Vidanta Fees (merged--post all info about fee increases here)

[mtforeman]

So recently it got jacked up to I believe $25/adult/day for the "resort fee" for Exchanges via RCI (and possibly II).

I went to look at a booking at Grand Mayan Riviera Maya via my HGVC RCI account.
It states now:

"

• Resort amenities fee is 630.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 1B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 1050.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per 2B unit, per week.
• Resort amenities fee is 420.00 U.S. dollars. Only Credit Cards accepted.
  • Mandatory resort fee per Hotel unit, per week.

"

This is definitely a change. No longer PER Adult, but per unit now. So if there's only 3-4 people in a 2 BR, you still pay $1050 (which by my math is $25 per 6 which is the max occupancy).

Wow!

I find it strange that the fee is the same regardless of which resort you stay at. For example, if I am trading into Mayan Palace, I shouldn't have to pay the same resort amenities fee as if I trade into Grand Luxxe, because I do not have access to the same amenities. Unless they are going to open everything up to all the traders, since we pay the same fee upon arrival? Grand Luxxe traders have access to totally different areas and pools than Mayan Palace traders do. To charge the same amenities fees is a bit ridiculous.

 

[morecast]

I have a friend who booked Grand Luxxe for next week via RCI Platinum before the new fees were applied. Now Vidanta is saying that they should pay the full resort fee or else will not be able to check in. RCI says there is nothing they can do about it. Anybody have an issue when Vidanta changes their resort fees?

 

[PamMo]

Wow, morecast!!I hope that isn't true! We have twelve people going on an old reservation with the fee structure @ $11/day (kids under 12 free).

 

[hurnik]

I have a friend who booked Grand Luxxe for next week via RCI Platinum before the new fees were applied. Now Vidanta is saying that they should pay the full resort fee or else will not be able to check in. RCI says there is nothing they can do about it. Anybody have an issue when Vidanta changes their resort fees?

AFAIK, anyone who had a printout of the confirmation has gotten Vidanta to adhere to what it says on the RCI confirmation (so if the confirmation doesn't say anything about the resort fees . . .)

But then again, this is Vidanta we're talking about and they have a tendency to change things at their whim.

 

[Eric B]

I have a friend who booked Grand Luxxe for next week via RCI Platinum before the new fees were applied. Now Vidanta is saying that they should pay the full resort fee or else will not be able to check in. RCI says there is nothing they can do about it. Anybody have an issue when Vidanta changes their resort fees?

The RCI Platinum inventory actually draws from inventory in the Registry Collection. There was an announcement posted on the Registry Collection site that the fees only apply to exchanges on or after August 1st and that they would forward notice of how to pay it. My understanding is that Vidanta is good about honoring the terms of an exchange that you made even if you don’t have the printout; they know the date and terms as well as you do. It never hurts to bring it anyway.

 

[tschwa2]

Just because a person has platinum and books doesn't mean that it was booked as platinum inventory. I would print out the original confirmation just in case.

 

[morecast]

The RCI Platinum inventory actually draws from inventory in the Registry Collection. There was an announcement posted on the Registry Collection site that the fees only apply to exchanges on or after August 1st and that they would forward notice of how to pay it. My understanding is that Vidanta is good about honoring the terms of an exchange that you made even if you don’t have the printout; they know the date and terms as well as you do. It never hurts to bring it anyway.

You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that announcement, right?

 

[morecast]

Just because a person has platinum and books doesn't mean that it was booked as platinum inventory. I would print out the original confirmation just in case.

In this case it was booked from Priority Access inventory which were the only IDs that didn't have any resort fees. The problem is that the confirmation doesn't say anything about fees.
The concern here is that Vidanta is already asking for prepayment of fees.

 

[Eric B]

Just because a person has platinum and books doesn't mean that it was booked as platinum inventory. I would print out the original confirmation just in case.

Might have been a bad assumption on my part, but morecast said it was via RCI Platinum. I just assumed it would be via RCI if it was the other resort id.

You wouldn't happen to have a copy of that announcement, right?

