Why did you buy, and is it worth it?

[rhonda]

Our story.
<snip>

Life is good. The water intrusion assessment at Poipu was painful, but those are the risks that one takes. From my vantage point now, in 2016, I feel that we have received everything we dreamed for in 1999, and more besides.

Great story, Steve!

 

[x3 skier]

Retired 20 years ago and started spending the winters in Steamboat Springs. We had been to a couple of timeshare pitches over the years but never wanted to spend the money for the developers price.

When we first started living in Steamboat, we rented condos or a house for the winter at pretty reasonable prices. I started looking around for property and discovered two properties that had Timeshares in the complex. Each had two 6 week shares that covered the ski season. I contacted a local broker to keep me advised if they ever came on the market. The first one, The West came open on an Estate Sale and the second, The Rockies, thru a Sheriff's sale. I bought both and used them every year.

In the meantime, American Ski Corp went wild in real estate and planned a condo/hotel/timeshare called The Steamboat Grand. I went to the sales office, talked to an agent and signed up. This one is a one week a month share. I use the facilities, trade occasionally and generally just leave in the hotel rental pool where it pays for itself. So this one is sort of a country club in disguise with no dues and a pretty steep initiation fee.

These three can be sold for more than I paid for them based on current prices in the area and in fact, I did sell The Rockies for more than I paid for it when a guy accumulated the other four shares and wanted the whole unit. Since it was a third floor walk up and the knees aren't getting younger and I need them for skiing, I let it go. Now I use VRBO for part of the winter and The West for the rest. It's worked out very well so far and the proceeds from The Rockies will more than cover VRBO rentals as long as I'm going to Steamboat.

Two more I bought resale, one in the Raintree system off of eBay and a week at The Allen House in London thru an agent. I was crushed when my RTU at The Allen House expired. Used every single week. Since I could use some of my gazillion FF Miles to fly to London, it was like a free week in London.

The Raintree is one I could take or leave but enjoy the trip to Mexico after ski season to warm up. I have converted it to the Raintree 7 program so I'll be out of it in a few years.

All-in-All, time sharing has ben fun and I and my late wife enjoyed all of our trips. Now that I'm single again, I will continue to enjoy them. Since the only two of my buys have been timeshares in the traditional sense of one week and one is gone, I've avoided many of the trials and tribulations.

Cheers

 

[rhonda]

I have not read all the replies so this may already be stated but as a new owner I have come to these conclusions:
For those who want to travel with school age children it is really hard to 'trade' into heavy use weeks. (Even 13 months out with my Ritz/Marriott it is a impossibility for the high use spots)
For a couple who have lots of flexibility it probably wouldn't be the hassle we have found it to be.
For someone who wants to return to the same place, same time every year the deeded property is the way to go.
If I had it to do over, I would just go to a rental site (like Redweek) and find the unit and time I wanted and rent. We did this in Hawaii this year for spring break-got a fabulous penthouse unit for the time frame we wanted. I tried but could not trade my property for anything close to what we rented.
Traveling as a family or group of friends we have found it essential to have a kitchen/living/laundry anywhere we stay. That is called spoiled!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I wonder if the bolded concern is made worse by having such a high end timeshare? Y'all are kinda at the top of the pyramid -- there are more choices down in the middle range. I own in the "very middle range" and enjoy many lateral options, the rare upward exchange and see plenty of unused inventory from the base. I've also traded down into a few lower graded properties ... and some have been hidden gems.

 

[bizaro86]

Just be careful as units obtained through an RCI exchange should not be rented, per the RCI agreement.

If you OWN there and want to rent, that is totally acceptable and I've done it a lot. However, if you are banking with RCI, you will need to back out at the maximum time window to obtain the maximum exchange value (TPUs).

For sure, I just meant if you couldn't make it to Hawaii or exchange one year, a peime week would be very rentable. I own one, which I bought primarily for RCI.

 

[VegasBella]

We loved the resort, Divi Village Beach & Golf Resort. And my wife mentioned to the salesman about the washer/dryer in the unit. He asked and we told him the story. Well the salesman made us a very interesting offer. By his own admission buying direct by them involved quite a bit of money up front. But even if we didn't buy there now, and he understood why that might not happen, they would order a cab (and pay for it) to take us back to the RIU Palace so we could get our dirty laundry. We could use the washer/dryer in the unit we toured to do our laundry. They would then pay for the cab back to the RIU.

After a bit of haggling we ended up buying at Divi Village. Yes, directly from the developer. But, it was for a week in February. Very hard to get. And, that week covers when my wife & both have our birthdays. The joke we made was this was probably the most expensive washer/dryer we would ever buy. :hysterical:

But, we've never regretted the purchase.

That was a very good sales person! He actually listened to what you said you wanted and then he found a way to give it to you. Very smart, really. And uncommon.

Funny story, too

For those who want to travel with school age children it is really hard to 'trade' into heavy use weeks. (Even 13 months out with my Ritz/Marriott it is a impossibility for the high use spots)

I agree it can be a challenge.

I think it depends on the region you're trying to get into and the accommodation level you want. Also, on your kid(s) school schedule. And the amount of time you invest into trading (example - watching the sightings forum here is helpful since not everything is going to be available 13 months out).

