# How Difficult is Scotland?



## Blues (Jul 19, 2011)

It's ironic -- my first HGVC purchase was Craigendarroch, sight unseen.  But we've still never been to Scotland.

My wife's chorus has been invited to sing at the London Summer Olympics in 2012!!!  We've signed up for the tour, which starts in Paris and then does a couple of concerts in London at the Olympic venue.  We plan to leave the tour when they're done, and spend 10 days or so in Scotland.

We have our eye on a 3 BR at Craigendarroch, which as I said, we own but have never been to.  Why 3 BR?  Because several chorus members would like to tag along.  We can't give them an answer until we can book, and we can't book until 9 months before, which would be early Nov (travel to Scotland early Aug, and hopefully spend a couple of nights in Edinburgh for the Tattoo).

Hence my question -- what are the odds of getting a 3BR there if I call at exactly the 9 month mark?  And what exactly should be my timing, considering I want the unit for a week?  I'm thinking that I call to reserve at 9 months before day 3 of the stay, to reserve 3 days.  And then call again 4 days later to extend it to a week.  Does that sound right?

Thanks for any insight you can give.  We're so excited! :whoopie: 

-Bob


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## Talent312 (Jul 19, 2011)

I can't tell you 'bout the TS-side, but I found the hotel rooms were an easy get when our family flew into Inverness, rented an SUV, went for a boat ride on Loch Ness, and meandered down to Edinbough.


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## alexb (Jul 19, 2011)

which week number do you own at Craigendarroch?
most owners at Craigendarroch are not members of hgvc.
August will be a very hard trade . the second week in august is victoria
week which is highland games week the most sort after week.
higvc.co.uk  have an online owners internal exchange page run by craigendarroch.


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## Blues (Jul 19, 2011)

alexb said:


> which week number do you own at Craigendarroch?
> most owners at Craigendarroch are not members of hgvc.
> August will be a very hard trade . the second week in august is victoria
> week which is highland games week the most sort after week.
> higvc.co.uk  have an online owners internal exchange page run by craigendarroch.



Thank you for your reply, alexb.  I'd have to check my paperwork at home to be sure of the exact week, but it's mid-spring (week 10 or 12?) in a 2BR.  That's a gold week, worth 5000 points.  The week I'm looking for is 3BR in platinum time, which is worth (I believe) about 8400 points.  I have plenty of points, as I also have a Flamingo 2BR platinum worth 7000 points.  So if I can just get it via points through HGVC, I'm good.  But my Scotland week wouldn't trade directly for the August week.

I was afraid that it would be a tough trade.  Especially since it's during the Edinburgh Festival and the Edinburgh Tattoo.  Any pointers on how to get this week, other than to try at exactly 9 months?  I don't believe I can do it online, so I'd have to call the HGVC number every day, I guess.

Can you point me to the exchange page?  I must be blind -- I couldn't find it from higvc.co.uk.  I'm wondering if someone would trade their week for my week plus some money - not sure how much.

Thanks for your help.

-Bob


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## alexb (Jul 19, 2011)

go to higvc.co.uk
click on news/ special offers it will then be item owner exchanges
there is quite a few there at present


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## Blues (Jul 25, 2011)

Hmmm, I was just looking at Open Season on the HGVC web page, and I see that Craigendarroch has some fair availability in August, including a week of openings in the 3BR category.  Hopefully that means that I won't have too much trouble if I book 9 months in advance, since there's still availability at less than 30 days right now.

Anybody else have any experience with availability in August?  Especially for Craigendarroch, but as a backup, for any of the Scotland properties.  We have some people counting on us, so I'm really hoping....


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## alexb (Jul 26, 2011)

that 3 bedroom is not avaliable i have phoned 3 times trying to book it


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## Margariet (Jul 26, 2011)

It's not that difficult to trade into but 3BR might be a problem and the time of year. I posted a sighting not too long ago (and others have as well) but it was for 1BR in June, only 5 RCI TPU's. You might consider getting two 1BR apartments instead of one 3BR. Good luck.


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## Bxian (Aug 2, 2011)

We went last year in late August/early September and had no problem getting a 3 night stay-however, we could not get a full week and could only get a 1 bedroom-this was at Craigendarroch. I reserved between 7 and 9 months out.
If you are staying in Edinburgh, check out the Hilton Edinburgh Castle-a lovely hotel.


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## Blues (Nov 23, 2011)

Just following up on my own thread.  The answer is:  *very* difficult.

