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Is timesharing worth it if you like upscale resorts?

njduffer

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I recently returned from a resort (HGVC Parc Soleil in Orlando) which is a timeshare but I stayed there at a great rate acquired directly with the Hilton website.

Typically, when I vacation with my family we stay at upscale facilities. However, as my son gets older (he's only 5 now), I think we will need two hotel rooms or a 2 bedroom suite or compromise with a 1 bedroom suite (a bed time he sleeps on the pull out). While economically a 1 bedroom suite at an upscale hotel seems to work for now, going forward I will find a 2 bedroom suite or paying for 2 rooms at these hotels unattractive economically.

It seems a 2 bedroom unit at an upscale timeshare could work for us and be somewhat economical compared to my alternatives (2 rooms or 2 bedroom suite).

As far as vacations go, my wife and I prefer to travel outside of the U.S. but for the next 10 years or so, we plan to take our son around the U.S. to see what our country has to offer and potentially tie the trips to what he is learning in school that year.

Are there systems or properties should I consider over others? One additional wrinkle, if I buy into a more upscale property/system will I give up value by exchanging into potentially lower graded facilities because I visit locations that may not have an upscale facility?

Going into this year we pretty much decided that 2 connecting rooms are the way we expect to handling lodging during vacations. However, with our needs changing, the buyers market, and our family having a good time at the Parc Soleil we have reconsidered timesharing as a vacation option.
 

Conan

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If you're mostly going to be doing exchanges, you can't plan on being too fussy. Obviously some timeshares are fancier than others, and you can plan accordingly.

But timeshares are booked long in advance and usually for the full week. Sometimes you'll find you don't like the mattress or the view or the elevator, or you'll see an ant or a spider or a cockroach, and if management can't fix things to your satisfaction you'll have to choose between tolerating it for a week, or losing your week's booking and trying to find seven nights in last-minute hotels.
 

bnoble

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*Most* timeshares do not rise to the level of service and amenities that a truly high-end resort hotel property will. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between.

You may have to ultimately decide what will give first: space, costs, or the luxury level of your lodging.
 

Steve

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There are some very luxurious timeshares, such as the Four Seasons, but there aren't many. In addition, there are a fair number of Marriotts, a few Hiltons, a few Hyatts, and a few Westins. Getting exchanges into these resorts during prime holiday weeks or school vacations, however, can be quite difficult if you don't plan way in advance and/or own in the same resort group.

As you mention, when trading a high end resort, you will often have to trade down in quality. This is especially true if you seek to trade to Europe.

Upscale timeshares are concentrated in a few main locations:

1) Florida, Williamsburg, and the South Carolina coast
2) The Caribbean
3) Western United States, including a few ski resorts, a few on the Southern California Coast, and the desert areas around Palm Springs and Scottsdale, AZ
4) Hawaii
5) Mexico

There are a lot of great resorts in other areas, and I have enjoyed many fun vacations at a variety of timeshares. If you want to always stick to upscale resorts, however, then your choices are somewhat limited.

Steve
 
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akp

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My 2 cents

When my husband and I travelled before kids, we were more likely to do it on the cheap. Backpacking in Europe, camping in Africa, etc. We allocated the bigger part of the budget to getting there and doing things. The rooms were just a place to sleep.

Now that we travel with the kids, we spend a significantly larger amount of time IN the room we're renting and luxury matters a lot more, but space trumps all.

With a family of 5, regular hotel rooms don't even come close to cutting it. I'm getting so spoiled that I am starting to look for 3 bedrooms instead of 2 bedrooms...

For our needs, a points ownership in a large system where you can book any of the resorts in the system is the best situation. Points = partial week stays (important when you're planning around kids' school holidays); large choice of resorts = far less reliance on exchange companies.

We have had good luck with the exchange companies but I wouldn't personally want to buy into a system where I'm reliant on them because they're too flaky.

Good luck.
 

