Crystal Shores Weeks Owners

[jhac007]

I am inquiring of any CS weeks owners to see how good availability is at the 13 and 12 month mark? The month I had in question is May in general. It appears it is too late for May 2017 but I would tend to think May 2018 at the 13 month mark should be feasible, is this a correct assumption?

Jim

 

[Davey54321]

I would think...

That the new building at Crystal Shores might be completed/available by May 2018, so that should change things there considerably?

 

[dioxide45]

That the new building at Crystal Shores might be completed/available by May 2018, so that should change things there considerably?

The new building will all be trust inventory and thus won't be available to owners to even book. I don't think the new building would make getting desired reservations any easier. Though I don't know how hard they would be anyway. May is shoulder season in Florida.

 

[krj9999]

I got this in an email this past week, FWIW:

New tower, new villas, new amenities at Marriott's Crystal Shores
Soon you'll be able to enjoy an enhanced vacation experience at Marriott's Crystal Shores on beautiful Marco Island! We're adding a new tower and amenities to this already alluring resort located on the southwestern tip of Florida's Gulf Coast.

The resort's newest villa tower will offer twenty-seven two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom Poolside villas, each featuring views overlooking the resort pools and towards the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to these enhanced villa options, Marriott Vacation Club is also excited to announce the pending arrival of new resort amenities including:

• New lobby with outdoor breezeway entry overlooking the cascading outdoor pools and the Gulf of Mexico
• Upper cascade outdoor pool
• Two additional whirlpool spas
• New fitness center
• New kids/teen activity room
• Marketplace Express
• New poolside food and beverage outlet with covered terrace seating

Beginning December 14, 2016, you may reserve a stay in the new tower for vacations starting on April 25, 2017. Reservations are available through the Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Exchange Program and Interval International* as an exchange option. This exchange affiliation and occupancy of additional inventory at Marriott's Crystal Shores is subject to Marriott Vacation Club completing its acquisition of the completed villas and amenities.

 

[Superchief]

I am inquiring of any CS weeks owners to see how good availability is at the 13 and 12 month mark? The month I had in question is May in general. It appears it is too late for May 2017 but I would tend to think May 2018 at the 13 month mark should be feasible, is this a correct assumption?

Jim

I am not an owner at CS, but used my DC points for a stay there recently. I attended the owner's meeting and learned a lot about the new buildings and their impact on current owners and weeks.

The new buildings will have slightly smaller villas and balconies. There will be 3 new view classifications, in addition to the two current: Gulf Front, Gulf View. I can't recall the exact names of the new views, but the pool view will be facing the pool/gulf, another will be the building that faces North/South, and there will be a lower classification specifically for lower floors.

Weeks owners will always be able to get the old buildings. About half of the old building ownership is weeks owners, and half in the trust. I assume the new views will require fewer DC points than those in the old building. If you are a weeks owner, it should be easy to reserve your week in May, except for Memorial Day week. If you have points, you should definitely be able to reserve a week, but may need to stay in the new buildings (I'd recommend pool view). I noticed that Chrystal Shores has a high premium for weekend nights, so you can save a lot of points by not staying on weekends. We love this resort and look forward to staying there when work is completed. Another note: The GM indicated that MF's actually went down this year.

Note: Follow Up: The new buildings are now included in DC search options. I checked for late October in 2017 and found availability for the new building. It appears the point requirements for the Pool View are the same as the current Gulfside view in the original building. The other views are slightly lower. It is nice to have more options.

 

[bazzap]

I am guessing the DC Points Programme was already in place when the original phase(s) of Crystal Shores opened?
If not and I was an unenrolled Weeks owner I would feel rather unfairly treated at being limited to only being able to book a part of the resort with my Weeks ownership.
Does this restriction apply to other resorts too?

 

[JIMinNC]

I am guessing the DC Points Programme was already in place when the original phase(s) of Crystal Shores opened?
If not and I was an unenrolled Weeks owner I would feel rather unfairly treated at being limited to only being able to book a part of the resort with my Weeks ownership.
Does this restriction apply to other resorts too?

Since Superchief noted in post #5 that about half of the old building is weeks owners, that means that Crystal Shores opened prior to the DC Points Program inception. They had already sold about half of that building as weeks when the Points program started. Therefore, the only inventory that a weeks owner is entitled to occupy/use - at any resort - is that which was sold as weeks. After the Trust was created, no new weeks were sold and any unsold and/or new-build/acquired weeks deeded over to the Trust. Now Trust owners have rights to use those weeks, not weeks owners. So it is, in fact, very fair. Weeks owners have full legal access to weeks inventory and Trust owners have full legal access to Trust inventory. The only way for a weeks-only owner to get access to Trust inventory is if Marriott Vacations opts to deposit some portion of their Trust inventory into Interval International.

