Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers

Hi,
We sat through a 2 hour sales presentation for the Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers in Las Vegas about a week ago. They showed us a model unit that was very impressive. This was our first timeshare presentation so we insisted that we were there just to look at the model and then go away and make a decision. Ofcourse they didn't like that very much and kept on dropping the price to entice us to buy on the day. We didn't buy but came away thinking that one day we would like to. My question is what do people think about buying into this this project, and at what price. The prices that we were given by the developer ranged from 109k for a 4 bedroom to about 30k for a studio....I have researched some resales and they are lower but still seem a little high when compared to other properties.

Thanks

Buy Timeshares Resale -- Save Thousands.

Rez said:

My question is what do people think about buying into this this project, and at what price.

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If you like it well enough to own there, by all means by a resale unit. Nothing the timeshare company sells at full freight is worth the money.

Some TUG-BBS people who really know their onions about timeshares caution against getting tangled up in any fashion -- full-freight or resale mox nix -- with that particular timeshare company because of its unrelenting sell-sell-sell orientation even after you already own, plus various owner owner-unfriendly policies you can find out about with a little searching around TUG-BBS.

Full Disclosure: We don't own any WestGate timeshares. Not only that, it is extremely unlikely that we ever will. Forewarned is forearmed, etc. -- i.e., we don't have to learn everything the hard way.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

The magic answer - avoid owning anything Wetsgate

Rez said:

Hi,
We sat through a 2 hour sales presentation for the Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers in Las Vegas about a week ago. They showed us a model unit that was very impressive. This was our first timeshare presentation so we insisted that we were there just to look at the model and then go away and make a decision. Ofcourse they didn't like that very much and kept on dropping the price to entice us to buy on the day. We didn't buy but came away thinking that one day we would like to. My question is what do people think about buying into this this project, and at what price. The prices that we were given by the developer ranged from 109k for a 4 bedroom to about 30k for a studio....I have researched some resales and they are lower but still seem a little high when compared to other properties.

Thanks

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Basically the best advice you will hear is stay away from any project with the name Westgate involved. But if you MUST have it be prepared to be treated poorly, have fees and charges you don't expect and aren't in the documents and, most importantly, wait until the resales become common (another year or so after the Tower of Terror actually opens - the cheaper resales NOW predate the doors even opening!) when many disillusioned buyers will be looking to dump this dog, just like they do nearly every other Westgate, for a few pennies on the retail dollar. NEVER buy from retail especially at Westgate.

But again, to assure your satisfaction, ignore the very existence of the Planet Hollywood Tower of Teror except as a trade in using a much more reasonably priced and better operated resort or system. Avoid Westgate.

That some great advice. Thanks...we'll wait a year or so after opening and see what the consencus opinion is among the Planet Hollywood Westgate timeshare owners. It's a shame that Westgate have got such a bad reputation since the location and the units themselves are first class. It's difficult to envisage such great looking condos going for pennies on the dollar!

Those Aren't The Only Ones.

Rez said:

It's difficult to envisage such great looking condos going for pennies on the dollar!

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Shux, take a little time checking out the eBay timeshares.

Some of those are $1 (plus closing etc.) for the whole timeshare unit.

Buy timeshares resale. Save Big Bux !

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Think about it. 109K for one week??????? Anywhere??????????? Plus maintenance fees annually. How would that ever make sense?
To your great credit, you withstood the sales pitch. Timesharing is great, but research and ask questions. There are CHEAP ways to get in the front door.

Think about it. 109K for one week??????? Anywhere??????????? Plus maintenance fees annually. How would that ever make sense?

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You're absolutely right, however in the heat of the moment with emotions running high and a professional sales team applying pressure , I'm sure people have succumbed.

This person was one of them....

http://cgi.ebay.com/One-week-HIGH-R...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

Got To Bet Plenty Of Money To Win Plenty Of Money.

Patri said:

Think about it. 109K for one week??????? Anywhere??????????? Plus maintenance fees annually. How would that ever make sense?

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Maybe the pitch is calculated to have more appeal to those who have just won big at the casino.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Why do you think they wanted you to buy BEFORE you did any research? They knew if you really looked into their prices or their company, you probably would never come back.

Westgate has a history on these forums of not treating their owners/customers very well. High fee's and rule changes without owner imput seem to be the biggest complaints. Westgate has a history of never giving up control of the HOA/BOD so owners never have control of their own resorts.

Funny I should see this for my first post on here. I just returned from Vegas and spent a half day sitting through the timeshare pitch at the Grandview. I am interested in buying a timeshare and think Vegas would be a good spot to own but I wasn't going to buy without researching.

