# Diamond Resorts International - New Resorts



## pgnewarkboy (Feb 12, 2009)

DRI sent an e-mail announcing new resorts for members of the Club in china, thailand, and austrailia.


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## pedro47 (Feb 12, 2009)

When are they going to add more resorts in the United States?


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## dougp26364 (Feb 12, 2009)

The question in my mind is, how many units are actaully available to DRI members? It does little good to have a long list of resorts when availability in those resorts is limited.

DRI seems to be taking a page from Hilton, who adds new locations through affiliation rather than putting a shovel into the dirt. It might look great on paper but it will do very little good if you can't get into those resorts reasonably easily.  

Still, I may look to some of the Austrailian resorts when the time comes. I'm just not expecting great, or even decent availability. Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised.


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## pgnewarkboy (Feb 13, 2009)

dougp26364 said:


> The question in my mind is, how many units are actaully available to DRI members? It does little good to have a long list of resorts when availability in those resorts is limited.
> 
> DRI seems to be taking a page from Hilton, who adds new locations through affiliation rather than putting a shovel into the dirt. It might look great on paper but it will do very little good if you can't get into those resorts reasonably easily.
> 
> Still, I may look to some of the Austrailian resorts when the time comes. I'm just not expecting great, or even decent availability. Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised.



I guess we will find out about the amount of availability.    IMHO some availability in those locations is better than no opportunity at all.  I am happy to see that they are staying active during these hard economic times and that they are working on building a better Club.


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## rubycat33 (Feb 15, 2009)

*I Love Diamond Resorts*

Does that sound sappy?   Well, probably yes, but what a headline.   I do want to say I am SO HAPPY since Diamond Resorts took over the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort on Ski Run Blvd, South Lake Tahoe.  I have owned there through Hilton, and Sunterra and Diamond finally has a grip on the place.  I own Marriott and Hyatt and have always considered my Tahoe a far back fourth or fifth place.  But they are improving the property and most importantly their staff is finally up to speed of other quality properties.  Congratulation Diamond Resorts!


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## RIMike (Feb 15, 2009)

*Great News!!!*



rubycat33 said:


> Does that sound sappy?   Well, probably yes, but what a headline.   I do want to say I am SO HAPPY since Diamond Resorts took over the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort on Ski Run Blvd, South Lake Tahoe.  I have owned there through Hilton, and Sunterra and Diamond finally has a grip on the place.  I own Marriott and Hyatt and have always considered my Tahoe a far back fourth or fifth place.  But they are improving the property and most importantly their staff is finally up to speed of other quality properties.  Congratulation Diamond Resorts!



This is the first good news I have heard since I joined DRI The Club...so far it  has been the most disappointing of my TS holdings...but this gives me just a bit of encouragement.


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## dougp26364 (Feb 16, 2009)

rubycat33 said:


> Does that sound sappy?   Well, probably yes, but what a headline.   I do want to say I am SO HAPPY since Diamond Resorts took over the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort on Ski Run Blvd, South Lake Tahoe.  I have owned there through Hilton, and Sunterra and Diamond finally has a grip on the place.  I own Marriott and Hyatt and have always considered my Tahoe a far back fourth or fifth place.  But they are improving the property and most importantly their staff is finally up to speed of other quality properties.  Congratulation Diamond Resorts!



Hilton/Embassy never owned Lake Tahoe Vacation resort. It was nothing more than a license agreement to use the name. If you undcovered all the paperwork, you'd find out that Sunterra was actually the owner the entire time. It was only an illusion that any of the Embassy resorts were ever a part of the Hilton hotel family. Sunterra was one dirty bird when it came to deception IMHO.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 16, 2009)

*Just Wondering.  (Idle Curiosity Only.)*




RIMike said:


> I joined DRI The Club...so far it  has been the most disappointing of my TS holdings.


Did you join pre-Diamond, back in the SunTerra era ? 

Or did you join more recently, after Diamond bought out SunTerra ? 

On the 1 hand, I know of some people who have mastered the company's club system. 