Liz Wolf-Spada

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I don't have a points system, but I think that advice is probably really good. If I were starting over, I would look into Worldmark and possibly Shell, Hilton for more luxurious accommodations. Personally, if I had a young child, I would not want them in a room in a hotel by themselves, even with a connecting door. A timeshare would give you much more room, a sense of security knowing your child was in the same space as you are and a kitchen for meals or snacks if you didn't want to cook.
Liz
 

classiclincoln

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You sound like us about 10 years ago, and that's exactly why we bought a timeshare. We usually stayed at places like Embassy Suites, and the other Hilton or Marriott hotels that have a separate BR for us and a pullout for the kids. We've traded our Marriott units for many non Marriott places and have not been disappointed. We typically stay at the gold seal resorts (from the II directory) and I think the two silver seal resorts were OK. Yes, with little ones you do spend more time in the room, and we've never had a problem.
 

MichaelColey

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It's all a balance between space, cost and luxury to us.

With a growing family (three kids), space became far more important to us. Even the nicest hotels are cramped, and many won't even let you book a room for 5. (And outside of the US, many don't allow 4 or sometimes even 3!) Timeshares give us a ton of space. Many are 1000-1500 square feet or more, and 2 bedroom units are plentiful.

As much as we travel (10-20 weeks a year), cost is something we try to keep down. Timeshares can be incredibly economical, especially if you work the system. Back when we stayed primarily in hotels, $100/night was our "cheap" threshold. We were happy if we found a nice mid-tier hotel in that range, and usually relied on points to get into more expensive places. With timeshares, we are easily under that threshold and sometimes WAY under. We've booked several weeks that cost us $200-$300 (that's per week, not per night). Nicer resorts can cost more, but still far less than a nice hotel.

When it comes to luxury, I'm not sure you'll ever find a timeshare where you get the same level of luxury that you get from a luxury hotel (or even a mid-level hotel). Many are nicely decorated and most are spacious, but it's going to be rare to find anything where you can get daily housekeeping, executive lounges, free meals, newspapers, etc. With the space and affordability of timeshares, I'm more than happy to give that up.

If the luxury truly is important to you, I'm not sure timeshares are for you. You might look into something like LHW (leading hotels of the world) instead. Many of the properties they list run $500-$1000/night and up, but some are just incredible. I had the opportunity to stay at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach last year. For the price to stay there for a week, though, we can stay in timeshares for several months.
 

MALC9990

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It's all a balance between space, cost and luxury to us.

With a growing family (three kids), space became far more important to us. Even the nicest hotels are cramped, and many won't even let you book a room for 5. (And outside of the US, many don't allow 4 or sometimes even 3!) Timeshares give us a ton of space. Many are 1000-1500 square feet or more, and 2 bedroom units are plentiful.

As much as we travel (10-20 weeks a year), cost is something we try to keep down. Timeshares can be incredibly economical, especially if you work the system. Back when we stayed primarily in hotels, $100/night was our "cheap" threshold. We were happy if we found a nice mid-tier hotel in that range, and usually relied on points to get into more expensive places. With timeshares, we are easily under that threshold and sometimes WAY under. We've booked several weeks that cost us $200-$300 (that's per week, not per night). Nicer resorts can cost more, but still far less than a nice hotel.

When it comes to luxury, I'm not sure you'll ever find a timeshare where you get the same level of luxury that you get from a luxury hotel (or even a mid-level hotel). Many are nicely decorated and most are spacious, but it's going to be rare to find anything where you can get daily housekeeping, executive lounges, free meals, newspapers, etc. With the space and affordability of timeshares, I'm more than happy to give that up.

If the luxury truly is important to you, I'm not sure timeshares are for you. You might look into something like LHW (leading hotels of the world) instead. Many of the properties they list run $500-$1000/night and up, but some are just incredible. I had the opportunity to stay at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach last year. For the price to stay there for a week, though, we can stay in timeshares for several months.

I agrre with you Michael, a timeshare wins over a hotel room any day. Also you can achieve a level of luxury equivalent to upscale hotels if you buy wisely. I have stuck to the MVCI resorts and now own in 3 9outside the USA) and also in the MVCI Asia Pacific points system.