That said, I was able to trade into a Summer Hawaii week without major issue using my moderate trader. I had enough leftover TPU to book Orlando during Christmas break (but chose to book a less busy week instead because I can't handle busy Disney). This was through RCI weeks, FYI.

3 of our ownerships are deeded float and fixed weeks during Summer, when our son is out of school. However, the public elementary school we're zoned for recently switched to year-round. That scheduling would likely present some problems for us. Luckily, he doesn't go to school there but rather he goes to a private school that keeps the traditional Summer. I can't imagine how hard it is for parents of multiple kids who aren't all on the same "track schedule."

We have simply decided that taking a week off from school for a family vacation is worth it. And that's what we plan to do every other year for New Orleans. The years we don't pull our son out of school to go to Carnival/ Mardi Gras we will probably rent or trade the week. (BTW, kids in NOLA get Mardi Gras week off school).

 

[NHpauls]

I have devoured this thread... Great great great! I love the stories and find the advice helpful.

I want to buy another TS but I'm scared. I want it for my daughter's family of 5. So a 3 bdrm (hard to find) with w/dryer in unit within driving distance of Mass/NH. Then I have a delimma of which week do I buy? Will the kids go to school in Mass or NH? (The vacation weeks are one week apart). They need to move into a bigger home & not sure where it will be. Should I get points instead of weeks? But I'm not familiar with points. (Thus the "scared" part). Maybe Wyndham points so we can go to Smugglers in VT. But Wyndam just feels so money-grabbing to me. Worldmark sounds wonderful but we are East Coast. Attitash looks great but I understand there is a lot of noise between units. I know... I sound fussy, don't I? I'm just so dang spoiled by all the great places we've stayed.

Our story: I love love love our TS experience. It is the best vacation decision we made. Just like so many others who posted here, we went places we would never have gone to because of the cost. We went on vacations that felt "luxury" to us instead of the low-budget ones we would have had to do. Actually, it meant we WENT on vacations instead of talking ourselves out of it. I just can't do hotels anymore. I need that separate bedroom so I can read myself to sleep while he watches TV in the living room. And the Bfast in jammies before hubby is up is a must. Yes! Also I love that we can do the "special" restaurant, bring home the doggie-bag, & that is dinner the next night! A small hotel room just doesn't cut it anymore.

We attended many, many presentations and felt comfortable 16 years ago when we bought at Lodges at Cresthaven, Lake George, NY. Stand-alone log cabins at a Gold Crown level resort. Great trader and great renter. When you buy there, you get 3 weeks. We go one week, we trade one week, and we rent one week which usually pays for the MF's. Perfect! But the 2 small bedrooms, isn't gonna work for the family of 5 going forward. And there definitely is no room for us to join them. The developer is willing to buy back our contract for about the same price as we paid. Very tempting. That money could go far towards Points on the re-sale market, yes?

Any body who wants to chime in and help me make this decision is welcome to! I'm not on TUG all the time but enough to recognize many of your names. You are a good group of folks who love to help each other. And I love that a couple TUG veterans found this thread an "eye-opener." Cool.....
-Ruth from NH

 

[slip]

About 30 years ago, I worked with a guy that left our company and started selling timeshares at Christmas Mountain. He contacted me because he was starting out and needed to get some experience under his belt. So as a favor, I went to a presentation. I didn't know anything about it and I didn't really learn much but the idea seemed like a good one. The math of the purchase price never made sense to me so we didn't buy.

Fast forward about 20 years and my two children are out of the house so DW and I started going to Hawaii. After our third trip, I started looking at the timeshare idea again and then I found TUG. After about 6 months of learning, I joined TUG and with the help of AliiKai2, we decided to purchase at the Pono Kai. Got it off Ebay for $1.00 and it came with two free weeks. Great decision, we love it there and have been going back every year since. We had just returned from Hawaii so I traded the one free weeks and we were able to get three other weeks from Platinum Interchange. That's how I started to learn about exchanging. The other , I was able to rent and that's how I started renting the extra weeks I took over to cover the cost of our stays.

We don't exchange much be we have a couple weeks with Platinum and some TPU with RCI. We use that for a few side trips we occasionally take. After one exchange to Las Vegas at the Jockey Club, my son ended out taking over a week there from a TUG member. He still goes at least once a year and loves the location. We're actually going with him in September.

Back to our originally purchase, DW had some must haves, one was walking distance to a town and the other was air conditioning. She would have preferred in unit laundry but that is the one compromise she made. She was nervous purchasing online and just from pictures but that all came to pass after our first stay there. Now, those two or three weeks we stay there are the highlight of our year. We have brought friends and family with us many times and we enjoy being tour guides.

In February, we have friends coming with us for a second trip. They just love sitting on the lani and with that perfect ocean front view. She is just getting oner her Breast Cancer treatments and we can't wait to help her relax a bit. We all can't wait.

PS, I want to Thank AliiKai2 for all his help back then. I think about him and his advise every trip. He hasn't been on in almost a year but i really am grateful to him for taking his time to share all his knowledge he has about the Pono Kai.

 

[WinniWoman]

I have devoured this thread... Great great great! I love the stories and find the advice helpful.