On the other hand, I can't help noticing an increase lately in grumbling about Diamond, right here on TUG-BBS. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## rubycat33 (Feb 16, 2009)

*Lake Tahoe Vac Resort Mgt*

Hi Doug,
I wasn't really making a statement regarding ownership so much as who operates the property.  All I know was Hiltons name was on the note pad.  However, the information regarding true ownership was something I ran across on a blog when I was just curious about the big dig next to Harveys.  I don't no the credentials of the blogger, but here is the link.

http://laketahoenews.blogspot.com/2008/07/convention-center-crater-in-south-tahoe.html

It is interesting reading if you travel Tahoe much.


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## pgnewarkboy (Feb 16, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> Did you join pre-Diamond, back in the SunTerra era ?
> 
> Or did you join more recently, after Diamond bought out SunTerra ?
> 
> ...




Grumbling is of course legitimate exercise in this group.  I think that the amount of grumbling in not necessarily indicative of the quality of the company.  I have noticed that most of the grumbling comes from a few posters who feel they have been burned badly by DRI - particularly at Polo Towers in LV.  They are entitled to their opinion.  Further, it seems that the "other timeshare discussion" group is a breeding ground for grumbling.  I see it basically on every timeshare company mentioned or listed in the group including Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc.  Not too many posters take the time to congratulate any business for the good things they do.


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## lv_maui (Feb 16, 2009)

rubycat33 said:


> Hi Doug,
> However, the information regarding true ownership was something I ran across on a blog when I was just curious about the big dig next to Harveys.  I don't no the credentials of the blogger, but here is the link.
> 
> http://laketahoenews.blogspot.com/2008/07/convention-center-crater-in-south-tahoe.html



The  blogger is completely wrong.  The resort was always Sunterra developed under originally the Argosy-Koar days before Sunterra went public.  Embassy Suites managed the resort in the beginning basically under the complete direction of Sunterra.  Then Sunterra took over property management when the Embassy VAcation Resort stopped.  

The connection is that the failed Embassy Suites on the stateline was owned by a group containing Steve Kenninger and Osamu Kaneko who joined forces with Jody Gessow to develop the EVR - Lake Tahoe resort.

Remember that many brand names are owned by other than the brand name itself.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 16, 2009)

*That Story Sounds Familiar.*




lv_maui said:


> The resort was always Sunterra developed under originally the Argosy-Koar days before Sunterra went public.  Embassy Suites managed the resort in the beginning basically under the complete direction of Sunterra.  Then Sunterra took over property management when the Embassy VAcation Resort stopped.


Something similar must have happened in Orlando FL.  

When we 1st saw Grand Beach resort down there (on tour, mainly for the freebies), the signs said Embassy Grand Beach, even though it was a SunTerra timeshare.  Now Embassy is gone & it's just Diamond Resorts Grand Beach.  

Apparently rebranding & renaming are commonplace in the timeshare biz., maybe as a way of keeping the paying customers off balance, I don't know.  

Just since we've been into timeshares (2002), Diamond has taken over & renamed SunTerra.  The Clarion Suites timeshare on Palm Parkway, not far from Grand Beach, is now Celebrity Resorts. The FairField timeshares have become Wyndham.  That necessitated changing the name of Wyndham Palms to Mystic Dunes.  

So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## RIMike (Feb 16, 2009)

*Bought last year after a stay at Sedona Summitt*



AwayWeGo said:


> Did you join pre-Diamond, back in the SunTerra era ?
> 
> Or did you join more recently, after Diamond bought out SunTerra ?
> 
> ...



Bought last February!!!
It has a high pressure sales tactic and I had not yet found Tug2.  If I had I would have thought through the pitch.  Before that I have only bought from clients and friends who were selling Timeshares....and got great properties at reasonable resale rates.  I have no complaints about them.

You can go back and read my Sedona Summitt review. I really enjoyed the TS and the location and got caught up in the moment.  Then when I got home I realized that I had made an impluse decision.  However, the recission time in AZ is short and by the time I got home the time had passed...if I remember correctly it is 5 days.  I went on  TS presentation on Tuesday of a seven day stay and also saw a client in Deer Valley before returning to Florida where I lived.  I asked to get out of the contract and were told that was impossible.  

That was discouraging enough, but then they took MONTHS to get me set up with II, even after I paided off the entire contract and maintience fee (which they said was required to get the II Membership).

