fredcharles

I'm thinking about buying one. Two weeks
15,000 and 15,000 pts each year. If you have brought into one of Marriott's Vacation club please post the good and the bad about getting one.

slpflyer

We own two weeks, one at Heritage Club on Hilton Head and one at Ocean Pointe in West Palm/Singer Island. We have loved our week at HH, having owned it since pre-construction. We haven't been to Ocean Pointe yet. You can go to www.tug2.com for lots more on the Marriott board there. If you don't have a contact/referral for when you buy, please consider contacting me for the info. BTW, the TUG2 board also has info on stay packages to entice you to go and stay!

jerseyfinn

I'd suggest that you check out TUG (timeshare users group)at http://www.tug2.net/

The bulletin Board on TUG has a dedicated section for Marriott owners where you could find lots of opinions and suggestions from other owners.

To access the BBS you must register, but registration is free. TUG is itself a good resource for anyonoe who owns a timeshare or is considering the idea.

We own 2 weeks at Marriotts Ocean Pointe and are very pleased with our ownership. We reccomend Marriott highly.

good luck

Barry

highdiveone

We own two weeks at the Marriott Newport Beach villas in Platinum season (June-Dec,ex 4th July week and Christmas week)and are very happy with them.
A few words of caution: Be very selective when you select your week(s)/ check out benefits of buying more than one week, in our case they are MAJOR, e.g., you can reserve 13 months in advance (12 if own one week)/exchange advantages/contruction plans/
Good luck!

yyzflyer

Didn't investigate the timeshare opportunity while spending several days at this property last March, but it is a beautiful place. If I were in the market for a timeshare this would be the first place I would look. You are very fortunate.

Cholula

We bought 3 weeks pre-construction at the Maui Ocean Club. Been very happy with the experience! We've used each of the units, have traded them once for points and have banked a couple with Interval International. When I was there last summer, I checked pricing with the sales office and prices are up 25% over what we paid. Unusual for prices to go up on a "timeshare" but these are, of course, shared ownership units which is a whole different animal.
Thanks to jerseyfinn re: the TUG...wasn't aware of it's presence.

[This message has been edited by Cholula (edited 01-06-2003).]

socrates

You'll love Ocean Pointe....just returned from 2nd stay there...it's terrific

BeantownFlyer

I think you do far better simply paying to stay rather than buying. If you own, you get no maid service, unless you pay extra, must pay the upfront purchase cost (or finance it) and pay yearly maintenance charges than run as much as $100/nt. If you simply pay to stay you get daily maid service, and avoid the other costs, plus you get points for what you spend. Timeshares are generally not good investments - it is unlikely your investment will appreciate (look at resale prices now). So while I agree with the comments on the quality of the facility, and have enjoyed stays at many different Vaction Club locations, unless you want to be able to say that you own a second home, there is little economic advanatge to a purchase.

Dave M

True, a timeshare is generally not a good investment. Neither is a car. Or many other things I buy. But there are many offsets....

• I like the certainty of having "my own place" on an annual basis.
• I like the luxury of the spacious 1,200+ sq. ft. of a typical Marriott timeshare week.
• I like being able to exchange my week for a week almost anywhere in the world if I so choose.
• I like Marriott's internal trading advantage, under which I (and other Marriott timeshare owners) have exclusive first rights at Marriott weeks that other owners have decided to put in the trading pool - before non-Marriott owners can reserve such weeks.
• I like the opportunity to trade my year's usage for 80,000 to 125,000 or so Marriott Reward points, assuming I purchased my week from Marriott.
• I like the idea of being "forced" to take a week away from work and take that great vacation.
• I like the high quality that Marriott provides. (No it's not the Ritz. But it's typical Marriott quality, often with a little more luxury and added amenities. A sunken whirlpool tub along with a separate shower in the master bath. Double sinks in the master bath. Three TVs. A full kitchen. A dining room table for eight. Etc.)
• I like Marriott's track record of market values for timeshares. I could sell either of my Hilton Head Grande Ocean or Boston Custom House timeshare weeks today for more than I paid, even after deducting Marriott's 25% commission, should I sell through Marriott. (This is a bonus, because timeshares are lousy investments!)
• Great timeshare resort locations. Such as on the beach. Or on the ski slopes. Or downtown in Boston. Or on the golf course.
• It’s almost free! That’s not really true. But it seems so. Why? Because I treat my original purchase price as a sunk cost, just as I do for my car or clothes or many other things I can buy. And yes, it costs us about $100 per night (in the form of annual maintenance fee) to own the week each year. But I have a vacation style that I would otherwise miss out on because I wouldn’t be able to justify to myself the $300-$400 per night cost of renting a two/three bedroom condo on the beach during high season.
• And on and on and on....

