newbie needs help - Mayan Palace Regency

[mempho_to_diego]

hey, i'm new to the boards and got invited to a presentation with my wife (we are both 28), whilst on our honeymoon, in the riveria maya. we just got back yesterday and were there from july 10th, 2009 till july 20th, 2009.

i too bought a "suite mayan palace regency" for a total of $16,900 ... i didn't get on the internet till yesterday and just wanted to poke around and see other peoples feedback on this vacation club ... wow, was i surprised - a lot of negative reviews, i couldn't even sleep last night - i woke up my wife and she got hella pissed!!! she calmed me down and explained this is our first big investment together, and that we are young and if it isn't what we thought, then we can pay off the $16,900 and be done with it ... lesson learned. is this correct?

the other thing i did, was that i did sign a BofA Credit Card in Mexica (Playa del Carmen - Mayan Palace or Grand Mayan or whatever) for $5,915 ... i found out that there was another INTL FEE tax of $177, so my total on the card is $6,092 or something. I have to make the first payment of $60.00 by August 8th, which i am making a payment of $92, so that I can get it even to 6,000 left. (i have a promo rate of a 2.99 APR for about 7 months) - I can definitely pay off this in 7 months ...

what about the $10,985 that I have to send to Mayan Palace Regency for the rest of my vacation club cost? (it says the place that manages the rest would be a place called Summit Opportunities, LLC, an independent company providing payment processing and mailing services - and i'm sure they would send the payments to the Mayan Palace Regency) ... my question - what happens if i don't send them the payment or the loan that i open up for $10,985 (due no later than 10/11/2009)???

i too got the whole HSI thing along with the membership (free for one year, $99 after) - this was my biggest reason for doing it ... not for exchanging weeks into HSI, but actually using their "lowest guarantees" for stuff like burn weeks, AIRPLANE TICKETS, sporting events, cruises, etc ... i read on these boards that this is a sham as well? man, bunch of lies - or is it?

i also let wyndam take our VF weeks for the first five years - this can be renegotiated after the next 5 years ...

the whole contract is renewed after 25 years ... does someone on these boards live in san diego, ca and can review my contract? my biggest question is, is this reasonable with other vacation clubs out there? i know all vacation clubs/timeshares are a rip in some form or fashion, but am i seriously way out there?

 

[DeniseM]

If you are still within the rescission period, you should rescind immediately.

If you tried to rescind, and the resort denied your legal right to do so, you should rescind any way.

Unfortunately, the Mexico timeshares are notorious for these kind of antics.

Please read this article about rescinding, it was written for another resort, but besides that, everything applies to you.

Go ahead and rescind, and state in the letter that you were denied the right to rescind on XYZ date, and have since learned that this is a fraudulent practice and you are demanding your right to rescind now.

I'd also cancel that credit card immediately, and challenge any charges immediately.

 

[aliikai2]

Welcome to TUG,

You have bought a great resort group, you paid the retail price instead of the resale price, but as that is done because you are beyond the rescission period.

We enjoy the Grupo Mayan resorts a lot. We own quite a few of these, as well as the Grand Mayan and are very happy with the group.

The HSI thing, unless something has changed has a small value, at least to us.

Read around here, ask questions, as you read you will fine that the majority of the bad press is about the sales staff, not the organization. And the sales staff does it's job, to bring new owners into the group very, very well.

Congratulations on a lifetime of wonderful travel using your Grupo Mayan owndership.

Oh, the VF weeks will be available, they tell you that you gave them up just to have a reason for a price drop, at least in our experience.

jmho,

Greg

 

[mempho_to_diego]

If you are still within the rescission period, you should rescind immediately.

If you tried to rescind, and the resort denied your legal right to do so, you should rescind any way.

Unfortunately, the Mexico timeshares are notorious for these kind of antics.

Please read this article about rescinding, it was written for another resort, but besides that, everything applies to you.

Go ahead and rescind, and state in the letter that you were denied the right to rescind on XYZ date, and have since learned that this is a fraudulent practice and you are demanding your right to rescind now.

I'd also cancel that credit card immediately, and challenge any charges immediately.

