# Marriott's Ocean Pointe



## jilltsb (May 15, 2009)

Looking at buying at this resort.  Can any owner's share their experiences here?  Also, we would like to trade this resort every couple of years, what kind of trade power does this resort have?  How difficult is this property to get during platinum season?  Most of what I have seen is silver.


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## lovearuba (May 16, 2009)

*resale or through marriott*

Hi
If you buy it through Marriott it will be a big mistake.  The ocean point is available for a reasonable price through Intervale international.  You can rent it through them, if they have no availability then you can rent through redweek.  It will be a lot cheaper than what it will cost you to pay maintenance fees and the price of purchase over the years. 

If you do decide to purchase Redweek is selling two bedrooms anywhere from 10,500 to 19,500 (platinum).  You could also try ebay.

Others may disagree and that is fine but my experience is buying a timeshare is a bad decision


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## dioxide45 (May 16, 2009)

lovearuba said:


> Hi
> If you buy it through Marriott it will be a big mistake.  The ocean point is available for a reasonable price through Intervale international.  You can rent it through them, if they have no availability then you can rent through redweek.  It will be a lot cheaper than what it will cost you to pay maintenance fees and the price of purchase over the years.
> 
> If you do decide to purchase Redweek is selling two bedrooms anywhere from 10,500 to 19,500 (platinum).  You could also try ebay.
> ...



If the OP is looking for platinum season, they may find limited availability on II getaways. There are lots of should and off season weeks, but I am sure that prime weeks are hard to come by with the high owner occupancy there.

I do agree that today's economic conditions make a hard argument for buying a week to own. That may change though down the road as it could cost more to rent than to own, if one waits until then to buy it could be expensive. It might be better to buy now at today's depressed prices.


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## dougp26364 (May 16, 2009)

lovearuba said:


> Hi
> If you buy it through Marriott it will be a big mistake.  The ocean point is available for a reasonable price through Intervale international.  You can rent it through them, if they have no availability then you can rent through redweek.  It will be a lot cheaper than what it will cost you to pay maintenance fees and the price of purchase over the years.
> 
> If you do decide to purchase Redweek is selling two bedrooms anywhere from 10,500 to 19,500 (platinum).  You could also try ebay.
> ...



There are a couple of problems with this. 

First, as mentioned, if the OP is looking at Platinum season, it can be very difficult to for owners to get the exact week they want without calling in right at the 13 or 12 month window. 

Second, although silver season has very good availability and gold season has decent availability, room location is usually rather poor because there is still enough owners staying on their time that the higher floors closer to the ocean are often occupied. This resort will put getaway renters at the very bottom of the unit location placement hierchy. The first time we stayed at Ocean Pointe, it was during silver season using an accomadations certificate exchange. We were placed on the second floor in a room at the very back of the building.

I do agree that buying resale would make more sense than buying direct but, the OP doesn't specify how they would be buying a week. They are only asking for opinions on the resort


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## dougp26364 (May 16, 2009)

jilltsb said:


> Looking at buying at this resort.  Can any owner's share their experiences here?  Also, we would like to trade this resort every couple of years, what kind of trade power does this resort have?  How difficult is this property to get during platinum season?  Most of what I have seen is silver.



This has been the one resort we return to every year. We own a 3 bedroom ocean front unit which we have locked off every year, staying in the two bedroom master suite and exchanging the studio unit. Even though we own silver season, the studio unit has exchanged reasonably well. 

The resort is now approaching 10 years in age and the first building (Sailfish) is about to go through it's 10 year renovation cycle. Owners have been allowed to have a great deal of imput into what will be done with the units. The grounds are very well kept and the resort has withstood a couple of hurricane's with relatively little damage. There was a small special assessement in the $200 range after the very bad year when Florida was hit with four hurricane's. Other than that, MF's and cash reserve collections have taken care of everything else. MF's are in the $1,300 range for our 3 bedroom Silver season week.

Platinum season seems to have several mult. week owners and compition for the most desirable weeks in Feb. and March can be tough. There have been complaints from some who have a difficult time getting the exact week they want. The only problems we've had as Silver season owners would be reserving a memorial day week. Otherwise, we've not had any problems with availability. I see a good selection of Gold season weeks available for exchange. I've seen Platinum season weeks for exchange as well. I suspect because Platinum season owners that want to exchange will try to reserve what they believe will be the strongest week available to exchange, leaving owners that would rather use that week out of luck. 

