• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Diamond Resort yrly maintenance fees?

bdurstta

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
361
Reaction score
29
Points
388
Location
Newport Beach, CA
Resorts Owned
Big Bear, Hyatt Vacation Club (Hyatt Highlands), Marriott (Grand Chateau)
I am curious...what are the maintenance fees for Diamond Resorts? I believe they are points based?
 

Egret1986

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
4,021
Reaction score
560
Points
499
Location
Coastal Southeast Virginia
I am curious...what are the maintenance fees for Diamond Resorts? I believe they are points based?

I am an involuntary DRI owner (resorts acquired by DRI). My weeks are not points based. They are fixed weeks. My maintenance fees are varying amounts by resort, which have increased significantly since the DRI acquisition two years ago. I will keep my fixed weeks. I have no intention of converting to DRI Points.
 

artringwald

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
4,737
Reaction score
3,680
Points
448
Location
Oakdale, MN
Resorts Owned
DRI: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
DRI has a variety of ownerships. They can be fixed weeks, floating weeks, deeded weeks in their point system, or just points. The points have higher more flexibility, but also have higher fees because of the overhead.
 

nuwermj

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
615
Reaction score
302
Points
273
Location
Potsdam, NY

gypsygirl1

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
22
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Riverside CA
Oh ya!!! Big maintenance fees with them and the costs go up every year!
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
We use to own at Polo Towers. MF's for 2016 were in the $1,300 range for a 2 bedroom unit. Membership fee in THE Club (deeded weeks in points based internal exchange system) was in the $550 range. They got to expensive for the quality and locations (resorts in desirable destinations but not prime real estate in most cases). We deeded our units back at the end of 2015. Our DRI units were easily as expensive as our Marriott units and were considerably more expensive than our HGVC ownership, both of which have nicer resorts and better locations as far as real estate location in their respective destinations.
 

R.J.C.

unconfirmed
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
207
Reaction score
112
Points
53
I saw this ad
http://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/t...t/details/AdNumber/1410119/sale/#prop_details

My main concerns are the maintenance fees and if I would only be able use the deeded week at this particular resort or if it would work at any of them. Also, would I be able to trade or exchange even as a resale?

From what I can tell from the ad, this is a floating, 3 bdrm lockout, not points. Grande Villas trades through II so you wold have to be a member of II to exchange it. With the 3 bdrm lockout, you could use it as a single 3 bdrm unit for 10 or a nice 2 bdrm unit for 6 and a very tiny 1 bdrm unit for 4 each year (can't stand the 1 bdrm units at that resort as the "den" is literally the size of the couch). As it is a deeded week, you would not be in "The Club" and you would use it as you would any other floating week. The only part of Diamond involvement is who you send your maint fee checks to.
 

RLS50

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
Messages
647
Reaction score
253
Points
173
To be honest, what doesn't cost more every year??
This is true. However, my main problem with DRI, at least so far, is that I am still looking for the actual value they provide in return for such high fees. So far in my own (limited) experience with DRI, they appear to want to charge annual maintenance fees at the same level of Marriott or Westin properties, but they don't seem to provide anywhere near the same excellent service, well trained staff, or the resort quality that Marriott and Westin does.

I would really like to know from existing DRI customers that say they are so happy with DRI, but are in effect paying $1400 or more per year to stay 1 week at a DRI property, where I can find a DRI property in the US to stay at that is as nice as one of the US based Marriott's or Westin's?
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
To be honest, what doesn't cost more every year??

While this is typically a true statement, our THE Club fee's escalated from $135/year when we joined to well over $500/year by the time we relinquished our units. This was in the spam of about 6 years. Add to that the typical 2 to 4% MF increases during that time and that's a little too inflationary for our pocket books. Our MF's really didn't go up anymore each year than the typical timeshare but, those "extra" fee's, which had little to nothing to do with running a timeshare, got way out of hand. And again, the MF's for our Polo Towers units were actually higher than the Marriott Grand Chateau directly behind Polo Towers, and yet the rooms weren't nearly as nice and the resort amenities pale in comparison to the Marriott resort.

DRI's fee's and not proportionate to the quality of their resorts when compared to other brands of timeshares available.

Here's a couple of photo albums to judge quality differences between resorts in Las Vegas. Consider what I have said that the MF's for each of these resorts is comparable and, we know this because we have owned in each system in Las Vegas.