Thanks Denise for the quick response. Unfortunately, i believe my 5-day window has come and gone. We signed on July 11th ... it's already July 21st ... my wife is from Mexico (Spanish) and I am from the USA ... while vacationing, still on our honeymoon, i think around July 14th or 15th, my wife gets a call and talks with an assistant of our sales person (our sales person was awesome and he even owned in the same group, his dad owned a different timeshare and they converted into the Mayan Palace Regency one, blah blah blah ... my wife spoke to him in Spanish and everything) ... anyways, I was asleep and asked her who had called and she told me and I was like "whatever" at the time ... i believe now this was the 5-day window time!!! aghhh ... hmmm, so what good would it be to rescind now if the 5-day window is gone? - by the way, we never tried to rescind while on vacation for our honeymoon, and i don't know about if rescinding is event right - i just want to ensure me and my wife have a good vacation club that can be exchanged, etc? all i have seen are bad reviews, but were are the positive reviews - are there any?

 

[pittle]

Welcome to TUG and the Mayan Palace family of owners. Many (probably most) of us did the same as you and then found the resale market. As Greg said, the resorts are great. You will enjoy them for many years. We love Mayan Palaces so much that we own 4 MP weeks and 2 GM weeks. (GM is the Grand Mayan.)

HSI really does not provide airline tickets. I tried that with mine earlier this year. You have to pay your maintenance fees, give them your week to use for exchange (they are also picky about the week you give them), and then they basically reimburse you for the maintenance fees after subtracting whatever taxes are included in your MF, and then charge a $50 processing fee. Then you buy your own tickets. I had them check on some tickets for me and after searching for lowest fares, they emailed me that Expedia had the best prices for when and where I wanted to go and they could not match it.

If this is the only timeshare that you own, you might be able to use the HSI Burn weeks and Breakaway weeks for additional vacation time somewhere. Since I have many timeshares, I do not need more weeks, so it does not work for me. I transferred our HSI membership to a friend and he loves having it.

 

[mempho_to_diego]

You have bought a great resort group, you paid the retail price instead of the resale price, but as that is done because you are beyond the rescission period.

We enjoy the Grupo Mayan resorts a lot. We own quite a few of these, as well as the Grand Mayan and are very happy with the group.

The HSI thing, unless something has changed has a small value, at least to us.

Read around here, ask questions, as you read you will fine that the majority of the bad press is about the sales staff, not the organization. And the sales staff does it's job, to bring new owners into the group very, very well.

Congratulations on a lifetime of wonderful travel using your Grupo Mayan owndership.

Oh, the VF weeks will be available, they tell you that you gave them up just to have a reason for a price drop, at least in our experience.

jmho,

Greg

Thanks Greg ... they told us this group was #3 on a list, right behind #1 (i forgot the name) and #2 (Manhattan group) and that the owner and sales people take this very, very seriously. they also despise the word "timeshare" and mentioned how they are more than a timeshare ... again, probably more words - but i don't know right now - i guess you can say i have the "buyer's remorse syndrome" right now and everything is in my head ...

yep, i have the "red week" classification with 1 week per year and 1 "VF" (vacation fare) per year, for the next 25 years.

i also have an addendum to my clause 4 ...

clause 4 states:

During the first 5 years of my agreement i agree to pay to company an annual maintenance fee for each registered week. After the fifth year and until expiration of the agreement, i agree to pay to company an annual maintenance fee for each week reserved or deposited, paid by February 28th of the year in which i will use the week. I also agree to pay a renovation fee every 5 years equivalent to one and a half times the then current maintenance fee per registered week owned. - SEE ADD

my SEE ADD is basically an addendum to clause 4 which is a "waiver of mandatory maintenance fees" which goes on to state that:

Paragraph 4 (clause 4) is amended to provide that annual maintenance fees applicable to registered weeks shall be paid by Member to Company only with respect to registered weeks actually used by Member. A registered week shall be considered used when a Member makes a reservation or requests spacebanking for exchange purposed. The annual Maintenance Fee shall be paid either prior to or at the time of the reservation or space banking request.

so with that said, does that sound like a good deal? also, i understand the renovation maintenance fee of one and one half times my current annual maintenance fee per week (set at $559 at time of contract) - so every year i would be looking at paying around $900 ... this could go up or down (most likely up) every five years, correct? so that is an additional $5000 for the entire 25 years ...

so again, does that sound like a good deal ... iono. i'm new to tug and the vacation club business ...

