Worst timeshare resort you've stayed in?

[Luanne]

I believe the heat would not have been a big issue if we went at any other time of the year. What made it worse was the fact that Hawaii was experiencing a heat index of over 100 degrees that week, thanks to El Niño. We were sweating profusely all night.

We learned after a couple of experiences to NEVER accept a timeshare unit in Kona during the summer.

 

[icydog]

The absolute worst place I have stayed was at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas in the dirtiest 3 bedroom deluxe Villa in the world. I brought all the girls in my family to a Disney blowout and we have two of these 3 bdrm villas for 7 nights. That was a TON of Disney Vacation Club points

The worst part was the cockroaches, which they failed to remove even after three calls on three consecutive days. The last day the roaches inundated the dishwasher. I almost passed out I was so upset.

Disney did return my points but only because none of their managers came up to the room. Also, a substitute manager from the Hotel, told me I couldn't talk to the GM since she was a VERY BUSY WOMAN!

It was disgusting but at least Disney did the right thing.

 

[Mr. Vker]

Island Seas Freeport Bahamas.

The Bahamas were wonderful. The unit was in terrible condition. The resort VERY poorly run. One terrible thing after the next.

 

[Arnie]

Dump By The Trump!!

Just happened to see this and figured I would add my 2 cents worth. In all my years of TS'ing, The Golden Strand is by far the worst RCI exchange I ever had. Lousy accommodations if your not in the cabanas. We had a late arrival a few years back and notified the resort. Guess that was not the right thing to do. They gave away our reservation d we had to move twice and were still not in anything that I could call classy.

 

[Ambrosia920]

Hubby and I just discussed this over breakfast! His vote for "worst" was Fox Run at Rumbling Bald Resort in Lake Lure NC and it was actually a perfectly fine (to me at least) rustic two level cabin with a lake view. Yes it was a little dated ("country 70's" with tweedy and early American furniture), but we were staying there for $99 ... for a WEEK in the offseason ... and it was clean with a FP! I don't think we have really had any horrible exchanges in over 10 years myself. I try to check online reviews before booking and we are do-it-yourself vacationers and perhaps not terribly persnickity? We do get outdated units sometimes, esp. when using bonus weeks and getaways (perhaps due to the fact that we are adamant with all concierge/sales/desk people that we WON'T be attending any presentations and to leave us alone). That's fine, it's worth the peace and quiet! Some of our favorite exchanges: Club Cascadas de Baja in Cabo (multiple trips), Marriott Grande Ocean in Hilton Head (a five hour drive from us and will be a regular exchange, we are treated so well that it almost makes you wish you were in the Marriott Vacation Club), and the Cliffs at Princeville (Kauai). Oh and very much enjoyed the Wyndham Reef in East End Grand Cayman this May ... booked with an II accommodation certificate for $349!

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Wyndham/Worldmark in Big Bear, Ca.

The sand filter for the spa ruptured so there was some gravel in the Spa. We thought that it was erosion from the landscaping. The next day we got a body rash. We reported it to the management. They put a sign of the spa that it was out of order. The best they could do for us was to give us some tiny little anti-biotic ointment packages.

The unit was not very clean. When my wife went around the unit with a sanitary alcohol wipe she had to use 2 or 3 because they came out dark with what they picked up.

But we still had fun there.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Our Worst was the Garland Resort. It was basically a hotel room that they sliced into two bedrooms. However I will say when we had an issue they did move us to a different large unit... The area where this is located is very remote so basically nothing to do beside stay at the resort... its not so much a dig at the resort but more so the area as there was nothing but a small town with a population of about 300 people and I think we meet all of them as they worked at the resort...

 

[R1964]

Turtle Reef Club Jensen Beach, Florida. Dirty and run down. If you walked around in bare feet in the unit your feet turned black. Absolutely awful and needs to be completely renovated. Hope things have changed since 2013 when we were there.

 

[NJDave]

The Links in Myrtle Beach. It was one of my first exchanges. The resort wasn't bad. The others (mostly Marriots) were just much better. I know the qualtiy of resorts much better now (thanks to TUG!) and would no longer accept The Links (we exchanged into the new Marriottt this trip). When RCI told me that they did me a favor by giving me The Links for the last week in August in exchagne for my Fourth of July / Race week in Daytona, I knew it was time to sell the Daytona week.

I noticed this thread is still going. Almost 15 years later (I can't believe it has been 15 years) and I would still say that the Links is my worst (it was my first) exchange. Thanks to TUG, we have been staying at some very nice places over the years.

 

[jabberwocky]

Maybe I’m just lucky - but I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad timeshare stay yet!

 

[#1 Cowboys Fan]

Minerals Resort in New Jersey is the first one I can think of that I would not go back to.

 

[silentg]

And this is supposed to be one of the best resorts on Cape Cod. I wonder what some of the others are like.

We have owned and stayed at many resorts onCape Cod. Sea Mist was ok. Cape Winds was a good location but the unit was very odd, bedroom right inside the front door, kitchen and living room up a spiral staircase, kind of a challenge for us in our 60s. We owned a studio at Holly Tree in Yarmouth, very small but resort was nice. Brewster Green and Cape Holiday in Mashpee were the best ones we stayed at on the Cape.
I also agree the Smuggler’s Notch unit we stay at in Vermont had odd bedding in second bedroom and living room was set up so just one person could see the television.