That being said, I had the presentation my first day there so in the back of my head I was looking at what would be a good TS to own in Vegas. I definetly thought PH rated number 1 in Vegas in terms of location and high end quality. I wasn't sure what the yearly fees are or what they are selling for so thats why I came here.

A TS I think is right for me (my wife and myself take 1 or 2 fairly large vacations a year and have a really big 2-3 week trip anywhere in the world coming up) I just want to make sure I buy something that I will have no problem exchanging and where the yearly fees are in line.

For some reason the maint fees seem way too high on TS. I understand they have to keep them gold and new but at say 300 year/week for a 1 bedroom that equates to 15,600 a year per unit and with the number of units that number is insane.

Either way I am here to learn and hopefully I can find a timeshare that will suit my needs

Welcome to TUG!

$300 a week is very very low for a timeshare maintenance fee. Can you get a nice hotel suite or rent a nice 1 bdm. condo for $300 a week? If you can - that's the way I'd go. The top timeshares often have a maintenance fee of $900 a week or more.

I think comparing the maintenance fee to what it would cost you to rent equivalent accommodations is a good way to look at the value. If you can rent the same accommodations for less (considering quality, amenities, and size) then renting is the best way to go.

Good luck!

Well, I was there for 3 hours in November last year.

The maximum price quoted to me for a two bedroom for New Year Eve week was $120,000. I said no, the price kept dropping from two bedroom every year to one bedroom EOY, and then one bedroom EOY weekdays only. The final price was like $13,000. The weekday portion can be exchanged for a week in any Westgate resort.

I took the buffet and show tickets and ran. However, if there is anything in Ebay eventually for a dollar or so, I will go for it. Will it happen? Definitely not for a dollar, but $100 or so will be sufficient.

No doubt, the unit was very impressive, but there is only one tugger thus far has spent ~100K on this property.

Welcome to TUG - I advise keep on reading general timeshare posts here

Each timeshare company has positives and negatives. I own at a very modest Orlando Westgate resort among many other timeshares that I own and see the positives and negatives of the Westgate system. Unfortunately one or two participants on this bulletin board appear to have made it their TUG career and mission in life to trash each and every thing wrong about the Westgate company to the point where it is becoming extremely tiresome to keep hearing the same old "rants and raves" about Westgate every time some potential new timeshare member expresses interest or seeks general information. Because of the sheer magnitude of the Planet Hollywood project and the amount of visitors that come to Las Vegas a lot of potential new timeshare enthusiasts (and potential new TUG members) will have their first introduction to timeshares through Planet Hollywood.
I urge you to join TUG and to read extensively on the bulletin board (you can also do a search on the bulletin board for "Planet Hollywood" and read old posts.) I also urge you to also read extensively especially as to posts of other companies and timeshares where the bulletin board thread do not go "off track" so quickly as do ones regarding Westgate. That way you will get a more balanced impression of timeshares and input into the timeshare experience and the TUG experience overall. Funtime

DrSize said:

For some reason the maint fees seem way too high on TS. I understand they have to keep them gold and new but at say 300 year/week for a 1 bedroom that equates to 15,600 a year per unit and with the number of units that number is insane.

Either way I am here to learn and hopefully I can find a timeshare that will suit my needs

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M/f can be quite high depending on the t/s. $300 a year is actually on the low end of the m/f that owners have to pay & is probably considered extremely reasonable to have a m/f payment in that price range.

There's a lot of good info on TUG that can assist in your decision & save you some $$$$.

Rez said:

Hi,
We sat through a 2 hour sales presentation for the Planet Hollywood Westgate Towers in Las Vegas about a week ago. They showed us a model unit that was very impressive. This was our first timeshare presentation so we insisted that we were there just to look at the model and then go away and make a decision. Ofcourse they didn't like that very much and kept on dropping the price to entice us to buy on the day. We didn't buy but came away thinking that one day we would like to. My question is what do people think about buying into this this project, and at what price. The prices that we were given by the developer ranged from 109k for a 4 bedroom to about 30k for a studio....I have researched some resales and they are lower but still seem a little high when compared to other properties.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Why in the world would anyone want to buy from Planet Hollywood/Westgate (Westgate is virtually going BROKE), when one can stay at the Planet Hollywood Hotel for $49 a night?

Hello???

$49 per night vs $109,000??

Also...for the same price as the yearly maintenance fees ALONE...one can spend 5-10 nights at the PH Hotel per year (whenever you want!) without obviously "buying" anything or being forced to travel a certain week.