It show up on their site at https://gl.theregistrycollection.com/

 

[dominidude]

Fwiw, I just stayed there with a reservation through SFX.
I was charged a $75 resort fee total for 8 people, 6 adult plus 2 kids. We got a 2 bdr unit in the riviera maya Mayan palace.
I found I didn't get $75 worth of amenities. It seems to me that management is trying to make foreign customers pay for management's bad investment, and it might work if we allow it.
For example:
*There are plenty of all inclusive resorts that have their all inclusive starting at $70 pp pd inclusive of all taxes and fees. Look at trivago dot com. At vidanta you don't get any food included in your $75 resort fee, and a $1050 resort fee gets you about $250 of over priced food.
*If you are looking for a non all-inclusive, there are plenty of more centrally located luxury resorts in Cancun and Playa del carmen for the same price or less. Again trivago will point you in the right direction. Vidanta riviera maya is in a town called Puerto Morelos, a good 40 min from cancun and about 25 minutes from playa del carmen. It's like staying in New Jersey when visiting new York city or Philly. Not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but inconvenient to get to the actual place you came to explore.
*the so called amenities are not what they used to be (this is not my first time in this resort). This resort, like others, seems to have a higher price for foreigners, and another much lower for locals. The difference though is that it seems to me that the locals are paying a resort fee closer to what I paid, meaning about 1/10th of what foreigners pay. I found that the facilities are getting plenty of use by locals, and it shows. For example,
-in the mayan palace lobby I saw a toilet that seemed to be unrepaired for the length of my 7 day stay.
-The bathroom in their central lobby seemed to be missing caulk (great for insects to hide).
-Their main pool seemed crowded, the water cloudy (possibly from over use).
-I saw plenty of missing tiles and cracks in this pool , signs of a pool that needs repairs asap before it has to be closed.
Side notes:
- their wifi is 3g speed at best, and limited to 3 devices (we took turns using the wifi because we were 6 adults and no one wanted to pay extra, that was fun).
-their transportation is outsourced to a company that picks up passengers going to different resorts, so you first wait for this company's 7 passenger minivan to arrive at the airport. Then you wait some more for the minivan to fill up, then you wait for passengers to be dropped off at their respective resorts, and usually last on the list is vidanta. My experience was that it took this company about 3 hours to drop us off from when we left the airport.
In conclusion:
My experience is that, like so many things in Mexico, the appearance the business wants to portray is not the reality. This resort's business strategy seems to me to stay afloat with local guests and to stick it to the 'gringos' when possible.
Since I know spanish, I know this is usually not a viable long term business strategy, because foreigners eventually catch on that they are subsidizing local people's vacations. But if customers allow it, the business can get away with it for a relatively long time.
And in vidanta's case, the riviera maya resort is so sprawling that they need tons of people to visit just so they can pay their expenses.
This is on top of the fact that Sargazo algae has made much of the beach unbearably ugly and stinky throughout the whole region.
Of course, the Sargazo problem is not vidanta's fault.

 

[hurnik]

Fwiw, I just stayed there with a reservation through SFX.
I was charged a $75 resort fee total for 8 people, 6 adult plus 2 kids. We got a 2 bdr unit in the riviera maya Mayan palace.
I found I didn't get $75 worth of amenities. It seems to me that management is trying to make foreign customers pay for management's bad investment, and it might work if we allow it.
For example:
*There are plenty of all inclusive resorts that have their all inclusive starting at $70 pp pd inclusive of all taxes and fees. Look at trivago dot com. At vidanta you don't get any food included in your $75 resort fee, and a $1050 resort fee gets you about $250 of over priced food.
*If you are looking for a non all-inclusive, there are plenty of more centrally located luxury resorts in Cancun and Playa del carmen for the same price or less. Again trivago will point you in the right direction. Vidanta riviera maya is in a town called Puerto Morelos, a good 40 min from cancun and about 25 minutes from playa del carmen. It's like staying in New Jersey when visiting new York city or Philly. Not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but inconvenient to get to the actual place you came to explore.
*the so called amenities are not what they used to be (this is not my first time in this resort). This resort, like others, seems to have a higher price for foreigners, and another much lower for locals. The difference though is that it seems to me that the locals are paying a resort fee closer to what I paid, meaning about 1/10th of what foreigners pay. I found that the facilities are getting plenty of use by locals, and it shows. For example,
-in the mayan palace lobby I saw a toilet that seemed to be unrepaired for the length of my 7 day stay.
-The bathroom in their central lobby seemed to be missing caulk (great for insects to hide).
-Their main pool seemed crowded, the water cloudy (possibly from over use).
-I saw plenty of missing tiles and cracks in this pool , signs of a pool that needs repairs asap before it has to be closed.
Side notes:
- their wifi is 3g speed at best, and limited to 3 devices (we took turns using the wifi because we were 6 adults and no one wanted to pay extra, that was fun).
-their transportation is outsourced to a company that picks up passengers going to different resorts, so you first wait for this company's 7 passenger minivan to arrive at the airport. Then you wait some more for the minivan to fill up, then you wait for passengers to be dropped off at their respective resorts, and usually last on the list is vidanta. My experience was that it took this company about 3 hours to drop us off from when we left the airport.
In conclusion:
My experience is that, like so many things in Mexico, the appearance the business wants to portray is not the reality. This resort's business strategy seems to me to stay afloat with local guests and to stick it to the 'gringos' when possible.
Since I know spanish, I know this is usually not a viable long term business strategy, because foreigners eventually catch on that they are subsidizing local people's vacations. But if customers allow it, the business can get away with it for a relatively long time.
And in vidanta's case, the riviera maya resort is so sprawling that they need tons of people to visit just so they can pay their expenses.
This is on top of the fact that Sargazo algae has made much of the beach unbearably ugly and stinky throughout the whole region.
Of course, the Sargazo problem is not vidanta's fault.