I want to buy another TS but I'm scared. I want it for my daughter's family of 5. So a 3 bdrm (hard to find) with w/dryer in unit within driving distance of Mass/NH. Then I have a delimma of which week do I buy? Will the kids go to school in Mass or NH? (The vacation weeks are one week apart). They need to move into a bigger home & not sure where it will be. Should I get points instead of weeks? But I'm not familiar with points. (Thus the "scared" part). Maybe Wyndham points so we can go to Smugglers in VT. But Wyndam just feels so money-grabbing to me. Worldmark sounds wonderful but we are East Coast. Attitash looks great but I understand there is a lot of noise between units. I know... I sound fussy, don't I? I'm just so dang spoiled by all the great places we've stayed.

Our story: I love love love our TS experience. It is the best vacation decision we made. Just like so many others who posted here, we went places we would never have gone to because of the cost. We went on vacations that felt "luxury" to us instead of the low-budget ones we would have had to do. Actually, it meant we WENT on vacations instead of talking ourselves out of it. I just can't do hotels anymore. I need that separate bedroom so I can read myself to sleep while he watches TV in the living room. And the Bfast in jammies before hubby is up is a must. Yes! Also I love that we can do the "special" restaurant, bring home the doggie-bag, & that is dinner the next night! A small hotel room just doesn't cut it anymore.

We attended many, many presentations and felt comfortable 16 years ago when we bought at Lodges at Cresthaven, Lake George, NY. Stand-alone log cabins at a Gold Crown level resort. Great trader and great renter. When you buy there, you get 3 weeks. We go one week, we trade one week, and we rent one week which usually pays for the MF's. Perfect! But the 2 small bedrooms, isn't gonna work for the family of 5 going forward. And there definitely is no room for us to join them. The developer is willing to buy back our contract for about the same price as we paid. Very tempting. That money could go far towards Points on the re-sale market, yes?

Any body who wants to chime in and help me make this decision is welcome to! I'm not on TUG all the time but enough to recognize many of your names. You are a good group of folks who love to help each other. And I love that a couple TUG veterans found this thread an "eye-opener." Cool.....
-Ruth from NH

I own at Smuggs and Pollard Brook. I think Smuggs would be perfect- they have great 3 bedroom units- spacious- with washer and dryers in the units. If you can get a weeks or RCI points resale( non-Wyndham), you would just have to purchase the benefits package separately through the resort. A really good option within driving distance. Prime summer weeks when the kids are off from school is what would work, unless they want winter. I have week 30 there which is right in the middle of summer.

 

[BLKBRD370]

Now that we've rescinded the timeshare that we bought directly from the developer, we're looking here at gaining information and possibly purchasing on the resale market.

Would you mind sharing your opinions on why you bought the program that you have and whether you find it worth it (versus just vacationing and getting hotel rooms wherever)? What do you find to be the benefits of owning interest in a timeshare? What are the benefits to the particular program in which you have your timeshare?

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

My brother had bought a Timeshare and he was enthusiastic about it especially that he got breaks on golf course fees and other benefits. When we saw his unit we were impressed and decided we should have similar 3 BR Unit sleeping up to 8 people. For several years we found it to be a convenient way to travel, exchanging our unit for different resorts. Now that we are a lot older and the ageing process is in full swing we no longer use it and would like to sell or offer it to a family who could put it to good use. I think it would benefit a largish family or for friends who like to vacation together. The main benefit this ownership is that it can be exchanged for any other resort listed with Interval International. We have used our in Europe as well as Disneyworld amongst other places.

 

[PGtime]

What a great thread! Great to read the different perspectives and experiences of not only timeshares but traveling in general.

We bought our first week in Williamsburg in 1993 at (the then) Powhatan Plantation. It was white time and one of those 4 BR 4 BA lock out units that you could deposit as 1 or 2 units. We bought through the developer and the salesperson told us (as it turns out, truthfully) that we could trade it during the then 45 day window (before check in date) at RCI, when the trading power for the units was reduced. Of course I had to keep calling to get what I wanted sometimes but it worked well for us. Plus, Powhatan was within easy (~90 minutes) driving distance from home, so we used the facilities on the weekends occasionally. At the time, PP was one of the few resorts in Williamsburg so it traded reasonably well. Now there are probably too many there. We sold it in the early 2000's (can't remember exactly when) for just under half of what we paid. Not too bad. No regrets, as we had many great vacations. FYI, the MF's were ~ $400 then, and that was really for 2 units.

We bought a fixed week 28 3BR 3BA at The Cottages (Shipyard Plantation, Hilton Head Island) while vacationing there. We bought through the developer and then saw one of those resale timeshare advertising circulars the next day at the grocery store while still on the island. So, armed with resale pricing info, I marched back in to rescind. Instead of rescinding, the sales director offered to match the prices if we'd keep it. Fair enough, done. No regrets there either, as that is a great trader and is a place I would go every year, and we did. In fact, we still go there many times per year but we now own a condo in Shipyard and usually use the Cottages week to trade through RCI.

We discovered TUG and bought 2 resale South African timeshares for a few hundred dollars and rode that wave for several years, as trading was easy and the MF cost was really cheap due to the dollar rand exchange. We sold both of those units through TUG. No regrets; many cheap vacations.

Lastly, we bought a fixed week 28 resale EOY 2 BR 2 BA at Waterside by Spinnaker (HHI) through eBay for less than $500. By then we already owned the condo in Shipyard and have mostly used it to trade through SFX and sometimes RCI. No regrets and our best buy (as determined by price / trading value / MF's).

