# Problems at Summer Bay



## suskey (May 23, 2007)

I am here this week in house 302 with my niece and her small children- oldest age 4. The main purpose of them coming down was for the convenience of our own pool. Well, we have not been able to use the pool..as the heater is broken and the water is frigid. The kids turn blue when they go in.

I called on this immediately when we arrived Sat and they said it would be fixed immediatley. Well, it never happened...now they are saying the gas company must fix it and they dont know when. I have spent ALOT of time trying to get this resolved with no success,

My niece is only here till today..so their whole vacation was w/o use of this pool. I called RCI and they said since it was an ammenity they could do nothing. As compensation the resort manager offered free miniature golf which is a joke. I think they should give me 4 free nights at a house with a working pool to use another time. They did offer to move us today however, with them leaving whats the point? 

I am totally unimpressed with the resort and how it is run. 

Susan


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## Sandy (May 23, 2007)

I am so sorry about this for you and your family.  We are here in 305, just doors from you, and our pool is working. 

Summer Bay should definitely do something more for you and your family.  They give away free miniature golf to ANYBODY on Mondays anyway, so to offer that as a compensation to you is indeed a joke.  

You should speak with the highest resort manager you can.  Talk to the corporate office, which is in this area. Make sure that they know, it is no skin off of their backs to give you more days.  Gently remind the management that their reputation is much of what makes SB a great resort.  Mention that you will/have published this situation on TUG and elsewhere on the web.  Tell them that you know it is beyond their control, but that is what makes a good resort a GREAT resort. 

And, when/if they resolve this to your reasonable satisfaction, you will ALSO publish the fact that they took care of your problem. 

So sorry...had we known this, we would have let you use our pool yesterday when we were out all day.  Hopefully, the kids did go to the big pool and water park and had fun there. 

Let us know how this turns out.  

Take care.


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## hajjah (May 24, 2007)

Hey Sandy:  I'm glad to read that you are finally in that pool house.  As a Summer Bay-FL owner, I am shocked to hear what was offered to compensate for the heater not working in house # 302.  It has always been Summer Bay's reputation to take care of the owners/guests.  The results of this response does not give SB high marks.


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## Sandy (May 25, 2007)

I totally agree. I knocked on Susan's door this morning, but they were not in.  I noticed that the manager's card was inserted in their key slot.  Hope that they saw it, but if they are going and coming through the garage, they might have missed it. 

SB should give them another week, maybe not at a pool house, but at the resort.


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## JimJ (May 25, 2007)

Don't bother calling "Chris",the "quality assurance manager".  When we were there in January and had a maintenance issue we found him to be the sorriest excuse for a manager that we have ever run into.


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## Laurie (May 25, 2007)

Different issue but same management. Summer Bay is the ultimate sleeze rip-off company, we had an experience in which we had to threaten legal action.  We also had contact with someone from their "quality assurance department" and have never been treated with such rudeness or contempt by anyone that I can recall. It was Mafia-esque. They are liars and jerks - way worse than any timeshare sales people we've ever met. I'd never even accept an exchange into any of their resorts. 

There are millions of such citings on the web:

www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/108/ripoff0108011.htm

www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews...mmer_Bay_Resort-Clermont_Florida.html#Scene_1

www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=286935#post286935

www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/oft/oftweb.nsf/Web Pages/ED920F47CD1511884A2571540000E393?OpenDocument 
(they're operating all over the world, here's an Australian government warning issued to citizens, and this *is* Summer Bay, not someone pretending to be Summer Bay)


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## suskey (May 25, 2007)

Hi everyone...I certainly do not give high marks to the resort manager- Ken. He was useless from Day 1 of the problem. Now I am dealing with the propety manager , Joe-we shall see if he comes thru. I am not hopfeul.

To their credit, RCI stepped up to the plate and gave me $100 off my next exchange fee. I had hoped they could intervene with the resort, but when it is an 'ammenity' issue they do not get involved.

The main point I tried to convey to the SB people was that the Houses are a unique properyy and the pools are what make them unique.

