Grand Luxxe/Grand Mayan/Grand Blisse?- comparison with Marriott Ko Olina? [merged]

Many resorts are subdivided into 2 or 3 or more sections, as stated in the title of this post?

Can one tell me why the division - difference in amenities - if one stays in once section will the guest have access to amenities in another section?

I will be trading a week with a friend - I have a 2 bedroom unit at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club - Oahu - she owns weeks in a 2 bedroom unit in the Grand Luxxe chain of resorts - I am interested in going to either Grande Luxxe in Neuvo Vallarta or Mayan Riviera - how do these respective resorts compare?

Can't speak to the Marriott but the GL privies are an incentive to upgrade your MP, GM or GB inventory. At the GL you're the top of the food chain so you'll be able to access everything as far as I know. Not sure if their new Punta project is restricted. I'm sure someone will chime in on that.

Ko Olina is in a much nicer setting with the very cool lagoons in front of the resort that is safe to swim in. Ko Olina is also a significantly smaller resort and less opulent resort than the Mayan property in Nuevo Vallarta.

As far as resort activities the Mayan property again is way ahead of Ko Olina. As far as geographical area of the resorts there are more things to do in Nuevo Vallarta than Ko Olina off property.

I like both resorts but like Mexico better than Hawaii for the most part.


Bill

seema said:

Many resorts are subdivided into 2 or 3 or more sections, as stated in the title of this post?

Can one tell me why the division - difference in amenities - if one stays in once section will the guest have access to amenities in another section?

I will be trading a week with a friend - I have a 2 bedroom unit at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club - Oahu - she owns weeks in a 2 bedroom unit in the Grand Luxxe chain of resorts - I am interested in going to either Grande Luxxe in Neuvo Vallarta or Mayan Riviera - how do these respective resorts compare?

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If you are doing a direct exchange with an owner (or renting from an owner) you will also get additional perks that you wouldn't get if you exchanged through a company. You are also much more likely to get a better unit location than if you were exchanging in. You will want to confirm with the owner but the perks depending on their contract will include such things as included golf fees including cart, messages, and internet w/o the resort fee. This is an aside but she probably paid more for her purchase initially and probably has higher MF's than you. Grand Luxxe will definitely be a larger unit, a larger resort, and have more amenities but that doesn't mean you will like it better- some do, some don't. The flip side is Ko Olina is going to have more demand than supply, while Grand Luxxe has a decent supply. I think it's a fair trade even though if you exchanged through II you would have a decent chance of using only a 1 br or possibly only a studio and getting a 2 br unit at Luxxe (with less perks, a resort fee, and questionable unit placement).

If you want to do nothing but stay at the resort and relax either location (Neuvo Vallarta or Mayan Riviera) would be fine. Neuvo Vallarta is going to be more convenient if you are venturing out to explore the area.

I have not been to Ko Olina, but left the Grand Luxxe in Nuevo Vallarta yesterday and it is pretty special. It was our first time to stay there since we upgraded to that level. We were not disappointed by anything (except Internet speed). The units are awesome and there are so many pools to choose from. We only left the resort one time and that was to go to a sports bar to watch basketball (should have skipped that as my team seemed to have forgotten how to play since last year ).

We have been to quite a few resorts in Hawaii over the years, but have settled on Mexico. The resorts are great, short travel time, and lots to see & do if you want to at a more reasonable price.

http://www.vidanta.com/ is a link to the website. You can check it out yourself.

easyrider said:

As far as geographical area of the resorts there are more things to do in Nuevo Vallarta than Ko Olina off property.

I like both resorts but like Mexico better than Hawaii for the most part.


Bill

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Although I have not been to PV/NV - I think I can probably be right in saying there are more easily accessible activities off the Ko Olina property, compared to any Mexican property.

There are no issues of car rental in Hawaii as there are for (some) foreigners in Mexico (I would never rent a car in Mexico; I have no hesitation in renting a car in Hawaii) -so for Oahu, one has full independence in traversing any part of the island, at one's convenience, which is not likely the case for PV/NV or Mayan Riviera.

Secondly, I submit that there are lot of activities that one can partake of, in Honolulu - so even if one eliminated the relative convenience of getting to off-resort locations between the Mexican and Hawaii locations, I suspect that one would still have the ability to do a lot more in Oahu, then Mexico.

tschwa2 said:

If you are doing a direct exchange with an owner (or renting from an owner) you will also get additional perks that you wouldn't get if you exchanged through a company. You are also much more likely to get a better unit location than if you were exchanging in. You will want to confirm with the owner but the perks depending on their contract will include such things as included golf fees including cart, messages, and internet w/o the resort fee. This is an aside but she probably paid more for her purchase initially and probably has higher MF's than you. Grand Luxxe will definitely be a larger unit, a larger resort, and have more amenities but that doesn't mean you will like it better- some do, some don't. The flip side is Ko Olina is going to have more demand than supply, while Grand Luxxe has a decent supply. I think it's a fair trade even though if you exchanged through II you would have a decent chance of using only a 1 br or possibly only a studio and getting a 2 br unit at Luxxe (with less perks, a resort fee, and questionable unit placement).

