTRAVELER
TUG Member
Recently returned from a stay at Vistana’s Harborside Resort at Atlantis - Bahamas.
This was my first experience at a Vistana property. We had a “1br Premium Unit” which had a full kitchen, washer/dryer, king bed in master, queen sleeper sofa and a small balcony with 4 chairs.
Going in, I was expecting the Harborside property and villa to be on par with MVCI properties. Unfortunately that was not the case. While the appliances were new as were the TVs, the room itself (which was in a “renovated building”) was somewhat dated, particularly the bathroom shower. The room had an odor of cooking spice from previous guests, the tile floors were somewhat grimy and the paint was chipped on the outdoor furniture.
The building itself showed signs of age and wear and tear as there were patches of stucco missing in places and evidence of rust.
The pool area was not bad, with a large pool, plenty of chairs/umbrellas, a snack bar and restaurant and a children’s playground. However, unlike MVCI properties, I did not see any daily activities exclusive to the property and the lobby/check in area was rather small.
I did pop into the sales gallery and was willing to “tour” to hear whether they had anything to say about linking up the MVCI and VSE programs. The “tour” incentive was $100 gift card or 18,000 Vistana points. While they had no “tour” openings which fit with my schedule (first thing in morning or late in day) and I told them I had no plan to purchase, they did accommodate me by giving me an express (20 minute) presentation of sorts (no gift).
I asked a series of questions about VSE in general, the Harborside Resort and whether there were any plans to integrate MVCI and VSE.
In response to my inquiry about future potential program integration , the sales mgr stated that VSE and MVCI are working on plans to internally integrate the two programs (ie. MVCI owners can stay at VSE properties by converting DC points to Star Options points and VSE owners can stay at MVCI properties by converting “Star Options” points to DC points). However they stated that this can be a year and a half to 2 years out of it were to happen.
I then made a general inquiry about ownership in the VSE network. The “deal” they were trying to push was a purchase a 1br Premium Unit at Harborside during Platinum season for the “low cost” of $38,600. Maintenance on this unit is $1850 annually and the week converts to 81,000 Star Options points (which can be used for stays at this or other VSE properties depending on availability and season), or 151,200 Marriott Rewards (Bonvoy) Points or could be deposited into II as a high powered trader. The “deal” also included a one time bonus of 200,000 MR points and waiver of the VAT on the purchase price. It appeared they were really pushing the value of MR (Bonvoy) Points vis-a-vis VSE ownership.
At the end of the 20 minutes, we exchanged pleasantries and I went on with my day.
All in all, I would say that from my experience at this property, the MVCI properties are cleaner and more luxurious.
This was my first experience at a Vistana property. We had a “1br Premium Unit” which had a full kitchen, washer/dryer, king bed in master, queen sleeper sofa and a small balcony with 4 chairs.
Going in, I was expecting the Harborside property and villa to be on par with MVCI properties. Unfortunately that was not the case. While the appliances were new as were the TVs, the room itself (which was in a “renovated building”) was somewhat dated, particularly the bathroom shower. The room had an odor of cooking spice from previous guests, the tile floors were somewhat grimy and the paint was chipped on the outdoor furniture.
The building itself showed signs of age and wear and tear as there were patches of stucco missing in places and evidence of rust.
The pool area was not bad, with a large pool, plenty of chairs/umbrellas, a snack bar and restaurant and a children’s playground. However, unlike MVCI properties, I did not see any daily activities exclusive to the property and the lobby/check in area was rather small.
I did pop into the sales gallery and was willing to “tour” to hear whether they had anything to say about linking up the MVCI and VSE programs. The “tour” incentive was $100 gift card or 18,000 Vistana points. While they had no “tour” openings which fit with my schedule (first thing in morning or late in day) and I told them I had no plan to purchase, they did accommodate me by giving me an express (20 minute) presentation of sorts (no gift).
I asked a series of questions about VSE in general, the Harborside Resort and whether there were any plans to integrate MVCI and VSE.
In response to my inquiry about future potential program integration , the sales mgr stated that VSE and MVCI are working on plans to internally integrate the two programs (ie. MVCI owners can stay at VSE properties by converting DC points to Star Options points and VSE owners can stay at MVCI properties by converting “Star Options” points to DC points). However they stated that this can be a year and a half to 2 years out of it were to happen.
I then made a general inquiry about ownership in the VSE network. The “deal” they were trying to push was a purchase a 1br Premium Unit at Harborside during Platinum season for the “low cost” of $38,600. Maintenance on this unit is $1850 annually and the week converts to 81,000 Star Options points (which can be used for stays at this or other VSE properties depending on availability and season), or 151,200 Marriott Rewards (Bonvoy) Points or could be deposited into II as a high powered trader. The “deal” also included a one time bonus of 200,000 MR points and waiver of the VAT on the purchase price. It appeared they were really pushing the value of MR (Bonvoy) Points vis-a-vis VSE ownership.
At the end of the 20 minutes, we exchanged pleasantries and I went on with my day.
All in all, I would say that from my experience at this property, the MVCI properties are cleaner and more luxurious.