We've owned since 2001. We presently own 7 weeks. If we had to start getting rid of our timeshare's, this resort would be the last one we'd consider selling. For us, a week at a great resort that sits directly on a wonderful beach with ocean water warm enough to swim in in December is the perfect vacation to end the year.

Click on the pictures below if you'd like to see some of our photo albums of this resort or, click the link in my signature below for all our albums.


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## sandytoes (May 16, 2009)

We are at Ocean Point right now and LOVE IT. This is the 4th or 5th time we have been here. As does Doug, we own a three bedroom Ocean Front unit. We stay in the two bedroom. Previously we did two weeks by staying in the two bedroom and then the studio. The studio is a bit of a let down when you spend the fist week in the two bedroom . . . so this year . . . . we are spending our first week in our two bedroom. Our second week we exchanged our studio for a one bedroom. It will be interesting to see where we end up. I have been told it in the same building on the same floor as we are in now but how far back is the unknown.

The grounds of the resort are beautiful and very well maintained.  Lots of activities, good gym and very nice pools and spas. New this year is a very large deck area between the outdoor bar and the market place. It is covered with a huge tent like canopy and has tables and chair set up underneath. This is the location for some of the activities. This afternoon we learned how to do the merengue sp?) . . . a lot of fun. 

I think you can buy Ocean Point for a couple more days at 25% off directly from Marriott.

For all you Sailfish Marina fans . . .  if you haven't had the swordfish topped with lobster, diced tomatoes and spinach and drizzled with lemon butter . . . you haven't lived . . . delicious . . . but expensive. It was my reward to self for sticking on my food plan for the entire week!

You will love Ocean Point . . . just do it!


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## jimf41 (May 16, 2009)

As a multi week owner at MPB (Ocean Pointe) I can get two weeks just about any time at the resort. Unless I want President's week, that one and a spring break week are tough. With one week you are not going to get exactly the week you want and most likely will be on a lower floor and towards the back of the bldg. This won't happen every time but it will happen.

As far as trading, I think it's good but I don't have a lot to compare it against. The Plat week I own got me into St Thomas this year but I split it for next year and I'm still waiting for the St Thomas trade. BTW, I called 13 months out to the second and could only get a Thursday checkin on President's week at MPB.

The lockout portions trade great IMO if you can wait for the 59 day window. Last year my lockouts would have given me two weeks in Waiohai in a 2BDRm in December. I couldn't take it because I was still working but if a good one like that comes up this year I'm going to jump on it.

I've bought all my weeks from Marriott but with the resale prices as low as they are right now I would probably go the resale route.

As far as the vacation experience I don't think you can beat MPB. It's on 23 acres of nicely maintained grounds, 5 pools, great beach, kid friendly but not a noisy bar scene type resort, great restaurants in the area and lots of cultural activities in Palm Beach.

I forgot to mention that we have the best GM in MVCI and the owners are nice and the BOD is open, friendly and competent.


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## jimf41 (May 16, 2009)

sandytoes said:


> For all you Sailfish Marina fans . . .  if you haven't had the swordfish topped with lobster, diced tomatoes and spinach and drizzled with lemon butter . . . you haven't lived . . . delicious . . . but expensive. It was my reward to self for sticking on my food plan for the entire week!
> 
> You will love Ocean Point . . . just do it!



Last few times I've been to Sailfish it wasn't that good. Based on your recommendation I'm going to have to try it again. That combination sounds to good to pass up.


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## sandytoes (May 16, 2009)

Jim,

I agree, I have not been overly impressed with some of my past meals at Sail Fish. But this years swordfish topped with lobster claws special was one of the tastest I have ever eaten . . .pure heaven


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## dougp26364 (May 17, 2009)

since 2001 I've found Sailfish Marina's restaurant to be very much hit or miss. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's very overpriced for the meal. We've given up on them for dinner but still enjoy breakfast there once or twice and maybe lunch every now and then. There's just to many other good options either by water taxi or if you have a car.


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## dougp26364 (May 17, 2009)

jimf41 said:


> .....The lockout portions trade great IMO if you can wait for the 59 day window......




But everything trades well during flexchange. At that point, almost all restritions are removed and you can get anything left over with whatever you've got to trade with.  

Still, I've been surprised at what I've seen online when shopping with our Silver season studio week during non-flexchange period.


