GetawaysRus

Maybe I am more cynical than you, but I am not at all pleased with the idea of Pulse. My wife and I do own one traditional timeshare week from Marriott. We did not buy into any points in their newer Destination Club, so we are called legacy owners.

The reason we bought the timeshare (way back in 2004) is that it offered a very different vacation experience than a hotel. The timeshare units are spacious, more like an apartment than a hotel room. We have a kitchen, so if my wife wants to have a leisurely morning and drink her coffee slowly, we don't have to dress and go out in search of breakfast. The properties are nicely landscaped, and we can go for a long, relaxing walk. Yes we do take vacations where we run around to see all the tourist sights, but our timeshare weeks are different.

I have not stayed at a Pulse location yet. But to me, these look like warmed over hotels. They just don't tempt me. And if I want to go to these cities, there are plenty of other hotels to choose from. Personally, I am disappointed that MVC has not built any new traditional timeshare properties.

Here is my spin on what is happening with MVC: the company wants to keep selling Destination Club points. But in order to sell points, they need enough room inventory to cover those sales. It must be cheaper for them to buy an existing hotel and rebrand it as a Pulse property than to build a new traditional timeshare property from the ground up. I have also noticed that some of the traditional timeshare properties have room for expansion, but again I suspect that new construction would be more costly than purchasing an existing hotel.

I know that timeshares get criticized, but for those of us who do make use of them and enjoy them, I think this Pulse program is a disappointing development.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Jailer

I thought that it was a great property, well within walking distance of Petco Stadium to see a game, and while the $40 parking was a bit harsh, the room rate was under anything else on offer that day. The room was plenty nice and could have easily accommodated two kids if I was on family time, not business. The staff could not have been friendlier or more accommodating, and I'd consider the property in the future, all things equal.

rylan

Yes in general I am not thrilled by the Pulse brand either... they are basically refurbished hotels, so are missing a lot of the amenities that the traditional vacationclub resorts have.
If you can get a good cash deal on them, then it is worth it, but as far as the MVC program I would not spend points or trade a week to go to one.

sethMCOflyer

Stayed at this location over the weekend. I paid $180/night which is a decent deal for the location.

It's right next to the beach, cross the street, walk across the park, and you're there. The rooms come with a little beach cart that comes with chairs, umbrella, and towels which was a great touch.

The room is decent, not cramped but not huge. There's a small little kitchen area and a great bathroom. Bed was comfy!

The breakfast was pretty disappointing aside from the coffee. You fill out a card the day before with what you want and they bring it to your room which sounded great. They brought the box and it was all individually wrapped food items that you would typically get at a podunk gas station in the middle of no where. They should go to Publix and buy some fresh bagels and muffins.

Wifi was non-existent in my room. It appears to only cover the lower floors.

They have a happy hour from 5-6pm with free beer, sangria, and snacks. This was a nice touch considering a beer will cost you $6 at any place nearby.

The service level was pretty low, check in is a hard 4pm. The friendliest person in the lobby is the lady trying to sell timeshares. They never asked if I wanted suggestions on things to do or places to eat. Also a top tip, if you tell the timeshare sales team you don't own your place of residence they will leave you alone. All of the presentation deals are contingent upon you having a household income of >$100k and owning your residence.

Overall I'd give it a 3.5/5. It's not great but it's not bad. I'd stay there again as long as the price was right. The area is pretty nuts, great if you like clubbing and the beach but not the best if you just want to relax.

lskohn

Unfortunately, one year later this is still true. Spent the weekend at Pulse NYC and was completely underwhelmed. Service not up to the level of a FS Marriott: no vending machine or food and notions market a la the Springhill Suites next door, housekeeping failed to refill tissues, toiletries or coffee service, turndown service only one out of 3 nights, elevators get slammed with tourists going to the rooftop bar (they have security at the elevators on weekend nights to handle the crowds - no way to prevent bar-goers from getting off on hotel room floors) Our room (king bed) did not have a desk area to work at.

Security does seem to be an issue - the cramped lobby was over-filled with uniformed types. All friendly but tiresomely so. More important, our in-room safe had been compromised - it was not attached in the closet and could have been slipped into a suitcase and removed from the room. I didn't discover this until I went to open the safe and the faceplate (with the press buttons, LED display, and an AA-battery holder) came off in my hand! Looking more closely, I saw that there were deep gouges where someone had apparently pried off the faceplate at some point, rendering the safe completely insecure. Called front desk and they replaced the faceplate, gouges still visible, but at least they bolted the safe into the closet. Can't imagine why that wasn't done during original installation, but I'll never again use an in-room safe without a more thorough inspection.

Not a recommended Marriott or MVC property.

HookEm

Isn't that the case with all of South Beach?

jr1202sr

South Beach isn't all a party scene. It really depends time of year and time of day. It really also depends on where you are staying. You can't make a blanket statement about SoBe. We are going this weekend with the kids and do frequently. Lots of very nice parks on the beach, golf course, museums, etc. The boardwalk is one of the nicest walks you find. Stay at the Stanton if you can. Very good Lounge and in a quieter part of the beach (south of 5th).

dsperling

I concur... with all the Marriott property choices in the city, I would NOT stay here again! Just completed a 4 night stay (Wednesday - Sunday) on Vacation Club Points that would have otherwise expired at the end of the year (so I at least have that going for me). First of all, the rooms are tiny compared to what I remember of the Marriott Marquis (although it has been a couple years since I stayed there).
On Friday, our room wasn't cleaned until sometime after 6:00 pm (while we were out for the evening). Upon returning from dinner, we DID find a cleaned room, but I also found that some loose change was taken from the dresser! The night before, as I always do, I had dumped all the pocket change accumulated during the day onto the dresser. I didn't count it, but do know that there were a number of quarters along with a few nickels and a bunch of pennies. Friday night, though... the quarters were gone. Really!?!
That's annoying enough, but what bugged us even more was that when we attempted to go up to the "famous" rooftop bar at around 12 pm on Friday night, we were immediately asked to leave as they were "closing early that night". ON A FRIDAY NIGHT? Anyway, we still had one more chance on Saturday to check it out... right?... WRONG! Mid-day on Saturday a sign appeared in the lobby stating that the rooftop lounge would be closed Saturday night. (Later, the front desk clerk mumbled something about them not having the staff to open it.) Anyway... major fail!
I won't be back at this property and will probably have to think twice about staying at any "urban" MVC Pulse property.

t1c

Hmmm... I will be there this week... I will check a few things out.