DRI's Polo Towers: https://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/TImeshare/DRIs-The-Suites-at-Polo-Towers/

Marriott's Grand Chateau (has expanded since this album and added a second pool deck): https://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/TImeshare/Grand-Chateau/

HGVC Las Vegas Strip (Penthouse unit. Standard unit is less plush but, you can see the differences in amenities): https://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/TImeshare/HGVC-Las-Vegas-Strip-Oct-2013/

HGVC Elera: https://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/TImeshare/HVVC-Elera-1-Bedroom/
 
Last edited:

artringwald

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
4,737
Reaction score
3,680
Points
448
Location
Oakdale, MN
Resorts Owned
DRI: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
This is true. However, my main problem with DRI, at least so far, is that I am still looking for the actual value they provide in return for such high fees. So far in my own (limited) experience with DRI, they appear to want to charge annual maintenance fees at the same level of Marriott or Westin properties, but they don't seem to provide anywhere near the same excellent service, well trained staff, or the resort quality that Marriott and Westin does.

I would really like to know from existing DRI customers that say they are so happy with DRI, but are in effect paying $1400 or more per year to stay 1 week at a DRI property, where I can find a DRI property in the US to stay at that is as nice as one of the US based Marriott's or Westin's?
We like DRI, even though we pay over $1700/year for a 2 bedroom at the Point at Poipu. The expenses on the annual HOA statement seem reasonable, except the increasing amounts paid to DRI for management fees are alarming. However, the rooms may not be as deluxe as a Marriott or Westin, but they're large, all well over 1200 sq ft. The pool is great for kids and even has 2 swimming lanes for adults. The staff is exceptionally friendly and helpful. The property doesn't have a beach, but we love sitting on the lanai watching the waves crash on the rocks. We can see whales, sea turtles, and monk seals from our room. If we could afford it, we'd live there 6 months of the year. We also have enjoyed many stays at Kaanapali Beach Club, using points. DW and her sister often stay at Greensprings Vacation Resort in Williamsburg.
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
I would really like to know from existing DRI customers that say they are so happy with DRI, but are in effect paying $1400 or more per year to stay 1 week at a DRI property, where I can find a DRI property in the US to stay at that is as nice as one of the US based Marriott's or Westin's?

You won't. We've stayed in the Westin property in Scottsdale, we've owned Marriott since 2001 and we've owned in the HGVC system since 2003. There is NO comparison to DRI. They fall flat every time. I've provided a few photo albums with direct comparison in the Las Vegas market. I can provide multiple photo albums of Marriott, Hilton and DRI properties we've stayed in, including markets like Williamsburg and Branson where they compete head to head. IMHO you will always pay Marriott prices while getting inferior quality. Don't get me wrong, they are nice resorts in good destinations. They're just not THAT nice to charge the fee's they charge.

DRI has one big advantage over Marriott or Hilton for our travel needs. That being they have nearly every resort in Sedona under their belt. Since leaving DRI we now find ourselves having to either trade down from our Marriott resort into one of their resorts or hold out for an equivalent exchange into the Hyatt, which is what we will do in the future when we are ready to go back to Sedona.
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
We like DRI, even though we pay over $1700/year for a 2 bedroom at the Point at Poipu. The expenses on the annual HOA statement seem reasonable, except the increasing amounts paid to DRI for management fees are alarming. However, the rooms may not be as deluxe as a Marriott or Westin, but they're large, all well over 1200 sq ft. The pool is great for kids and even has 2 swimming lanes for adults. The staff is exceptionally friendly and helpful. The property doesn't have a beach, but we love sitting on the lanai watching the waves crash on the rocks. We can see whales, sea turtles, and monk seals from our room. If we could afford it, we'd live there 6 months of the year. We also have enjoyed many stays at Kaanapali Beach Club, using points. DW and her sister often stay at Greensprings Vacation Resort in Williamsburg.

But, if you're comparing DRI to Marriott, Hilton or Westin both the Point and Ka'anapali fall short of the Marriott's on the same Islands. In fact we walked down from Marriott's Waiokola Beach Club to DRI's the Point and it was obvious which resort was the nicer of the two. Ka'anapli is a very nice resort but, still lacking when compared to the Marriott, which is within walking distance IF you're up for something of a considerable hike down the beach.