Think of it as basically two separate resorts under one roof - one, a resort made up of weeks owners; and two, a resort owned 100% by the MVC Trust. At Crystal Shores, the new buildings are adding inventory to the Trust resort. The old weeks resort quit growing in June 2010, and has almost certainly been shrinking since, due to foreclosures, ROFR, and repurchases that MVC exercises to transfer into the Trust.

It's also similar to the old legacy timeshares in some other non-Marriott systems where two developers operate units within the same complex. Maybe Developer A started development of the resort, but then sold undeveloped property and/or unsold units to Developer B. People who purchased from Developer B do not have rights to occupy/use/trade units that were part of Developer A's units that share the same property.

 

[jhac007]

I am not an owner at CS, but used my DC points for a stay there recently. I attended the owner's meeting and learned a lot about the new buildings and their impact on current owners and weeks.

The new buildings will have slightly smaller villas and balconies. There will be 3 new view classifications, in addition to the two current: Gulf Front, Gulf View. I can't recall the exact names of the new views, but the pool view will be facing the pool/gulf, another will be the building that faces North/South, and there will be a lower classification specifically for lower floors.

Weeks owners will always be able to get the old buildings. About half of the old building ownership is weeks owners, and half in the trust. I assume the new views will require fewer DC points than those in the old building. If you are a weeks owner, it should be easy to reserve your week in May, except for Memorial Day week. If you have points, you should definitely be able to reserve a week, but may need to stay in the new buildings (I'd recommend pool view). I noticed that Chrystal Shores has a high premium for weekend nights, so you can save a lot of points by not staying on weekends. We love this resort and look forward to staying there when work is completed. Another note: The GM indicated that MF's actually went down this year.

Thanks for the info. Actually I just "walked into" ownership of two gold weeks (GV) at CS. My interest lies solely in the original bldg. and having watched the new section under construction I see no advantage of being further back from the Gulf. I had stayed there a couple of years ago and my desire was always to be an owner but the going price was not what I was willing to pay. However, I never realized I would be smiled upon with not one but back to back weeks per the deed. Good ole Ebay came thru again, low priced CS unit, buy it now price, all closing costs paid by seller, no takers after days several days, so I decided why not. The Ebay seller was ok AFAIK and it would probably get ROFR'd so I would get a refund no big deal! However, I was not aware of no ROFR at CS therefore it was a go! Then after submitting all the paper work and a few days later the Ebay seller informs me the owner has two weeks on the same deed and if I want them both I could have them at the original price, MF's paid by seller and I get 2017 usage! Now I suspected it may be to late to get the dates I wanted for 2017 but hey it's Crystal Shores. In April 2017 I am fairly certain I can get what I want at 13 months for 2018. Did I need more MF's (high) - no, did I want Crystal Shores - Yeeeessssssss! BTW, all for ....$1K!

Jim

 

[bazzap]

Since Superchief noted in post #5 that about half of the old building is weeks owners, that means that Crystal Shores opened prior to the DC Points Program inception. They had already sold about half of that building as weeks when the Points program started. Therefore, the only inventory that a weeks owner is entitled to occupy/use - at any resort - is that which was sold as weeks. After the Trust was created, no new weeks were sold and any unsold and/or new-build/acquired weeks deeded over to the Trust. Now Trust owners have rights to use those weeks, not weeks owners. So it is, in fact, very fair. Weeks owners have full legal access to weeks inventory and Trust owners have full legal access to Trust inventory. The only way for a weeks-only owner to get access to Trust inventory is if Marriott Vacations opts to deposit some portion of their Trust inventory into Interval International.

Think of it as basically two separate resorts under one roof - one, a resort made up of weeks owners; and two, a resort owned 100% by the MVC Trust. At Crystal Shores, the new buildings are adding inventory to the Trust resort. The old weeks resort quit growing in June 2010, and has almost certainly been shrinking since, due to foreclosures, ROFR, and repurchases that MVC exercises to transfer into the Trust.

It's also similar to the old legacy timeshares in some other non-Marriott systems where two developers operate units within the same complex. Maybe Developer A started development of the resort, but then sold undeveloped property and/or unsold units to Developer B. People who purchased from Developer B do not have rights to occupy/use/trade units that were part of Developer A's units that share the same property.

Interesting.
I understand the concept of two separate resorts under one roof, one for Weeks owners one for Points owners.
I guess we have just been lucky with our non US MVC resorts, having bought in during early phases before full build out, but still having Weeks based access to all the later phases too.
I would be surprised if some (many?) original Weeks owners at Crystal Shores had not been "sold" on the final completed resort plans with the expectation that they would have Weeks based access to the full resort.

 

[SueDonJ]

Interesting.
I understand the concept of two separate resorts under one roof, one for Weeks owners one for Points owners.
I guess we have just been lucky with our non US MVC resorts, having bought in during early phases before full build out, but still having Weeks based access to all the later phases too.
I would be surprised if some (many?) original Weeks owners at Crystal Shores had not been "sold" on the final completed resort plans with the expectation that they would have Weeks based access to the full resort.

