# Grand Timber Lodge CO - thinking of buying



## jscboston (Oct 5, 2007)

I am thinking of buying an EOY unit (i.e. you just get to use it once every two years) at Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge CO (2 BR, prime ski season), and have a few questions.

First and most important, what should I expect to pay for a unit like this?  I'm only able to find a few listings right now and don't want to overpay.

Second, does anyone know what their reservation policies are?  Basically the only time I'll be able to use it is President's Day (that's the only ski week that my kids aren't in school other than Christmas, which doesn't work for us).  So I'm hoping their system is like Marriott's.  With Marriott, I know exactly when the reservation window opens for the week that I want, and as long as I call right when the window is open I am able to get exactly what I want.  On a related note, how difficult is it to get President's Day at Colorado ski resorts?  That's a big holiday week in New England (where I live), but I have the impression that most of the rest of the country doesn't get that week off.  

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## Picker57 (Oct 5, 2007)

jscboston said:


> I am thinking of buying an EOY unit (i.e. you just get to use it once every two years) at Grand Timber Lodge in Breckenridge CO (2 BR, prime ski season), and have a few questions.
> 
> First and most important, what should I expect to pay for a unit like this?  I'm only able to find a few listings right now and don't want to overpay.
> 
> ...


President's Day IS big ski *weekend* here in CO., but I doubt that any school districts take the week off.  I'm  not familiar with Grand Timber Lodge but I'll be in that area next weekend and might do a drive-by. 

               ---Zach


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## Steamboat Bill (Oct 5, 2007)

Grand Timer is AWESOME. But I am not sure they offer EOY fixed weeks.

First, I would NOT buy EOY as this is 60-70% to price of EY and HARDER to sell. Get a normal EY timeshare and trade or rent the years you don't want.

Second, Presidents week for MOST ski resorts is a fixed (premimum priced) week like Christmas and New Year Week. Thus, the exact unit you are looking for may be difficult to find on the resale market.

Contact Grand Timber to see if they even sell EOY Presidents week before you try to find a reslae. good luck.


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## riverdees05 (Oct 5, 2007)

*Website*

http://www.grandtimber.com/


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## Steamboat Bill (Oct 5, 2007)

They do offer Odd year and Even year use, but I was not able to determine if week 7 (presidents week) is a fixed week or not.

I still would NOT buy a EOY timeshare....renting is better.


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## Dave*H (Oct 5, 2007)

I'm fairly certain Presidents week is not a fixed week, and Grand Timber does have EOY floating ski weeks.  I believe their reservation process is that on a fixed day, they open up reservations for the entire ski season (minus the fixed weeks of 51 & 52).  Thus, you will have every floating ski week owner trying to call in at the same time.  I'm not an owner there so I don't know for sure, but I would imagine you have to be quick with your dial pad to get a prime reservation.


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## Dave*H (Oct 5, 2007)

Also, I don't know where it stands, but there has been a proposal to create a lottery system for reservations:
http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47758


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## Steamboat Bill (Oct 5, 2007)

Dave_H said:


> Also, I don't know where it stands, but there has been a proposal to create a lottery system for reservations:
> http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47758



If they did that..I would NOT reccomend buying there...just rent.


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## rickandcindy23 (Oct 5, 2007)

It is a beautiful resort!  Prime ski weeks are very high there.  I was surprised when I saw an ebay ad that was increasing by the hour for a ski week.  I don't know what the final price was, but it definitely went over $20K.  I didn't get it, really, when you consider that it is not a Marriott, Hilton or Hyatt.  Someday, resales will be cheaper, I believe, as more people no longer recognize it as a top resort.  I think of some of the nicer no-name resorts and it is obvious that many are just as nice as the big name guys, but that name really means something.  I can't afford any of those.    Green with envy at those who can.


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## Floridaski (Oct 5, 2007)

*Not that hard to trade into...*

Grand Timber is a very large resort with many units, so it may not be as hard as some of the smaller resorts.  We traded into Grand Timber Lodge with one phone call for mid season skiing last year.  We made the reservation using our Hyatt points and were confirmed into a great 2 bedroom, sleeps 8 unit within one week.  So, based on that experience - I would think if you were diligent that you might be OK.  But, I do have to agree I think the resort is overpriced.  For 20 K you can get into a Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott and be better off in the long run.  I think Grand Timber Lodge prices will come down in a few years, they are going to have a huge amount of inventory....

But, do not mistake my comments - we would be happy to go back to the resort.  It is beautiful and the units were very nice, I just do not think they are worth 20K!  You can purchase a 1300 point Hyatt week for about $7500 and trade into Grand Timber!  Or use your 20 K and purchase a really nice Marriott or Hyatt week and have more then one vacation.  Good luck!


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## jscboston (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks to all for the helpful comments.  Based on this input and some more work that I have done, I have one question and a few comments.  

First, the question.  Dave H, your link to the board minutes was helpful.  They indicated that the next board meeting was scheduled for May 2007.  Does anyone know whether the issue of a lottery for ski weeks was raised again at the May meeting?  I tried but could not find the minutes of that meeting by guessing at the URL.