As for facilities like daily housekeeping - well in all my reesorts we get that - a daily tidy and beds made and towels changed - plus a full clean twice per week. In Asia the staff even do all the dishes by hand (no dish washer) - you come back to the unit and it's just like you found it when you first arrived - except your stuff is hanging in the wardrobe.

Also if you stay at a MVCI resort attached to a Marriott Hotel then you get their facilities as well.

As for a executive lounge - well in a TS you have your own private exec lounge - drinks available 24X7, food available 24X7 - what more can you ask for.

At the MVCI in Phuket - you can hire in the staff to cook for you on a daily basis if you wish and the associated JW Marriott has 6 restaurants to choose from as well as a deli and a shopping plaza next door. The levels of luxury and service delivered in Asia are way way ahead of what you get in Europe and USA.
 

funtime

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The advice in this thread is good. While luxury may be first on your list, in several years, space will trump luxury. And how about making breakfeast in your room where your child can be in pj's rather than running out to a restaurant and spending 25 to 30 bucks and maybe starting the day hassled?
That being said, many of the Westins have a hotel nearby where you can get discounts for their restaurants, spas etc. I know Westin Rancho Mirage and Westin Kierland Villas in Scottsdale do. If you join TUG you can get a list of resorts that are rated 9 and above as we put in reviews after our trips. I suggest search on ebay by summer weeks - put timeshare in search area and it will ask if you want the timeshare finder. You do. Then you can search by weeks and see what you can get in the summer weeks. And, if you end up paying ebay type prices, you will not care if in five years, your timeshare goes down in value. Also keep reading the boards. I say a definate yes to timesharing.
 

magnolia

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I recently returned from a resort (HGVC Parc Soleil in Orlando) which is a timeshare but I stayed there at a great rate acquired directly with the Hilton website.

Typically, when I vacation with my family we stay at upscale facilities. However, as my son gets older (he's only 5 now), I think we will need two hotel rooms or a 2 bedroom suite or compromise with a 1 bedroom suite (a bed time he sleeps on the pull out). While economically a 1 bedroom suite at an upscale hotel seems to work for now, going forward I will find a 2 bedroom suite or paying for 2 rooms at these hotels unattractive economically.

It seems a 2 bedroom unit at an upscale timeshare could work for us and be somewhat economical compared to my alternatives (2 rooms or 2 bedroom suite).

As far as vacations go, my wife and I prefer to travel outside of the U.S. but for the next 10 years or so, we plan to take our son around the U.S. to see what our country has to offer and potentially tie the trips to what he is learning in school that year.

Are there systems or properties should I consider over others? One additional wrinkle, if I buy into a more upscale property/system will I give up value by exchanging into potentially lower graded facilities because I visit locations that may not have an upscale facility?

Going into this year we pretty much decided that 2 connecting rooms are the way we expect to handling lodging during vacations. However, with our needs changing, the buyers market, and our family having a good time at the Parc Soleil we have reconsidered timesharing as a vacation option.



During the 80's and 90's we vacationed at a number of Four Seasons, Ritz Carletons and Hyatt Regencies. We enjoyed the Club Floor amentities. We have no children but often treated family members. Time progressed and costs increased dramatically. We took a step back and decided that timeshares were not investiments but vacations that we prepaid and factored maintenance into the costs.

The first purchase was not smart. We did not know about resales and Tug. But we bought the Shell points in Hawaii. We like their commitment to solid quality, cleanliness and friendliness. Since then we have purchased reale and are satisfied. We now consider vacation as a time we can enjoy activities, sleep in and chose to eat when, where, and at our convenience. We can still treat family memebers. We like the options of a point system.
 

stmartinfan

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The advice in this thread is good. While luxury may be first on your list, in several years, space will trump luxury. And how about making breakfeast in your room where your child can be in pj's rather than running out to a restaurant and spending 25 to 30 bucks and maybe starting the day hassled?