When using owned Weeks we're always placed into the type of unit/view that we purchased. Unless there is some overlap in the unit designations at Crystal Shores that results in the new buildings having the same type of units as the old, existing Weeks owners shouldn't have come away from their purchase with an expectation of using any/all units on-property upon build-out.

But say for example that both the new and old buildings after build-out have units designated as "oceanside." I would expect that with all the inventory manipulation that MVW is able to do, if an "oceanside" Weeks Owner was to specifically request placement in the new building then the Rooms Controller will have some leeway to make that happen (especially during lower-demand periods.) Like jhac says, though, there probably are only a few CS Weeks Owners who would make that request because the new build sits further from the beach than the old.

If MVW intended to separate all of the other resort amenities according to Weeks Owners/Points Members then I think the Weeks Owners would have a case for feeling as though they were promised things that aren't being delivered. But that's not what will happen - every guest will have access to the pools, restaurants, cabanas, fitness equipment, etc. It's only the units that are being segregated according to Weeks Ownership which when you think about it, is being done to protect the Weeks Owners rather than give something more to the Points Members.

 

[SueDonJ]

I got this in an email this past week, FWIW: ... This exchange affiliation and occupancy of additional inventory at Marriott's Crystal Shores is subject to Marriott Vacation Club completing its acquisition of the completed villas and amenities.

Have we ever talked about what might/will happen with any of these contractual arrangements if MVW ends up UNABLE to acquire as expected? All of the new builds since the DC inception have involved third-parties developing the property with MVW purchasing it upon completion. What happens if MVW doesn't ultimately purchase?

I'm not so much talking about the ramification of MVW reneging on a contractual arrangement with such a third party, although that's a concern, but rather the impact it would have on existing owners. Picture this build-out at Crystal Shores, for example, with the front build being Marriott people, the back build people being something else, and an expectation of all of them to have access to shared amenities. I know I wouldn't like for any portion of Barony Beach or SurfWatch to be owned/managed by an entity other than MVW. I suppose the living example is Streamside, Vail? Hmmmm.

 

[bazzap]

When using owned Weeks we're always placed into the type of unit/view that we purchased. Unless there is some overlap in the unit designations at Crystal Shores that results in the new buildings having the same type of units as the old, existing Weeks owners shouldn't have come away from their purchase with an expectation of using any/all units on-property upon build-out.

But say for example that both the new and old buildings after build-out have units designated as "oceanside." I would expect that with all the inventory manipulation that MVW is able to do, if an "oceanside" Weeks Owner was to specifically request placement in the new building then the Rooms Controller will have some leeway to make that happen (especially during lower-demand periods.) Like jhac says, though, there probably are only a few CS Weeks Owners who would make that request because the new build sits further from the beach than the old.

If MVW intended to separate all of the other resort amenities according to Weeks Owners/Points Members then I think the Weeks Owners would have a case for feeling as though they were promised things that aren't being delivered. But that's not what will happen - every guest will have access to the pools, restaurants, cabanas, fitness equipment, etc. It's only the units that are being segregated according to Weeks Ownership which when you think about it, is being done to protect the Weeks Owners rather than give something more to the Points Members.

OK, that makes sense as I am beginning to better understand the nature of the Crystal Shores resort and the original Weeks / new Points buildings.
My initial thoughts had really been in the context of our European resorts where some of the later phases are (in my view anyway) better choices and where we were confirmed we would have (and do have) Weeks based access to all of them.

 

[Superchief]

Thanks for the info. Actually I just "walked into" ownership of two gold weeks (GV) at CS. My interest lies solely in the original bldg. and having watched the new section under construction I see no advantage of being further back from the Gulf. I had stayed there a couple of years ago and my desire was always to be an owner but the going price was not what I was willing to pay. However, I never realized I would be smiled upon with not one but back to back weeks per the deed. Good ole Ebay came thru again, low priced CS unit, buy it now price, all closing costs paid by seller, no takers after days several days, so I decided why not. The Ebay seller was ok AFAIK and it would probably get ROFR'd so I would get a refund no big deal! However, I was not aware of no ROFR at CS therefore it was a go! Then after submitting all the paper work and a few days later the Ebay seller informs me the owner has two weeks on the same deed and if I want them both I could have them at the original price, MF's paid by seller and I get 2017 usage! Now I suspected it may be to late to get the dates I wanted for 2017 but hey it's Crystal Shores. In April 2017 I am fairly certain I can get what I want at 13 months for 2018. Did I need more MF's (high) - no, did I want Crystal Shores - Yeeeessssssss! BTW, all for ....$1K!

