# Morritt's Grand questions



## BocaBum99 (Jun 23, 2006)

I am finishing up a weeks vacation here at the Morritt's Grand and we love the resort and the island.  So, we are thinking about buying a resale.

We love the Golden Turtle Club and their bonus week program.  I was wondering if anyone knows if those benefits transfer upon a resale purchase.  We like the 20% discount on water sports, especially diving.

How difficult is it to book a Winter week given that all units float from week 1-50?  Will a 2 bedroom grand unit rent well in case we can't use it every year?

What are the pros/cons of owning here?

And, is there a user's group that has this info?  I saw the thread about one yahoo group, but it didn't seem to be exactly what I was looking for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## SharonD (Jun 23, 2006)

Hi Boca,

I asked the same question a few weeks ago about the transfer of benefits from a resale:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25986


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## BocaBum99 (Jun 23, 2006)

SharonD said:
			
		

> Hi Boca,
> 
> I asked the same question a few weeks ago about the transfer of benefits from a resale:
> 
> http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25986



Sharon,

It's funny that you had the same experience I did.  I just finished my last 2 dives today and I already want to come back.


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## mistergizmo (Jun 25, 2006)

BocaBum99 said:
			
		

> I am finishing up a weeks vacation here at the Morritt's Grand and we love the resort and the island.  So, we are thinking about buying a resale.
> 
> We love the Golden Turtle Club and their bonus week program.  I was wondering if anyone knows if those benefits transfer upon a resale purchase.
> 
> ...



Morritt does not offer re-sales, but they are plentiful from other sources.  You will not get Golden Turtle status or a bonus week with a resale purchase.  You will get the benefit by buying from Morritt or from a current owner who has a bonus week.  You have to decide if the lower cost of a resale offsets the Turtle benefits.

You can get a winter week by making a reservation (and paying the appropriate maintenance fee) one year in advance of the week you want.  Chances of getting these high demand weeks diminished rapidly the longer you wait.

You should have no problem renting a winter week in The Grand.  Advertisements can be found here in the TUG classifieds.

Since the demise of the original Morritt Owners Forum, there hasn't been a good user group replacement.  The TUG bbs is one I'd recommend, but there is a fledgling group with promise starting up at http://morritts.17.forumer.com.

Morritt says that it is redesigning their own website, but chances that it'll have a useful Owner Forum are scant.


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## Floridaski (Jun 25, 2006)

Boca,
We own at Morritts and Hyatt, two very different systems.  T,he Morritts weeks do rent well and we have not had any problem getting winter weeks.  You do need to make your reservations early, but if you plan, you will not have any problem.  That being said, you will find many unhappy owners at Morritts due to the special assestments, management etc.....  So, even though we are HAPPY - I would proceed with caution.  I read your posts on occasion, so I know that you will be careful.  It is a beautiful location, wonderful diving and we have not had any problems with the management.  But, it is basically one guy running the show - David Morritt.  It is not like a Hyatt, Marriott, Bluegreen or other large corporations.  So, I think that is one of it's good points - and one it's bad points.  David Morritt does not have to answer to stock holders, so he tends to what he feels is right.  Most of the time, I do not have any problems with what Morritts does.  The special assestment was needed, I live in Florida - so I do fully understand Hurricanes and Insurance issues.  But, there are questions about how the SA was spent.  It is possible that there could be a second SA, would Grand owners be included?  Who knows, that is the only major problem I see with purchasing a resale at the current time.  But, on the postive side - there are people that really want out!  So, you could more then likely get a decent price for a resale.


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## Floridaski (Jun 25, 2006)

Boca,
To the best of my knowledge - the Golden Turtle Club does NOT transfer with resales.  But, the resales are so low - I think the cost savings makes up for not getting the Golden Turtle.  But, perhaps somebody who has purchased resale will post an answer based on experience.  We purchased Morritts directly from the developer - first and only developer purchase!  Oh well, live and learn... But, I do feel that we have gotten our vaule for our purchase and we have not had buyers remorse.  We have owned at Morritts since 1998.


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## SharonD (Jun 25, 2006)

Renting (or doing a direct exchange) seems like a viable option.  If you rent from an owner who bought from the developer and go as a guest of the owner, do you get the Golden Turtle benefits while you're there, or do they only apply to the owners themselves?  I assume the 1/4 does not apply if you are renting from an owner.


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## mistergizmo (Jun 26, 2006)

Purchasing a resale on the open market will NOT get you Turtle club perks, but if you buy a resale from an owner who DID originally buy from Morritt, you will.

The value of the famous Bonus Week is about nil for the next couple of years since Bonus Weeks come out of unsold developer inventory and that inventory has been severely depleted by owners who were given the opportunity for deferrals when they couldn't use their 2004/2005 weeks.

The one-in-four rule does not apply to rentals, since rentals are private agreements between individuals.


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## BocaBum99 (Jun 26, 2006)

mistergizmo said:
			
		

> Purchasing a resale on the open market will NOT get you Turtle club perks, but if you buy a resale from an owner who DID originally buy from Morritt, you will.
> 
> The value of the famous Bonus Week is about nil for the next couple of years since Bonus Weeks come out of unsold developer inventory and that inventory has been severely depleted by owners who were given the opportunity for deferrals when they couldn't use their 2004/2005 weeks.
> 
> The one-in-four rule does not apply to rentals, since rentals are private agreements between individuals.



I'm not sure if I completely understand.  Can you clarify?

What is the difference between buying a resale on the open market and buying from someone who originally bought from Morritt?  Weren't ALL units originally bought from Morritt's?