 

[John Cummings]

We have stayed at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya several times and the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta. We always stay 2 week at a time. They are awesome resorts and in fact are our favorites of our 22 years of timesharing. We are not owners but always exchange into them through San Francisco Exchange. We have never done a sales presentation but have heard that they are pretty horrific. They never pressured us to do one when we told them we weren't interested.

I have never heard of "Mayan Palace Regency" before. Is it something new? I would definitely never buy any resort associated with Wyndham nor any timeshare in Mexico.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks Denise for the quick response. Unfortunately, i believe my 5-day window has come and gone.

In the other thread, you stated that you tried to rescind within the rescission period, and were denied by the resort. If that is true, then I believe you still may be able to rescind, if you fight it. I would try if it was me.

i don't know about if rescinding is event right - i just want to ensure me and my wife have a good vacation club that can be exchanged, etc?

If you can rescind, you should. You can buy the same thing on the resale market, for pennies on the dollar. Rescinding is a completely legal way to cancel the purchase. Please see the article I linked above.

The fact that you financed it, is a major reason for rescinding. This is a depreciating luxury purchase that isn't worth 1/10 of what you are paying for it. If you rescind, you can do your homework, make an informed purchase with no pressure, and pay cash!

 

[aliikai2]

You will need to read alot, keep going back into the past

here and
http://www.timeshareforums.com/forums/royals-mayan-palace-resorts/

Quite a few of us own these, and are very happy with them. If your wife is Mexican, you should do very well at these resorts, as even for us when use my little spanish, the staff is always so pleased that we have taken the time to try to learn to speak their language.

Not to disagree with Denise, her advice is based upon the many people that come here trying to get out of the deal they made, where as you are simply looking for assurance that you haven't done something really dumb, and you haven't.
Your wife is correct, you are both young, and for the next 25 years of use you will travel in style.

fwiw,

Greg

.. hmmm, so what good would it be to rescind now if the 5-day window is gone? - i just want to ensure me and my wife have a good vacation club that can be exchanged, etc? all i have seen are bad reviews, but were are the positive reviews - are there any?

 

[mempho_to_diego]

Welcome to TUG and the Mayan Palace family of owners. Many (probably most) of us did the same as you and then found the resale market. As Greg said, the resorts are great. You will enjoy them for many years. We love Mayan Palaces so much that we own 4 MP weeks and 2 GM weeks. (GM is the Grand Mayan.)

thanks pittle ... i've read a ton of your comments on these boards before i registered today ... i also notice your KU avatar in your signature ... as you can tell from my screen name, i am a memphian but not live in san diego (hence mempho_to_diego), and your KU team haunts me to this day - 2008 championship game!!! aghhhhhhh
[/quote]

If this is the only timeshare that you own, you might be able to use the HSI Burn weeks and Breakaway weeks for additional vacation time somewhere. Since I have many timeshares, I do not need more weeks, so it does not work for me. I transferred our HSI membership to a friend and he loves having it.

this is the only timeshare we own, and we basically won't be buying another one or attending another presentation ... like i've stated, my wife and I are both 28 and just recently married. we are new to this stuff and i want to find out as much as i can ... it's good to see that i have found posters stating that the Mayan Palaces are a great resort ... we plan on visiting Mexico often, since my wife is from Mexico ... but we also want to travel and see the world, so please, please, please give me the best option on how to use my one week per year i have with the Mayan Palace Regency ... which service should i use, RCI or SFX -> and where can I go with this? I know there is a lot of information out there and on these forums, and I am reading it thoroughly, but i want to read statements from actual posters claiming what they think a 28 year old, recently married couple should do.

also, it seems i should go ahead and get a loan for the $11,000 i still owe to Mayan Palace Regency, correct?

 

[mempho_to_diego]

i wanted to add to my quote to pittle, we have one timeshare/vacation club which is what this thread is about. with HSI, they gave us 10 wholesale-priced weekes over a period of 10 years - and this is listed under the "Your HSI Breakaway Week" ... so with this, can my wife and I send our family to the Mayan Palace Riveria Maya (playa del carmen location) location and all they would have to pay is the $559 mainteance USE FEE for the week they stay? If so, that sounds cool ... what else can you do with these breakaway weeks ...