If you want to do nothing but stay at the resort and relax either location (Neuvo Vallarta or Mayan Riviera) would be fine. Neuvo Vallarta is going to be more convenient if you are venturing out to explore the area.

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Because Hawaii is the number one demanded geographical area for timeshares, and way ahead of the demand for Mexican resorts (even taking account that the Luxxe resort is likely more luxurious than the Ko Olina resort) - it may be easier for me to get a 2 bedroom unit for the Luxxe resort than the other way around, if the request is made through II.

So a direct exchange between the Luxxe owner and myself is a win-win situation - the Luxxe owner gets a 2 bedroom unit that she would not likely get through II; and I get her privileges with the resort that I would not get with an II exchange.

Grande Luxxe NV/Mayan Riviera versus Ko Olina/other MVCI resorts

My friend and I are thinking of exchanging my 2 bedroom unit at Ko Olina (ocean view) with her 2 bedroom unit at the Grande Luxxe resort at either Neuvo Vallarta or Mayan Riviera.

How would you compare both the on-site (both the actual unit, and the amenities at the resort outside the actual unit) amenities between these 2 sets of resorts (Luxxe versus MVCI).

What about the variety of off-site activities - more in Oahu or in either of the 2 Mexican resort areas?

Obviously, it is easier for most North American residents (not speaking Spanish) to rent a car in Hawaii than in Mexico - thereby more easily accessing such off-site activities in Hawaii.

Which direction (with II) is it easier to exchange (like for like units) Ko Olina to Grande Luxxe or Grande Luxxe to Ko Olina?

seema said:

So a direct exchange between the Luxxe owner and myself is a win-win situation - the Luxxe owner gets a 2 bedroom unit that she would not likely get through II; and I get her privileges with the resort that I would not get with an II exchange.

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I agree with the strategy completely. I am a GL owner and really like the luxury and extra amenities like free golf and massages - no way I am going to give that up just as a normal exchange through II. Finding others in great resort locations that would want to exchange and get our amenities would indeed be a win-win.

Just wondering; maybe a moderator can chime in. GL owners could theoretically research great resorts through TUG, find owners at those resorts, and propose private trades not subjected to the whims of exchange companies. Does this break the rules?

Mike

seema said:

Although I have not been to PV/NV - I think I can probably be right in saying there are more easily accessible activities off the Ko Olina property, compared to any Mexican property.

There are no issues of car rental in Hawaii as there are for (some) foreigners in Mexico (I would never rent a car in Mexico; I have no hesitation in renting a car in Hawaii) -so for Oahu, one has full independence in traversing any part of the island, at one's convenience, which is not likely the case for PV/NV or Mayan Riviera.

Secondly, I submit that there are lot of activities that one can partake of, in Honolulu - so even if one eliminated the relative convenience of getting to off-resort locations between the Mexican and Hawaii locations, I suspect that one would still have the ability to do a lot more in Oahu, then Mexico.

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I do like Ko Olina. Its as good as it gets on Oahu, imo. The marina next door is very handy for a guy like me. For me, Ko Olina is a rental car destination as it is so far away from everything except the marina and the golf course.

The differences in resort quality are noticeable. The Mayan property is huge with a lazy river, wave pool, adult area pool, swim up bar, multiple restaurants, golf corse and resort activities daily. The rooms are more opulent with marble and tile floors instead of carpet. The veranda is huge compared to the maybe 20 sq ft verandas of a two bed unit at Ko Olina.

Getting from Ko Olina to Waikiki can take an hour in traffic. The traffic jams near Pearl City and Salt Lake are a definite turn off for me. If I have my way I stay on west side.

If you ever do explore the area near Nuevo Vallarta you would find that driving here is way easier than Oahu. Destinations near Nuevo Vallarta include a surfing town called Sayulita, a fishing town called Punta de Mita, a tourist town called Bucerias and a large city called Puerto Vallarta. All of these are easy drives from NV.

I have never had a rental car issue in Mexico and I rent a car for at least 3 weeks in Mexico every year.

Both destinations are great. I like them both but would rather head to NV over west side Oahu given the choice.

Activities are easy in NV. Check out Vallarta Adventures. The extreme zip line is a blast. Whale watching is up close in Mexico compared with a 200 ft buffer in Hawaii. We had a whale lift our zodiac and spray us. These guys are located in Nuevo Vallarta and do include transportation to their facility.

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/

The only thing going on in Ko Olina is Paradise Cove which is really hokie compared to the Rhythms of the Night.

Anyway, I am in no way bashing Ko Olina, just pointing out differences.

Bill

While we were visiting with owners at GL, the golf/carts were included, but we had to pay for the caddies.