I'll let you know what happens...

Susan


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## Sandy (May 25, 2007)

Wow, Laurie's post was really disturbing.  I read through some of the links.  Seems that many of the dissatisfied folks were brought in for the free stay at their motel across the street and taken on the tour for a pressure sale. 

Terrible that such a nice resort gets a bad rap b/c of putting people into less desirable accomodations to show them a very nice resort on a tour.  

Strong arm tactics and lying are some of the timeshare industry's most glaring faults. 

I have been on many timeshare tours, owned for many years, and recently bought a cheap SB unit in LV.  I am glad I did not pay much for it, but for me the use will be the main attraction. 

Overall, the pool houses and the resort itself are top rate.


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## Laurie (May 25, 2007)

Sandy said:


> Terrible that such a nice resort gets a bad rap b/c of putting people into less desirable accomodations to show them a very nice resort on a tour.


In addition to serious misrepresentations, it's even worse that they make unauthorized charges to people's c.c.'s which then require extreme measures to get reversed. I don't know why Summer Bay would risk their reputation over this stuff, I guess it's bottom-line more lucrative to scam people than to avoid doing so.

They're similar to the timeshares in Mexico, which lie to potential customers and then force them to work thru the federal agency Profeco to get satisfaction. 

We've been timesharing for 10 years now, and Summer Bay is the only US company I know about to date that I'd run run run from.


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## hajjah (May 25, 2007)

I am shocked to read these postings about SB.  I've been an owner there now for two years, but have stayed there during exchanges since 2003.  We have always received the best service ever.  I wonder what is going on?  I actually booked a unit this morning for July.  I plan to attend the owner's meeting and express my concern for the negative feedback that is being presented here on TUG.


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## suskey (May 25, 2007)

Here's a good one for ya-

There was a message on my phone in my unit, which was sent to all SB exchangers. It said that if you give the highest rating 'very satisfied' on the RCI comment card they will enter you in a drawing to win a free week!!!! Guess they beieve in bribery is achieve Gold Crown status!!! 

Susan


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## Laurie (May 25, 2007)

hajjah said:


> I am shocked to read these postings about SB.  I've been an owner there now for two years, but have stayed there during exchanges since 2003.  We have always received the best service ever.  I wonder what is going on?  I actually booked a unit this morning for July.  I plan to attend the owner's meeting and express my concern for the negative feedback that is being presented here on TUG.


Good idea hajjah - I can give you specifics of our incident if you ask, by email - it's not primarily TUG though, it's far beyond. Do a google search with summer bay or summerbay scam or rip-off or whatever - you'll find literally thousands of postings. I'd never bothered looking online until something happened to us (and we're generally pretty savvy), and couldn't believe how much I found. Here are a few more:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchr...7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=summer+bay

and this one - read thru to the end, see why the thread got closed - speaking of Mafia-esque! (I just read this for the first time...)
http://mail.scam.com/showthread.php?t=2736&page=1&pp=40&highlight=summerbay

Here's one quote from that thread, from a UK citizen:
"BTW - Our credit card company said they are VERY aware of this company and that they have a lot of problems with them - including them charging wrong payments and all sorts. The credit card company was very interested in BADLADY's cancellation advice and the information on Florida statutes and said they will pass it all on to other unfortunates who contact them after being caught by a Summer Bay sales rep."


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## Sandy (May 26, 2007)

Wow, and I thought that Westgate was the Bad child in the orlando timeshare game.  What a shame that Summer Bay apparently had this reputation.  I had no idea.


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## PeterS (May 27, 2007)

I read through all the links and the vast majority of the complaints seem to be with the SB Marketing people, not the resort itself.

(Yes there are some unit/resort complains but all resorts have some)

I am not discounting Susan's issue as it is one of things that worries me the most about my upcoming res at Houses at SB.... the issue that there are so few of the houses and there is nothing even close to substitute if a maintenance issue comes up. In Susan's case with the pool going down, a three bedroom condo, if available, would not be an acceptable alternative. The house still has two jacuzzis, garage, private drive, etc....