Does the 1-in-4 rule apply to someone who has 2 different RCI accounts and exchanges a week on each different account?

Thanks


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## mistergizmo (Jun 26, 2006)

1.  Everyone probably knows that Morritt does not re-sell unit weeks (unless they are defaulted weeks).

2.  If you buy directly from an existing owner who, in turn bought from the resort or was grandfathered into the program, you do get the Golden Turtle perks.

3.  If you buy from a timeshare "broker", however, Morritt says the new buyer will not get the perks.

You're correct in that all units originally came from the developer/owner.  Morritt, however, is interested in selling new, since it is more profitable.  Makes business sense.  Morritt added the Golden Turtle thing to encourage people to buy from the resort.  What riled many existing owners was that they were told by a former, former Sales Manager that they could not transfer Bonus Weeks when selling their week to another private party.  Morritt eventually decided to  accomodate those existing owners who pointed out that their purchase contracts said they COULD transfer Bonus Weeks.

Regarding the 1-in-4, I have to admit lack of knowledge on the workings of RCI and others.  However, there should be others in the forum that can answer your question.


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## jtridle (Jun 26, 2006)

mistergizmo said:
			
		

> 1.  Everyone probably knows that Morritt does not re-sell unit weeks (unless they are defaulted weeks).
> 
> 2.  If you buy directly from an existing owner who, in turn bought from the resort or was grandfathered into the program, you do get the Golden Turtle perks.
> 
> 3.  If you buy from a timeshare "broker", however, Morritt says the new buyer will not get the perks.



If I were you I would check directly with Morritt's on getting Golden Turtle benefits.  All I know is that when I asked in October of 2003 (?), I was told that we would still have those benefits because we had bought our resale prior to when they changed their rule requiring developer purchase for Golden Turtle benefits.  They seem to be getting more restrictive in these Turtle benefits so I would doubt they are going to be generous enough to transfer those benefits to anybody who is buying resale from an individual who originally bought from the developer.    When I say they seem to be getting more restrictive on these benefits, here is one thing I mean by that:  With Golden Turtle you get discounted Cayman airfares out of certain limited cities, including Chicago.  These are bundled with other things you have to purchase such as restaurant certificate, car rental, watersports, etc.  you can take your pick of packages and the airfares used to be unbelievably cheap.  then after Ivan they upped the prices significantly, and now they are trying to renegotiate with Cayman airways for better fares but have closed this benefit while negotiating.  In 2004, we got these unbelievably great air packages for our kids out of Chicago and they stayed in an additional timeshare unit.  We didn't stay with them in their unit.  When I asked about these fares a few days ago, I was told, wrongly or rightly, that in order to get these fares for other people, you not only had to go down at the same time (which is the way it was when I last purchased in 2004) but you had to be staying in the same unit with them. How they would ever know this is beyond me.  I did not dispute this with the person in Clearwater who told me this.  I am going to call back again sometime and pretend to be ignorant of the rules and ask again and get somebody else's take on this.  If they did change the rules on this, I can think of no other reason to do this other than to encourage people into buying a larger unit, a unit large enough for them and their kids.  Cause if they ever do get better negotiated prices again from Cayman, these really are, or at least were, great fares.  
Jackie


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## mistergizmo (Jun 26, 2006)

The new Golden Turtle/Cayman Airways perk list is supposed to be available on July 1st.  Unfortunately, some routes will be dropped from the package, per Global.

If I recall, after Ivan the entire Golden Turtle thing was put on HOLD until sometime around September of 2005 when they reopened.

You may be right about the "existing owner" transfer.  I wrote about it the way I remembered it, after getting the explanation from the then Operations guy.  I'm also having second thoughts about Bonus Weeks versus Golden Turtle benefits.  It could be that Bonus Weeks are transferrable from owners, but that Turtle benefits are not (and Turtle benefits include a Bonus Week item).

If so, excuse my confusion.


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## RMitchell (Jun 27, 2006)

This is a no brain'r (in my uneducated opinion) - If you can buy a (yuk) timeshare at less than a third of what "that" resort sells it for...forget the stupid turtle club.


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## mistergizmo (Jun 28, 2006)

Amen!  Savings from Turtle Club benefits would take years and years to equal the savings ($10,000 for a resale 2br OF!) you get from buying resale.


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## BocaBum99 (Jun 28, 2006)

I've never encountered a developer benefit that made economic sense when its sole purpose was to differentiate a developer sale from a resale purchase.

Some resorts offer additional benefits to owners like discounts at the resort.  This is what I thought the Golden Turtle Club was.  Just a benefit of ownership.  Since it is not, I am just writing it off.


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## stevedmatt (Jun 30, 2006)

What are the MF for 1 and 2 BR's at the Grand?


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## bassfamily8221@sbcglobal.net (Jul 3, 2006)

MF for the 2 bedroom at the Grand is $750.00.


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## Rod in Louisiana (Jul 31, 2006)

BocaBum99 said:
			
		

> I am finishing up a weeks vacation here at the Morritt's Grand and we love the resort and the island. So, we are thinking about buying a resale.
> 
> We love the Golden Turtle Club and their bonus week program. I was wondering if anyone knows if those benefits transfer upon a resale purchase. We like the 20% discount on water sports, especially diving.
> 
> ...


 
Unfortunately, the biggest perk for Golden Turtle Club members, deeply discounted fares on Cayman Airways, has been suspended. Negotiations are ongoing between Morritt's and Cayman Air, but the immediate prospects do not look good.

Here's a link to the most popular (in my opinion) unofficial Morritt Owners Forum. http://morritts.17.forumer.com/


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