# New Member, looking for TS areas [similar topics merged]



## Mpstan (Oct 30, 2011)

*First Post;  LV HGVC seminar survivor*

Hi everyone,

I've been reading about timeshares non-stop for 3 days and am ready to pierce by eyes with a dagger.    Time to talk to some people!

Was in Las Vegas the end of last week at the invitiation of HGVC and listened to their pitch.     We bought a 3800 EOY Gold with 4000 bonus points....... $13,400 on a new AMEX card!

Next morning I'm on my iPad, my wife on her laptop, and ran into the TUG BB as well as others.     It took me about 30 minutes of reading before I started cringing.     A quick talk with a broker who explained the secondary market to me, then my wife and I drafted then Fedexed a rescission letter.

So here I am looking for advice on finding the best TS for us.     We live in Bellingham WA, and we want to find warmth somewhere in the West  to vacation.    Bellingham has direct flights to San Diego, and Scottsdale.   We don't gamble and don't drink much.    Don't care for Vegas much, not crazy about the desert although wouldn't rule out Scottsdale because of its proximity to the GC and the Sedona country.     We are in our early 50s with a 13 year old daughter and two college boys.     We enjoy site seeing, shopping, relaxing;  I love photography and continue to try to improve my tennis game.   We don't golf.    My wife loves the beach and would prefer the SD area but I think either Scottsdale or SD are on our short list.

Thoughts on where we should be looking?    The broker I talked to suggested we look at the Wyndam system as a hight value for TS's.     Thanks for any thoughts you may have.


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## Mpstan (Oct 30, 2011)

My quick story is that we were sucked into the TS hype 3d ago in Las Vegas with HGVC and signed, then the next day rescinded, a 3800 EOY $13,400 share on the LV strip.    But we like the idea of having a TS so are shopping for a resort.

We are both early 50s, have  an 8th grade daughter, and two college boys.    Not sure how much we are going to see of the boys on our vacations; so wondering if we are going to want a 1 or 2 bedroom long term.    Experiences of those who have been there?

We don't like Vegas really, don't gamble or drink much.    We like dining, sightseeing, relaxing.     My wife likes the beach and shopping.    I really enjoy target shooting, tennis, and photography.   We don't golf.

We are thinking San Diego or just north of it, or possibly Scottsdale (don't care for desert but like the Sedona scenery.    Would probably like to try to exchange to other places occasionally such as Hawaii.

Thoughts on facilities you think we should consider?    

Thank you!


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## DeniseM (Oct 30, 2011)

Hi and welcome to TUG!  

If you join TUG ($15) you will have access to our extensive timeshare ratings and reviews that have exactly the info. you are looking for.

Here are some questions you can answer to help you and us narrow it down.  (Click "quote" if you'd like to reply to the questions.)

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
4) How many people do you usually travel with?
5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? 
9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?


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## Gophesjo (Oct 30, 2011)

*It almost sounds like*

First - major congratulations on your decision to rescind!  $13K would have been a lot to throw away on something not nearly worth as much.  My first timeshare was actually not a timeshare, but rather a full-freight campground membership about 25 years ago that I was not smart enough to rescind - but that experience prevented me from an even larger hit when I later discovered timeshares.

It almost seems like your question thread should be moved to the US - West section of the TUGbbs based on your focus on Scottsdale and San Diego.  There are great timeshares in Scottsdale, and great resorts in coastal Southern California, too, including SD.  There are a number of points based systems that are western US focused that you might want to consider.  A Wyndham-company alternative program called Worldmark is one of them - folks here say that Wyndham is more east coast focused, and Worldmark is more west coast focused.  Two other systems that are more west coast focused I believe - and if others need to they can correct me - are Shell and Monarch (though something may be happening with Monarch if I have read another thread correctly). 

Looks like you're asking great questions that will lead to a great decision!