So... now the only 2 timeshares we own are the every year Cottages and EOY Waterside and that is all we need presently.

My recommendation for potential new owner's:
1. Try it before you buy it, meaning rent a week where you want to go through TUG or Redweek.
2. If you do buy, make sure it is in an area (and during the timeframe) you would not mind going to every year.
3. Realize and understand that TS is more of a lifestyle and vacationing choice rather than an investment.
4. If and when you buy, enjoy the hunt for that next great vacation. I find it fun and challenging.

Paul

 

[famy27]

My parents bought Wyndham points in 2000 from the developer. I was not willing to spend that kind of cash, so we passed. Eight years later, I decided that I wanted some Wyndham points for myself, so I did some research and ended up buying points on eBay for $200. I specifically picked an II affiliated Wyndham so that I could trade with Disney. I got one trade in, and then DVC moved to RCI. Luckily, I discovered that I really liked II. Since my parents had their point to trade with II, we switched off, so that I booked Westin Kierland Villas for them, and they booked Animal Kingdom for me.

Eventually, we decided that since were staying at DVC so much, we should probably actually buy there. We closed on our DVC points at BLT in October 2015. We've since traded into SSR twice using our Wyndham points (with one night of our DVC points added on to the beginning of the stay), booked a trip to PVB for Labor Day, and traded Wyndham points for AKV for January. We also rented out enough of our DVC points to cover our maintenance fees, with money left over. Our current strategy is to exchange some of our Wyndham points for Disney, use some of our DVC points, and rent out the rest to cover our fees. If RCI exchanges disappear, we'll just use our DVC points for Disney.

Overall, we've been pleased with both of our purchases. We've used our Wyndham points both in Wyndham and in II and RCI for some great exchanges. It's been a really economical way for us to stay at nice resorts. I really liked Wyndham until I got to experience DVC. Now, I wish I had money for a few hundred more DVC points. My biggest issues with Wyndham are the nickel-and-dime charges and the relentless sales pressure. I shouldn't have to resist a hard sell every time I check in to use a week I own. DVC is just so stress-free and easy, it's fantastic. I still like Wyndham resorts, but I've just become annoyed with the company and its practices. If I couldn't exchange my Wyndham points through RCI, I would probably seriously consider deeding them back and just buy more DVC.

 

[JudiZ]

What a Fun Thread

We have owned many timeshares. Our first purchase was a modest Orlando resale; our only developer purchase was Marriott Cypress Harbour about 20+/- years ago while we were staying at our modest resort. It was huge and gorgeous! We sold it for little over half of what we paid (ah, the days) after several vacations there. I have never regretted buying those weeks and seeing vacationing in a whole new way. We have bought at low and/or reasonable prices and been able to use and trade what we have had. That being said, what we have owned over the years has evolved. Until just last week, we owned two timeshares - Powell Place in San Francisco, which we use every other year and Sea Mist in Mashpee, Massachusetts (being a native New Englander, I know that it is Cape Cod light), which we use nearly every year and we love them. Those two have been used and traded for ten years non-stop.

Then last week, in a TUG ad, we found what, for us, is the timeshare of our dreams - a fixed week at Attitash Mountain Resort that we have traded into for the past three years with no small amount of grief! Just two hours from home, it is the right size, the right place and the absolute right week and, miraculously, in a resort with no elevators, it is on the ground floor. I have some medical issues that make stair climbing uncomfortable, not impossible, so this is truly a blessing. And here, on TUG, was the timeshare of our dreams. At a mutually agreeable modest price, the lovely owner and I are moving forward with a closing. So, now we have three.

I have had the timeshare bug from the first time we stayed at a Residence Inn and then found out about timeshares from another mom at the pool (for the record, those children I was watching in the pool are now 28 and 33). On those rare occasions when work or family mean a hotel stay, I am always glad that real relaxation can be had on every vacation.I know it's not for everyone, but it sure has been, and continues to be, right for us. When things change, we'll figure out what to do next.

Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[JohnPaul]

Started at age 34 - really paying off at 61

In 1989, we went to a sales presentation for Vacation Internationale in Washington state to get whatever premiums they were offering. This was the era when timeshares had a bad name for fly by night scams. In addition I had just finished an 8 year job working for Westin hotels corporate and was used to free stays in hotels like Century Plaza in LA, The St Francis in San Francisco and The Plaza in New York. I didn’t know what I thought about not having someone come in every day and clean. And last but not least, as two gay men in our 30’s (in the 80’s) we didn’t know how we would get on in potentially very family/kids environments. On the last point, our salesperson “Ginger” assured us that her brother and his “friend” loved their ownership.

However, we were intrigued. As a person who was used to reading lengthy legal documents, I read every word of every document. I was pleased by things that I learned such as that all of the property is held paid off in a trust that belongs to the owners.

We ended up buying their lowest every other year product and took our first vacation to Hawaii - Kauai, Big Island and Oahu.

Over time we bought more from the developer and resale. Through a serious of funky quirks, after they started their Prestige Program we were able to grandfather our resales points and ended up being Prestige Platinum - the highest level. It has great perks like bonus time at 40 days and 50% reduction in bonus time rates and points rates if booked within 60 days.

