# Four Seasons Aviara Question



## Carlsbadguy (Apr 3, 2012)

I have someone willing to give me an Aviara Four Seasons Gold week and am wondering if it is worth taking.
I do have some questions anmd any other comments would be appreciated.

1. Is there anything resale owners do not have access to.
2. Is day use available for local owners
3. What type of trades are people able to get and is it done strictly thru II or through Four Seasons?
4. Splitting two bedroom into 2 units or splitting week into multiple stays
5. Any big changes since Hyatt took over?
6. How difficult is it to reserve a week?
7. What is the yearly mtc fee?

I live nearby so would use this for exchanges and also as a place for relatives to stay.
Thanks for any info.


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## LAX Mom (Apr 3, 2012)

I can't answer any of your questions (sorry!) but I'd like to add another one:

What weeks does the gold season cover at Four Seasons Aviara?


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## Steve (Apr 3, 2012)

Carlsbadguy said:


> I have someone willing to give me an Aviara Four Seasons Gold week and am wondering if it is worth taking.
> I do have some questions anmd any other comments would be appreciated.
> 
> 1. Is there anything resale owners do not have access to.
> ...



1)  Resale owners don't have the ability to exchange their week for a credit to be used for stays at Four Seasons hotels.  This sounds nice at first, but it's an absolutely terrible value based on what Four Seasons offers owners for their week.  So don't feel bad about not having this benefit. 

2)  I don't think day use is available, but I'm not completely sure.  A quick call to owner services (8 - 5 pacific time, M - F) would give you the answer.

3)  Great trade power, but not really a great value, through II.

Very limited exchanges are available through Four Seasons.  These internal Four Seasons exchanges used to be available only if you purchased from an authorized reseller, but they don't seem to be enforcing this at this time. I just purchased a week from an unauthorized reseller, and I have the Four Seasons internal trade benefit.  However, it is of little usefulness as internal exchanges are very tough to get (with the exception of Scottsdale).

Your best trade option might be the The Registry Collection.  This can get you into some very deluxe resorts that are not available through any other exchange company.  It's expensive, but it's kind of a fun option for me as they have locations in places that I really like to visit.

4)  You can lock off your week into a 1 bedroom and a studio and reserve them separately.  Or you can use the split week option and stay 3 nights on one stay and four on the other.  There is a small fee for either option...and you cannot due both.  It's one or the other each use year.

5)  The biggest change for owners and guests at the Residence Club is that you can't count on using the facilities of the hotel.  Furthermore, many services provided by the hotel that used to be free, such as the kids club, now have a charge.  The Residence Club itself offers the same luxury and service as always, but it should be considered a stand alone property now rather than part of a full service resort.

6)  It depends on what week you want.  If you want a prime holiday week such as Easter or Thanksgiving, then you'll need to be on the phone exactly one year in advance when the phone lines open in the morning.  Most weeks are fairly easy to reserve, but you still need to plan in advance.

7)  The maintenance fee for 2012 was $2291.  In addition, taxes to San Diego County are billed separately and they are about $120 a year.  The place ain't cheap.

To answer LAX Mom's question, the gold season includes:

weeks 1 - 23 and 41 - 52.  

Hope this helps.

Steve


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## jarta (Apr 4, 2012)

Carlsbadguy said:


> I have someone willing to give me an Aviara Four Seasons Gold week and am wondering if it is worth taking.
> I do have some questions anmd any other comments would be appreciated.
> 
> 1. Is there anything resale owners do not have access to.
> ...



1.  At the timeshare resort, nothing.  At the hotel, nothing (but fees for use have increased).  

Resale owners used to have to deal with an approved broker to use the Four Seasons trading system.  That was changed about 3 years ago.  

Now, any resale purchaser gets whatever rights original owners have.  If you have the time to use and money to own at Aviara (and faith in Four Seasons), resale prices have been extremely low the past 2 years.

2.  I don't think so.

3.  II trades are very good.  Value is affected by the high yearly MF at Aviara.  Usually, the MF at the resort you trade into are less than Aviara's. 

IMO, Four Seasons trades would be awkward matches and hard to accomplish since Aviara and Troon North are the the only Four Seasons timeshare resorts.  You must reserve a week, advertise it with Four Seasons as available and hope someone is looking for your exact reserved week and you are interested in their exact reserved week.  (Phillips Club in NYC also participates in this Four Season trade matching system; I've never tried internal trading.)