I definitely want to take advantage of the unlimited BURN WEEKS we get, since again we only have one vacation club and 1 week per year. this is the one thing i want to learn about - i think i read that they advertised things as low as $100 bucks during the presentation, but I honestly didn't expect to get that rate at an awesome place, say Venetian in Vegas, for a week - with the same type of room that we have @ the Mayan Palace (suite) ... but are there good deals to be had using this BURNWEEKS thing on HSI? You say your friend enjoys it pittle ... do you know what kind of deals he has gotten and to which places? any help would be much appreciated!

i guess i have this first year to play around with it since my fee is waived, but its only $99 after ... but i definitely want to see some value ... again pittle, let me know what kind of deals your friend has gotten so far!

 

[aliikai2]

Thanks Greg ... they told us this group was #3 on a list, right behind #1 (i forgot the name) and #2 (Manhattan group) and that the owner and sales people take this very, very seriously. they also despise the word "timeshare" and mentioned how they are more than a timeshare ... again, probably more words - but i don't know right now - i guess you can say i have the "buyer's remorse syndrome" right now and everything is in my head ...

yep, i have the "red week" classification with 1 week per year and 1 "VF" (vacation fare) per year, for the next 25 years.

i also have an addendum to my clause 4 ...

clause 4 states:


my SEE ADD is basically an addendum to clause 4 which is a "waiver of mandatory maintenance fees" which goes on to state that:

You did well, most of the newer contracts don't have the waiver clause

so with that said, does that sound like a good deal? also, i understand the renovation maintenance fee of one and one half times my current annual maintenance fee per week (set at $559 at time of contract) - so every year i would be looking at paying around $900 ...

Based upon the $559, you can figure that every 5 years you will pay an additional $838.50, so if you divide that by 5 it is another $167.70 or an annual cost of $726.70. Considering the great services and resorts, a fair value, imho,

Greg

[/QUOTE]

this could go up or down (most likely up) every five years, correct? so that is an additional $5000 for the entire 25 years ...

so again, does that sound like a good deal ... iono. i'm new to tug and the vacation club business ...[/QUOTE]

 

[mempho_to_diego]

aliikai2, i have been reading that timeshareforums site you linked earlier in the thread ... i came across this thread titled: "Dear RCI" ... located here: http://www.timeshareforums.com/forums/rci/87808-dear-rci.html

so, to all the posters of these forums - what would you recommend me and my wife use? RCI or SFX for exchanging our weeks? It seems one (i believe RCI has a 1 in 5 rules - what is that again) wheras the other doesn't ... to people who have used both, which one is better and why?

 

[mempho_to_diego]

We have stayed at the Grand Mayan - Riviera Maya several times and the Grand Mayan - Nuevo Vallarta. We always stay 2 week at a time. They are awesome resorts and in fact are our favorites of our 22 years of timesharing. We are not owners but always exchange into them through San Francisco Exchange. We have never done a sales presentation but have heard that they are pretty horrific. They never pressured us to do one when we told them we weren't interested.

I have never heard of "Mayan Palace Regency" before. Is it something new? I would definitely never buy any resort associated with Wyndham nor any timeshare in Mexico.

hey John ...

Mayan Palace Regency may be the same thing as Grand Mayan ... as I believe it, the Grand Mayan is the more exclusive resort (with bands etc for certain areas) and the Mayan Palace area has its area but GM members can use the MP members facilities - help me out if i'm wrong here ... the "Regency" part is all over their forms, paperwork, binders, etc that my wife and I had brought home with us from our "20-hour" presentation!

we won't be doing anything with the wyndham ... they took our first five years of VF and i believe reduced the price of our vacation club to the price it is of $16,900 ... this can be done again in 5 years if we want to deal with them directly ... if not, the 5 VF years become ours again ..

 

[pittle]

Small world - I grew up in the Memphis area and went to University of Memphis (it was called Memphis State University then). Then moved to northeast Kansas to work and became a huge KU basketball fan.

I have both SFX and RCI memberships to use with my Grupo Mayan resorts ownerships. Both have good points and both have an "extra" vacation type program where you do not have to exchange a week, you just buy one for about the same price as the annual maintenance fees. This is similar to the HSI Breakaway weeks. All of these extra vacations are great ways to take family members along.