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## TheTimeTraveler (May 17, 2009)

*One trade you'll never get (even at flextime)*

The only Marriott Ocean Pointe trade you can be sure you'll never get at anytime is a trade into the new Marriott Oceana Palms resort.

Marriott and/or Interval International has placed a geographical trading restriction between these two resorts.


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## dougp26364 (May 17, 2009)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> The only Marriott Ocean Pointe trade you can be sure you'll never get at anytime is a trade into the new Marriott Oceana Palms resort.
> 
> Marriott and/or Interval International has placed a geographical trading restriction between these two resorts.




This is true. There are a few other restrictions that come with Flextime but not to many.

I never think much about the restriction blocking trades from Ocean Point to Oceana Palms because we're not that interested in staying in a high rise on a property that's on a rather small piece of land. We much prefer the resort feel that Ocean Pointe has and it's location down by the inlet. 

Eventually we'll probably use our Grand Chateau week in Vegas to exchange into Oceana Palms but, it will be an extra week on Singer Island rather than a replacement for our normal Ocean Pointe week. While I don't believe I'd want to own Oceana Palms, I would like to stay there just once so I have a good basis of comparison when the inevitable questions on the difference come up.


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## m61376 (May 17, 2009)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> The only Marriott Ocean Pointe trade you can be sure you'll never get at anytime is a trade into the new Marriott Oceana Palms resort.
> 
> Marriott and/or Interval International has placed a geographical trading restriction between these two resorts.



Except an Ocean Pointe owner can use the Florida Club to exchange into another resort and then use that to trade into Oceana Palms, thus circumventing the trade restriction.


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## TJCNewYork (May 18, 2009)

m61376 said:


> Except an Ocean Pointe owner can use the Florida Club to exchange into another resort and then use that to trade into Oceana Palms, thus circumventing the trade restriction.



Could you elaborate how that works?


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## thinze3 (May 18, 2009)

TJCNewYork said:


> Could you elaborate how that works?



Ocean Pointe owners are part of the Florida Club. If you own at a resort that is a member of the FC, you can book ANY one of five resorts at 6 months out (or closer) from check in.

For instance, an Ocean Pointe platinum owner can reserve a platinum week at Grande Vista and then use that week, rent it, or deposit it with II. He could then trade that GV deposit into Oceana Palms, circumventing the regional block.


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## Superchief (May 20, 2009)

*Ocean Pointe Silver Season*

My favorite times to visit Singer Island are in May and in the fall (including Memorial Day and Thanksgiving). This is silver season at Ocean Pointe, and gold for Oceana Palms. My philosophy is to never buy a timeshare unless you plan to use your home resort at least 1/2 of the time. I find Ocean Pointe to be a location I want to keep coming back to, and air fares to West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale are usually reasonable.  Since I live in the midwest, I eventually plan to spend several weeks a year in the area. The lock-off at OP provides us two weeks for the price of one.

The only problem with the silver week is that it is virtually worthless in the Florida Club. Two resorts have no silver weeks, and the others are at times when I have no interest in visiting Florida. 

Has anyone been to Max & Eddie's lately? Although the seafood there was not as good as previous visits, we found the veal, pasta, and pizza to still be outstanding. We often order carry-outs to enjoy on our balcony with a good bottle of wine.


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## Smooth Air (May 20, 2009)

Superchief, about Max & Eddie's...it used to be one of our favorite places but in the past couple of years it had slipped to the point where we don't go there anymore. The food was really bad the past 3 times ( we kept going back hoping the time before was simply an "off night"...but 3 times in a row??).  The poor quality of the food was compounded by abysmal service. The whole atmosphere has changed over there. We were thinking that perhaps ownership had changed hands but the last time we were there David, the Owner, was still "at the door". I haven't seen his wife, Gemma in 2 or 3 years. Perhaps Gemma was the driving force behind the restaurant's past success & w/o her the place has deteriorated. I don't know but we don't go there anymore. Not even for take out (I have been buying Publix Salads & BBQ chickens & things like that for our balcony dinners w/ wine! And, Publix Tiramisu is excellent!)   

Smooth Air


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## Superchief (May 20, 2009)

Smoothair,
Thanks for the update. This is very disappointing since we had been going there for four years. Hopefully, their pizza will still be good. I have heard that the major development in the area had been delayed due to the banking/ market conditions and this has likely hurt their business. I noticed the owner was a little grumpy during our last visit.  I guess we will stick with Bonefish and Carmine's on our next trip. 