Now the comments.

The best info I can gather (which I will confirm with the resort before I close) is that Dave H is correct - they do have floating EOY weeks, and that the only fixed ski weeks are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, and that there is currently no lottery system to award reservations.  

Steamboat Bill, I appreciate (as always) your insightful comments.  I am leaning toward not taking your advice and going ahead with the purchase of an EOY ski week.  My rationale is as follows.  First, I have found a unit I can buy that is barely more than 50% (and definitely less than 55%) of my best guess of the market value of an every-year week.  (I want to refrain from talking specific numbers until we have a signed contract, but you can probably get in the ballpark).  The effective cost (based on a method similar to that you have described in other posts) is well under $250 per night which is about 50% of rack rates and still 25% or more below the rental rates I see on timeshare classified sites.  So it's a cost effective way to ski once every two years at a resort that I really like.  Since my wife doesn't like to ski I'm not sure I'll be able to ski with the kids more often than that anyway.  If I can, I wouldn't mind renting at another ski hill just for variety's sake.  Why don't I buy an every-year unit and rent out the extra weeks?  I estimate that my profit from doing so (above my effective cost including a return on my investment) would be in the $500 - 750 range per year.  At that level, it just isn't worth the time and effort involved.  Based on other comments you have made, I imagine you can understand this rationale.  Why don't I just rent units as a tenant, without buying?  Two reasons.  First, it will cost an extra 25% or more.  Second, it isn't worth the time and hassle (per comments above) to dig around for good rental deals.  And renting timeshare units as a tenant makes me very nervous.  I know many people have good experiences doing this, but I just have an image of flying to Denver, showing up at the property with kids and ski gear in tow, only to find out that I am the rare person who got scammed and there is no unit waiting for me.  What then?  My ultimate plan, if everything goes well with this approach, is to buy an EOY unit for alternating years at another desirable resort, perhaps Marriott Mountainside.  This will let me alternate between ski areas from year to year.  And in some years I could put in for a "dream trade" (e.g. Hawaii, Aruba, etc) on a "request first" basis.  If the trade comes through, great.  If not, I'm off to the ski hills.  The biggest flaw in my plan arises if Grand Timber goes toward a lottery system and I am regularly unable to get President's Day week.  This is a risk that I am willing to take given the other considerations here (though of course I hope they don't do that).  

I'm interested in anyone's feedback on my thinking.  And please don't anyone beat me up for saying that $500 isn't worth the effort to rent out a week.  I mean no offense to anyone who has a different view, but that's just where I am.  

Thanks again, and I look forward to the thoughts of this group.


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## Steamboat Bill (Oct 5, 2007)

JSC

I think your plan is solid. I used to own a condo at Beaver Run in Breckenridge and I know the area very well. My comments on EOY timeshares is that they "normally" sell for 65% of a EY (even thought you only get 50% of the use)...thus it is not good value. If you found a EOY that is priced at 50% of an EY property...then it is a good deal as your future resale value could actually increase.

You should also be very CAREFUL about Presidents Week and this is SUPER crowded n Breck and has high demand from all owners. Thus, you might get skunked if you are putting all your eggs in one basket.

You WILL be very HAPPY with this property. My mother really LOVES it and she may buy one there as I sold my Beaver Run condo and she enjoys Breck....she is a good skiier for a 67yo mom.


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## jscboston (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the comments Bill.  

You're right that I'm putting all my eggs in the President's Day basket.  I'm hoping that my experience at Grand Timber will be consistent with my prior timeshare experience.  I owned Sheraton Vistana and then Marriott Grande Vista, for a total of about eight years (notice the upward trajectory in my timeshare inventory?).  I have always found out when the booking window opens, called at the first possible time, and have never failed to get the highest demand weeks (President's Day, Easter Week, Christmas, etc).  I'm hoping for more of the same, and will be bummed if it doesn't work out that way.  

On a separate note, Bill, you may (or may not) recall that I posted on the "non-traditional" board about High Country Club.  It's a very interesting program, but at the end of the day I am going the timeshare route instead.  The issue for me is that I just can't be sure that I can use the full 25 days in the Affiliate membership.  We can reliably vacation for two weeks each year on our own, but since my wife and I both have our families in distant cities we must travel to each of them once or twice each year.  I figured out what the per-night effective cost would be if we just used two weeks, and it's off the charts (at least for me it was).  Just like timeshare, if you don't use what you're paying for the economics really go to $@!%.


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## Steamboat Bill (Oct 5, 2007)

I like both Timeshares and Destination Clubs....they both have their pros and cons.

For the record...most ski-in/out upscale timehsare properties cost about $25,000-$30,000 for a 1 week 2 bedroom ski week.

Thus, if you are paying in the $12,500-$15,000 range or LESS then you are making a good purchase.


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## jscboston (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks Bill.  I thought pricing was in the range you mentioned, and I'm in (very) good shape based on this.  Now I just have to wait for the deal to close and cross my fingers once every two years when it's time to make my reservation!


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