• SFX always gives you one or 2 bonus weeks that you can use to go to non-Mayan Palace resorts. SFX has a free membership and a paid one. You can read about SFX on the TS4M's site that Greg told you about. There is an employee of SFX that posts on that site. He answers questions and posts specials. (Right now they have a dynamite MP special that you can buy a week for a great price.) I have used them some, but occasionally, when plans change, I want to book back into a MP or GM resort and SFX does not allow that. There is a fee for exchanges.
• RCI is larger than SFX, so they have a lot more places to exchange with. I have made many great exchanges through them. RCI allows owners to use a deposit to book into another MP or GM. You can sometimes get a larger unit for the exchange. You can also buy the extra vacations that way. There is a fee for exchanges.

I personally think the "don't pay unless you use" program is good. Sometimes you just cannot go on vacation and once you pay the maintenance fees, you feel obligated to go or you need to deposit your week to use sometime in the next 2 years. Everyone does not have that in their contract, so it is a plus. We are really glad to have it on all but one of our MP contracts.

Your family can use your week. Once you have your VF weeks back, you can book them a unit using VF week and they can go when you do using your regular week or some other time. Our family often travels with us and we go for multiple weeks, so sometimes we do use the VF weeks.

Once you get all your HSI information, you can start perusing the HSI website. Breakaway weeks are about the cost of maintenance fees (generally rounded up). Burn weeks get cheaper the closer it gets to the date of travel. Very few get to the $100 range. If they do, last minute airfare may offset your savings.

Mayan Palace Regency is one of the levels of the Mayan Palace. They all use the same Mayan Palace units, but depending on the "perks" & price it could be called Mayan Palace, Mayan Palace Regency, or Bliss. They started the Mayan Palace Regency a few years ago and have recently started Bliss. These usually have something to do with the rental programs that are offered.

The Grand Mayan has larger units and is more upscale and costs more. GM has the large decks and other perks added that MP does not have. Most water parks are exclusive to the GM owners. At Mayan Riviera, the waterpark is actually going to be over between the MP units.

Mayan Palace & Grand Mayan are NOT part of Wyndham. Wyndham is affiliated with RCI. MP/GM does give Wyndham developer weeks to rent so they can get some "fresh meat" for the tours.

 

[DeniseM]

After some pm-ing back and forth with the OP, I have discovered that I completely misunderstood, and he did not try to rescind.


So ignore my off-base advice, and listen to to the other great advice you are getting in this thread!

 

[mempho_to_diego]

Small world - I grew up in the Memphis area and went to University of Memphis (it was called Memphis State University then). Then moved to northeast Kansas to work and became a huge KU basketball fan.

oh nooooooooo ... a UofM alumni pulling for the JayHawks - say it isn't so!!!! :ignore: haha ... i'm sure you had a ball during the 2008 championship then ...


great explanation on the following:

Mayan Palace Regency is one of the levels of the Mayan Palace. They all use the same Mayan Palace units, but depending on the "perks" & price it could be called Mayan Palace, Mayan Palace Regency, or Bliss. They started the Mayan Palace Regency a few years ago and have recently started Bliss. These usually have something to do with the rental programs that are offered.

The Grand Mayan has larger units and is more upscale and costs more. GM has the large decks and other perks added that MP does not have. Most water parks are exclusive to the GM owners. At Mayan Riviera, the waterpark is actually going to be over between the MP units.

Mayan Palace & Grand Mayan are NOT part of Wyndham. Wyndham is affiliated with RCI. MP/GM does give Wyndham developer weeks to rent so they can get some "fresh meat" for the tours.

for this quote, see my response below:

I have both SFX and RCI memberships to use with my Grupo Mayan resorts ownerships. Both have good points and both have an "extra" vacation type program where you do not have to exchange a week, you just buy one for about the same price as the annual maintenance fees. This is similar to the HSI Breakaway weeks. All of these extra vacations are great ways to take family members along.

• SFX always gives you one or 2 bonus weeks that you can use to go to non-Mayan Palace resorts. SFX has a free membership and a paid one. You can read about SFX on the TS4M's site that Greg told you about. There is an employee of SFX that posts on that site. He answers questions and posts specials. (Right now they have a dynamite MP special that you can buy a week for a great price.) I have used them some, but occasionally, when plans change, I want to book back into a MP or GM resort and SFX does not allow that. There is a fee for exchanges.
• RCI is larger than SFX, so they have a lot more places to exchange with. I have made many great exchanges through them. RCI allows owners to use a deposit to book into another MP or GM. You can sometimes get a larger unit for the exchange. You can also buy the extra vacations that way. There is a fee for exchanges.