Joe


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## Mpstan (Oct 30, 2011)

*Thank you Joe*

I wasn't sure whether to post there, here since I had the small HGVC connection, or the general bulletin board.    I did post a more abbreviated post on the West Coast board.    I will take your thoughts in;  my mom has Worldmark and I'm slightly familiar with them.    Thought there might be others I should consider.     I understand Worldmark is within the Wyndam umbrella so I figured there would be more possibilities with Wyndam.      

Thanks again!


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## presley (Oct 30, 2011)

I suggest looking at Worldmark and Grand Pacific Resorts.

Worldmark is a points based system and they have resorts all up and down the west coast, as well as lots of other places.  worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/  will take you to a list of their resorts.  

Grand pacific resorts has several TS in San Diego County.  They have an internal trading system that trades to affiliates in Hawaii and several other locations.  

I think both of the above will be good places to look at if you want to use it mostly for stays on the west coast.  You could get a nice resale for either at under $5K.


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## slip (Oct 30, 2011)

Denise's questions are a good place to start. How much do you want to spend,
on the initial purchase and yearly maintenance fees? You would probably be
better off with a 2 bedroom.


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## Mpstan (Oct 30, 2011)

DeniseM said:


> Hi and welcome to TUG!
> 
> If you join TUG ($15) you will have access to our extensive timeshare ratings and reviews that have exactly the info. you are looking for.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the tip;  I'll be signing up for the membership ASAP.   And thank you for combining threads if you helped with that.....


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## DeniseM (Oct 30, 2011)

Just few quick reactions:

Fortunately, $13,000 is way to much to spend for your first resale.  Very little sells for $13,000 on the resale market.  I wouldn't want you to go over $3,000-$5,000 all-in for your first timeshare - tops!

A maintenance fee of less than $800 a year will probably not get you 4 Star accommodations.  For a maintenance fee in California in a TS that will sleep 5 - that's on the low side.  To sleep 5 with any kind of privacy or comfort, you need a 2 bdm.  Otherwise you are usually talking about 1 bed, 1 sofa bed, and a roll-away in a 1 bedroom - not good!  For a 4 Star 2 bdm. in CA, I expect to pay more like $1,000 - $1,200 - or more.

For 4 Star Accommodations you want one of the Hotel Based timeshares systems like Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt, or Hilton.  Wyndham/Worldmark are a step or 2 down.


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## ronandjoan (Oct 30, 2011)

Mpstan said:


> So here I am looking for advice on finding the best TS for us.     We live in Bellingham WA,



Bellingham?  are you kidding?  My husnand and I met in Bellingham!!!nt o Western one year and tajght school at meridian Hig school!
and we were in Mexico at the Mayan Palace at the Mayan Riveria and heard someone in back of us say, "Bellingham" and we met that couple who live north along the Meridian Guide ( and Greg, a great  TUGGER here, also lives right by Bellingham!

I'd love to chat with you, I'll send a PM

(we're in ATL now, flying to SEA tomorrow.)


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## tschwa2 (Oct 30, 2011)

You need to take some time to research your own needs, but having spent 1 min reading your thread I would recommend looking into worldmark and starwood.

You can get a decent size WorldMark credit package (6000-12000) that would cost between $2000-$5000 depending on size.  

You could get a 1 bedroom Westin Keirland platinum (mandatory) with 81,000 Staroptions.  My guess is $8000-$11,000.

You could get an every other year 2 bedroom Sheraton Desert Oasis 1-52(voluntary) no Staroptions.  $500ish  (up to $2000 for true platinum only)

I think all three options would keep MF at or less than $1600 every two years including membership with II or RCI.


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## msutton33 (Oct 30, 2011)

We rescinded a Wyndham purchase of $17,000.00 for 305,000 points after finding TUG on our laptops that same evening just like you and your wife.  We purchased resale Wyndham points 343,000 for less than $1800.00 about 3 months later.  We have stayed in Sedona and San Diego twice during 2011.  Both resorts are very nice.  We plan to go to San Franciso and to S. Cal in 2012.  Wyndham does not have resorts in Scottsdale for some reason I sure wish they did.  In October we purchased week 47 resale (Thanksgiving week) at the Scottsdale Camelback Resort.  We really like this resort it is an independent resort with lots of owner perks (and trades with RCI and II) such as renting an additional week from time to time at a reasonable fee (2 bedroom for 550.00) and staying 4 or 5 nights from time to time at the owner rate of 89.00, 99.00 or 109 per night depending on the unit size.  