We also bought in a variety of companies with both developer and resale points. We use each ownership in particular ways that work well for us. Now we own:

451 Vacation International points
15,500 Shell Vacations Club West points
19,000 Worldmark points
44,000 Staroptions (Sheraton Mountain Vista, Avon, CO)
5,250 HGVC points at West 57th St in New York City
144,500 RCI points through Sedona Pines and Oakmont Resort in Pigeon Forge, TN

Believe it or not, the 451 VI points probably represent the most time of all of them.

Now that we are both retired, it is really paying off. We just returned from a 5 week trip in Washington and Oregon with 4 days not in a timeshare. We have 12 days in timeshares in New York City in August. A couple short stays in San Francisco here and there. Five days in a penthouse at Lake Tahoe in October. Two weeks in a fabulous two bedroom cabin at Sun River, Oregon in late October/early November. Last but not least (for this year) we have 2 and a half months for skiing in timeshare in Colorado, Utah and California/Nevada this next ski season.

Best of all, we load and run the dishwasher at the end of our stay and someone cleans up behind us. When it snows, the timeshare deals with it. And for much less than a second home would cost we have second homes in Tahoe, San Francisco, Napa, New York, Colorado, Utah and so on.

 

[JohnPaul]

I was unable to edit my earlier post -- but how could I forget the following things we love about Worldmark??

• Many ways to book: Using Credits (points), Cash Bonus Time, Cash Inventory Specials, Cash Monday Madness, etc. (Only a third of our reservations on our credits -- we use the various cash reservation avenues extensively.)
• Free guest certificates. (I can book a reservation for friends/family w/out paying an extra fee to put the reservation in their name.)
• Great online reservation website! I can save and re-use favorite searches, have dependable access to real-time inventory, etc.
• Generous cancellation policy!
• Banking and borrowing across account years.
• Renting credits from others ... (although this undergoing changes).

Worldmark is unique in the ability to grab last minute cancellations. Most systems don't have many last minute cancellations due to their cancellation policies. However, on reservations made closer to your stay Worldmark offers no penalty cancellations as late as two days before check in.

On our recent 5 week trip to Washington and Oregon, we had to return to Seattle 3 unplanned times for a medical issue and extend an existing stay by a day.

Hotel cost in Seattle are ridiculous. $300 - $600 a night for downtown. $200 out by the airport.

For 3 of the 4 nights that we needed in Seattle I was able to grab last minute cancellations at the Worldmark Camlin in downtown Seattle. Cost - around $80 per night.

You do have to be willing to have fun hunting as cancellations come and go very quickly but it is definitely worth it.

 

[onenotesamba]

...And last but not least, as two gay men in our 30’s (in the 80’s) we didn’t know how we would get on in potentially very family/kids environments.

So interesting to read your perspective. My husband and I are new to timesharing, but when we started looking into it, we wondered the same thing. We've been to a few presentations/owner's updates, and we purchased twice on the resale market within the past year, and throughout every transaction, no one has said or done anything that would make us feel uncomfortable. In fact, one of the closing agents for our resale purchases, asked how we wanted the deed, and we had a really funny conversation about alternatives to "husband and wife."

I'm too new to this to post an awesome story like the others in this thread, but just wanted to echo how much I've enjoyed reading all of them.

 

[LilyPond]

LOVE this question and all the stories!

I purchased my timeshare (was married at the time) over 20 years ago from the developer long before resale was a known thing. No regrets. It was one of the best decisions ever made. We were motivated to purchase at Alii Kai II because it was so much less expensive than the Kona Coast Resort on Hawaii, a new development at the time. Purchasing with Alii Kai II allowed us to buy into an RCI Gold Crown rated resort that is peak/red all year round with high trading power at such a better price, so we could trade and go to Kona Coast someday if we wanted to (we never did! Lol).

Alii Kai II is on the island of Kauai and located very close to Hanalei – one of my favorite towns among the islands – and close to the Na Pali Coast Trail; at the time my former husband and I were avid hikers/backpackers. We would reserve our week at Alii Kai and fly over to Kauai a few days ahead of that with luggage plus backpacking gear. This was back when the Princeville Airport was still used for island hopping, Amelia's was in business, and before Hurricane Iniki hit. We’d purchase our camping fuel there on the island (not supposed to take that on planes) and we would have the cab driver stop by Alii Kai on the way so that we could leave our luggage with the office during our backpacking trip. From there we’d go hike the Na Pali Coast Trail to the end, camp, chill, get an oceanside sunset view every night, and totally relax. Our last trip we decided to take one of the Zodiacs back to the trail head instead of hiking out and then just called a cab to come take us back to the timeshare to check in for the week. It was perfect. Rough it for a few days, then luxury for a week.

Overall, the timeshare purchase offered many things:
- Forced an annual vacation
- Enabled travel to locations that I otherwise would never have gone to, such as Mexico and Switzerland among many others
- Having the comfort of a fully furnished condo compared to a hotel room is beyond compare. The sense of SPACE is fantastic; you don’t necessarily feel ‘on top of’ your neighbors.
- Eating out can be great but gets old and expensive after a while. Having the option to ‘cook at home’ saves money, lets you relax for the evening and lets you consume at your own pace and in your own space, while having all the wine you want!
- I’ve used my timeshare just by myself and also with family, it’s fantastic to have such flexibility to exchange for the size lodging you need at the time

My timeshare is a 2-bedroom unit which lets me trade for another 2-bedroom or smaller. From my experience with this, if I obtain another timeshare interest it would be in a manner that lets me stay in options up to and including a 2-bedroom if I wanted to.