We still like Ocean Pointe better than any other MVC resort except Ko Olina, and we have been to many. It is close to things but away from the crowds. I was very surprised when Marriott assigned it a lower hotel category (5) than Royal Palms (6) , our first MVC resort. MVC is a lot nicer and the beach location is one of only a few in the system.


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## dioxide45 (May 20, 2009)

Superchief said:


> I was very surprised when Marriott assigned it a lower hotel category (5) than Royal Palms (6) , our first MVC resort. MVC is a lot nicer and the beach location is one of only a few in the system.



I think the reasoning for this was due to Royal Palms proximity to World Center. It appears that Marriott gave TSs the same category as the hotel if they are located at the same site.

Ocean Pointe is a great resort and we will be there shortly; however, its lack of proximity to local attractions and its lack of on site amenities makes it justifiable in Marriott's eyes to give it the lower rating. I was a little surprised with the lower rating though.

Marriott was not comparing timeshare resorts to other timeshare resorts when assigning categories. They were looking across all hotels and resorts since they were incorporating these in to the same category structure.


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## sandytoes (May 20, 2009)

Maybe they lowered the cat. to give more incentive for visitors. This would give their new Ocean Palm resort  more exposure to people other then Marriott owners . . .just a thought.


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## dioxide45 (May 21, 2009)

Superchief said:


> Has anyone been to Max & Eddie's lately? Although the seafood there was not as good as previous visits, we found the veal, pasta, and pizza to still be outstanding. We often order carry-outs to enjoy on our balcony with a good bottle of wine.





smoothair said:


> Superchief, about Max & Eddie's...it used to be one of our favorite places but in the past couple of years it had slipped to the point where we don't go there anymore. :



We went to Max and Eddies and thought we would be mugged in the plaza parking lot. It was a scary place. There was a unit there (I think under renovation) where it appeared people were squatting. I don't see why they would be doing construction at 8 p.m.. People just sitting in chairs in the the middle of a bare concrete floor. No windows or doors in the place.

Sailfish wasn't that fantastic either, we went for lunch and it wasn't anything better than average.

We will be heading back again to Ocean Pointe shortly but will try some other retaurants near by.


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## dougp26364 (May 21, 2009)

dioxide45 said:


> ....Sailfish wasn't that fantastic either, we went for lunch and it wasn't anything better than average.....



IMHO, the best thing about Sailfish Marina's restaurant is it's location. For us, we'll usually take in one or two breakfasts there. Generally we're up early enough that it's not a problem getting a table by the large open windows and enjoying the inlet/marina view. 

Lunch has been O.K. but nothing special other than we enjoy the view. Dinner's we've been disappointed in, both in price and quality. We were served some of the largest stone crab claws we've ever seen a few years back but, that's not enough to hold our attention. We did have one dinner there last year and, it was all right but over priced for what we received.

I hadn't looked at the catagory MPB was assigned but, I'm surprised it was only rated a catagory 5. It seems to me when you have a great beach front location, every room has a view towards the ocean, two bars, four pools, two fitness rooms, three hot tubs, a convenience store, Pizza Hut Express, Starbucks Express and variuos other amenities I'm not naming, it would rate higher than Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Airport & Cruise Port, which is also a catagory 5 but scarcly has the amenities of MPB.


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## Chuck2527 (May 21, 2009)

*My two cents*

I understand the confusion and reluctance to buy from Marriott--and I understand the value of purchasing elsewhere.
However, Marriott is not a stupid company, and there is a method to their madness.
I just got back from Aruba (surf club), when I went to my ritual sales presentation, we talked with a salesman that knew we were points and not another purchase (we own 2 weeks).
In our 45 minute discussion, he informed me that Marriott is exploring a point system: i.e. RCI.  He stated that one of the reasons was to prevent resale owners from getting cream of the crop units. He stated that Marriott is working on a “Pyramid” scale. The top would be Marriott location owners, next would be Marriott owners, then Interval International, then resale owners.
This will make it very hard for a release owner to get into a high owner use unit.
But remember—You can trade almost any unit through II out of Marriott, so the wallet speaks!!!


