Kaiserin

I did a search but only found information on the Hawaii promotions.

I have gotten a few calls in the past offering a $199 promotion (5 days/4 nights) in Orlando to preview a Marriott timeshare. Normally I turn it down, as I have family in the area I can stay with.

I got another call last night, and I'm contemplating doing it, because it does seem like a good deal ... the rep said the $199 includes taxes, the stay would be at the Residence Inn by Sea World, and the 2 hour pitch is required. She said that we could get either a $100 gift cert, 7500 in Rewards points, or 2 theme park tickets. My husband hasn't been to Disney World before, so I know that'd be worth it ... and I have been burning Rewards points like crazy, so the chances of me accumulating a lot soon are slim.

Has anyone done the Orlando promo? Anything I need to be aware of?

Thanks!
Erin

MCOisHOME2ME

$50/night for the Res Inn ain't too bad, but I'd try to talk them into letting you stay at the timeshare property for that price (Grand Vista). Plus, once you get down here, if you want to take a couple hours each day, you can do the other timeshare companies as well. Both Starwood and Fairfield resorts have been operations here, as well as numerous other ones. Each tour should get you a couple free attraction tickets.

CraigS

It is strange they are putting you up in a hotel and not the property they want you to invest in (unless its not built yet)... very strange.. I have never seen it done that way. I would also insist on staying there-

Kaiserin

The one she was promoting was Horizons ... it's approx. 3 years old (according to a google search!). She said it was targeted towards families ... to be honest, I would have zero interest in staying there, but only because we don't have children ... and I'm not interested in buying a timeshare, so going through the presentation should be fairly easy.

And, oddly enough ... I've never been through a presentation where I got to stay on the property ... I've only been through pitches where I stayed a hotel in the area... I probably don't make enough $$ to qualify for an actual "stay on the property" deal. :-)

I went ahead and agreed to it .. it required a $99 deposit, with $100 due when we select a date ... it'll be cheaper to do this than have a paid stay at the Courtyard airport location the next time we go see family, I suppose!

Thanks for the feedback!

flyerwife

We are doing one in a couple of weeks at the Marriott Cypress Harbour in Orlando...our deal was for 5 days/4 nights for $349 but our accomodations are a 2 br, 2 ba villa with jacuzzi. We are also getting 10k Marriott points and a few other things. The tour is for timeshares at the Grande Vista.

They've been very accomodating with me in changing the dates a few times, and the property looks very nice. My only complaint is that they only told me a few weeks ago what day they had me booked into the 90 minute presentation, and they booked it for 1 pm, which kinda screws up the entire day. (Did a Hilton timeshare once and they were very kind in letting us book for 830 am, so as not to spoil our day. Not the same for Marriott.)

I still feel like we are getting a decent deal, given the accomodations and price, and knowing that we have no intention of buying anything. Most people on FT have said it's a relatively low pressure presentation.

camachinist

A couple of suggestions:

Hold out for a stay at the property. Make it clear that your flexible but would never consider a purchase without actually staying there.

If you do go, keep an open mind but leave your CC in the room. Marriott is usually very low pressure, especially if they see your lack of interest. Their resorts sell themselves. Also, consider perusing the Marriott forum on TUG for some information on the Marriott system before you go. It has helped me a lot.

Find out where and what the gift cert is for. Considering your ambivilence about the other options, that might work best. We were able to make a small purchase with ours (Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach) and got cash back, even though the cert specifically prohibited that.

If your visit does perk your interest, look for private resales or sales from Marriott National Sales. Benefit from the experience of those who bought at the resort Orlando is way overbuilt but there are good opportunites there.

Good luck!

Pat

Triple7

Sorry to be a little off topic, but I have yet to stay at the property I was asked to buy. First was a stay at the Kauai Marriott. We were going to go anyway, so the 5 nights for $399 seemed good. We got there and the presentation was for the Poipu Marriott. Didn't care, but thought it was strange. Got one yesterday for Sheraton Vistana Resort. Called to check dates and they said it was booked, but they'd put us up at the Caribe Royale. What is up with that?

CraigS

I have stayed at the Vistana! It is a GREAT property! Hold out for a stay there!

camachinist

Just keep holding out for an on-site stay....it took us nearly a year.

They wanted a sale; we wanted to stay at NCV. We did, and in a brand new unit. We bought 2 intervals. We wouldn't have otherwise, for sure. The short amount of time in the model wouldn't have even come close.

As a buyer, you're in charge, right up until the moment you sign the contract (well, 3 days after that, in CA anyway)....get what you want beforehand and then decide. The marketing is in the price, including for those who don't buy.

Good luck!

Pat

camachinist

I'm assuming you visited MAW as part of the presentation, or was this pre-construction? If the former, what did you think of it? We're exchanging in this October...

Pat

Triple7

The actual presentation was at Kauai Marriott and then they had an "Open House" at the Poipu property. We didn't go to the open house (too much "quality time" with the Marriott folks for one day!). However, we did go to Poipu beach and do our own tour of the facility. It's a more compact property than the Kauai Marriott and the pool area was not as nice as Kauai, IMO. However, the rooms in Poipu are nicer from what we saw. From what I can remember, there were only high windows in the master bedroom, which seemed kind of wierd.

I am sure you'll have a good time. Just a personal preference for us. If you want more ocean time with the waves and a newer property, Poipu is probably better. We like Kauai Marriott becasue it's spread out, grounds are wonderful. Pool is really great. Rooms are just okay, but for us an acceptable trade off.

camachinist

Thanks for the feedback on Waiohai; your observations jive with what we've heard from other timeshare owners and exchangers. We'll definitely visit Kauai Beach Club while on the island. We enjoy cooking local dishes for ourselves while vacationing and I was a bit hesitant about the Beach Club kitchens, as my understanding is that the units were made out of 2 hotel rooms and had limited kitchens. I do love snorkeling and underwater photography and had heard that Poipu is where to go for that; these two items are what tilted us towards Waiohai, which was much tougher trade than the Beach Club.

We'll see

Pat

Lauren54

Dear Flyerwife

I would suggest calling and asking to have your presentation time changed. We went to HHI in April on a Marriott deal (we were offered the Orlando one you are going on but since we go to Orlando all the time I asked what else was available), anyway - we were booked for a 1 PM and I called and told them I wanted a morning and they changed it to 9 AM so the whole day was not shot. FYI, we ended up buying a pre-construction week at the new Surf Watch which is opening Summer 2005 on HHI.

Lauren

PS for those who are offered hotel stays vs. property - for HHI the original deal had us staying at the Marriott hotel but we asked if we could stay at the time shares and we upgraded by paying an additional charge. It was well worth it - we stayed in a gorgeous 2 BR/2BA unit at Grande Ocean