Congratulations for discovering resale and enjoy the search for your new timeshare!!

 

[WinniWoman]

I have devoured this thread... Great great great! I love the stories and find the advice helpful.

I want to buy another TS but I'm scared. I want it for my daughter's family of 5. So a 3 bdrm (hard to find) with w/dryer in unit within driving distance of Mass/NH. Then I have a delimma of which week do I buy? Will the kids go to school in Mass or NH? (The vacation weeks are one week apart). They need to move into a bigger home & not sure where it will be. Should I get points instead of weeks? But I'm not familiar with points. (Thus the "scared" part). Maybe Wyndham points so we can go to Smugglers in VT. But Wyndam just feels so money-grabbing to me. Worldmark sounds wonderful but we are East Coast. Attitash looks great but I understand there is a lot of noise between units. I know... I sound fussy, don't I? I'm just so dang spoiled by all the great places we've stayed.

Our story: I love love love our TS experience. It is the best vacation decision we made. Just like so many others who posted here, we went places we would never have gone to because of the cost. We went on vacations that felt "luxury" to us instead of the low-budget ones we would have had to do. Actually, it meant we WENT on vacations instead of talking ourselves out of it. I just can't do hotels anymore. I need that separate bedroom so I can read myself to sleep while he watches TV in the living room. And the Bfast in jammies before hubby is up is a must. Yes! Also I love that we can do the "special" restaurant, bring home the doggie-bag, & that is dinner the next night! A small hotel room just doesn't cut it anymore.

We attended many, many presentations and felt comfortable 16 years ago when we bought at Lodges at Cresthaven, Lake George, NY. Stand-alone log cabins at a Gold Crown level resort. Great trader and great renter. When you buy there, you get 3 weeks. We go one week, we trade one week, and we rent one week which usually pays for the MF's. Perfect! But the 2 small bedrooms, isn't gonna work for the family of 5 going forward. And there definitely is no room for us to join them. The developer is willing to buy back our contract for about the same price as we paid. Very tempting. That money could go far towards Points on the re-sale market, yes?

Any body who wants to chime in and help me make this decision is welcome to! I'm not on TUG all the time but enough to recognize many of your names. You are a good group of folks who love to help each other. And I love that a couple TUG veterans found this thread an "eye-opener." Cool.....
-Ruth from NH

Why don't you try to get a Smugglers Notch 3 bedroom unit resale? A fixed week (non Wyndham)? Try to get it in North Hill, West Hill or Highland so you at least have use of a pool and gym included in the ownership. Then your daughter can decide whether or not to pay for benefits like the camps and use of other pools, etc, or just get a Smuggs Pass as needed when they are there.

Or maybe a fixed week in NH? Like at Pollard Brook (dryer in bldg,) or Eastern Slope Inn?

Get a week that you know is ok for both states they might be attending school in.

Go onto Vermont Timeshare Brokerage.com for Smuggs resales. The woman who owns it- Laura Fagan- sold us our timeshare at Smuggs 17 years ago and she is very trustworthy and knowledgeable.

 

[heathpack]

I agree, this is a very interesting thread.

We went to a Westgate presentation in Orlando years ago that was so ridiculous that we still laugh about it. Whatever, we got our free tickets and the experience reinforced our opinion that timeshares were a ripoff.

Then my cousin started working for DVC. We started to think timeshares were not a ripoff but we figured we could never afford one.

Then we moved to California & got a cheap long weekend at Hyatt Highlands Inn. We had to do the sales presentation and it sounded really sweet. Just too expensive.

So by now, we knew about Hyatt & DVC. We went to a pre-sale sales pitch at Disneyland for Villas at Grand Californian. We were pretty sure based on these two experiences that we would want either a Hyatt or a DVC if we could afford it.

I read a bunch about both systems on TUG & Disboards. Eventually, we decided to buy an 1880 pt week at Hyatt High Sierra in Tahoe. We've still never been there, though. It's a great trader. We use it to book partial weeks in the Hyatt system- Carmel multiple times & Sedona once. But I used the heck out of that Hyatt week as a trader for a few years.

We liked it so much, the fact that we could leverage one week into many studio weeks or partial weeks. We travel a lot & had some great trips. We saved up money & were considering even buying Villas at Grand Californian direct. The economy was booming and VGC was going to be offered to DVC owners first. Rumor was it might sell out before being offered to the general public. So we bought a 25 point contract at Hilton Head Island, just to be owners.

Then the economy tanked & we put VGC purchase on hold- for awhile. Contracts were going cheaply on the resale market, so we bought an 85 point contract for $92/pt. Has hugely appreciated. It was awesome for awhile, when APs were cheap for SoCal residents. Now they are so expensive that we have to borrow/bank & push 3 years of stays into one year. Then we get sick of Disneyland. But we find it hard to part with this one. We love a lot about it.