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## lovearuba (May 21, 2009)

*Chuck*

Hi Chuck
I am glad to hear this. I dont think the current process is fair and think if Marriott does do something to bring more equality to the current process it will go a long way with owners in the higher end resorts that are paying higher costs of ownership.


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## dougp26364 (May 21, 2009)

Chuck2527 said:


> I understand the confusion and reluctance to buy from Marriott--and I understand the value of purchasing elsewhere.
> However, Marriott is not a stupid company, and there is a method to their madness.
> I just got back from Aruba (surf club), when I went to my ritual sales presentation, we talked with a salesman that knew we were points and not another purchase (we own 2 weeks).
> In our 45 minute discussion, he informed me that Marriott is exploring a point system: i.e. RCI.  He stated that one of the reasons was to prevent resale owners from getting cream of the crop units. He stated that Marriott is working on a “Pyramid” scale. The top would be Marriott location owners, next would be Marriott owners, then Interval International, then resale owners.
> ...




If Marriott does that, it will really cut the value on the resale market, making units even less expensive than they are now. I could easily see the law of unintended consequences coming into effect if they try this. First, you'd have current owners mad becasue the valuie of that developer purchased unit would be essentially gutted. Next you'll have resale buyers mad because they're treated less than an outside exchanger. The chances that Marriott would tick almost everyone off, except those that bought and never intend to sell, would be pretty high.

Fortunately, all this information comes from a salesman and, as we all know, salesmen tend to be you least reliable source of informtation about what's going on. If they can say something that they think will kill resale's and promote developer sales, they'll say it.


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## TJCNewYork (May 21, 2009)

thinze3 said:


> circumventing the regional block.



That's what I was after, Terry - thanks.


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## TJCNewYork (May 21, 2009)

Chuck

Thanks for your comments.



Chuck2527 said:


> In our 45 minute discussion, he informed me that Marriott is exploring a point system:



That parallels what an MVCI Owner Services rep alluded to in March.  He also stated that MVCI Owner Services were being "cross-trained" with Marriott Reservations and Marriott Rewards in order to better serve the needs of owners.





Chuck2527 said:


> He stated that one of the reasons was to prevent resale owners from getting cream of the crop units.



Owner services did not mention anything that I recall about preventing access by resale owners to choice units.  However, the rep stated that the number of points would vary depending upon the resort owned, the number of bedrooms in the unit and the view. 





Chuck2527 said:


> He stated that Marriott is working on a “Pyramid” scale. The top would be Marriott location owners, next would be Marriott owners, then Interval International, then resale owners.



I do not recall the keyword, "pyramid," the rep spoke in terms of villa assignment with "first preference" being given to owners at their home resort followed by owners at other Marriott resorts elaborating that MVCI owners with multiple weeks and larger units would have higher preference over MVCI owners with single weeks and smaller units.





Chuck2527 said:


> This will make it very hard for a release owner to get into a high owner use unit.



It's always been difficult to get into resorts with high owner usage.  For example, there are MVCI owners trying to exchange into Hilton Head in June and July when high owner usage can climb over 90%.  Under a so-called "pyramid" scale, it will be that much harder for MVCI owners with single weeks and smaller units as well as non-MVCI owners.


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## TJCNewYork (May 21, 2009)

lovearuba said:


> Hi Chuck
> I am glad to hear this. I dont think the current process is fair and think if Marriott does do something to bring more equality to the current process it will go a long way with owners in the higher end resorts that are paying higher costs of ownership.



Without the details, a comparison seems premature.  If this 'point system' Chuck is referring to is another usage option that will facilitate internal Marriott-to-Marriott exchange, the added flexibility and streamlining of process is welcome.  However, if the 'point system' is intended to replace current usage options, I hope the sunset period is a long one.


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## ldanna (May 21, 2009)

Chuck2527 said:


> In our 45 minute discussion, he informed me that Marriott is exploring a point system: i.e. RCI.  He stated that one of the reasons was to prevent resale owners from getting cream of the crop units. He stated that Marriott is working on a “Pyramid” scale. The top would be Marriott location owners, next would be Marriott owners, then Interval International, then resale owners.
> This will make it very hard for a release owner to get into a high owner use unit.
> But remember—You can trade almost any unit through II out of Marriott, so the wallet speaks!!!



I am new in this group, just since Jan/09. Some subjects make no sense and this one is one of them, together with an Marriott Internal Exchange System. It's very hard to believe that Marriott would eliminate the Marriott preference in II for resale owners, meaning that someone from a obscure resort would be front of the line  for an exchange, and a Marriott Platinum owner that bought resale will go to end of the line.

