# vacation village in the berkshires



## STEVIE (Aug 20, 2006)

Hi, I would like to share my experience with all you experienced tuggers and get your opinion.  We bought at this timeshare through the developer almost three years ago.  At the time, we really liked the resort, and bought week 12, which was a red week, and there were people skiing across the street at Jiminny Peek.  We were told this was one of the best weeks to buy, because of the ski season.  Since buying this week, we have traded to Smuggs in Aug. and OLCC in April.  This Aug we did an internal trade into Vacation Village in the Berkshires.  When we checked in, we were told about an owners update which would include breakfast. We registered for the update, thinking we would hear all that is new or planned for our resort in the future.  Upon the morning of the update we met in the club and were surprised to have a one on one salesperson assigned to us.  We went for breakfast and then back to the club for a "survey" for RCI.  After the survey we were asked, and pressured to upgrade to a summer week, telling us that RCi was being sued, and that come Jan. we would lose trade power because our week 12 was not as strong as a summer week.  They told us that for about nine thousand dollars more, we could change our deeded week to a summer week and therefore have better value with RCI.  I was really upset, and told them that when we bought, we were told we were buying the best time, and no one told us about buying a summer week.  Truly, we were never offered anything but week 12, and never knew it was not a true "red" week. We did not upgrade, because really, I felt scammed and cheated.  When we bought, we thought we were buying the best, and now we are asked to spend thousands more money.  Do you think we will experience poor trading power with our week?  Also they mentioned that there were supposed to be about 2,000 units built and because of the zoning laws they were restricted to build only 280 units.  Does this sound right?  They told us we were so lucky to buy here because they can't build enough units for the demand. I am really confused, when we bought we were not told of  blush, pink and red weeks.  We were told we were buying a red week, the highest trading week there was. Any one know if the Berkshires are a high demand area and if I should have spent the extra thousands to be assured a good trade in the future after the legal battle with RCI?  Thanks  Sue


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## EAM (Aug 20, 2006)

*Does ski season at Jiminy peak usually last through March?*

As you probably know by now, trading power depends on a number of factors: supply and demand for the resort, supply and demand for the area, season, size, how far in advance deposited, and VEP (vacation experience profile, compiled from questionaire results).

In general, a winter week at a ski resort is a better trader than a summer week at the same resort.  And a week at a large ski resort will trade better than one at a small resort.

The Jiminy peak resorts are not hard to trade into even in the winter if one plans a few months in advance, so a Hancock, MA ski week probably won't trade as well as a Colorado or Utah ski week (or even a ski week at one of the larger New England resorts).   The fact that they are not hard to trade into calls into question the statement about demand outpacing supply.    

I don't know how long ski season usually lasts in the Berkshires.  The snow might be getting slushy by that time which would make the week less attractive.  On the other hand, it is a spring break for some schools, so that would make it more attractive.  

FYI, an "owner's update" usually means an attempt to sell a timeshare to someone who already bought one.

I would be dubious towards anyone who claims to know both the outcome of the lawsuit against RCI and the effect it would have on trading power of a specific resort.

If week 12 is normally still ski season, my guess is that it will trade better than an summer week.  My guess is that a Berkshires ski week is not likely to be either a top trader or a total dog.  By depositing it you week more than 12 months before checkin and planning ahead,  I would think that you would continue to be able to use it to trade into good resorts at areas you wish to visit.


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## discodan (Aug 20, 2006)

That place must have a lot of unsold units because it's always available on SkyAuction. Right now for around $195 you can get a 1 bedroom rental week from Sept 2006 to March 2007. Just put " BERKSHIRES" in the search at www.skyauction.com DAN


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## Avery (Aug 21, 2006)

The Berks are a bit of an anomaly regarding ski areas because summer is very popular there due to Tanglewood and summer theatre, lakes, etc..

Still, I would NOT give that developer another dime, enjoy what you have. VV is  40 minutes or so to Tanglewood. I know a former employee of the developer there, their sales tactics are said to be horrid.


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## STEVIE (Aug 21, 2006)

Thank you all for responding, Sue


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## shoney (Aug 21, 2006)

while we were there in july, my youngest son needed medical attention (alpine slide injury) and the nurse apologized for the wait times.  She said that their population nearly quadruples in the summer months with tourists.  

We also went on the breakfast.  Once the salesman found out we owned a summer week and it was #27, he backed off.  Then he asked what we paid for it.  (Granted still way too much now that I read this board)  He even went on a computer and looked up the purchase price and then completely backed off saying that a summer week was going upwards of $40k and he is sure we wouldn't be interested.  We had breakfast and he gave us beach balls and our certificate and we were on our way.  I think just about all timeshare tactics are ruthless.

We did get the same story on the number of units.  There were supposed to build another row down the road by the outdoor pool.  Even the numbers of the buildings aren't consecutive (jumps from 14 to 20!!!).  You can still see where they were building and stopped.

I love the area and the resort.  Go and enjoy your February week!!  I'm sure that week is in demand.


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## pedro47 (Aug 21, 2006)

Enjoy you current week and I agree do not upgrade.  You can rent t/s resorts thru so many various sites (now from  $199 to $899 per week)..  Save your money.


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## Jennie (Aug 30, 2006)

Check www.redweek.com and www.Ebay.com to get a feel for the price of rentals and resales.

If you find the trading power of your week does not live up to your expectations, "upgrading" to a summer week is not likely to produce any better results. There are far better timeshares you can purchase on the resale market that will be dynamite traders compared to any week at VV. Save your money. 

Because of all the "games" RCI has been engaging in, namely renting timeshares on numerous web sites to non-timeshare owners at below market price, even people who own bright red weeks at top of the line resorts have been having difficulty obtaining desired exchanges. Many owners are therefore renting their weeks and then using the rental proceeds to rent what they want from other owners. 

My advise to friends is to buy a week only if they would like to vacation at that particular timeshare property each year. Otherwise, rather than buying a week to use for trading, save the huge upfront costs and just rent what you want, whenever you want. You will enjoy the benefits of timesharing at a fraction of the cost of ownership.

Why don't you see if you can rent your week? I'm not a skier so I do not know how popular your resort and week may be for skiers. I've stayed at VV during the summer using weeks "won" at SkyAuction.com. The cost was under $400.. We enjoyed it there but found it rather tedious doing the long drive to the restaurants, Tanglewood, and the summer theatre productions that are the big attraction during the summer season.

"Hang out" at TUG. Read the various bulletin boards. You will gain a lot of valuable knowledge here.


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## Polly Metallic (Aug 30, 2006)

I agree with all the advice here. It would be ridiculous to spend more money to "upgrade." For $9,000 you could buy two or three resale weeks, at least, at any number of very nice resorts with good trading power. I bought all three of my weeks, one in Orlando, one in Maui, one in Hawaii for $10,200 total, resale, and even with the minimal closing costs have only spent $11,200 - 11,500.


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## Aldo (Aug 30, 2006)

I've toured that place three times now, no intention of buying, but it's not far and you get a free weekend in the Berkshires for taking their 3 hour "90 minute" presentation.

All three times---the most ruthless, high-pressure sales pitches I've ever been pitched...pathetic...

One saleslady was practically in tears...telling us all about her cancer...and how she could barely afford to keep her two sons in private colleges....


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