Maintenance issues always come up... I had a 4 night stay at Bonnett Creek that the A/C unit froze up each day at about 1pm and it took 3 hours each night to get it working again... only to fail again the next day... The place was packed and no other rooms were available until 4pm the night before we left at 10am... (not worth it). 

The key is how the resort handles these issues... Fairfield sent the general manager to our room to discuss the situation showed us they really wanted to help us. They were trying other Fairfield resorts in the area but we wanted to stay at Bonnett Creek. They checked each day for anyone leaving early and called us to let us know if anything opened up. They even had us call them when we went out for dinner so they could start working on the A/C while we were out. We still had them in the room every day for hours. Fairfield did give some of our points back in a limited use that we may never get to use but they were trying to help...

I just hate to see a post scare people off of what looks to be a nice resort. Or have people already with reservations start to panic. 

But there is much to learn from all the links and all the replies in this post...

Don't signup for any SB sales promos from postcards or calls.

No matter how much they offer tickets, dinner, or cash, I will not sign up for any tours while there.

Don't sign up for anything that requires a credit card imprint except for checking in.

Hope for the best but realize maintenance issues can arise and with so few units, you may have to make a big choice of a fully functioning unit with alot less amenities or stay in the house with many more amenities but some that are out of service.

And let staff know immediately if there is a problem and press on them for a resolution but if you see it not happening, don't dwell on it to the point that you ruin your vacation. (you can always continue the issue on your return).

AND if any SB staff are reading.....
LEARN THAT PEOPLE HAVE ENTRUSTED YOU WITH SOMETHING THAT IS VERY SCARCE AND VERY VALUABLE... THEIR VACATION TIME... DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO (NOT JUST WHAT IS EASY) TO MAKE IT RIGHT...

Pete


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## rickandcindy23 (May 27, 2007)

Summer Bay is a very nice resort.  We stayed in a three bedroom last year and really enjoyed, though we did not attend the timeshare tour and avoided the woman in the lobby many times successfully.   

The mistake they made is they don't allow RCI points to transfer to a new owner.  This is a rotten thing to do to the resale buyer, let alone the seller,  who could get far more from the resale if Points transferred.  

This is a mistake that PAHIO made with RCI points and now they are trying to get those same people who bought points to now buy Fairshare Plus points.  They always have something to sell, no matter how often you go.  I am sick of it.  :annoyed:


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## suskey (May 31, 2007)

Update..before I left the resort last week..Joe Ferraro- the Propery Manager-said he would consider some form of compensation for 5 days w/o use of the pool and that he would definitely get back to me before I checked out. Well..I never heard from him..so on Tuesday I called him. He said he was at a meeting but would call right back. Well.. he never called back..so today I called again and after being insistant with his secretary..I finally got a call-back. His decision- because the issue was 'mechanical'..there is nothing he can do. I am really not surprsied.

However..I would urge those going to Summer Bay to be careful...they are quite an unprofessional organization and don't really care about customer service. They lie, and bottom line- just do not care. Beware.

Susan


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## PeterS (May 31, 2007)

suskey said:


> Update..before I left the resort last week..Joe Ferraro- the Propery Manager-said he would consider some form of compensation for 5 days w/o use of the pool and that he would definitely get back to me before I checked out. Well..I never heard from him..so on Tuesday I called him. He said he was at a meeting but would call right back. Well.. he never called back..so today I called again and after being insistant with his secretary..I finally got a call-back. His decision- because the issue was 'mechanical'..there is nothing he can do. I am really not surprsied.
> 
> However..I would urge those going to Summer Bay to be careful...they are quite an unprofessional organization and don't really care about customer service. They lie, and bottom line- just do not care. Beware.
> 
> Susan



Susan,

As I posted earlier, maintenance issues can come up and there may have been no options if all the Houses were booked... at least nothing comparible even w/o the pool.

BUT.... nothing they could do? That is ridiculous!

How about free lunch by the main pool everyday?
Or breakfast? Or Gift card to a local restaurant?
How about some of those free tickets they give out to go on the tour? Maybe 4 SeaWorld tickets would be a good start...

