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Anyone own DVC aswell as Marriott?

Gemini Chica

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How does it compare to Marriott as in the quality of the resorts and the benefits?
 

ljmiii

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Yes. And the DVC resorts are more uniform in their 'quality' - I've stayed in MVC resorts that are much nicer than DVC, some about equal, and a few that were worse.

As for the benefit of DVC you get to stay 'on property' at WDW. With all the perks that come from that - earlier fastpass and dining reservations, Early/Late Magic Hours, etc., but most of all convenient access to the parks.
 

Dean

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How does it compare to Marriott as in the quality of the resorts and the benefits?
I own both along with others. I think Marriott resorts are more variable than DVC though not dramatically. The lower resorts are a fair amount below DVC and the highest resorts quite a bit better than DVC side by side. DVC boasts 2 big plusses, that is location for the parks and theming. One might argue that with the last round of updates for some DVC resorts the theming is much less to non existent.
 

rickandcindy23

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The big plus with Disney is the ability to get FP+ 31-60 days out. I can only get < 30 days when I stay at Marriott. I think Marriott's Cypress Harbour is hands down the nicest place to stay in Orlando, but our daughter disagreed. She liked Hilton's SeaWorld for off-site. Each to their own.
 

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I only own Aulani (which I really like) and it is similar in quality to most Marriott’s. I do think Maui Ocean Club - new towers is a step up, but I am biased.

Best,

Greg
 

heathpack

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I own both. Villas at Grand Californian and Marriott Barony Beach & Marriott Mountainside.

Quality is similar. My Marriott units are roomier and there’s more organized activities. My DVC has Disneyland, which is pretty swell too.
 

TravelTime

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I own both. I think the DVC quality is a step above MVC. At DVC, everything is themed and special. I own at AK, Aulani, VGF, VGC and Poly. Generally, DVC resorts are rated 4 to 4.5 stars while MVCs average 3.5 to 4 star. I stayed back to back at Aulani and Marriott Ko Olina. IMO, and I know many on TUG do not agree, Aulani was much nicer, better finishes, theming, more to do and it felt more Hawaiian that MKO or any other Hawaii resorts on any of the islands. MKO was really nice and one of the better MVC properties but it was basic, plain Marriott. I am mentioning these two resorts because they are direct competitors in the same location. Otherwise we end up comparing apples and oranges.
 

TravelTime

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I own both along with others. I think Marriott resorts are more variable than DVC though not dramatically. The lower resorts are a fair amount below DVC and the highest resorts quite a bit better than DVC side by side. DVC boasts 2 big plusses, that is location for the parks and theming. One might argue that with the last round of updates for some DVC resorts the theming is much less to non existent.

Which are the high end resorts in MVC that are really nice that you are referring to here? I have not yet been to one I would rate above 4 stars.
 

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I only own Aulani (which I really like) and it is similar in quality to most Marriott’s. I do think Maui Ocean Club - new towers is a step up, but I am biased.

Best,

Greg

Greg, we also own both - and when we want to go to Aulani (we have young children) we now book where we are going to stay at Marriotts Ko Olina. Then, we use our DVC points to book a studio for one or two days (each one day gets you 2 days of wristbands) so the kids can just use the pool. It's a 10X better experience than staying at Aulani, in our opinion - but you get the best of both worlds by doing it this way :).

Hope this could help anyone that owns at both properties truly have a relaxing "aulani" vacation.

Darius
 

Dean

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Which are the high end resorts in MVC that are really nice that you are referring to here? I have not yet been to one I would rate above 4 stars.
The ones that come to mind that are more upscale include Crystal Shores, Oceana and Lakeshore but all of the newer resorts tend to to be nicer, better amenities and kept up better than DVC in general IMO. Theming isn't that important to us and as I said, for several of the resorts (like BCV), the last updates took much of the theming away which I see as a trend. The larger villas is important to me. Here's a great way to compare IMO. Put Grande Vista and SSR side by side in your mind, 2 nice but large generic resorts. To me GV is better than SSR because it is kept up better and the units are larger plus SSR has essentially no theming so that part is removed automatically. SSR is on property, that's it's only plus IMO. I would agree there are none I'd rate above 4 starts but frankly, there are only a couple of DVC resorts I'd rate above 3.5 stars.
 

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The ones that come to mind that are more upscale include Crystal Shores, Oceana and Lakeshore but all of the newer resorts tend to to be nicer, better amenities and kept up better than DVC in general IMO. Theming isn't that important to us and as I said, for several of the resorts (like BCV), the last updates took much of the theming away which I see as a trend. The larger villas is important to me. Here's a great way to compare IMO. Put Grande Vista and SSR side by side in your mind, 2 nice but large generic resorts. To me GV is better than SSR because it is kept up better and the units are larger plus SSR has essentially no theming so that part is removed automatically. SSR is on property, that's it's only plus IMO. I would agree there are none I'd rate above 4 starts but frankly, there are only a couple of DVC resorts I'd rate above 3.5 stars.