PH is a great location...but with zillions of timeshare units going up...as soon as you buy it...it will only be worth 25% from what you paid for it.

Stay at the hotel...don't add a high interest "mortgage" to your portfolio.

PS. Heck..one could stay at Bellagio for a week for 20-30 years for what PH/Westgate is trying to sell their timeshare units for.

We sat through a presentation before they had a model to show there.
They say "they are on the strip" and therefore think they can big $$ for it, but the reality of it is the towers are behind the strip and not really much closer to the strip than the Wyndham Grand Desert that has amazing 2 -4 bedroom presidential suites for a much more reasonable price.

Perhaps they can get a way with calling it on the strip since you might be able to walk to the strip all inside instead of going to the street.

PeelBoy said:

Well, I was there for 3 hours in November last year.

The maximum price quoted to me for a two bedroom for New Year Eve week was $120,000. I said no, the price kept dropping from two bedroom every year to one bedroom EOY, and then one bedroom EOY weekdays only. The final price was like $13,000. The weekday portion can be exchanged for a week in any Westgate resort.

I took the buffet and show tickets and ran. However, if there is anything in Ebay eventually for a dollar or so, I will go for it. Will it happen? Definitely not for a dollar, but $100 or so will be sufficient.

No doubt, the unit was very impressive, but there is only one tugger thus far has spent ~100K on this property.

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The problem with this logic is that the price isn't going down at all, and in fact probably going up. Lowering the price is when they say it's $120,000 for 2B New Years week and when you balk coming back and saying 'ok, how about $90,000 for a 2B New Years week'.

Any timeshare company you look at will start high and go down from there. Not just westgate. I went to a presentation from Hilton a feww months ago and they did the same thing.

funtime said:

Each timeshare company has positives and negatives. I own at a very modest Orlando Westgate resort among many other timeshares that I own and see the positives and negatives of the Westgate system. Unfortunately one or two participants on this bulletin board appear to have made it their TUG career and mission in life to trash each and every thing wrong about the Westgate company to the point where it is becoming extremely tiresome to keep hearing the same old "rants and raves" about Westgate every time some potential new timeshare member expresses interest or seeks general information. Because of the sheer magnitude of the Planet Hollywood project and the amount of visitors that come to Las Vegas a lot of potential new timeshare enthusiasts (and potential new TUG members) will have their first introduction to timeshares through Planet Hollywood.
I urge you to join TUG and to read extensively on the bulletin board (you can also do a search on the bulletin board for "Planet Hollywood" and read old posts.) I also urge you to also read extensively especially as to posts of other companies and timeshares where the bulletin board thread do not go "off track" so quickly as do ones regarding Westgate. That way you will get a more balanced impression of timeshares and input into the timeshare experience and the TUG experience overall. Funtime

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Very well said. At the OP just read the thread and you will see it also.

I own there and have had no problems with the sales staff or anyone else from westgate. But you can get a resale at a much better price than you will get from westgate.

Harvick29 said:

Why in the world would anyone want to buy from Planet Hollywood/Westgate (Westgate is virtually going BROKE), when one can stay at the Planet Hollywood Hotel for $49 a night?

Hello???

$49 per night vs $109,000??

Also...for the same price as the yearly maintenance fees ALONE...one can spend 5-10 nights at the PH Hotel per year (whenever you want!) without obviously "buying" anything or being forced to travel a certain week.

PH is a great location...but with zillions of timeshare units going up...as soon as you buy it...it will only be worth 25% from what you paid for it.

Stay at the hotel...don't add a high interest "mortgage" to your portfolio.

PS. Heck..one could stay at Bellagio for a week for 20-30 years for what PH/Westgate is trying to sell their timeshare units for.

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Why would anyone live in a hotel room rather than in a house, apartment or condo?

Timeshare is not, nor will it ever be, cheaper than renting a hotel room. Sorry to all the timeshare salesman that drink the koolaid the developer is selling but, that's the cold hard fact. 10 years later I can still rent hotel rooms cheaper than my MF's.

BUT, it's still a hotel room. I own timeshare because I want to stay in condo's that have space. I love the living room, kitchen and seperate bedrooms. I'll take that over sleeping in the same room with the kids, sitting on the bed to share one TV, take the spacious bathrooms with walk in showers over the tiny bathroom of a hotel room, take the balony over just a window and have the full kitchen to cook my own meals if/when I choose.

Timeshare is a lifestyle choice, not a money or saving penny pinching choice. There is nothing wrong with taking vacations using hotels. We still use hotels from time to time. We just prefer the timeshare experience and that's why we own timeshare.