They throw this stuff at people to take a tour... so why not do it to show they care that your trip was important to them?

Very unprofessional... 

I hope the SB owners that read this bring it to the attention of the resort through letters, calls, and at the owners meetings. 

Pete


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## hajjah (May 31, 2007)

Pete, as a Summer Bay owner I cannot believe how Susan's situation was treated last week.  We've never had any complaints with SB manangement.  We are heading there in July and my intention is to speak about this situation at the owner's meeting.  I read some of those complaints using the links given and it does paint an ugly picture for SB.  It reminded me of all the postings I'd read about Westgate.  Summer Bay must now improve their negative image.


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## PeterS (Jun 1, 2007)

hajjah said:


> Pete, as a Summer Bay owner I cannot believe how Susan's situation was treated last week.  We've never had any complaints with SB manangement.  We are heading there in July and my intention is to speak about this situation at the owner's meeting.  I read some of those complaints using the links given and it does paint an ugly picture for SB.  It reminded me of all the postings I'd read about Westgate.  Summer Bay must now improve their negative image.



I can understand the maintenance issue and limited resources of a very very unique room type.. all stated before so I won't repeat it.

But at least make the affected people feel that you feel their pain....

I have heard nothing but good things about the SB resort and hope they can redeem themselves.

I was shocked to read all the complaints about the marketing tactics though.

Let us know how it goes  and hopefully something good can come out of this.

Pete


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## catwgirl (Jun 1, 2007)

Susan,

I am sorry to hear about the way you were treated.  I have stayed at the houses, and any maintenance issues we had were taken care of with one phone call.  They even called me back each to to make sure we were satisfied with their service when they came to fix our problems.

Linda


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## JLB (Jun 1, 2007)

Those of us who have followed Summer Bay posts here for many years know that this is very atypical.  It has always been highly regarded and those who have had problems (normally not as major as this one) have never been dissatisfied with SB's response.

Granted, the pool is what makes the pool houses pool houses, and to not have it makes it just another *very nice vacation house with an attached garage*, something very seldom offered in the timeshare industry, but not having it spoils it for the guests and shows what happens when you count too much on one amenity, put too many eggs in one vacation basket, and then the basket gets dropped.

Would it be like going to the beach and the ocean is not there or going to the mountains and find nothing but plains?


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## elaine (Jun 1, 2007)

*we booked SB houses strictly for the pool*

It would have been a BIG setback to our trip if the pool was inoperable. IT was more than an amenity---it was the prime ingredient.  I agree, SB should have been more accommodating, but hopefully, you were able to make the best of your trip.


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## JLB (Jun 3, 2007)

YUP, sometimes overhyping amenities can lead to dissatisfaction.  If the overhyping was not done upfront, expectations would be lower, and dissatisfaction would be reduced, perhaps.

It's hard to be upset when you don't get something you did not expect to get in the first place but easy to be upset when you don't get something you expected, focused on, and it became the primary reason you went somewhere.

Even without the pool, a SB Poolhouse offers more than most Orlando resorts.


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## hajjah (Jun 3, 2007)

As a SB owner, I'm in agreement with everything that was mentioned here, especially regarding how the entire situation was handled.  But, on the other hand what about the resorts without heated pools?  I believe the pool at the house was usable, but not heated.  I know that in all likelihood, my family would not have wanted to swim without the pool being heated as well.  I would not have even looked at that pool without the heat.  For someone else, it may not have mattered.  I just do not like how SB responded to the guest.  It has painted a very ugly picture for SB.  I mentioned previously that I intend to bring this kind of situation up at the owners meeting when we're there next month.


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## suskey (Jun 3, 2007)

Perhaps you could suggest at the meeting that maintence check the pools after each guest leaves. When I looked at the pool heater when we arrived on Sat there was a blinking icon that said "Service Needed".  There are not that many pool houses..so in under an hour all of them could be checked and if something was wrong, they could begin to fix it. 

