Polo Towers — Hilton, Help!!

[kaylagator]

We own a deeded red week 2br/2ba (purchased resale) at Polo Towers and paid $3k to have access into the club years ago (and $488 per year for that access). Today we went to a Hilton presentation and they nearly have me scared into a $40k purchase but I’m looking for fact checking if anyone can help before signing the paperwork…

1. We were told that if we don’t move under the protection of HGV Max with a new Hilton purchase, then we are going to be paying a huge bill for special assessments related to the remodel for Hilton upgrade at Polo. We were also told with fewer owners still deeded and not w HGV Max that the charges will be ever higher. Is that true???!

2. Taking into account the equity of Polo Tower, a 1week Platinum 1BR plus (sleep 8) at The Boulevard Las Vegas was offered at $37,995. It also allows us to put the polo points into the max program and use them together, but keep the polo deed. The Purchase is worth around 7600 points in HGVMax and Polo points are 14.5k . Is that a good deal?

3. If we join HGV Max there are no special assessments (ever) for our Polo deed or for the new property they offered us. Also maintenance fee max increase is 1-3%. Are those statements true?

4. If we don’t purchase the new property/join hvg max, we will only be able to use our week as a deeded week and the access to DRI club will no longer be available (as of April!). Is that true?

5. Purchasing new property and joining HGV max brings in the Polo 14.5k points and will mean we have about 22k points. Is that a reasonable number?

6. MF will be The Blvd ($1100) and Polo towers fee (~$1500) but the $488 club fee will drop. Has anyone else done this-is it true?

Please help!! We are trying to make a decision in the next day.

Thank you!!!

 

[cindyc]

Simple answer, don't do it. I can't imagine there would be many special assessments at a Las Vegas property since the risk of hazard is much lower than say, Florida or Hawaii. Plus you own a great property if you ever want to use Destination Exchange. Have you looked at the inventory for that? If your unit is a LockOff you can make it stretch even further. Deeded owners in Destination Exchange owners can often book at Cabo Azult more than 14 months in advance. I booked an April 2025 week last December!

You will find your MF fees will be through the roof if you purchase. Save yourself the money, and if you really want to you can buy yourself a really nice HGVC deed for not much money and have access to the HGVC side of the house. In my opinion, the new BlueGreen properties don't add that much as they are not in locations that appeal to me.

 

[kaylagator]

Simple answer, don't do it. I can't imagine there would be many special assessments at a Las Vegas property since the risk of hazard is much lower than say, Florida or Hawaii. Plus you own a great property if you ever want to use Destination Exchange. Have you looked at the inventory for that? If your unit is a LockOff you can make it stretch even further. Deeded owners in Destination Exchange owners can often book at Cabo Azult more than 14 months in advance. I booked an April 2025 week last December!

You will find your MF fees will be through the roof if you purchase. Save yourself the money, and if you really want to you can buy yourself a really nice HGVC deed for not much money and have access to the HGVC side of the house. In my opinion, the new BlueGreen properties don't add that much as they are not in locations that appeal to me.

Thank you for your response. Navigating the sales pitch was difficult. The main thing that scares us is the idea that Hilton’s renovation of Polo Towers falls on the Polo Tower owners and we would have a huge assessment for that renovation. It didn’t smell right when it was being pitched, but want to know if this is true or will be true once the permits are approved.

 

[letsgobobby]

i'm guessing every single one of the salesman's statements you posted is a lie.

on the hgvc forum 75% of respondents would pay under $500 for Max.

i would run, fast, from this "deal".

is Polo a good deed? i have no idea, but Max for $37,000 isn't going to make it better.

you could give away Polo for nothing and buy two HGVC resale Boulevard deeds for about $12,000. You'd have 22,400 annual points and pay about $2100 in annual fees. So pay about $25,000 less up front and $400 less per year in fees; or have Max. That's what they're actually charging you for Max.

 

[dioxide45]

Please help!! We are trying to make a decision in the next day.

You don't need to rush to a decision. As long as you haven't signed any contract, you have all the time in the world to research this. Take a deep breath and enjoy your vacation and forget about this offer and all the lies that came along with it.

 

[kaylagator]

You don't need to rush to a decision. As long as you haven't signed any contract, you have all the time in the world to research this. Take a deep breath and enjoy your vacation and forget about this offer and all the lies that came along with it.

Thanks and good advice - gonna let it sit a little while and enjoy our last few days. I am stressed about the possibility that a special assessment from Hilton’s remodel will hit the only Polo Towers owners left, but that shouldn’t force me into a $37k decision.

 

[kaylagator]

T

i'm guessing every single one of the salesman's statements you posted is a lie.

on the hgvc forum 75% of respondents would pay under $500 for Max.

i would run, fast, from this "deal".

is Polo a good deed? i have no idea, but Max for $37,000 isn't going to make it better.

you could give away Polo for nothing and buy two HGVC resale Boulevard deeds for about $12,000. You'd have 22,400 annual points and pay about $2100 in annual fees. So pay about $25,000 less up front and $400 less per year in fees; or have Max. That's what they're actually charging you for Max.

Thanks - you make a really compelling argument (and helping me off the ledge lol).

 

[amycurl]

Max won't protect you from a special assessment--it's a exchange platform. You would still own the Polo Tower deed, so would still be on the hook for any SAs down the line. That was most definitely a lie, so don't let your fear of a SA drive your decision.

 

[Venter]

The real test will consist of the following.
Ask them to have it written into into your contract that you will never ever have to pay a special assessment.
My money says they will have all kinds of excuses why this cannot be done.

As mentioned above Max does not own anything it is just an exchange company. If Hilton (timeshare company and not the hotel chain) owns anything at Polo Towers they will have to pay their part of the special assessment just like any other owner and that way the costs will always be shared.