I personally think the "don't pay unless you use" program is good. Sometimes you just cannot go on vacation and once you pay the maintenance fees, you feel obligated to go or you need to deposit your week to use sometime in the next 2 years. Everyone does not have that in their contract, so it is a plus. We are really glad to have it on all but one of our MP contracts.

Your family can use your week. Once you have your VF weeks back, you can book them a unit using VF week and they can go when you do using your regular week or some other time. Our family often travels with us and we go for multiple weeks, so sometimes we do use the VF weeks.

Once you get all your HSI information, you can start perusing the HSI website. Breakaway weeks are about the cost of maintenance fees (generally rounded up). Burn weeks get cheaper the closer it gets to the date of travel. Very few get to the $100 range. If they do, last minute airfare may offset your savings.

pittle, how do i go about finding out about my Mayan Palace weeks? Will that come in the mail as well ... thanks for the breakdown with SFX and RCI ... I received memberships to both, SFX is free (gold) but more $$$ for platinum, and I believe RCI is free for the first two years ... anyways, i can play around with these, but i definitely want to be sure that if i exchange my one week i have with MP per year, that I get the most bang for the week ...

 

[pittle]

pittle, how do i go about finding out about my Mayan Palace weeks? Will that come in the mail as well ... thanks for the breakdown with SFX and RCI ... I received memberships to both, SFX is free (gold) but more $$$ for platinum, and I believe RCI is free for the first two years ... anyways, i can play around with these, but i definitely want to be sure that if i exchange my one week i have with MP per year, that I get the most bang for the week ...

You will get a bill for your 2010 Maintenance Fees in December saying they are due by the end of February. But, since you have the pay if you go option don't pay your mf until you make a reservation.

As a MPR owner, you have what is called a floating week. That means that you can choose when & where you go - you do not have an assigned week or unit.

You can book 6 months out. If you wanted to go somewhere for your 1st Anniversary, then in January, you contact MP to book your time. You can do this online or by calling the 1-800-AWAY-I-GO toll-free number. If you want to go in February or March, you have to book on the 1st day of August for February and 1st day of September for March. These two months are the hardest to get because EVERYONE seems to want to go in the winter. Now that I live in Arizona, it is nice here then, so we are more flexible. When we lived in Kansas, I was on the internet around midnight CST and if I had not booked anything, I was calling on speed dial by 7 AM. I always did get the week and place I wanted, but sometimes had to go on Sunday or Friday instead of Saturday.

 

[John Cummings]

hey John ...

Mayan Palace Regency may be the same thing as Grand Mayan ... as I believe it, the Grand Mayan is the more exclusive resort (with bands etc for certain areas) and the Mayan Palace area has its area but GM members can use the MP members facilities - help me out if i'm wrong here ... the "Regency" part is all over their forms, paperwork, binders, etc that my wife and I had brought home with us from our "20-hour" presentation!

Yes, you are correct.

My wife is also from Mexico and is a dual citizen of Mexico and the US. She is from Culiacan, Sinaloa where we were married 45 years ago next month. We lived in Mexico for 4 years. I also worked in Vera Cruz. I am fluent in Spanish. All her family, except for 1 niece in Chula Vista, live in Mexico and we visit frequently. One of my biggest pleasures is conversing with the local folks. We have made several friends with the employees at the Grand Mayans. Where in Mexico is your wife from?

We have stayed at several other timeshares in Mexico including the Royals but the Grand Mayans are our favorites.

I see that you live in San Diego. We lived there for many years. We now live just up I-15 where we moved when I retired in 2005.

 

[John Cummings]

As I said before we always exchange into the Grand Mayans through SFX. We are Platinum members and can request our weeks up to 18 months in advance and there are no restrictions on how often we can go. We have gone every year for the past 5 years for 2 consecutive weeks each year. We haven't decided yet for 2010. If we go, it will be to the Grand Mayan-Riviera Maya for 2 weeks in April as usual.

 

[mempho_to_diego]

Yes, you are correct.