Silentg

 

[travelhacker]

We needed 2 rooms at the same place and lucked into Eagle Point in Vail for Spring Break. It wasn't a bad trade, but definitely a step down from where we typically stay.

We noticed an unpleasant smell when we walked into our room, a few minutes later on of our 18 month old twins brought me a partially smoked joint that the previous people had enjoyed.

 

[Baggi]

Polo towers Las Vegas.


The bed came out of the wall and was warped so my wife and I would fall into the center of the bed and end up on top of each other during the night.

The way you come and go from the place isn't appealing either. It's not on a street.

The one thing it has going for it was the location. Right off the strip and near a lot of great casinos.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

deleted, wrong forum

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Polo towers Las Vegas.


The bed came out of the wall and was warped so my wife and I would fall into the center of the bed and end up on top of each other during the night.

The way you come and go from the place isn't appealing either. It's not on a street.

The one thing it has going for it was the location. Right off the strip and near a lot of great casinos.

I wondered what it was like inside, the outside looks like a cement prison.

 

[CPNY]

I’ve been lucky I guess!

 

[Synergy]

I'm amused, the 'Worst Ever' from the first post here is one of our favorite properties ever. We'll be there again this May, and we actually plan SF visits around availability here. Location is excellent, of course, but we're also plenty content with the size and quality of the 1br units. We *love* taking our morning coffee up on the rooftop lounge! I guess everyone has their likes and dislikes!

We have been fortunate, we haven't yet stayed in a timeshare that we wouldn't visit again, though there have been properties we wouldn't pay as much for to stay again. We still stay in inexpensive hotels and motels semi frequently, which does a lot to keep us properly grateful when we're able to find a timeshare for a trip ;-)

 

[JohnPaul]

Just out of curiosity, what has been the worst resort you have stayed in? Have you stayed at a timeshare resort that smelled, or was full of bugs, nosiy...

For me, it happens to be The Suites At Fisherman's Wharf, in San Francisco. Don't get me wrong. It was nice, and certainly better than any hotel stay I've ever had. But it was very small and cramped. There seemed to be an overall dampness to the place as well. Personally, I think this resort is the ultimate poster boy for "location, location, location." It was within walking distance to all of the famous San Francisco sights. Although it is an RCI Gold Crown, as well as an II 5-Star resort, I highly doubt it would be rated as high, if it were located in North Dakota.

Anyone else?

Granted that there has been a major update which brings the kitchen and bathroom into the 2020's, but this is one of our favorite properties. One of very few urban timeshares with a kitchen. We love sitting on the balcony and watching the world go by. Could be cozy for 4 (we have done it) but great for 2. Yes, the bathroom is tiny.

And as you mentioned - location

 

[ScoopKona]

I learned through talking to people from Interval that there are old, tired resorts that don't even show up in searches. Turns out that two of them were in a part of England we wanted to visit. So after much wrangling with the people from Interval, "I assure you, I am not going to ask for my exchange fee back," we were allowed to trade there.

Floors were creaky. Stairs were creaky. Doorways were so short I had to duck. And one place had a mattress was too soft for me. But the staff was great. It was like staying at Fawlty Towers, but in a good way. One place sold beer in their onsite pub at giveaway prices. It was a 5 minute walk to a train station. And it turned out to be one of our better trips.

When I returned, I sent a detailed review to Interval and suggested they not only should remain in the network, they should be taken off search list restrictions. They were clean, comfortable, and in great locations.

I checked this last year and one of the two "double-secret-probation" resorts was still in Interval. As of today, just checked, they're both no longer part of the network. And one is scheduled for demolition.

 

[altiste1]

Our worst was late last year at Willowbrook at Lake Harmony. Common areas were filthy, pool was filthy, just about everything in the unit was broken to some degree, the kitchen was very poorly equipped - and all this after they charged us a daily resort fee! But more troubling was the management. We had to call several times to get things fixed - when we we actually got through to the front desk. More than half of our calls to front desk went unanswered. We were there several days after a snowstorm and they still hadn’t cleared the walks and steps - the ice was downright dangerous. We left early, it was so bad, and at checkout we complained about the conditions. They gave us two emails to contact management, which we used to send a detailed review with a request for reimbursement of the resort fee. No response whatsoever.

Yeah, they’re supposed to be renovating those units, but when? And even when that happens, they’ll still have the same terrible management.

 

[nancy6l]

I was told by the resort manager Willowbrook renovations will start December 2023. The resort manager was great. He spent an hour with me personally. We have been coming up here for years

 

[PaulaC]

We've been very fortunate to have only good experiences at most of the properties we've visited. However, our unit at Hyatt's Wild Oak in San Antonio was filthy. The cupboards had cobwebs, the floors were dirty and the shower needed a good cleaning. The manager offered us a free return stay, but we never returned.

 

[cowboy]

Pona Kai on Kauai and Timbers in Idaho

 

[klpca]

Pona Kai on Kauai and Timbers in Idaho

We had an awful unit at Timbers. The bathtub was so gross from old decals that it was almost unusable. If I had had a child with me, there is zero chance that I would have bathed them in that tub. The stairwell was filthy. This was an II exchange. We won't be back.