By now we wanted to go to Maui and the big drawback to Hyatt is that you can only search 12 months out, which is a little late to try for a Westin & also use FF miles for the flight. The ecomony was still bad & we got a SBP unit for free. Great trader so far. I just used my 2017 week this morning to book a Hyatt Highlands Inn week in Carmel. (So much for Maui in 2018, unless SFX comes through.)

And then, at the very tail end of the bad economy, we wanted to buy a week to actually use- something on the east coast that would force us to go back & visit relatives there. We like beaches & ocean swimming & picked up an EOY Marriott Barony Beach gold week. Garden view, so it was pretty reasonable. Turns out our relatives don't like the beach that much (or going anywhere, it turns out!), so who knows what we'll do with this one. We had a great stay in 2015, loved the resort, so we hate to give it up.

For us, we like trading and traveling lots of places. The kitchen is a huge plus- allows us to be more mellow & relaxed, eat simply and have healthier food. Units with washer/dryers are swell- I've become an avid cyclist and it's nice to be able to wash my cycling clothes on a trip. Extra rooms for the bike(s) is a plus too. As is the lack of housekeeping- we'd prefer no one enter our room while we're out, especially if we have bikes in the room.

We're totally happy with our timeshares, although we have probably one too many right now. Hard to part with any of them though.

 

[bogey21]

My first foray into TimeSharing was buying Marriott Floating Weeks. Loved the Marriott Resorts but not the hassle (from my perspective) of scheduling and the level of the MFs. Sold the Marriott Floating Weeks but kept my Monarch Fixed Week. Bought 6 Fixed Week/Fixed Units at 6 different Resorts in places I wanted to visit every year. The prices (dirt cheap) and MFs were right. Basically I traded the quality (and cost) of Marriott for the certainty (and low cost) of knowing where I would be going every year. This worked well for me.

George

 

[Bxian]

We spent a number of years renting weeks at the Jersey Shore-worked well as we could load up the care with 4 bikes and assorted other items and not have far to drive. It also gave us the ability to invite the kids' friends down far part of a week while still having family time for the rest of the week.

My husband and I won a long weekend stay at the Marriott hotel on Marco Island at a hospital black tie charity auction nine years ago. We did well-got 3 long weekend stays (2 in Florida and one in the Princeton area) for less than $300 total-too many of the attendees were fixated on the jewelry silent auction, so we scooped up the travel deals.

I had started reading the TUG forums around the time we visited Marco Island. While we were there, we stopped in at the Charter Club (an HGVC affiliate) and fell in love with the sweeping Gulf views from the wide balconies there. We bought one resale week from the onsite sales agent several months later at a reasonable price. We initially bought to both use and trade. However, after a couple of years of ownership, we realized that we loved the Charter Club so much that we wanted a second week to trade. We bought a foreclosure for a great price during the recession when our timeshare Board offered them for sale to current owners using a sealed bid system. We go to the Charter Club each year, and have traded the second week for time at the Grand Pacific Palisades in Carlsbad, Powell Pace in San Francisco, the Hilton Craigendarroch in Scotland, Meadow Lake resort in Montana, HGVC properties in South Beach and Manhattan, the Manhattan Club, and multiple stays at the HGVC resorts near Walt Disney World.

I don't regret our timeshare purchase for a minute. I have a high stress job, and my husband says that the Charter Club is the only place that he ever sees me totally chill out. However, timeshare ownership is only a portion of our travel portfolio. I am a frequent flyer mile and hotel points addict, and we had some amazing vacations using points and miles. The most recent trip was a trip to Paris and Frankfurt with my daughter to celebrate her 30th and my 60th birthday-free first class on United going over, 8 nights of free hotel stays at Hilton and westin properties, and an amazing free flight home in business class on Singapore Airlines. We also enjoy going on a cruise every 3 to 4 years. While I am not a camper, we have enjoyed stays in some of our amazing national parks. My husband is retired, and even though I only get 4 weeks of vacation, we make the most of it. We are considering adding another timeshare week or two once I retire-probably EOY or a system such as Worldmark points. We have had so many great travel memories-and time sharing has been an important part.

 

[markgrinny]

Hi Kenchelle, We purchased because we were going to vacation every year. Our situation has changed due to school vacation scheduling. We have six more years of schooling for our children, so we can only take vacations during that time. We have been lucky to get some decent deals on airfare to Hawaii and stay at the Sheraton Princeville on Kauai. We also got a good deal to go to Cancun and stay at the Laguna Mar. Both sites were breathtakingly beautiful, but it took a lot of time and energy to fit those two excursions into our school vacation schedule.

[advertising deleted - please post in the Bargain Deals Forum: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132509]

 

[Theousaf]

No Regrets..

We have traveled throughout the Caribbean, over thirty years, when we visited Aruba 5 years ago, and had no desire to go anywhere else. We went to a bunch of timeshare presentations; one more sleazy then the next. Then we tried to learn as much about timeshares. Over the next year we ended up buying four, two bedroom lockouts, weeks 6-9. All from owners. We have five adult daughters and wanted the flexibility to rent some of the units when we didn't need them and also wanted contiguous weeks so our girls, could travel mid week to save on airfare from Boston. We never regretted our decision.

 

[travelplus]

Our Family bought the Palm Canyon Resort and Spa in Palm Springs back in 1994 as well as an ORE Resort in Park City. We used the weeks (5 weeks) as part of an extended vacation to Spain. As ORE was going under we were able to get the money we put in for the weeks and sold the Palm Canyon Resort.