The person they originally sent to fix the pool was a nice enough guy..who did not speak English well...and just kept saying..I don't know..I don't know. It took FIVE days to get someone who did know what was going on. 

It still irks me how awful Ken the front desk guy was..and even worse customer service from the Property Manager- Joe Ferraro- who definitely had a bad attitude.

Never again- I am done with SB!!

Susan


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## Robnsunny (Jun 3, 2007)

suskey said:


> It still irks me how awful Ken the front desk guy was..and even worse customer service from the Property Manager- Joe Ferraro- who definitely had a bad attitude.



We did not have significant maintenance issues when we stayed in a pool house last summer. Our one problem with the dishwasher was quickly handled.

However, the front desk was awful. We had requested a lakeside house with a jacuzzi a week before checkin. We arrived a few hours before our unit was ready and I asked if we had received our request. I was told we had. We were far more disapointed to findd we had a pond side with no jacuzzi than we would have been if the guy at the desk had been honest with us.

Checkout was abysmal with over 30 people backed and taking more than 30 minutes up to do nothing more than hand in keys. It's never taken me more than 5 minutes to checkout anywhere else, usually much faster.

We'll go back to the pool houses but I really don't expect much of the management.


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## Sandy (Jun 3, 2007)

*Just returned from the Houses*

I will provide a detailed review shortly, but let me just say this:

I also requested a lake side/jacuzzi unit.  Did not get it, but I got the lake side. I believe there are only 2 on the lake with the pool combo anyway.

There is a SECRET to be revealed here:

The pool heats up to jacuzzi temperatures 104!

I found this out on the first day - ask the maintenance person to show you how.  The pool can be set for "pool" at 85-94 or so, you can pick whatever temp you want. 

Then later at night, set it for "spa" and it will go up in just a few hours to steaming hot water!  So, for us, it was much better than the pool/combo b/c we had so much more room. Plus, there are three strong jets that work all parts of the body.
The pool/jacuzzi combos had significantly smaller pools to make room for the separate jazuzzi hot tub.  But ours was a full pool which served both purposes.  You have to remember to reset it before you go to bed or the pool will stay HOT in the morning. 

Did others know this SECRET? I certainly didn't the first time we stayed, and maybe it is a new system put in.  I was in house 305 and I did notice that not all houses had the same system we had, but I don't know if they performed the same.


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## JLB (Jun 3, 2007)

Maintenance-wise, I bet the poolhouses are a pain in the ----, especially compared to a _normal_ unit.  I bet there are times when the people that have to take care of them cuss the people who thought them up. 

:annoyed:


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## shoney (Jun 3, 2007)

We stayed at summer bay in August of 2006 on an RCI extra vacation.  We purchased a 2 bedroom from RCI and then won a skyauction for a 1 bedroom.  When we checked in, the front desk guy was a bit suprised at our request for a three bedroom, but after a brief visit to a back room, he appeared with our keys to a 3 bedroom lock out unit.

The little toilet room in the master was a bit smelly and we asked for it to be cleaned again.  Without hesitation someone showed up to clean and mop again.

We found the front desk to be most accomodating and loved summer bay.  (we actually spent a second week at Orange Lake and everyone wanted to go back to summer bay!)

I really feel bad for anyone who has a bad vacation experience.  I so look forward to my time and wouldn't want it to be spoiled.  Obviously, someone make a very bad call here and lets hope it is not indicative of things to come......


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## hajjah (Jun 3, 2007)

I will make sure to put the names of both individuals in my Palm so that I can inform them of the displeasure that's being displayed here on TUG.  How could management be so useless and uncaring given the situation???  This is one reason why I am still baffled.  We've always had just the opposite with our exchanges into SB.  The least they could have done was to offer you another week at SB for free.  Units are always available.  The houses are so hard to get, but that would have made you feel a little better.  Wow, and to top it off, you were all the way from NJ!  This makes me feel even worse as an owner at SB.  I can hardly wait for that owner's meeting.