Regarding the "cream of the crop units", if you buy or alreadly have a Platinum or Platinum Plus week, Marriott cannot avoid you to reserve your week, and if you bought oceanfront, oceanfront is what you get, it doesn't matter resale or direct buy.


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## TJCNewYork (May 21, 2009)

dougp26364 said:


> The chances that Marriott would tick almost everyone off, except those that bought and never intend to sell, would be pretty high.



Striking a parallel, Marriott Rewards did "tick almost everyone off" with the announcement and rollout of the 2009 Rewards program.  To retain credibility, I would hope that MVCI gains from the lessons learned at Marriott Rewards.




dougp26364 said:


> Fortunately, all this information comes from a salesman and, as we all know, salesmen tend to be you least reliable source of informtation about what's going on. If they can say something that they think will kill resale's and promote developer sales, they'll say it.



Sweeping generalizations and forming stereotypes about any group can be onerous.  Be assured that information about a "point system" with a "pyramid" type scale is leaking from multiple sources and different levels within the MVCI organization.  The challenge of connecting-the-dots can be futile until MVCI announces the details of the program.

MVCI may never even make an announcement.  The BEST example of that is the June 30, 2008 internal memorandum about MVCI owner nights at a home resort or on exchange with II being counted by Marriott Rewards to qualify for Elite status (provided a Marriott Rewards ID is presented at check-in/check-out).

While the counting of MVCI nights towards Elite status is a great benefit for owners - especially multiple-week owners, a formal announcement risks the possibility that owners will want retroactive credit for all the nights previously stayed, as well as retroactive Elite status.

Elite status is not only prestigious and coveted because of the perks gained, an owner with Elite status is able to accelerate points earning through Bonus Awards and thus obtain the point levels needed for a travel package or other reward.  That said, let's hope your statement, "Marriott would tick almost everyone off" is not the harbinger of things to come; but a clear "guidepost" that MVCI recognizes and takes action to prevent.


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## sandytoes (May 21, 2009)

At a tour this week at Ocean Point, we were told Marriot will be phasing out Interval for Marriott to Marriott exchanges. Marriott will be make their own Marriott to Marriott exchanges.


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## TJCNewYork (May 21, 2009)

sandytoes said:


> At a tour this week at Ocean Point, we were told Marriot will be phasing out Interval for Marriott to Marriott exchanges. Marriott will be make their own Marriott to Marriott exchanges.



Reps at the Marriott Desk at II and MVCI Owner Services were surprised when I read your post and posed questions about the timetable and what happens to the weeks on deposit.

The rep at MVCI did admit that a points-based system different from Marriott Rewards was under discussion last year, but no new developments have been reported.  Typically, training is provided 1 week prior to a press release.


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## lovearuba (May 21, 2009)

*hypothetically*

If Marriott were to do this, wouldnt they need more than a week to train their internal staff.  It takes a lot of folks to support inquiries when this type of thing happens, they would need a transition plan and support system.


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## TJCNewYork (May 22, 2009)

lovearuba said:


> If Marriott were to do this, wouldnt they need more than a week to train their internal staff.  It takes a lot of folks to support inquiries when this type of thing happens, they would need a transition plan and support system.



LoveAruba - Hypothetically, I totally agree that significant change management is required. Let's keep our fingers and sandytoes crossed hoping that MVCI gains from the lessons learned from the debacle rollout of the 2009 Changes to Marriott Rewards. 

Candidly, Sandytoes' post prompted a knee-jerk reaction to pick up the phone and confirm. (_If you guys orchestrated this, did I pass?_)  It was about 7:30 pm EST when I called so there really wasn't a supervisor or manager I could escalate to.  My comment(s) simply paraphrased the highlights of two very BRIEF discussions.  

Like many TUGers, we're heading out for a long-awaited weekend getaway  so further calling will take a back seat until Tuesday. (Among other things, I'm determined to achieve my double-nights quota)  I hope mother nature will cooperate; scattered showers are in the forecast  

Back to MarriottRewardsInsiders....


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## dougp26364 (May 22, 2009)

We've been speculating on this supposed internal exchange system for at least two years now. Most information has come from the sales floor. Is there any wonder we're still speculating about something that hasn't happened? Until someone gets something from somewhere more official, it's all about as good as speculating about life on Mars.