The $75 is actually fairly good, IMO.

1) Covers your shuttle from the airport to the resort. Let's say you have 6 people, at $10/pp (or more), that's a $60 value there. BTW, that's not uncommon, at least here in the US for shared shuttles. If you've ever flown into an airport and had to take a shuttle to a hotel for a cruise, or to the cruise port, almost every shuttle service is "shared". And it'll run you like $35/pp or more for a one-way trip.
2) Covers your Wi-Fi (basic, not the premium, I believe). When we were in NV, the basic was definitely fast enough to stream Netflix. That's a pretty good deal, IMO, considering other resorts like Sheraton Buganvilias and Hacienda del Mar, it's like $75/week per device.

Vidanta, RM is in Playa Pariso, not Puerto Morelos. It's about 7 miles north of Playa del carmen, I believe.

Could you elaborate on the "his resort, like others, seems to have a higher price for foreigners, and another much lower for locals. The difference though is that it seems to me that the locals are paying a resort fee closer to what I paid, meaning about 1/10th of what foreigners pay."

AFAIK, the RCI/II/SFX fees are the same regardless of nationality.

 

[dominidude]

The $75 is actually fairly good, IMO.

1) Covers your shuttle from the airport to the resort. Let's say you have 6 people, at $10/pp (or more), that's a $60 value there. BTW, that's not uncommon, at least here in the US for shared shuttles. If you've ever flown into an airport and had to take a shuttle to a hotel for a cruise, or to the cruise port, almost every shuttle service is "shared". And it'll run you like $35/pp or more for a one-way trip.
2) Covers your Wi-Fi (basic, not the premium, I believe). When we were in NV, the basic was definitely fast enough to stream Netflix. That's a pretty good deal, IMO, considering other resorts like Sheraton Buganvilias and Hacienda del Mar, it's like $75/week per device.

Vidanta, RM is in Playa Pariso, not Puerto Morelos. It's about 7 miles north of Playa del carmen, I believe.

Could you elaborate on the "his resort, like others, seems to have a higher price for foreigners, and another much lower for locals. The difference though is that it seems to me that the locals are paying a resort fee closer to what I paid, meaning about 1/10th of what foreigners pay."

AFAIK, the RCI/II/SFX fees are the same regardless of nationality.

RCI/II/SFX fees are indeed the same regardless of nationality.
But local travel agencies have prices for locals if they present Mexican id.
The $75 resort fee is not worth it in my opinion.
I would rather they didn't charge anything and provided no service. The fee may have been worth it if the trip was from the resort back to the airport.
Vidanta's idea seems to be to trap guests in the resort, making them believe that there's no need for transportation. In fact, I met several poor souls that had believed that they'd be ok taking the shuttle, and they told me how sorry they were they didn't rent a car at the airport, like I did, because everything they wanted had an outrageous price tag. Only part of my 8 people party took their shuttle.
As far as vidanta RM being in playa paraíso, thanks for the clarification. Still, the point was that most people don't think of that town as the place to go on vacation, and it is a hassle to have to transport yourself from that town to a place that has natural, not man-made, beauty.

 

[Eric B]

At Vidanta RM taxis and collectivos stop frequently at the resort. There is a list of the standard fares to places in the region I posted in a different thread back in the spring.

I agree that Mayan Palace RM might not be worth the fees given the other Vidanta tiers there. Gotta say I like the Grand Luxxe ones there, though and they aren’t much more.

 

[pittle]

We were at the Grand Bliss Riviera Maya in late April/early May and did not have issues with the shuttle. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but were fine with that. You guys got a deal for the shuttle with that many people - even if you did rent a car. Of course, then you had to pay to park and tip the valet.