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## Vodo (Jun 4, 2007)

My family's many experiences with Summer Bay customer service have always been positive -- better than any other resort we've ever visited, in fact.  It's unfortunate that they didn't handle this situation with their usual care and concern.

Customer service aside, I have caught Summer Bay's sales folks in a few deceptions, but I can say that about almost every resort for which we've ever endured a pitch.  As for the telephone solicitations, I'm wondering if Summer Bay uses an outside company to procure and process those.  The complaints in the earlier links do not sound like the management I've dealt with at the resort itself.

Cindy


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## spatenfloot (Jun 4, 2007)

Property management and sales departments are completely different entities. The sales department is the one that usually causes most of the complaints at most resorts.


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## sfwilshire (Jun 4, 2007)

hajjah said:


> Pete, as a Summer Bay owner I cannot believe how Susan's situation was treated last week.  We've never had any complaints with SB manangement.  We are heading there in July and my intention is to speak about this situation at the owner's meeting.  I read some of those complaints using the links given and it does paint an ugly picture for SB.  It reminded me of all the postings I'd read about Westgate.  Summer Bay must now improve their negative image.



Hajjah,

Since you're going to bring it up at the owners meeting, I'd like to also share that I had several maintenance issues the last time we stayed there. Nothing that ruined the stay, but I WAS a bit disappointed. 

The closet in one of the master bedrooms poured water from the ceiling and they never really figured out what caused it. All our stuff got wet, but luckily nothing was ruined. 

We also had a situation where someone had come into the unit while we were away and left the front door unlocked. Nothing was taken, but not a good thing.

I found the maintenance staff generally responsive and thought the front desk staff was just wonderful. I wouldn't hesitate to go back there.

Sheila


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## icydog (Jun 4, 2007)

suskey said:


> Here's a good one for ya-
> 
> There was a message on my phone in my unit, which was sent to all SB exchangers. It said that if you give the highest rating 'very satisfied' on the RCI comment card they will enter you in a drawing to win a free week!!!! Guess they beieve in bribery is achieve Gold Crown status!!!
> 
> Susan


 
Susan you have been speaking with RCI about this anyway, *would you pls call them again and let them know they left this message? *I am sure RCI will be glad to find out that this resort is trying to circumvent the ratings system. If all resorts offered bribes- the timeshare _hotel conversion_ we stayed at, with the brown ring around the pool, in the Poconos would be a Gold Crown Resort.


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## hajjah (Jun 4, 2007)

It's not just SB asking guests to give them a good rating.  We've had this request asked of us at several resorts.  They usually ask us at check in to complete the comment card with a good rating.


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## Vodo (Jun 5, 2007)

In the past, Summer Bay has always just left a message saying to please let them know if your stay has been anything other than all 5's so that they can correct any deficiencies for you.  While that was certainly self-serving for the resort, I always liked knowing that they would jump to fix any problems I might be experiencing.

Cindy


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## Sandy (Jun 5, 2007)

I have also had other resorts ask me to rate them with the highest rating before I left.  Never thought anything unusual about it.


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## Robnsunny (Jun 5, 2007)

The problem here isn't that they requested a high rating but that they offered a bribe for one (a chance for a free week).


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## PeterS (Jun 5, 2007)

The wording of the offer is what needs to be addressed.

Many resorts have offered a drawing of a prize or extra week usage from all those returned evaluation forms.

The key is if they are only offering it to people who give them the highest ratings.

Also they are probably smart in making this offer verbally rather than in writing because if they get called on it... you probably get a canned response..."sorry, you misunderstood, all returned evaluations get a shot in the drawing, we just were reminding you that if you had a great experience we want to make sure you understand the importance of giving SB the highest rating when you fill out a form."

Pete


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## JLB (Jun 5, 2007)

I am always surprised when any compnay offers less-then-stellar service in light of the Internet and how easy it is for consumers to share their experiences.  Either the ability to do that has little significance, people like us here are mere minutae, some companies don't understand the Internet, or some companies just don't care.  Or a combination.