I managed to book 5 days in a 1 BR at Craigendarroch.  I couldn't get the exact dates that I wanted, and I couldn't get anything larger than a 1 BR.  So DW and I will be going it alone -- no extra space for other chorus members.  But at least we got *something*.  And I used HHonors points (converted from HGVC points in prior years) to also book 4 nights at a Hilton in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh festival and the Tattoo.

The timing was such that I had to call while we were on vacation at Disneyland with our granddaughter.  So I got up at 5AM west coast time, and sneaked out into the lobby of our hotel so as not to disturb DW and DGD, while I called HGVC on the east coast.

BTW, the other two Scotland properties had absolutely nothing for any time during our time frame.  I would have liked to get a few days in Coylumbridge, too; but no such luck.

It seems all of Scotland is very busy during August, especially early August.  Availability seemed to open up a bit in the 3rd and 4th weeks of August.

Thanks for your help, everyone.  Next task - get tickets for the Tattoo.  They go on sale Dec 1.

-Bob


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## Blues (Nov 23, 2011)

Bxian said:


> If you are staying in Edinburgh, check out the Hilton Edinburgh Castle-a lovely hotel.



Hmm, which Hilton is that?  According to the Hilton and HHonors web sites, there are two Hiltons in town and one near the airport.  The two in town are the Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh and the Hilton Edinburgh Grovesnor.  Both had availability.  The Caledonian looks like it's a little more convenient (and is a category 7).  But the service agent said that they have a policy she had never seen before -- the reservation is totally non-refundable and non-changeable, even through HHonors points!  Perhaps that's because it's during the Festival/Tattoo?  I don't know.  But for that reason, I booked the Grovesnor (which was also fewer points, being a category 6).  It's 1/2 mile further from Princes Street and the gardens, but that seems manageable.  Our plans are still a little fluid, and the Grovesnor has a reasonable change/cancellation policy (before 4PM day of arrival).


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## Talent312 (Nov 23, 2011)

We've stayed at the Caledonian Hilton. It's a good location and could be worth the risk, but then, we didn't use non-refundable HHonors points, just non-refundable money... _and took out trip insurance_.

So perhaps the Grovesnor is a reasonable alternative. The Haymarket's a decent area as well.


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## Blues (Nov 27, 2011)

Thanks Talent!  (I've been busy with family over for Thanksgiving, so haven't been online).  Yep, except for the non-cancellation, I would have preferred Caledonian.  Perhaps as time gets closer and we're more sure of our plans, I'll switch the reservation.

Thanks to everyone who helped. 

-Bob


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## Bxian (Dec 2, 2011)

We ran into the non-changeable, too-it is because you are going during festival time.  The Caley is lovely-the other hotel gets mixed reviews.


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## Blues (Dec 5, 2011)

Bxian said:


> We ran into the non-changeable, too-it is because you are going during festival time.  The Caley is lovely-the other hotel gets mixed reviews.



You know, you're right!  I just took a look at Tripadvisor, and I'm not sure I'll like the Grovesnor.  Our plans are very nearly set, so I think I'll switch over to the Caledonian soon.  I hate the thought of non-changeable, especially since we're travelling with the singing tour, and the director seems to switch things on a whim.  But I believe that the tour's air is pretty much set in concrete anyway.

Any ideas how long I can wait and still find rooms at the Caledonian?  I'd feel better waiting until January, after the chorus' Christmas concert.

Thanks everyone, especially Talent312 and Bxian.

-Bob

P.S. Talent - we've taken out trip insurance too, from the tour operator for the chorus.  And it's *supposed* to cover both the tour segments and our independent travel later.  But I hate to be the test case.


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## Talent312 (Dec 5, 2011)

_An anecdote about our arrival at the Caledonian:_

After several recalculations due to road closures, the GPS unit took our humongous SUV right to the hotel's front door, only we didn't see it, since driving on the wrong side of the road had diverted our attention.

When instructed to make a U-Turn, I forgot that meant turning right, and so turned left instead. This took us into an industrial loading dock. After backing out from that, I turned off the GPS and found the hotel.

I dropped the family and returned the rental car at the airport. I returned in a taxi, but the driver did not have change for a large bill, so he stopped at a bank first. At the hotel's registration desk, I was advised that my DW, dissatisfied with an inside view, had paid a serious sum to upgrade to a view of the castle.

I must admit that it was worth it.


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