Our WIFI was fine - we were able to email & use our Kindles and iPad with no problems. Cell service was pretty good too. We have visited many timeshare resorts in Mexico where we had to pay $45-50 for WIFI (2-3 accesses), so we thought the $75 with one way transportation and WIFI was a deal. When we go as owners, we get free WIFI for as many devices as we need and transportation both ways, but the MF are significantly higher ($1000+) than a SFX exchange. Big difference in cash outlay.

We loved our unit - our only problem was not getting the on-site amenities that were available when we booked our SFX exchange. (We are GL owners and were not treated like we were because we would not do the update.)

WOW - I cannot imagine having 6 adults and 2 children in a 2 bedroom MP unit - even a 2-bedroom Grand Luxxe. You must not need as much privacy as we do. We had a 2-bedroom for 2 people because we like to have our own bathrooms.

 

[Eric B]

I’ve got to agree with Phyllis; we enjoyed the Mayan Palace PV 2 BR we stayed in and will likely go back because it’s in an easy location to get in and out of, but it was still a bit tight for the 2 of us. The only problem is it’s got that RCI resort fee, which I think is $630 for a 2 BR. I know it’s $1050 for MP RM, which is quite steep. For just $75, though it might be worth it in RM if there weren’t any GB or GL units available. It all depends on your perspective and whether you’re just trying to escape the weather at home. On the other hand, AI fees for 6+2 have to be pretty high.

 

[mike53]

Lower costs for locals is nothing new to Mexico or the Cancun/Riviera Maya/PDC áreas or for almost any other places in Latin America. We all get hit with the “gringo tax”.

I also speak Spanish and have lived and worked in several Latin American countries. Not only is the “tax” charged by tour agencies but at regular hotels, taxis and restaurants. Heck it’s not just in foreign countries but after in the US. I live in Southern California and often there are offers from places like Disneyland, Sea World and other venues that offer special pricing to people living in nearby zip codes.

I’ve seen this in Florida as well.

I can’t blame Vidanta for that.

 

[richontug]

We were at the Grand Bliss Riviera Maya in late April/early May and did not have issues with the shuttle. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but were fine with that. You guys got a deal for the shuttle with that many people - even if you did rent a car. Of course, then you had to pay to park and tip the valet.

Our WIFI was fine - we were able to email & use our Kindles and iPad with no problems. Cell service was pretty good too. We have visited many timeshare resorts in Mexico where we had to pay $45-50 for WIFI (2-3 accesses), so we thought the $75 with one way transportation and WIFI was a deal. When we go as owners, we get free WIFI for as many devices as we need and transportation both ways, but the MF are significantly higher ($1000+) than a SFX exchange. Big difference in cash outlay.

We loved our unit - our only problem was not getting the on-site amenities that were available when we booked our SFX exchange. (We are GL owners and were not treated like we were because we would not do the update.)

WOW - I cannot imagine having 6 adults and 2 children in a 2 bedroom MP unit - even a 2-bedroom Grand Luxxe. You must not need as much privacy as we do. We had a 2-bedroom for 2 people because we like to have our own bathrooms.

As you are GL owners, how does Grand Bliss compare?

 

[WatsonC2]

Lower costs for locals is nothing new to Mexico or the Cancun/Riviera Maya/PDC áreas or for almost any other places in Latin America. We all get hit with the “gringo tax”.

I also speak Spanish and have lived and worked in several Latin American countries. Not only is the “tax” charged by tour agencies but at regular hotels, taxis and restaurants. Heck it’s not just in foreign countries but after in the US. I live in Southern California and often there are offers from places like Disneyland, Sea World and other venues that offer special pricing to people living in nearby zip codes.

I’ve seen this in Florida as well.

I can’t blame Vidanta for that.

Truth. Our American online economy is moving to a "how much can you pay" model. The next time your computer is loading airline ticket costs, consider it is actually loading information from your computer about you and what you've purchased to determine your fare...Not all do it but there has been some articles published on this happening to online prices.

 

[pittle]

The Grand Bliss is nice - not as large or quite as plush as GL. The unit itself is about the same size as a GM, but there is an island with 2 under-counter refrigerators to separate the kitchen and dining area. There is a nice storage area for food. The deck is much larger than the GM one and the beds are softer. By exchanging 2 (1-bedroom 2-bath) Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay weeks, + the exchange fee and the $75 per week fee, we got to stay 2 weeks for the price of one of our GL MF, so that was a good deal. We were on the first floor and it was very private - we never saw anyone walking by our little oasis.