I'm still kinda hung up on the focus on the private pool.  There aren't many free-standing houses with attached garages in a resort with typical traditional resort facilities that can be exchanged into in any system, so even without the private pool it is a great exchange.  It seems a shame that having a private pool-and not being able to use it-makes it a more dissatisfying experience than not having a private pool in the first place.

Satisfaction is based on expectation.

Anyone follow that besides me?


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## schiff1997 (Jun 5, 2007)

JLB said:


> I am always surprised when any compnay offers less-then-stellar service in light of the Internet and how easy it is for consumers to share their experiences.  Either the ability to do that has little significance, people like us here are mere minutae, some companies don't understand the Internet, or some companies just don't care.  Or a combination.
> 
> I'm still kinda hung up on the focus on the private pool.  There aren't many free-standing houses with attached garages in a resort with typical traditional resort facilities that can be exchanged into in any system, so even without the private pool it is a great exchange.  It seems a shame that having a private pool-and not being able to use it-makes it a more dissatisfying experience than not having a private pool in the first place.
> 
> ...




We have toured the homes here and yes, they are gorgeous, but my DH won't stay in one as he says that we would never venture away from the home and part of our vacation is heading to the main pool areas, having a few drinks and meeting some great new people.  This has become part of our annual vacation highlights and one that we look very much forward to.  So for us just because the pool house has its own private pool, is not a valid enough reason for us to stay in one, we will be just as happy staying in a 3 bedroom condo on the same property.


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## Robnsunny (Jun 5, 2007)

It's a little like DVC. If you don't get the magic (and I don't) you don't get it. Suppose you planned all year for a week at the beach and it rains torrentially all week. Or that you're staying at DVC with your 7 year old and Magic Kingdom is shut down. You're still in a nice place but you can't do what you've been looking forward to for so long.

There are lot's of timeshares in Orlando that would have been just as nice for our other purposes as the houses. You don't really notice that they are separate unless your are outside (by the pool). What made it an exchange worth grabbing was the pool. We can go to a community pool anytime. Having our own was unique. We enjoyed it thoroughly and intend to go back eventually in spite of my low opinion of the front desk staff.


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## suskey (Jun 5, 2007)

Robnsunny said:


> The problem here isn't that they requested a high rating but that they offered a bribe for one (a chance for a free week).



Exactly..what they said was if you give the highest rating (and they said 'very satisfied')...you will be entered in a drawing for a free week.  Well, I filled out the comment card and I can assure you I did not give them what they wanted!!

Susan


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## janapur (Jun 5, 2007)

schiff1997 said:


> We have toured the homes here and yes, they are gorgeous, but my DH won't stay in one as he says that we would never venture away from the home and part of our vacation is heading to the main pool areas, having a few drinks and meeting some great new people.  This has become part of our annual vacation highlights and one that we look very much forward to.  So for us just because the pool house has its own private pool, is not a valid enough reason for us to stay in one, we will be just as happy staying in a 3 bedroom condo on the same property.



This is how I feel. However, I do want to trade into SB Houses just to test my theory. I assume we could still use the community pool and facilities, right?

I'm afraid we would miss the great conversations we've had and the instant friendships our kids have made.

Jana


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## hajjah (Jun 5, 2007)

The joy is having both the pool in the house and the community pools available.  We've stayed in the houses twice, and so has one of my colleagues.  We loved being able to swim 24 hours, but the main pool is also open 24 hrs.  It's a matter of convenience.

As far as I know, SB has the only pool houses in the US's RCI system that can be exchanged.  I do recall reading about  the pool houses, LHVC Crown Villas in the Dominican Republic, that are all inclusive paying US$799  p/villa p/day up to 6 ppl for the week.  

All in all, I always enjoy my stay at SB, but I'm concerned about the front desk staff and management.   We've always had our requests and concerns handled immediately.


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## sfwilshire (Jun 5, 2007)

I loved having the pool right there because I could let my kids swim at will without following them to the pool to supervise. We still went to the kiddie pool a few times.

On the other hand, the units are huge, and it's the only garage I've ever had in an exchange. I would have been pleased even without the pool.

Sheila


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