That description of the kid in pj's was right on. That's exactly what was important to us in timesharing. Starting the day at our own pace, not having to get hungry (and crabby because of it) kids dressed to go sit impatiently at a restaurant to eat a meal they didn't really like, is priceless. Also, being able to put our kids to bed in a separate bedroom, while we enjoyed staying up in the living room to relax for a while. We even found it relaxing many times to do take out from a very nice local restaurant and eat in, so we didn't have to take kids to a fancy restaurant at the end of a busy day. We had a lovely meal in a low stress environment.

When our kids were young we often rented apartment style accommodations or used suite-type hotels. They were usually nice but not luxury. The timeshares we've used have been comparable and less expensive. (We have enjoyed luxury accomodations while on business trips and before kids, so know what we're missing.) But we also found with younger kids that people at some luxury locations weren't very tolerant of kids in restaurants or pools. They were paying lots of money, were there without kids, and didn't want to be annoyed by ours (even when they were just being kids and not brats).

Even though our kids are now young adults, the family still isn't eager to stay in a regular hotel room!
 

njduffer

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That description of the kid in pj's was right on. That's exactly what was important to us in timesharing. Starting the day at our own pace, not having to get hungry (and crabby because of it) kids dressed to go sit impatiently at a restaurant to eat a meal they didn't really like, is priceless. Also, being able to put our kids to bed in a separate bedroom, while we enjoyed staying up in the living room to relax for a while. We even found it relaxing many times to do take out from a very nice local restaurant and eat in, so we didn't have to take kids to a fancy restaurant at the end of a busy day. We had a lovely meal in a low stress environment.

When our kids were young we often rented apartment style accommodations or used suite-type hotels. They were usually nice but not luxury. The timeshares we've used have been comparable and less expensive. (We have enjoyed luxury accomodations while on business trips and before kids, so know what we're missing.) But we also found with younger kids that people at some luxury locations weren't very tolerant of kids in restaurants or pools. They were paying lots of money, were there without kids, and didn't want to be annoyed by ours (even when they were just being kids and not brats).

Even though our kids are now young adults, the family still isn't eager to stay in a regular hotel room!

Actually, our recent trip rekindled our interest in timeshare partially due to the kid in pjs description. We ate breakfast in our room every day and had dinner there the first night. We realized that since our son has been on this oatmeal and oatmeal only for breakfast kick that we should forgo breakfast at a restaurant. It was a nice to sit down and relax and have a meal together without the rush of getting ready for school/work/camp/bedtime/etc. or being around others (host/server/other diners).

Add the above to the idea of paying for 2 hotel rooms and a timeshare may make sense economically and for the space if we find the right system.

"Upscale" means different things to different people and I did not use the word "luxury" because that has a different meaning to me and until my son is much older, we probably would not pay for an extra room for him at a "luxury" hotel.

I considered the Parc Soleil "upscale" rather than "luxury." Prior to the Parc Soleil I had a fairly negative impression of timeshares due to those I visited and seen (from the Caribbean to Vegas to Florida to Spain to the Poconos) while on vacation . Generally, middling facilities and/or older past their prime villas. The Parc Soleil is brand new and we went was the occupancy was low so I realize that this experience that left on us a good impression of timesharing that may not be reality (except the fact that I probably paid less than (or close to) what most folks pay in MFs).

As I read here at TUG, I think there may be properties that may work for us but whether or not timesharing itself is the best idea is something I need to continue to evaluate.
 

Lisa P

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...we bought the Shell points in Hawaii. We like their commitment to solid quality, cleanliness and friendliness.... We can still treat family memebers. We like the options of a point system.
Starting the day at our own pace... we also found with younger kids that people at some luxury locations weren't very tolerant of kids in restaurants or pools. ..... Even though our kids are now young adults, the family still isn't eager to stay in a regular hotel room!
Both of these reflect our experiences too. Whether traveling with children in our group or just with other couples/adults, it's less pleasant with hotel rooms. Even luxury hotels don't always have a convenient, non-public place to gather and relax together or to wait on others to gather and sightsee together. We always seems to make better use of a living room than a lobby or cafe, no matter how nice. And our ability to treat family members with timeshare stays far outweighs that with hotel rooms.
 
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