Aren’t you comparing a top MVC resort to a bottom DVC resort?
 

Dean

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Aren’t you comparing a top MVC resort to a bottom DVC resort?
No, that's the point. I'm comparing similar resorts in similar locations, Harbour Lakes would be more in line with SSR, Cypress Harbour would have been the same answer. That's why I chose SSR and not OKW. GV isn't the best Marriott in Orlando in many people's eyes and it's mid pack for Marriott. YMMV which circles back to my original post that I think Marriott's tend to be more variable top to bottom like Vail, Harbour Point. Now we could compare maybe DVC HH to Grande Ocean if you want.
 

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We saw Saratoga yesterday and were not impressed at all, we would way prefer Grande Vista or Harbour Lake. The reason I asked this question was DH said to me that even seeing the model rooms for Copper Creek and the new one Riveria he still preferred Marriott and felt DVC wasn’t a patch on it.

I was looking at it purely to do the 75 points to get all the perks 188$ per point at the moment. But we are not huge Disney lovers, come to Florida twice per year without the kids and only do Disney when kids are with us (every 2-3 years) and even then our boys prefer Universal.


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Dean

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We saw Saratoga yesterday and were not impressed at all, we would way prefer Grande Vista or Harbour Lake. The reason I asked this question was DH said to me that even seeing the model rooms for Copper Creek and the new one Riveria he still preferred Marriott and felt DVC wasn’t a patch on it.

I was looking at it purely to do the 75 points to get all the perks 188$ per point at the moment. But we are not huge Disney lovers, come to Florida twice per year without the kids and only do Disney when kids are with us (every 2-3 years) and even then our boys prefer Universal.


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If the perks are not a huge benefit and you're happy or even prefer off property, I wouldn't buy at all, much less retail. I enjoy DVC resorts and I do like the theming to a degree plus OKW was my first love in timeshares. But it's a little like arguing which is better Acura, Lexus or Infinity.
 

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I think the "quality" of both is high. But I think you must remove the theme park benefits and only compare the actual properties-- quality of furnishings, kitchen facilities, maintenance and common grounds.

In my limited experience with Disney, there is a bit more "theme" to the pool and public areas but the rooms were tired, worn and not maintained. I'm not sure what the renovation schedule is with Disney, but I've heard it's a longer cycle than Marriott (refresh at 5 and full renovation at 10). But of course any property, no matter the brand, will not look the best at the end of the cycle.
 

Dean

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I think the "quality" of both is high. But I think you must remove the theme park benefits and only compare the actual properties-- quality of furnishings, kitchen facilities, maintenance and common grounds.

In my limited experience with Disney, there is a bit more "theme" to the pool and public areas but the rooms were tired, worn and not maintained. I'm not sure what the renovation schedule is with Disney, but I've heard it's a longer cycle than Marriott (refresh at 5 and full renovation at 10). But of course any property, no matter the brand, will not look the best at the end of the cycle.
That's just it, historically they've never had a formal schedule and they've gone longer than even mediocre resorts in the past. My view is that good to great resorts have a 5/10 year plan and average resorts a 7/14 year plan and OKW has certainly gone over both historically. There are indications that some of this has changed but they have not released a formal indication of such a plan or planning. The other things that Marriott has tended to do, was to do test rooms and put the options to the test which I feel has been VERY helpful.
 

GregT

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Greg, we also own both - and when we want to go to Aulani (we have young children) we now book where we are going to stay at Marriotts Ko Olina. Then, we use our DVC points to book a studio for one or two days (each one day gets you 2 days of wristbands) so the kids can just use the pool. It's a 10X better experience than staying at Aulani, in our opinion - but you get the best of both worlds by doing it this way :).

Hope this could help anyone that owns at both properties truly have a relaxing "aulani" vacation.

Darius
Hello Darius, love the idea of booking the studio to access the water park. Thanks very much!

Best,

Greg
 

TravelTime

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No, that's the point. I'm comparing similar resorts in similar locations, Harbour Lakes would be more in line with SSR, Cypress Harbour would have been the same answer. That's why I chose SSR and not OKW. GV isn't the best Marriott in Orlando in many people's eyes and it's mid pack for Marriott. YMMV which circles back to my original post that I think Marriott's tend to be more variable top to bottom like Vail, Harbour Point. Now we could compare maybe DVC HH to Grande Ocean if you want.