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## Superchief (May 23, 2009)

*Good Seafood*



dougp26364 said:


> IMHO, the best thing about Sailfish Marina's restaurant is it's location. .. Dinner's we've been disappointed in, both in price and quality. MPB.



We have enjoyed the seafood at Bonefish during our recent visits. Even though it is a chain, we have found the quality and value to be much better than Sailfish. They also provide carryout and are conveniently located next to Publix.


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## sandytoes (May 23, 2009)

Maybe the trick to Sailfish is ordering their special. We have been to Sailfish twice since we arrive . . .both times I ordered their special which was a fish dish and they were delicious. The dinner special was very expensive . . . the lunch special was fish with everything served with a dinner meal and was only $13.

We also tried an Italian restaurant Carmines's La Trattoria on Blvd. on the right side behind a gourmet grocery store. I had Chicken Marcello . . . excellent. Came with a scoop pf mashed potatoes, great veggies and bread with spiced olive oil. Absolutely delicious and if you go Monday thru Thursday (I think) they have items on the menu that are "stared" and the price is $15 instead of $28 plus we used our Marriott money from the presentation . . . a delicious meal at a very good price.

It has been raining sheets of rain for the past 4 days here not mush to do but eat and relax  . . . we are think of trying Noche Restaurant . .  heard it was also good.


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## dougp26364 (May 23, 2009)

Superchief said:


> We have enjoyed the seafood at Bonefish during our recent visits. Even though it is a chain, we have found the quality and value to be much better than Sailfish. They also provide carryout and are conveniently located next to Publix.




For the first time we ate at Legal Seafood's on our Boston trip. There's a Legal Seafood at City Place and we'll probably eat there at least once on our visit this coming November. We've also enjoyed the food and view from Jetty's (get there early if you want to be on the patio) and The Crab House, which is right next door and has a much larger patio. Both have good views of the Jupiter Light house. 

There's a Bonefish here where we live. While it's a decent place to eat, we haven't been so overwhelmed by it that it's someplace we'd seek out while on vacation.


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## dougp26364 (May 23, 2009)

sandytoes said:


> Maybe the trick to Sailfish is ordering their special. We have been to Sailfish twice since we arrive . . .both times I ordered their special which was a fish dish and they were delicious. The dinner special was very expensive . . . the lunch special was fish with everything served with a dinner meal and was only $13.........




Or maybe things have improved, which would be a very pleasant surprise!

The last time we were there, which was this past November, dinner wasn't bad but, it wasn't great or inexpensive. Lot's of things may have changed including ownership, management or a new chef in the kitchen.


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## Superchief (May 23, 2009)

dougp26364 said:


> There's a Bonefish here where we live. While it's a decent place to eat, we haven't been so overwhelmed by it that it's someplace we'd seek out while on vacation.



We found the Bonefish new OP and the one in Clearwater to be better than the one in the KC area. The last time we were there in November, we had two excellent meals. I am glad to learn there is a Legal Seafood in the area, since I have always enjoyed them when in Boston. We do not get much good seafood in Kansas.


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## dougp26364 (May 23, 2009)

Superchief said:


> We found the Bonefish new OP and the one in Clearwater to be better than the one in the KC area. The last time we were there in November, we had two excellent meals. I am glad to learn there is a Legal Seafood in the area, since I have always enjoyed them when in Boston. We do not get much good seafood in Kansas.




The best seafood in KS tends to moo and most people call it a steak.   I don't know if the Legal Seafood in Palm Beach will be even close to as good as the one we ate at last week in Boston but, I'm sure we're going to give it a try.


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## radmoo (May 24, 2009)

Since Legals is a Boston institution, I don't know that I'd visit it in Florida.  WE, too, ate at Bonefish and loved it.  And my cousin just returned from a week in Sarasota and told me they ate at the Bonefish there four times!!!!

I'd highly recommend Jetty's ONLY if you can dine out on the patio.  Food wasn't anything special, prices are high but the view is AMAZING!!!!!