They are nice resorts (we've stayed at Ka'anapli twice) but, they're not in the same class as Marriott and they charge similar MF's as Marriott. I guess one advantage would be that both the Point and Ka'anapali would be cheaper and easier to find the resale market.
 

muzikman429

Guest
Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
51
Reaction score
8
Points
68
Resorts Owned
None
All interesting feedback but I think I will do a little more research. I definitely like the best bang for my buck and obviously DRI may not be it. Hmmmm I will go back and look at the Marriott Grande Vistana on eBay one more time, but IMHO this one may be the way to go do to the flexibility of the float. I am on the school schedule with my kids and April is their Spring Break and that floating weeks 1-17 is huge. I'm also looking for one at the Holiday Inn West Village
 

pedro47

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
22,072
Reaction score
8,535
Points
948
Location
East Coast
DRI in my opinion needs to purchase quality furniture and appliances liked Marriott. They would then be awesome.
 

muzikman429

Guest
Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
51
Reaction score
8
Points
68
Resorts Owned
None
DRI in my opinion needs to purchase quality furniture and appliances liked Marriott. They would then be awesome.
I would have to agree. Especially for the MFs they charge. That's why I'm not in a rush to get this one. Even though that float week is what I'm looking for I can still find a MVC or another resort that is comparable and better quality or better yet a resort that has the same quality furniture as DRI but MFs way less. That is what I'm looking for
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
One other point I'd like to make about DRI MF's. While they compare in the total bill to the major brands, they put very little of that fee into cash reserve accounts. Our Polo Towers MF's had around $115 per 2 bedroom unit going into the cash reserve where as HGVC cash reserve fee for a 2 bedroom unit is $183 and MVC Grand Chateau bills $302 for their 2 bedroom cash reserve.

So DRI has comparable MF's but, they're not putting comparable amounts into the cash reserve funding, which leads to more frequent and larger special assessments at DRI resorts. Polo Towers had a couple of SA's while we were owners. One was a major expense used to update the unit interiors of towers 1 & 2. One was smaller, less than $200, because they had an outbreak of legionnaires disease and needed to update their water system. Part of that was also used to update their security system.
 

eggmansr71

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
30
Reaction score
4
Points
218
Location
Little Rock, AR
Resorts Owned
Diamond Resorts
I wonder what the opinion of DRI is for people that own points vs weeks. I think DRI want's all the week owners to move to points so you will constantly feel pressure to do so if that is what you own. I compared Branson rooms and DRI deluxe rooms are nicer than Marriott and their standard rooms are not better. Between the two systems the fact that DRI enforces the no rental part means my selection in their inventory will always be better than Marriott. I won't be buying into Marriott as they can't guarantee that I will get into X property when I want to but I can do that by just renting the room for what the MF are on Redbook or ebay. So there is little reason to own one. At least that is how I see it at the moment.
 

artringwald

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
4,737
Reaction score
3,680
Points
448
Location
Oakdale, MN
Resorts Owned
DRI: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
I wonder what the opinion of DRI is for people that own points vs weeks. I think DRI want's all the week owners to move to points so you will constantly feel pressure to do so if that is what you own. I compared Branson rooms and DRI deluxe rooms are nicer than Marriott and their standard rooms are not better. Between the two systems the fact that DRI enforces the no rental part means my selection in their inventory will always be better than Marriott. I won't be buying into Marriott as they can't guarantee that I will get into X property when I want to but I can do that by just renting the room for what the MF are on Redbook or ebay. So there is little reason to own one. At least that is how I see it at the moment.
I own deeded float/float weeks at DRI's Point at Poipu resort. I never had trouble booking ocean front units with those weeks. If I bought enough points in the Hawaii Collection to book an ocean front unit for a week, the annual fees on the points would be about 50% higher than the MF I pay for each week. Points certainly are convenient, but I would never buy points in a collection. I have never been pressured to convert my deeded weeks to points, but of course I've never attended an "owner's update", i.e. sales pitch to get you to convert and buy more points.
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
I wonder what the opinion of DRI is for people that own points vs weeks. I think DRI want's all the week owners to move to points so you will constantly feel pressure to do so if that is what you own. I compared Branson rooms and DRI deluxe rooms are nicer than Marriott and their standard rooms are not better. Between the two systems the fact that DRI enforces the no rental part means my selection in their inventory will always be better than Marriott. I won't be buying into Marriott as they can't guarantee that I will get into X property when I want to but I can do that by just renting the room for what the MF are on Redbook or ebay. So there is little reason to own one. At least that is how I see it at the moment.

As to Branson, we've stayed in all three rooms. It's not a great comparison in that the Marriott in Branson was a conceptual project called Horizon's that failed. MVC is in the process of upgrading that particular resort to more MVC like standards. There are only 3 buildings on site and probably will never be another one built. There was an Orlando resort built under the Horizon's brand and a Gatlinburg resort was planned but never built. All were purposely built as a less expensive, family friendly budget version of MVC.

On the other hand, The Suite's at Fall Creek was originally built in true, budget Sunterra fashion (Sunterra the original developer at the time) with the Deluxe units an after thought and comprising all of one building. Like the MVC property, the Suite's was never fully developed with several plots for buildings left weed covered.