Timesharing the Marriott way has created a major and positive change in our vacation lifestyle. We would never go back!

ual1k

Just out of curiosity, what is the current price?

BeantownFlyer

Dave, you make a strong argument. I'm not sure all of it is entirely accurate. The certainty of your own place on an annual basis for example - my understanding is that you need to book your week just like you would any other hotel reservation. In fact, when I vacationed at the Aruba location several years back during the February vacation week, we met some owners that were upset; apparently they had missed by one day the date to book the next year's President's week stay, and were told they would have to go on a wait list. Of course, when I went to book a room at a paying rate on-line, there was availability! With respect to your other points, most apply equally to those who do not buy, but simply pay to stay at the Marriott locations. The fact that you obviously purchased at popular locations during the early phases of the pre-sale, and your shares have appreciated is unusual but a big plus. In sum, I agree that the facilities are great, and a lovely place to stay. I just think it is a better value paying to stay rather than buying.

jerseyfinn

More to the point. A timeshare IS NOT an investment. It does not generate a return like the sale of a home or a vacation home.

A timeshare is the upfront purchase of annual destination travel plain and simple. The benefit of timeshare is that over a period of years, the aggregate cost of this destination travel should be less than the cost of purchasing your travel annually.

Whether or not an individual timeshare owner realizes this benefit depends upon the resort purchased, how they utilize their ownership via occupancy, trades, and other timeshare incentives, and how the individual values their destination travel.

It is incorrect to equate timeshare ownership with a vacation home although some creative timeshare owners do indeed use their units very much like a second home. Like a primary home, there are associated costs which accompany timeshare ownership.

Timeshare is not for everyone because individual expectations do vary. But many folks utilize timeshare as a cost effective travel destination tool.

As I suggest in a previous post, TUG is an excellent Internet resource for clearing away some of the smoke about the pros and cons of timeshare. It's a good resource for anyone who is trying to determine if timeshare is for them.

Barry

Dave M

Guaranteed accurate. As for the "certainty" of having my own place, it's just as certain as my being able to drive my car. In each case, I have to do something to ensure I get what I want. For my car, I have to fill it with gas, take it to the shop occasionally and pay the registration and state tax. For the timeshares, I simply call Marriott Vacation Club to make my reservation on the date the call comes up on my Outlook calendar once each year. And I make sure I have several advance reminders, just in case I will be out of town on my call date. Bottom line: My timeshare week vacation is just as certain for me for the week I want as if I owned the building.

Indirectly, you bring up another important point about timesharing. Timeshare vacationing takes planning. With floating weeks, such as most Marriott weeks are, one must make reservations well ahead, perhaps 12 months ahead to ensure the vacation week of choice. And making a request to exchange my week for some other week in another part of the world also involves planning at least a year in advance.

For some, that seem too burdensome. In reality, it's no more burdensome than if you now go skiing or to the beach or on some other vacation during the same week each year. You’re just making the formal decision and doing something about it earlier. With timesharing, you must take some action well in advance. It works well but it's not for everyone.

As Barry suggested, anyone interested in the timesharing concept should head for TUG and learn more about timesharing. The experiences as related at TUG by long-time timeshare owners reinforce my comments above.

slpflyer

Dave M- I agree with the majority of your points, aspecially the lifestyle standard we have set for ourselves for our vacations. We have had some difficulty getting our week even though we have called at the earliest possible time. Unfortunately, Heritage Club during the Heritage Classic Golf Tournament coupled with Easter and school vacation is in just too much of a demand to get it. It is frustrating to pay the high maintainance fees and not be able to use the week or access the included golf privileges. I bought a floating week because my school vacation week does not fall on the same week every year. I guess I just have to accept this. This may sound somewhat negative, but we wouldn't leave Marriott. The plusses definately outweigh the frustrations!

[This message has been edited by slpflyer (edited 01-07-2003).]

artiem

Hmm, something tells me you're not an accountant. In fact, you're probably the kind of guy who buys a car based solely on the monthly payment amount you can get...after all, the down payment is a "sunk cost", right?