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## rsnash (May 24, 2009)

Since there's a lot of restaurant discussion going on in this thread, let me throw a rec to Food Shack in Jupiter click for review & pics: http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/florida-dining-little-moirs-food-shack/


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## dioxide45 (May 24, 2009)

We are in South Florida now. Another good link is:

http://www.southfloridadines.com


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## dougp26364 (May 24, 2009)

radmoo said:


> Since Legals is a Boston institution, I don't know that I'd visit it in Florida.  WE, too, ate at Bonefish and loved it.  And my cousin just returned from a week in Sarasota and told me they ate at the Bonefish there four times!!!!
> 
> I'd highly recommend Jetty's ONLY if you can dine out on the patio.  Food wasn't anything special, prices are high but the view is AMAZING!!!!!



The thing about Legal Seafood is they will ONLY deal with fresh seafood and that means local seafood. I noticed that the restaurant we went to in Boston changed the menu between the first and last time we ate there. I also noticed the the menu's were set up so that they could be completely changed from day to day. The spinich side dish I enjoyed so much the first night wasn't there the next time. The 3 course lobster dinner was still offered but, it was a little more expensive and the lobsters were a little larger. There were other minor changes I noticed but, I can't recall them now.

I would expect the Legal Seafood in Palm Beach to have a menu reflecting the fresh seafood availabe locally. I doubt that we will see main lobsters on the menu but I do expect to see caribben lobsters offered. Now that we've visted one of the locations in Boston on two seperate occasions and have seen that they really do change the menu and pricing to reflect what's available as fresh seafood, I'm anxious to see how the one in West Palm compares. I suspect that they'll hold up to their name and the promise that, "If it's not fresh, it's not legal."

As to Jetty's, the night we dined there we arrived at 5:00 PM. They offered an early bird special that was very good and reasonably priced. However, we've only dined there once and, I've found that only trying one or two dishes at any particular restaurant often doesn't give the complete picture. To be a truely great restaurant they must be consistant with both quality and service. So it could be that we caught Jetty's on a good night. The rule of thumb for me is I need three seperate dining experiences to really get a feel for a restaurant and the different things they hae on their menu. My problem with S. Florida is that there are so many interesting places to try. We just haven't been able to get to all of them let alone return to some of the places we've been an enjoyed.


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## sandytoes (May 24, 2009)

We just came back from our second trip to Carmine's La Trattoria located at 2410 PGA Boulevard (behind the Gourmet Market). . . excellent once again. We had an early dinner due to bad weather and not wanted to be in the room again. We stumbled upon their Sunday brunch entertainment . . . a vocalist from Italy classically trained in opera . . . he was fabulous. His name is Franco Corso. Apparently he sings on Friday and Saturday evenings when he is in town and not on tour. He also appears on Sundays. What a delightful experience  . .  sitting over looking the inlet and mooring boats, eating great Italian food, drinking wine and listening to beautiful music . . . I almost like rainy days  And the best part . . . the bill was reasonable for all we ate . . . we split a salad (they served it on to plates and each was larger then most salads), wine, we each had a delicious chicken dish that came with veggies and a potato dish, bread, coffee and tea (the best tea I ever drank with a magnificent aroma) and a huge desert which we again split all for only $58.00 plus tip. It was a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon.


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## jimf41 (May 24, 2009)

For fresh seafood I would try the local, non-chain, seafood restaurants. The Reef Grille on the way to Jetty's is one I would recommend.


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## dougp26364 (May 24, 2009)

sandytoes said:


> We just came back from our second trip to Carmine's La Trattoria located at 2410 PGA Boulevard (behind the Gourmet Market). . . excellent once again. We had an early dinner due to bad weather and not wanted to be in the room again. We stumbled upon their Sunday brunch entertainment . . . a vocalist from Italy classically trained in opera . . . he was fabulous. His name is Franco Corso. Apparently he sings on Friday and Saturday evenings when he is in town and not on tour. He also appears on Sundays. What a delightful experience  . .  sitting over looking the inlet and mooring boats, eating great Italian food, drinking wine and listening to beautiful music . . . I almost like rainy days  And the best part . . . the bill was reasonable for all we ate . . . we split a salad (they served it on to plates and each was larger then most salads), wine, we each had a delicious chicken dish that came with veggies and a potato dish, bread, coffee and tea (the best tea I ever drank with a magnificent aroma) and a huge desert which we again split all for only $58.00 plus tip. It was a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon.





jimf41 said:


> For fresh seafood I would try the local, non-chain, seafood restaurants. The Reef Grille on the way to Jetty's is one I would recommend.




Sounds like two places we might scope out on our next trip at the end of this year.


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