My wife is also from Mexico and is a dual citizen of Mexico and the US. She is from Culiacan, Sinaloa where we were married 45 years ago next month. We lived in Mexico for 4 years. I also worked in Vera Cruz. I am fluent in Spanish. All her family lives in Mexico and we visit frequently. One of my biggest pleasures is conversing with the local folks. We have made several friends with the employees at the Grand Mayans. Where in Mexico is your wife from?

We have stayed at several other timeshares in Mexico including the Royals but the Grand Mayans are our favorites.

my wife is from queretaro, mx ... we got married there may 16th ... had our civil marriage in san diego on june 20th, and we are actually gettin' married a third time in october for my religion, hinduism (yep, I'm Indian - but born in the states) ... so crazy stuff.

queretaro, mx was definitely fun.

 

[mempho_to_diego]

You will get a bill for your 2010 Maintenance Fees in December saying they are due by the end of February. But, since you have the pay if you go option don't pay your mf until you make a reservation.

As a MPR owner, you have what is called a floating week. That means that you can choose when & where you go - you do not have an assigned week or unit.

You can book 6 months out. If you wanted to go somewhere for your 1st Anniversary, then in January, you contact MP to book your time. You can do this online or by calling the 1-800-AWAY-I-GO toll-free number. If you want to go in February or March, you have to book on the 1st day of August for February and 1st day of September for March. These two months are the hardest to get because EVERYONE seems to want to go in the winter. Now that I live in Arizona, it is nice here then, so we are more flexible. When we lived in Kansas, I was on the internet around midnight CST and if I had not booked anything, I was calling on speed dial by 7 AM. I always did get the week and place I wanted, but sometimes had to go on Sunday or Friday instead of Saturday.

makes sense phyllis ... by the way, i became an official TUG member a few hours ago ... that other website has some nice stuff on their as well ...

this is what i want to do with my "week" ... my wife and I are hard working and young and definitely can't take week-long vacations like most every single year ... we are actually goin' to tone it down in 2010 because 2009 has definitely been hectic ... anyways, with that said, which exchange company can break my week into say "nights" ... like if i wanted to get away for a weekend, starting on a thursday (e.g., thursday thru sunday) ... so would my week get broken down like this:

week 1a: thursday night thru sunday (total of 3 nights)
week 1b: wednesday night thru sunday (total of 4 nights)

week 1a and week 1b total to 7 total nights, which equals one week ... is that even possible? i don't know!!!

 

[Idahodude]

Neither RCI Weeks or SFX can break up the week like you are requesting. RCI points can do so (and you could deposit your MP weeks there if they're still doing points for deposit (PFD)), but you'd need to purchase a timeshare that participates in RCI points, which MP doesn't (yet).

You may be able to get some accomodation in splitting your weeks directly through Grupo Mayan. When I purchased my contract with them, we had a provision to split our weeks if we wanted to use them in Puerto Penasco. You could check with them. Otherwise, RCI and SFX basically require you to use your week all at once.

Hope that helps. We've actually been satisfied with our MP Regency week, but I just wish I would have bought it resale. Live and learn.

 

[mempho_to_diego]

Neither RCI Weeks or SFX can break up the week like you are requesting. RCI points can do so (and you could deposit your MP weeks there if they're still doing points for deposit (PFD)), but you'd need to purchase a timeshare that participates in RCI points, which MP doesn't (yet).

You may be able to get some accomodation in splitting your weeks directly through Grupo Mayan. When I purchased my contract with them, we had a provision to split our weeks if we wanted to use them in Puerto Penasco. You could check with them. Otherwise, RCI and SFX basically require you to use your week all at once.

Idahodude, I recieved the same provision to split our weeks @ the Puerto Penasco resort ...

Hope that helps. We've actually been satisfied with our MP Regency week, but I just wish I would have bought it resale. Live and learn.

exactly what I have learned, after the fact ... i will definitely warn my friends and family to not fall victim to these retail prices ... anyways, these boards have definitely opened my eyes and i have finally accepted what has transpired in two weeks ... things could definitely be way worse, so that's why i am taking it easily ...

 

[pittle]

From San Diego, you could drive to Puerto Penasco using the split weeks. None of our contracts have that option (it is fairly new) and now that we live just west of Phoenix, it is a 4 hour drive to PP. We have gone down there 5 times in 2 years.