Jim

You are one lucky guy! If I was going to use one MVC resort every year, Chrystal Shores would be it. The only downside previously was that it was a smaller resort without a lot of facilities. This has been corrected with the new buildings, pool, and fitness center. I would have purchases a week there when it was first offered, but it was twice as expensive as Oceana Palms so I purchased my week there. All of my points are enrolled so I plan to use some almost every year for at least a week at CS. I definitely prefer the original building for location and villa/balcony layouts. I guess the only thing that would make your acquisition even better is if you could enroll them into the point program.

My favorite times for visiting South Florida are late spring and fall. Crowds aren't bad and the points have greater value. Enjoy your ownership and congratulations.

 

[Superchief]

When using owned Weeks we're always placed into the type of unit/view that we purchased. Unless there is some overlap in the unit designations at Crystal Shores that results in the new buildings having the same type of units as the old, existing Weeks owners shouldn't have come away from their purchase with an expectation of using any/all units on-property upon build-out.

But say for example that both the new and old buildings after build-out have units designated as "oceanside." I would expect that with all the inventory manipulation that MVW is able to do, if an "oceanside" Weeks Owner was to specifically request placement in the new building then the Rooms Controller will have some leeway to make that happen (especially during lower-demand periods.) Like jhac says, though, there probably are only a few CS Weeks Owners who would make that request because the new build sits further from the beach than the old.

If MVW intended to separate all of the other resort amenities according to Weeks Owners/Points Members then I think the Weeks Owners would have a case for feeling as though they were promised things that aren't being delivered. But that's not what will happen - every guest will have access to the pools, restaurants, cabanas, fitness equipment, etc. It's only the units that are being segregated according to Weeks Ownership which when you think about it, is being done to protect the Weeks Owners rather than give something more to the Points Members.

The GM at CS actually discussed this issue at the owners meeting. In order to assure current owners could always stay in the buildings where they purchased, all of the villas in the new buildings have different view classifications than the old. I think this is a great idea. In contrast, Oceana Palms new tower has the same view classification as the original tower (excluding oceanfront). However, the towers were in the plan from the beginning, so buyers were aware of this. The GM there tries to make sure owners are assigned to the sunrise (original) building if at all possible. I've stayed several times on points and for my owned week and I've always received my request.

I've stayed at several MVC resorts over the years using points, owned weeks, and exchanges. Other than villa assignment priority, there is no difference in amenities available or how you are treated.

 

[dioxide45]

Have we ever talked about what might/will happen with any of these contractual arrangements if MVW ends up UNABLE to acquire as expected? All of the new builds since the DC inception have involved third-parties developing the property with MVW purchasing it upon completion. What happens if MVW doesn't ultimately purchase?

I'm not so much talking about the ramification of MVW reneging on a contractual arrangement with such a third party, although that's a concern, but rather the impact it would have on existing owners. Picture this build-out at Crystal Shores, for example, with the front build being Marriott people, the back build people being something else, and an expectation of all of them to have access to shared amenities. I know I wouldn't like for any portion of Barony Beach or SurfWatch to be owned/managed by an entity other than MVW. I suppose the living example is Streamside, Vail? Hmmmm.

It would be an odd situation. THough I think it is still all a single HOA, unlike Vail. It would be interesting to know if they setup a new timeshare plan and HOA to support the new section at Crystal Shores. I suspect, if they don't acquire the units, someone else would just step in and sell them and make any profit from them. Marriott wouldn't be able to deposit any inventory in to the exchange company since they dont own it. So owners within DC wouldn't be able to reserve it with points. I highly doubt anything would happen to prevent MVW from acquiring the units for sale. If it didn't happen, I would expect years of litigation over the subject.

 

[jhac007]

You are one lucky guy! If I was going to use one MVC resort every year, Chrystal Shores would be it. The only downside previously was that it was a smaller resort without a lot of facilities. This has been corrected with the new buildings, pool, and fitness center. I would have purchases a week there when it was first offered, but it was twice as expensive as Oceana Palms so I purchased my week there. All of my points are enrolled so I plan to use some almost every year for at least a week at CS. I definitely prefer the original building for location and villa/balcony layouts. I guess the only thing that would make your acquisition even better is if you could enroll them into the point program.

My favorite times for visiting South Florida are late spring and fall. Crowds aren't bad and the points have greater value. Enjoy your ownership and congratulations.

Thank you so much! I am happy to report I am now the official owner of two weeks at Crystal Shores. However, I have no idea how it was done (per the discussion I/others had earlier) but I was able to reserve a couple of weeks (not anything I really wanted, but hey they were free) for 2017. Now I am ready when the time comes to jump at the 13 month window and get what I really want for 2018. Marco Island is my favorite spot in Florida with West Palm Beach/Singer Island being a close second. I have a winter week at the Eagle's Nest up the street from CS and love it also (not a Marriott standard but a nice resort)!

Jim