We paid $500.00 for the week plus closing total under $1000.00.  You can check out the resort web site if you like at http://www.scottsdalecamelback.com/. We have stayed at this resort twice in 2011 before we purchased and it seems they have a great tennis facility however we don’t play tennis.  The grounds and the spa are very nice as well and shopping is very close by.

There is a very nice week on the Tug Market Place for sale at this resort that my husband and I though about purchasing.  It’s week 21 (Memorial Day weekend) and the seller wants $1.00 plus closing costs for the week it is the larger 2 bedroom (MF around 900.00).  The ad expires on 10/31/11.  I have the owners email address if you would like to have it after you have some time to do your research

Anyway…..my husband and I are vacationing the way you stated you and your family might like to.  Above is the way we are using our timeshares and we are very new to timesharing and we just love it.  I would be happy to share more just email.      

Have fun with your research and use this forum as much as you can it has some wonderful in site and advice from some very experienced travelers.


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## easyrider (Oct 30, 2011)

@ mpstan, The best resort system we have bought is Worldmark. The amount of points for a 2 bed unit is 10,000 poits at most resorts. We bought our memberships at the 6000 point level to keep the mf down and purchase points from companies for about 6 cents a point to reserve extra time. There are many reosrts driving distance from Bellingham which makes it easy to use bonus time for cheap stays. We found that it is easier to have at least 2 6000 point memberships for extemded stays or to bring friends / family. There is a company called timeshare angels that specialize in Worldmark. This is who we bought some of our Worldmark from.  

http://www.timeshareangels.com/component/option,com_forms/Itemid,200/task,dinventory/

Worldmark also trades really good with RCI and II.
https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/
check out the resort gallery and point value


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## sue1947 (Oct 31, 2011)

I also recommend Worldmark.  It is a points based system that allows you to book less than a week.  This means you don't need a home resort.  You get a certain number of credits each year and spend them at whichever resort you want for however long you want.  Your best place for information is www.wmowners.com where Worldmark owners share information.  

Worldmark allows 'renting' credits from other owners (somebody can't use their's this year so they transfer them to your account for a fee; usually 5-6 cents/credit).  This allows you to stretch a small account to accommodate longer stays while paying the lower maintenance fees.  
Worldmark is not high end, but they are comfortable; I don't care about granite countertops as long as it's comfortable.   In addition, Worldmark is a terrific trader in exchanging (I use II but I think the same is true in RCI) so you would be able to exchange into other locations.   Worldmark has several San Diego locations, but I have used exchanges to get better quality resorts (Four Seasons Aviara in Carlsbad and Lawrence Welk in Escondido and Marriott's Newport Coast Villas in Newport; more Orange County than San Diego but the sunshine is the same...).  

Head over to www.wmowners.com and learn more about Worldmark.


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## Mpstan (Oct 31, 2011)

I cannot  believe how many generous people there are on this board.   

The more I read the more it sounds like with most TS's you better be happy with the location of your purchase because exchanges aren't that reliable.

That said, we've removed Arizona from our search area and are focusing pretty much on the beach, within driving distance of SanDiego.    Lots of nice places down there.

I'm not sure we are Worldmark candidates;  I would never stay in the one in Birch Bay WA (rooms are fine but too many kids running around, too noisy, and not enough activities).    We are looking for more of a resort setting I think.   Without the golf if that's possible LOL.

Does an RCI membership with Worldmark give you access to sites sooner than other people looking to do exchanges from say HGVS?

Thank you for the help so far;  still looking at resorts and companies.   Other specifics you can throw my way are appreciated.   The TUG membership is working great for me tonight.