I'll agree that no one should add the high interest mortgage to their portfolio but, if you read these forums you'll find that's basic advice given out here. Most people make purchase first and learn later. Almost everyone here falls into that catagory. Most of the advice you'll read on TUG will direct to towards resales and paying cash to own. Not finance $100,000 at 16% interest.

PeelBoy said:

Well, I was there for 3 hours in November last year.

The maximum price quoted to me for a two bedroom for New Year Eve week was $120,000. I said no, the price kept dropping from two bedroom every year to one bedroom EOY, and then one bedroom EOY weekdays only. The final price was like $13,000. The weekday portion can be exchanged for a week in any Westgate resort.

I took the buffet and show tickets and ran. However, if there is anything in Ebay eventually for a dollar or so, I will go for it. Will it happen? Definitely not for a dollar, but $100 or so will be sufficient.

No doubt, the unit was very impressive, but there is only one tugger thus far has spent ~100K on this property.

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If you're refering to who I believe you're refering to, he didn't pay anywhere close to $100,000. The week may have listed for that but, he's a good enough negotiator that wasn't anywhere near his final price. I believe both the manager and salesman actually lost their jobs over the deal they allowed him to cut.

In the end he paid more than I'd have been willing to pay but, as things have played out, if it's the week and unit location he wants, he really didn't do all that bad. Sometimes it's about when/where you want to be rather than how much it takes to get there.

So much money - so little value

dougp26364 said:

If you're refering to who I believe you're refering to, he didn't pay anywhere close to $100,000. The week may have listed for that but, he's a good enough negotiator that wasn't anywhere near his final price. I believe both the manager and salesman actually lost their jobs over the deal they allowed him to cut.

In the end he paid more than I'd have been willing to pay but, as things have played out, if it's the week and unit location he wants, he really didn't do all that bad. Sometimes it's about when/where you want to be rather than how much it takes to get there.

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Taking his word for it? There are strong rumblings in the timeshare community (meaning the Weasel Den) that he paid far more than he was trying to present and that the sales weasels at WGPHTT were viewed as having made a killing - not the other way around as the buyer has tried to say. We'll likely never know for sure but the removal of all postings and the revisionist history applied since the original "announcement and proclamation" tends to support the house winning rather than the customer. Isn't that usually the case?

In any case the allure of the PH Tower of Terror died when the timeshare industry in general and Westgate / overbuilt Las Vegas in particular basically collapsed, if the poor Westgate reputation hadn't already soured it for most. Remember part of the perceived "value" of the resort was that Westgate WASN'T going to manage it - another major error posted as fact. It is under the thumb of Westgate and all the nightmares that carries with it. It may turn out to be a great place to trade into cheap but all signs say you won't want to own there at any price.

Is There Any "There" There ?

timeos2 said:

It may turn out to be a great place to trade into cheap but all signs say you won't want to own there at any price.

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So is this a real, honest-to-goodness timeshare where people can actually check in & stay a week in spacious, luxury accommodations ?

Or is this all smoke & mirrors reflecting something that might or might not be built some day, maybe ?

So far, everything I've read on TUG-BBS about WestGate Planet Hollywood Towers has been highly speculative.

Apparently the high-pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative, truth-stretching sales presentations out there are for real.

Is anything else about Planet Hollywood Towers for real ?

Meanwhile, now that the swap of the old & outmoded Summer Bay Las Vegas timeshare for a new & improved resort nearby is no longer speculation but a fact on the ground, how did that work out ?

Would a cheap trade into the new Summer Bay Las Vegas be recommended ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

We took a tour of the PH Towers yesterday, and the units are over the top with automatic roll down tv projection screens in each room, auto door sensor for the master bedroom, leather sofas, high end cabinetry, etc. With all the amenities of this resort, including the daily room cleaning service, the salesman told us the mf for a 2br plat ey will be under $1,000 annually. When we expressed our surprise, the salesman said that the mf will always be low because the PH casino will fund most of the maintenance fees! Sure...we fully believed that.

Anyway, we were shocked and pleasantly surprised when the salesman ended the meeting after only 45 minutes after the first "no!". That has been the quickest tour we have ever taken.

AwayWeGo said:

So is this a real, honest-to-goodness timeshare where people can actually check in & stay a week in spacious, luxury accommodations ?

Or is this all smoke & mirrors reflecting something that might or might not be built some day, maybe ?

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It's a very real and very tall building. I can see the bright red neon sign from my front yard.

Someone should PM PerryM for a comment