Then when I finally made a trade using the points on a "short stay" it turned out to be as expensive as it would have been for the whole week...AND, unfortunately (though not DRI's fault) the timeshare had a terrible attitude problem and we left early (see Calypso Cay review).  

But since selling my DRI points are worthless, I might as well use them for stays at their properties.  That seems to me to be the value of them.  They do have a lot of exotic properties that hardly ever are listed on II like Hawaii, Italy, France and Ireland.  

I take this as my 8,000 dollar TS mistake...it could have been worse I could have bought MORE points.  However, I am happy that there are reports that at some of the resorts things are improving...hopefully that will spill over to customer service.


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## RIMike (Feb 16, 2009)

*I agree, negative posters are from those that got Burned!*



pgnewarkboy said:


> Grumbling is of course legitimate exercise in this group.  I think that the amount of grumbling in not necessarily indicative of the quality of the company.  I have noticed that most of the grumbling comes from a few posters who feel they have been burned badly by DRI - particularly at Polo Towers in LV.  They are entitled to their opinion.  Further, it seems that the "other timeshare discussion" group is a breeding ground for grumbling.  I see it basically on every timeshare company mentioned or listed in the group including Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc.  Not too many posters take the time to congratulate any business for the good things they do.



After having bought at DRI and finding Tug2, I can tell you that my experience is very different with the different companies that I own.  I own at Wyndham, and Independent and The Royals and DRI.  The difference between companies is amazing.  And from reading on here I have been making trades into Marriott and those experiences have all been very good.  I would one day like to have a Marriott property.

But, DRI hardly EVER gets a positive nod on here...and for good reason.  Those of us who got burned are not happy about the experience.  I would tell anyone who asked, DRI is great for getting locations within their system that are hard to get otherwise.  But on the whole I think that DVC (from what I have read) Marriott (from what I have read and my trades) and The Royals are the best.  With DRI near the bottom of the larger TS companies.

But then, I am one of the "burned ones", but not Polo Towers, DRI "The Club". I would be happy to sell my points for what I paid, if any one is interested?


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## pgnewarkboy (Feb 16, 2009)

RIMike said:


> After having bought at DRI and finding Tug2, I can tell you that my experience is very different with the different companies that I own.  I own at Wyndham, and Independent and The Royals and DRI.  The difference between companies is amazing.  And from reading on here I have been making trades into Marriott and those experiences have all been very good.  I would one day like to have a Marriott property.
> 
> But, DRI hardly EVER gets a positive nod on here...and for good reason.  Those of us who got burned are not happy about the experience.  I would tell anyone who asked, DRI is great for getting locations within their system that are hard to get otherwise.  But on the whole I think that DVC (from what I have read) Marriott (from what I have read and my trades) and The Royals are the best.  With DRI near the bottom of the larger TS companies.
> 
> But then, I am one of the "burned ones", but not Polo Towers, DRI "The Club". I would be happy to sell my points for what I paid, if any one is interested?




Actually, there are numerous good reports about DRI.  There seems to be a fairly recent problem with getting people set up with II that they should correct.  One year is a pretty short time to judge a company given the lag time needed to get vacations set.  I have been with Sunterra then Diamond for over 10 years. I am very happy with their offerings and their service.  DRI offers a flexibility that Marriott does not offer.  Marriott has decreased their point values regularly, and reneged on their ROFR - just check the Marriott group on TUG to learn more about it.  Some Marriott properties have roach infestation which was not corrected during the vacation stay (also a TUG post). 

I recently took the Marriott sales pitch at their location in south jersey near atlantic city.  Good friends of mine are Marriott and Diamond Owners.  I was surprised to learn during the pitch that if I bought NOW I could get a special deal on concierge service and use of points that was not available to current Marriott owners unless they upgraded and bought more.  Marriott is a fine company in many ways but they will not be achieving sainthood any time soon.

Given that no company is perfect, I still think Marriott generally offers an excellent vacation experience.  I am sure that you will find that you will have excellent vacation experiences with DRI over time.


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## csalter2 (Feb 16, 2009)

*DRI Has Potential But Improvements Are Slow Coming*

Overall, I have had a pleasant experience with DRI. I have recently had problems with their agreement with me over maintenance fees. Maintenance fees seems to be the biggest issue that owners have with DRI. They have increased quite a bit so that is where the complaints have been. The European owners in particular really complain a great deal about the MF. 