Thank you so much.


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## bjones9942 (Oct 31, 2011)

I'm going to throw another choice out there that you haven't mentioned, and only because the majority of timeshares there are RTU (right to use) with an expiration date.  That way, if you don't like what you've gotten into, you only have a few years to live with it.  That would be Mexico.  Mazatlan, Cabo and Puerta Vallarta are all nice areas to vacation in, and you can get pretty good deals these days because of the drug cartel crime hype (If you aren't in the drug trade you probably won't see a thing).  You won't have much trading power, but you'll have plenty of beach, lots of good food and will meet a lot of friendly people (not the timeshare sharks - stay away from them)!  I should also say that beach quality varies between these cities.  From what I understand, Cabo beaches are nice to look at while Mazatlan and PV beaches are also nice to walk on.  I can testify that the Gold Zone in Mazatlan has a great beach.  Also, I think there are more of the 'resort' style than the 'hotel' style locations for you to choose from.  In particular, the Pueblo Bonito chain is swanky, as are the el Cid properties.  When looking (at any property) keep an eye out for mandatory AI (all inclusive).  It adds significant fees into the picture.

Just a thought, and an easy way to get started in the timeshare game.


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## slip (Oct 31, 2011)

You may want to look at Marriott. That seems to me what you are describing
but you'll have to increase your yearly maintenance fee budget. All those
activities and the resort feel add to your costs.


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## DeniseM (Oct 31, 2011)

I don't think Worldmark or Wyndham are going to give you the 4 Star Quality you are looking for (and I own two weeks with Wyndham.)  I would not buy in Mexico - because of supply and demand, Mexican resorts do not have strong trading power.  I would buy where you want to go most of the time - buying in California will also give you good trading power.

I think Marriott's Newport Coast Villas might be a good match for you, if you can come up on your maintenance fee.  Beautiful resort with strong trading power.  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/laxnc-marriotts-newport-coast-villas/  It looks like 2 bedroom platinum weeks are going for about $7,000 on ebay.


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## Mpstan (Oct 31, 2011)

We aren't interested in Mexico either.

I've seen this resort and it looks like the type of vacation we are looking for.    I don't know if I'm overemphazing flight convenience but we are 20 minutes from Bellingham Intl. airport, and from there I am 2.5-3 hours to either SanDiego or LAX using Allegiant.     So I'm focusing on the SanDiego/Carlsbad area, and are thinking about Ventura county also.

Thank you for your help Denise.    I hope I'm not taxing server overusing the resort review feature!


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## funtime (Oct 31, 2011)

I would start looking on ebay.  If you do not mind trading, I would get a gold Marriott in Palm Desert (there are three such resorts).  With a lockoff, you get two trades for one - it would not get you Marriott Newport beach in summer but might very well get you Lawrence Welk resort in summer and that is in Escondido.  In the II system, the quality of your trader matters.  Or you could stay in the RCI system  and look for timeshares at Carlsbad Inn or Carlsbad Seapointe but two bedrooms in the summer have high entry and maintenance fees.  Funtime


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## Tacoma (Nov 2, 2011)

Hi and welcome to TUG

I also would recommend worldmark if they are high enough quality for you.  I would definitely suggest trying them out before you buy though.  Have you been on the worldmark site yet to see all of the locations?  If I had it to do all over again all I would buy is worldmark and maybe one Marriott other than the weeks I use all the time (Banff week 13 and Kelowna EOY week 32).  Reasons I love worldmark:

book exactly what you want at 13 months out 
good online booking procedures
get the beds you want (eg twins so my 2 kids can share the room)
pay for the view or upgraded room if it is worth it to you
trades well in II and RCI
go for less than a week
split a week (or more) and stay at 2 resorts for only an extra cleaning fee
need more weeks this year - rent the points
can't holiday this year - rent out your points
bonus days, monday madness
worldmark by owners website
you can cancel very late with no penalty
no guest fee charge

You get the idea
Joan


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