# Am I dreaming we can exchange?



## madduag (Jan 3, 2013)

Haven't posted here for so long I wasn't recognized anymore to had to start over. (what a great forum).

Anyway, we have a predicament and can't get to our condo this year and pretty bummed about it. We were thinking of tossing in our week to II and pulling for Westin, St John. We would like to go in 2014 but not too picky about the time. 

My question.... are we crazy to believe we can even exchange it to Westin?

We love the Caribbean and have never been to St John. Have considered St Thomas as we've never been there. So what sold us on the Carribbean? 
St Barth, we've been twice but the euro/dollar exchange is just a killer. 

Opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## tschwa2 (Jan 3, 2013)

Westin St John gets 0-4 deposits in II per year.  If there are deposits they are either very last minute, 14 days or less until check in, or during hurricane season.  Starwood owners have 20+ days priority (3 days for last minute deposits) so if anything is deposited it would most likely go to a Starwood owner if s/he wanted it.


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## JMSH (Jan 3, 2013)

Try getting into St.Thomas. The Marriott has a nice spot there and it is a simple ferry ride to St.John for the day. There are also other timeshare locations in St.Thomas.


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## madduag (Jan 4, 2013)

Thanks everyone that's what I was thinking. We haven't been to St Thomas either so maybe we should try for that. We have a great trader just time now isn't on our side. We are about 6 months out. 

Heck maybe I will just put an ad on TUG and see if we can rent it.


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## hotcoffee (Jan 4, 2013)

Unfortunately, Marriott also has a preference period in II.  So, it might not be much easier to trade into a Marriott from a non-Marriott than it is to trade into a Starwood from a non-Starwood.  It does not hurt to try though.


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## LisaRex (Jan 7, 2013)

I occasionally search for Caribbean exchanges using my two Starwood resorts.  Westin St. John has never appeared and I agree that it's highly doubtful one ever will make it past the Starwood prioritiy in II. 

The 2013 exchanges to the "Caribbean" that I see with my weakest trader, (Sheraton Vistana Villages) include Marriott St. Kitts, Marriott Aruba, and tons of Cancun.  The exchanges I see with my strongest trader (Westin Ka'anapali) are not appreciably different. 

Note that there is "Grande Bay Residence & Resort Club" (gold rated) on St. John that has tons of 2013 dates on II Getaways for $1100 (studio) to $1800 (1 bdrm).  II has mistakenly classified it under St. Thomas, however.


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## madduag (Jan 8, 2013)

Well, St John is off my radar to exchange. A villa rental is probably best anyway. I do like to roll that way anyway since we always go with friends and that helps with the price. 

Thanks everyone.


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## LisaRex (Jan 8, 2013)

madduag said:


> Well, St John is off my radar to exchange. A villa rental is probably best anyway. I do like to roll that way anyway since we always go with friends and that helps with the price.
> 
> Thanks everyone.



I'd love to rent a villa on St. John someday.  Some of them look fabulous.  Do your research, though, if you've never been to St. John. A lot of rentals are gorgeous and have great ocean views, but are built a long way away from a beach or one of the two towns (Coral Bay or Cruz Bay).  Even though there are downsides to staying at the Westin, I have to say that the location is ideal.  It's about 5-10 minutes from town, easily accessed via taxi, and the villas are very nice. 

FYI, a lot of Westin owners do rent out their units (including 3 bdrm units) via Tug and Redweek.


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## TravelMamma (Jan 10, 2013)

tschwa2 said:


> Westin St John gets 0-4 deposits in II per year.  If there are deposits they are either very last minute, 14 days or less until check in, or during hurricane season.  Starwood owners have 20+ days priority (3 days for last minute deposits) so if anything is deposited it would most likely go to a Starwood owner if s/he wanted it.



This is about what I was told also from a rep. who looked back at the data for the past couple of years, he actually said 0 exchanges for 2 previous years.  A few weeks later I couldn't beleive it when looking with my Starwood there was one unit that posted but the checkin in dates were for a couple weeks out.  I believe it was for 11/2012 and it only lasted seconds before it was grabbed!  Stinks there aren't more opportunities there, as rentals are priced higher than a lot of other Caribbean destinations, otherwise I would rent but there are too many other places I want to see that I can use my exchange for or that have much lower rental prices or even Getaway weeks that can be purchased for less than a rental.


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## gmarine (Jan 10, 2013)

In almost 19 years with Interval, this is the only resort that I have put in requests for and have never been able to get. I have put in at least a dozen requests for WSJ, all for off season, using strong trading weeks, and have never gotten an exchange.


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## madduag (Jan 11, 2013)

Again great info and thanks. My thoughts are going toward trying to rent our place and take the money and bank it for a future vacation be it St John, St Thomas or wherever the wind and sails take us.


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## bobpark56 (Jan 11, 2013)

*Would a Studio Interest You?*

We own at WSJ, and we ain't trading. We like it too much.

FWIW, studio units do appear from time to time on the SPG web site...5 nights for 48,000 starpoints. These studios are nice, better than 1BR units at many resorts...and nicer than the hotel rooms at WSJ. It is a bit of a hike to the beach, though. (Shuttle rides are sometimes available.)

If you track the visitor reviews closely, you will see that most of the negative reviews come from folks staying in a hotel room, not for those staying in a villa or studio.

  --bp


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