I like the flexibility of the points. I get 30,000 points each year and am able to provide vacations for my adult children and myself with no problem. I own at Marriott Ko Olina and must say that the Marriott properties are by far superior than Diamond properties in the US. I understand that the Diamond properties in Europe are at a higher level. I will find out soon. 

If DRI improves the properties and furnishings like for example, the Palm Springs property, which is in a prime location, then more owners will be happy.  It is just that when you would rather use your points through interval to pay the II exchange fee to stay at a Marriott, Hyatt, or Starwood property which is down the street from a DRI property that makes DRI owners upset. 

I must say that the Diamond Select program in which one can internally stay at other resorts of Diamond owners who own other systems is really a great deal. I can use my points and stay at various properties and not even pay an exchange fee. That's nice and I don't feel that I am losing value on my points.


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## RIMike (Feb 16, 2009)

*I Hope So...*

To both Pgnewarkboy and Csalter2, I hope you both are right and that over time my experiences with DRI will improve.  I enjoyed my stay at Sedona Summitt a great deal.  It was a beautiful location and an adequate timeshare, with the newer units outstanding...that was what lead me to buy from the developer.

I will have to wait and see how this goes...but, from earlier comments, as you can tell, so far it has been less than expected.


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## dougp26364 (Feb 17, 2009)

With DRI, it's not so much an issue with the product but with the delivery of the product and their customer service and communiction other than PR.


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## pgnewarkboy (Feb 17, 2009)

csalter2 said:


> Overall, I have had a pleasant experience with DRI. I have recently had problems with their agreement with me over maintenance fees. Maintenance fees seems to be the biggest issue that owners have with DRI. They have increased quite a bit so that is where the complaints have been. The European owners in particular really complain a great deal about the MF.
> 
> I like the flexibility of the points. I get 30,000 points each year and am able to provide vacations for my adult children and myself with no problem. I own at Marriott Ko Olina and must say that the Marriott properties are by far superior than Diamond properties in the US. I understand that the Diamond properties in Europe are at a higher level. I will find out soon.
> 
> ...



I think one of the issues with DRI and comparisons is that Marriott and Hyatt ( I don't know about Starwood) are hotel based timeshares.  They have timeshares where they have hotels.  You have access to some of the hotel facilities.  Marriott and Hyatt are multi-billion dollar international corporations.  I don't think that DRI can actually compete with that kind of operation.  I have found, however, that the vast majority of of DRI timeshare resorts I have stayed at are excellent and it is my personal experience that DRI has definitely upgraded timeshare units in Sedona and Branson. The NEW units in Branson are actually the nicest timeshare units I have ever stayed at - including my Marriott and Hyatt stays. It is not a hotel, however, and does not offer a similar experience.

 DRI offers different kinds of opportunities because they build or affiliate with places that do not or could not have a Marriott or Hyatt hotel presence for many business reasons.  For example, we stayed in a DRI in Oahu at a relatively isolated location.  There is no way that Marriott or Hyatt could justify building a hotel there.  Because of the location next to volcanoe national park and the black sand beach it may even be prohibited to build on such a large scale.  Our unit was very nice.  It did not have the amenities that a Marriott or Hyatt would have.  It did offer something, however, that I could not otherwise experience.  It was a simply beautiful and serene location.  

My close friends own many Marriotts and love them.  They also have gripes about Marriott but continue to buy.  I think they have finally reached their limit on number of units they are willing to buy .  They also bought at DRI for the different opportunities and particularly the Club Select program that allows them to deposit their Marriott for many points and gives them flexibility to use points every year which Marriott does not.  It is good for them and good for me because I can get into a Marriott without paying an exchange fee.


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## RIMike (Feb 21, 2009)

*Nice additional information*

"I must say that the Diamond Select program in which one can internally stay at other resorts of Diamond owners who own other systems is really a great deal. I can use my points and stay at various properties and not even pay an exchange fee. That's nice and I don't feel that I am losing value on my points."


This is new information to me...and a nice additional benefit.  Thanks...it is all a learning process....each TS company is different.


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