4.   Yes.  The 2-br, 3-ba is a lockoff.  Either the (very) large 1-br or the smaller 1-br can be reserved for less than a full week  (4-3 days) - subject to availability and a small fee.

5.  Nothing big.  There is no outward animosity I could detect between the 2 resorts.

However, fees for hotel use are up.  Timeshare guests can still can use the hotel pool (free), day care, spa and golf course and charge purchases at the hotel to their timeshare room using their key.  (But, I didn't charge anything that way during my stay this January.)

6.  Not particularly.  However, I make reservations early and haven't had any trouble making Gold week reservations at 8-9 months from arrival.  Part of this is due to the Gold season being *everything but** the 4 summer months* (around June 7-October 15).  

In general, Gold season is for snow bunnies from colder climates.  Platinum season is for CA and AZ residents who need to get out of the desert heat or need a break from the big cities. 

At 8 months from arrival, a Gold season week can be used to make a reservation for a Platinum season week - for a fee ($150?) and subject to availability.  (Haven't tried this yet.)

7.  The 2012 MF for my 2-br was $2,291 (plus separately billed real estate taxes calculated under Proposition 13 procedures).

Minor info:  The timeshare resort is pet friendly  ($100 extra cleaning fee for each entire stay).  Daily maid service and tidy.  2 separate areas for the timeshare resort with separate pools, workout rooms and snack facilities:  Meadows (lower with golf course and pool views; and check-in facility) and Summits (perched high on the hill with expansive landscape and some pool views).  

Room renovations taking place this year.  Try to get a renovated room.  However, the unrenovated rooms were still in pretty good shape and very luxurious.  Owning at Aviara is expensive.  But, there are lots of little touches which make this timeshare resort different and, IMO, still better than all other timeshare resorts.

Useful (but lately un-updated?) link to Services and Amenities and other linked Aviara pages:  http://residences.fourseasons.com/r.../services_and_amenities/residential_services/


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## blackjack (May 6, 2012)

*Great Info*

I too am interested at owning at Four Seasons to use mostly and sometimes trade to get harder to get weeks like Westin Maui during harder to get times.  

So I guess my question is that is it possible to book resorts like Westin Maui or Marriott Ko'Olina at higher seasons?  

If I split my week up in 1 bed and studio, can use use both to trade for 2 bedrooms or larger size units at different resorts?  

Thanks for the info already provided.  

Best,
Jack


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## chalucky (May 7, 2012)

Using it to trade is a bad idea....also you wiill never be able to overcome the Marriott and Westin internal preferences.

We have stayed there on trades > 10 times over the past five years.
Next time is a studio we got for Mmemorial day weekend  

Miss free kids club, free steam room access in the hotel spa. Otherwise the resort is the best ever.


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## blackjack (May 7, 2012)

Thanks for the info.  Yeah, makes sense about the owner preference at the other big chains so probably not likely to get the good weeks.  

I guess the only trades I would make is to upgrade room size back at Four Seasons.  I love the resort and would prefer to use it myself if I do make the purchase.

Best,
Jack


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## OutAndAbout (Sep 2, 2014)

Carlsbadguy said:


> 5. Any big changes since Hyatt took over?



Does the Park Hyatt still offer a Beach Butler service? 

If so is that still gratis or is there a fee if you're at the timeshare?


2010 Press release
Park Hyatt Aviara also features a Beach Butler who provides complimentary transportation to the beach (a 10-minute trip) and all the necessary amenities: chairs, beach umbrella, towels and blankets. The Beach Butler can also recommend locations and contacts for kayaking, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing and other aquatic activities, and bring along ingredients for a morning coffee or afternoon picnic. For those guests choosing to remain on property, an arcade game room features traditional billiards, foosball, ping pong tables, video games, air hockey and more. An expansive recreation center features open space for sports activities including sand volleyball, lawn bowling, horseshoes, croquet and half-court basketball.


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## presley (Sep 2, 2014)

OutAndAbout said:


> Does the Park Hyatt still offer a Beach Butler service?
> 
> If so is that still gratis or is there a fee if you're at the timeshare?
> 
> ...



They Hyatt hotel and the Four Seasons timeshare are not sharing many benefits these days.  In fact, Four Seasons is building their own spa and maybe a restaurant.  

Last fall, Four Seasons had an option for a beach event which sounds similar to the one you posted about.  It was only on Wednesday mornings and I believe it cost $30./per couple.  There were no activities that were shared with the Hyatt.


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