 

[richontug]

The Grand Bliss is nice - not as large or quite as plush as GL. The unit itself is about the same size as a GM, but there is an island with 2 under-counter refrigerators to separate the kitchen and dining area. There is a nice storage area for food. The deck is much larger than the GM one and the beds are softer. By exchanging 2 (1-bedroom 2-bath) Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay weeks, + the exchange fee and the $75 per week fee, we got to stay 2 weeks for the price of one of our GL MF, so that was a good deal. We were on the first floor and it was very private - we never saw anyone walking by our little oasis.

I presume you took Grand Bliss as GL was not available. Through SFX, exchange fees are the same as far as I know.

 

[dominidude]

I’ve got to agree with Phyllis; we enjoyed the Mayan Palace PV 2 BR we stayed in and will likely go back [...] but it was still a bit tight for the 2 of us. On the other hand, AI fees for 6+2 have to be pretty high.

Some of us can't afford one person per bathroom. But it's great some of us like you can. Also, I can find several resorts right now that have ai fees in the $80 per day per person range, with kids free, in the cancun/RM area. So the Ai fees would be about $500 per day for 6 adults, with wifi, room, and parking included. I find that is a much better deal compared to what Vidanta offers.

Truth. Our American online economy is moving to a "how much can you pay" model. The next time your computer is loading airline ticket costs, consider it is actually loading information from your computer about you and what you've purchased to determine your fare...Not all do it but there has been some articles published on this happening to online prices.

That's why I do my Web browsing in "incognito" mode. I've found several booking bargains that way.

Lower costs for locals is nothing new to Mexico or the Cancun/Riviera Maya/PDC áreas or for almost any other places in Latin America. We all get hit with the “gringo tax”.
.

I guess because I'm a bargain basement shopper I dislike feeling like I'm paying more than someone else for the same thing. Fwiw, locals getting steep discount over what foreigners pay is not true for most businesses in Mexico, at least in my experience.

 

[pittle]

I presume you took Grand Bliss as GL was not available. Through SFX, exchange fees are the same as far as I know.

The exchange fees are higher for a GL than a GB. I had requested GL as first choice, but said I was willing to take GB. I needed 2 consecutive weeks so I knew that might be more of a problem. Besides, they changed the rules for the GL Pool use for exchangers at the same time they did the Beach Club for GB. We would have had basically the same problem - the pool and beach would have been pretty far away. The Beach Club gives priority to Platinum Members and exchangers get what is left.

 

[hurnik]

I presume you took Grand Bliss as GL was not available. Through SFX, exchange fees are the same as far as I know.

For SFX, it's a $299 upgrade for Grand Luxxe (and certain other higher end timeshares) plus the regular exchange fee.
Grand Bliss is the regular exchange fee.

 

[pittle]

For SFX, it's a $299 upgrade for Grand Luxxe (and certain other higher end timeshares) plus the regular exchange fee.
Grand Bliss is the regular exchange fee.

I am kind of glad that we got the GB call before a GL one - I had requested a long time in advance. I did call in one time after making the reservation to check if there were any GL units available. They had 1-bedroom units and we could change, but I decided that $600 more for 2 weeks was not worth it. We prefer the 2-bedroom unit even when it is just us - hubs gets up earlier than I do and likes to clean up for the day without disturbing me - that is why we like the 2 bathrooms.

Besides, $600 would just about pay the MF for my PBEB for next year! That one works well with SFX as it is a nice resort and is a 1-bed 2-bath unit, and we get to choose 2 bedroom units when we exchange as a Diamond Member. We already have this year's week deposited and will use it somewhere for 2019 to add an extra week for some vacation. They often extend a deposited week out one more year when you deposit another one.

 

[richontug]

I am kind of glad that we got the GB call before a GL one - I had requested a long time in advance. I did call in one time after making the reservation to check if there were and GL units available. They had 1-bedroom units and we could change, but I decided that $600 more for 2 weeks was not worth it. We prefer the 2-bedroom unit even when it is just us - hubs gets up earlier than I do and likes to clean up for the day without disturbing me - that is why we like the 2 bathrooms.

Besides, $600 would just about pay the MF for my PBEB for next year! That one works well with SFX as it is a nice resort and is a 1-bed 2-bath unit, and we get to choose 2 bedroom units when we exchange as a Diamond Member. We already have this year's week deposited and will use it somewhere for 2019 to add an extra week for some vacation. They often extend a deposited week out one more year when you deposit another one.

For SFX, it's a $299 upgrade for Grand Luxxe (and certain other higher end timeshares) plus the regular exchange fee.
Grand Bliss is the regular exchange fee.

I had forgotten about the $299 upgrade fee - probably because when I booked 2 weeks for next February, they did not mention it - I did not complain!