What I meant is the SSR is one of the least desirable resorts in the DVC system. I would never use SSR or OKW as a comparison point or as representative of the DVC system. All the other DVC resorts in Orlando are much nicer. Even Aulani is much nicer than MKO. To me that is a better comparison. Both are nice but Aulani is much nicer for many reasons, as I have described in the past. I am owners of both so I have no reason to say this at all.
 

csalter2

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What I meant is the SSR is one of the least desirable resorts in the DVC system. I would never use SSR or OKW as a comparison point or as representative of the DVC system. All the other DVC resorts in Orlando are much nicer. Even Aulani is much nicer than MKO. To me that is a better comparison. Both are nice but Aulani is much nicer for many reasons, as I have described in the past. I am owners of both so I have no reason to say this at all.

I’m not sure I’d say Aulani is nicer than MKO. I’d just say it’s newer. I felt the units were smaller at Aulani and that it was more crowded in the pool areas outside. I get a roomier feeling at MKO. If you strip all the Disney theme stuff and compare the actual resort facilities, there may be a very sleight edge to Aulani because it’s newer. Just my two cents.
 

Dean

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What I meant is the SSR is one of the least desirable resorts in the DVC system. I would never use SSR or OKW as a comparison point or as representative of the DVC system. All the other DVC resorts in Orlando are much nicer. Even Aulani is much nicer than MKO. To me that is a better comparison. Both are nice but Aulani is much nicer for many reasons, as I have described in the past. I am owners of both so I have no reason to say this at all.
SSR is only less desirable because of location IMO so we'll have to disagree on the validity of the comparison. I'd rate SSR as midrange for DVC but lower for WDW above OKW. When I started with the comparison I specified that I was ignoring location. Doing so I'd likely rate it one of the middle to above for the DVC resorts and on para with WL, BCV, BWV & AK and likely above BLT. Certainly if you compare Aulani to Ko Olina you have to give the nod to DVC but again, looking at absent theming the difference is little to none. To repeat, I think DVC is less variable top to bottom and overall side by side I would put Marriott above DVC looked at overall. But I don't stay at the lower Marriott like Harbour Point thus to me they are not part of the equation anyway.
 

TravelTime

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In general, leaving unit size out and personal preferences, DVC resorts are a step above most MVCs. They are also rated higher by travel guides. For example, several Disney resorts are AAA 4 Diamond rated. Most of them get at least 4.5 stars on ratings guides. The finishes at the MVCs are not as sturdy and not as nice. They look nice to the eye but when you sit on the couch or sleep on the bed (terrible pillows), how MVC skimps on quality furnishings is evident.
 

Dean

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In general, leaving unit size out and personal preferences, DVC resorts are a step above most MVCs. They are also rated higher by travel guides. For example, several Disney resorts are AAA 4 Diamond rated. Most of them get at least 4.5 stars on ratings guides. The finishes at the MVCs are not as sturdy and not as nice. They look nice to the eye but when you sit on the couch or sleep on the bed (terrible pillows), how MVC skimps on quality furnishings is evident.
We have a completely different view of the resorts, the reasons for the travel ratings are based on location plus hotel vs timeshare and likely a topic for another thread. I've seen and experienced both for 20 years and I am comfortable in the accuracy of what I posted above.
 

TravelTime

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We have a completely different view of the resorts, the reasons for the travel ratings are based on location plus hotel vs timeshare and likely a topic for another thread. I've seen and experienced both for 20 years and I am comfortable in the accuracy of what I posted above.

Okay, I am also comfortable in my assessments. These are just opinions so it does not matter. It is good for new readers to hear different points of view so they do not assume timeshares are higher quality than they are. I do not think 20 years of timesharing makes someone an expert. I have 30+ years of staying in 5 star hotels. Does that make me unaware of quality since I never used to stay in timeshares? I am an MVC owner and my opinion is MVC is a solid 4 out of 5, in general. Some locations could bring it up to 4.5 for the views but not on an objective review of their furnishings and quality. Marriott does not rate the MVC resorts all that high either.
 

Dean

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Okay, I am also comfortable in my assessments. These are just opinions so it does not matter. It is good for new readers to hear different points of view so they do not assume timeshares are higher quality than they are. I do not think 20 years of timesharing makes someone an expert. I have 30+ years of staying in 5 star hotels. Does that make me unaware of quality since I never used to stay in timeshares? I am an MVC owner and my opinion is MVC is a solid 4 out of 5, in general. Some locations could bring it up to 4.5 for the views but not on an objective review of their furnishings and quality. Marriott does not rate the MVC resorts all that high either.
I've seen a large portion of the MVC resorts, stayed at many, and all DVC resorts, stayed at most. I am very analytical when it comes to looking at a resort. I can walk through a resort and see a room and get a better feel for the true nature of a resort in 2 hours than most can staying a week. I don't think any reasonable person can say that DVC does as good or better job with fit, finish and maintenance than Marriott which hurts me to say since DVC & OKW was my first love. But yes, I believe staying in timeshares does give more credibility than staying in 5 star hotels. We'll have to disagree.
 
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