Well fast forward to 2011 when visiting Scottsdale I had the idea to look into resale and we found the Diamond Scottsdale Villa Mirage on Resale for $1,000 for a 2 bedroom. We were staying at the Sheraton and really did not find a unit that suited our needs. We visited the Villa Mirage and were happy. We use this week to split our Studio and 1 bedroom into RCI Weeks.

In 2012 we rented a week at The Ridge Tahoe in a 2 bedroom Cascade I told my Father that I would go online to see what resales they had. Lo and behold there was a 2 Bedroom Cascade for $900. So of course we bought it so its our home resort. We also have a Week with Marriott that we Deposited to Interval so we can essentially get two weeks at the Ridge if we want or other places.

This past January we were spending three weeks at the Sedona Pines Resort which was ok but I knew there was better. Those Red Rocks were calling me with the snow LOL. I took the Timeshare Presentations with Hyatt,Diamond and Worldmark. I was most impressed with either the Sedona Summit or Los Abrigados.

When doing research we found a 2 bedroom Lock Off at the Sedona Summit for $1000 on resale and I can see ourselves going back there every winter and use the Interval Week to get a 2nd week and RCI to get a third if we want. I loved the Adult Spa overlooking the mountains along with more than one pool. The resort is spread out and we toured it at night too and during the day. I love looking up at the stars.

Right now our portfolio is maxed out. TUGSBBS has helped us to look for resale. I would never go with a developer.

We love Timesharing because as others have stated the kitchen, having room to spread out, making memories , and going to different resorts worldwide. Do we own too much(perhaps some say yes). But I say no. Now that my Father for the most part is retired and my Mother is retiring soon and my Brother and I can work out our schedule to join them its great for us as we now have better places to stay then some hotel stuck in one room.

My theory is to always buy a 2 bedroom or higher and get a lockoff. For me the lockoff allows me to have my own space. At the Sedona Summit the Lock Off is very spacious with a limited kitchen I can at least store drinks in the fridge. At the Ridge the Lock Off in the Cascades has a large bathroom and sitting area. I love having my own space and then come in when I want to late at night or go walking early in the morning.

This year we booked a third week at The Highland Verde Ridge in Cornville AZ in a 1 bedroom and sometimes you have to be flexible.

But I always like to research the destination first. I could not imagine spending $200 a night at a Best Western in Sedona. For me the Maintenance Fee and Exchange Fee is totally worth it because at least you are staying at a nice resort. I have checked the price of the Amaya Resort during Christmas time in Sedona and they want $300+ Dollars a Night.

Over all we love Timesharing.

 

[bradfordHI]

Now that we've rescinded the timeshare that we bought directly from the developer, we're looking here at gaining information and possibly purchasing on the resale market.

Would you mind sharing your opinions on why you bought the program that you have and whether you find it worth it (versus just vacationing and getting hotel rooms wherever)? What do you find to be the benefits of owning interest in a timeshare? What are the benefits to the particular program in which you have your timeshare?

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Developer pro. All the benefits. 50 to 75 percent off all bookings within 60 days. So if your flexible go with buying direct. Developers don't charge resort fees, parking, no exchange fees and lower maintence.

Resale pro: cheaper but all goes to trading power. You get what you pay for. A 1 dollar week is a dollar for a reason. Buy resell if you LOVE the resort. If not buy a Premiium week because exchanging can be frustrating. You will NEVER EVER EVER EVER TRADE BRANSON FOR NEW YORK CITY OR HAWAII.

Cons. All personal.

Owner for 20 years. FYI....
These sites compare resale to developer. They are 2 totally different products!!!!

Don't fall for the trap where a reseller tells you to go to the developer and have them explain it to you then buy resale. It's not the same. At all.

Hope that helps.

 

[silentg]

Hi my timeshare experience started in 1980. I saw an ad in the newspaper to go on vacation in Vermont for a weekend $9.00 . We were young, had one son, and not much money. We drove to Vermont from the Boston Area, took us 5 hours. We stopped along the way. We had a nice time but I was not interested in buying, mainly because we could not afford it. DH loved the whole idea of a timeshare,and he got me to agree when he said, this will make us take a vacation at least one week a year. D H does not come from a family that took vacations. My family always rented a cottage at the beach for a week or two. The timeshare was a RTU started 1981 until 2011. We borrowed money from my parents to pay for it. It was not that expensive $4,500. And maintenance fee was under $100.00 a year. We used it without trading for the first few years. Our daughter was born in 1983 and we took both of our kids to Vermont, they both have fond memories of going there over 4th of July. We moved to Florida in 1987 and began trading thru RCI. In the early 90s I found TUG and on the advice of a Tug member I bought a South Africa timeshare. Just for trading purposes. It was great now we had two weeks to use with RCI. We found other timeshares thru TUG and purchased them at places that were difficult to trade into.We own 3 timeshares in Florida, one in Europe, one on Cape Cod, one in Virginia too. We no longer have the one in Vermont or SA. Mostly DH and I go on our own. Kids are grown and have used our timeshares but we only go occasionally as a family. Looking to retire in a couple of years,keep the timeshares to travel to many places in the future. Thanks for reading my story.
Silentg