As to the thought about DRI pressuring weeks owners into trust points, of course they do. Every single developer I've seen has been consistent in offering "owner updates" with the latest/greatest angle to keep selling more inventory to existing owners. Most use some sort of scare tactic involving the idea the owners current status makes what they own obsolete and eventually useless compared to the new/improved system.

DRI's great advantage over all others is the shear number of locations under their brand. It's unfortunate that they charge a kings ransom in fee's for the general quality they provide. If their fee's were more in line with their quality, they'd easily be one of the most popular timeshare management companies in America.
 
Last edited:

pedro47

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
22,072
Reaction score
8,535
Points
948
Location
East Coast
As to Branson, we've stayed in all three rooms. It's not a great comparison in that the Marriott in Branson was a conceptual project called Horizon's that failed. MVC is in the process of upgrading that particular resort to more MVC like standards. There are only 3 buildings on site and probably will never be another one built. There was an Orlando resort built under the Horizon's brand and a Gatlinburg resort was planned but never built. All were purposely built as a less expensive, family friendly budget version of MVC.

On the hand, The Suite's at Fall Creek was originally built in true, budget Sunterra fashion (Sunterra the original developer at the time) with the Deluxe units an after thought and comprising all of one building. Like the MVC property, the Suite's was never fully developed with several plots for buildings left weed covered.

As to the thought about DRI pressuring weeks owners into trust points, of course they do. Every single developer I've seen has been consistent in offering "owner updates" with the latest/greatest angle to keep selling more inventory to existing owners. Most use employee some sort of scare tactic involving the idea the owners current status makes what they own obsolete and eventually useless compared to the new/improved system.

DRI's great advantage over all others is the shear number of locations under their brand. It's unfortunate that they charge a kings ransom in fee's for the general quality they provide. If their fee's were more in line with their quality, they'd easily be one of the most popular timeshare management companies in America.

Doug26364, your observation and words are right on point about DRI. Thanks you.
 

bradfordHI

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2016
Messages
119
Reaction score
7
Points
78
Resorts Owned
DRI Hawaii Collection 74,000 points

Westin 2 Bedroom Maui; selling it now.
2 bedroom ocean Front Hyatt week 51. We Rent it on VRBO only.
I own deeded float/float weeks at DRI's Point at Poipu resort. I never had trouble booking ocean front units with those weeks. If I bought enough points in the Hawaii Collection to book an ocean front unit for a week, the annual fees on the points would be about 50% higher than the MF I pay for each week. Points certainly are convenient, but I would never buy points in a collection. I have never been pressured to convert my deeded weeks to points, but of course I've never attended an "owner's update", i.e. sales pitch to get you to convert and buy more points.


Ask to Meet with a senior person. No one knows this but a "floating week doesn't exist". You own a fixed week tied to a unit. The club allows you to float.
Ask for a seasoned person to explain it to you.
I own both. Points and weeks. Points work better for me but I understand the pro v cons.
Fixed weeks are from the 70s it's why they are worthless. Once Westin started enforcing Friday check ins IT changed everything.
Best of luck.
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
Ask to Meet with a senior person. No one knows this but a "floating week doesn't exist". You own a fixed week tied to a unit. The club allows you to float.
Ask for a seasoned person to explain it to you.
I own both. Points and weeks. Points work better for me but I understand the pro v cons.
Fixed weeks are from the 70s it's why they are worthless. Once Westin started enforcing Friday check ins IT changed everything.
Best of luck.

This is not entirely true. While "classic" floating weeks are tied to a deeded unit and deeded week, that was used for deeding purposes only and, in the documents, spells out that the owner does not have the right to occupy that exact unit on that exact week. So while the deed might specify a particular unit/week, it's only for inventory purposes to assure they are not overselling a resorts occupancy.

We owned a floating week with DRI that was NOT originally in THE Club. We also owned a fixed week/fixed unit that allowed us to use week 36 in unit 1804 annually. The fixed week would only float if we joined THE Club, the other week always was allowed to float.

Most of the weeks we currently own are floating weeks. After our original purchase we discovered life changes and vacationing on a particular week every year didn't work out so well for us. While every week we own is attached to a specific unit and week for deeding purposes, our contracts specify it's for deeding purposes only with no right to occupy thaqt exact unit on that exact week. They all float during a designated season.

So on one hand you are correct, weeks had been deeded to a particular unit and a particular week but, on the other hand you are not correct, there is such a thing as a floating week in the DRI system.
 

artringwald

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
4,737
Reaction score
3,680
Points
448
Location
Oakdale, MN
Resorts Owned
DRI: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
We've bought 2 float/float through resale. They are not part of the Club and when booking a year in advance, we've been able to get ocean front units every time. You can still buy float/float resale for under $5000/week.
 
Top