# How happy are you with your Diamond timeshare? poll (2018)



## alex123 (Sep 25, 2018)

I'm deciding what timeshare company to join and would like to understand how happy people are with their DRI timeshare?


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## moonstone (Sep 25, 2018)

Our resort (Sunrise Ridge in Pigeon Forge) got sold to Diamond earlier this year so we really haven't had too many dealings with them. So far no complaints but we haven't seen a maintenance bill from them yet.
If you don't want to see negative comments then don't look at the Diamond Resort Owners Advocacy Facebook page! 

~Diane


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## geist1223 (Sep 25, 2018)

We own is several different systems. Every system has its pluses and minuses. You have to understand the limitations of each system and the good points of each system. No system is right for everyone. Most people are very happy buying resell. We have bought resell and from the Developer. We bought from the Developer for direct access to world wide resorts.


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## DanZale2000 (Sep 25, 2018)

Diamond is too expensive for what you get. The annual fees are about as high as Marriott fees, but you don't get anything close to Marriott quality. There are better alternatives.


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## Egret1986 (Sep 25, 2018)

The poll doesn't address my situation, so I did not vote.  My resorts (five) were acquired by Diamond in 2015.  I owned 17 traditional weeks (former Gold Key Resorts).  I am down to five.  I would never have made the choice to buy into Diamond.   I had read many negatives on TUG about Diamond over the years.   It really had a bad rep.  Then, the unthinkable and unexpected happened.  I unwittingly became a Diamond owner.  I have been a timeshare owner since 1984.  Diamond Resorts has nothing that I wish to own.  I am not familiar with their points program.


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## Egret1986 (Sep 25, 2018)

alex123 said:


> I'm deciding what timeshare company to join and would like to understand how happy people are with their DRI timeshare?



PS  Whatever you choose, buy resale!  Welcome to TUG.  Do your research.  Ask your questions.  Have as much knowledge as possible before jumping in.  I have been a timeshare owner since 1984.  I've owned a lot of different timeshares over the years, mostly independents.  Diamond has been my worse timeshare experience.

Did you fill out the survey for "New to Timesharing"?  It could be helpful in determining what system might work best for your vacation wants/needs.


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## tperez (Sep 26, 2018)

I agree with what's been said above, that each system has its pluses and minuses and for my family, each system serves different purposes.  Same goes with purchasing, with pluses and minuses for purchasing resale vs from the developer.  We own in three different systems and with two of them, including Diamond, have purchased both resale and from the developer.

With Diamond resale purchase, its very cheap to get in.  Heck someone actually paid us to take over their ownership.  But you're limited to access to the trust you bought in to and point saver deals aren't as good.

With Diamond developer purchase, much more expensive.  But access to Diamond resorts world wide and much, much better point saver deals, particularly in the overdeveloped locations.  I'm on the West coast and have had many nights in Vegas, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe for 2-300 points per night with the lowest so far being 125 per night, and that was even on a weekend.

Unfortunately with both resale and developer purchase, you'll have to put up with the infamous Diamond sales tactics....


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## alex123 (Sep 26, 2018)

thanks for the responses this is very helpful.
Egret1986, can you explain why diamond has been your worst experience?
im curious if i am better off going with a big name like hilton or marriott and why they may be better? i assume the sales tactics are the same at all of them and hilton/marriott more expensive than diamond?
it does seem some people are happy with diamond


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## Egret1986 (Sep 26, 2018)

alex123 said:


> Egret1986, can you explain why diamond has been your worst experience?
> im curious if i am better off going with a big name like hilton or marriott and why they may be better? i assume the sales tactics are the same at all of them and hilton/marriott more expensive than diamond?
> it does seem some people are happy with diamond



If you feel the feedback "does seem some people are happy with diamond", I agree that is true.  I don't believe my personal situation should necessarily hold a lot of weight for you.  As I stated, I was holding 17 traditional weeks (prime summer beach weeks with high demand) when Diamond acquired Gold Key Resorts (small local group).  I was very, very happy with the product that I owned.  Gold Key Resorts had just acquired one of the resorts in North Carolina's Outer Banks to add to their four resorts in Virginia Beach.  I owned many weeks (including independent resorts) at the time.  Diamond is too corporate for me.  With 17 weeks, I felt the brunt of the acquisition and all the initial issues (for close to two years) faced by owners.  If I had only owned a couple of weeks, I don't feel that I would have experienced these issues to the degree that I did.  The North Carolina resort was originally a big seller of RCI Points and was wholly affiliated with RCI.  Diamond is affiliated with II.  Before it was over, my only choice was to pull seven contracts out of RCI Points.  I didn't pay to put these contracts into RCI Points, but some owner did (probably $3000+ per contract) and they had value (flexibility) to me in RCI Points.  The difficulty that I had with Diamond and the costs that I incurred due to this unforeseen acquisition left a very bad taste in my mouth.  For the first 18 months after the acquisition, I had an unpaid part-time job trying to make my contracts work and get what I was entitled to.  In the end, I had to pull those seven contracts out of RCI Points, which wouldn't have been my choice.  My only way to survive until I could un-Diamond myself was to cancel the RCI Points.  I have bought and resold timeshares for many years.  The Gold Key Resorts timeshares that I owned pre-Diamond maintained decent resale values ($3000-$5000).   The resale values plummeted after the Diamond acquisition in 2015.  These contracts are now essentially worthless.  I also have been renting timeshare weeks for 12 years.  Fortunately, I have been able to continue to rent my Diamond weeks while I liquidate.

In summary, I would say my experience and situation is not typical.  Few folks have 17 contracts.  Others, such as yourself, make the the choice to buy the product.  I did not choose to buy into the Diamond product.   My opinion of Diamond and personal experience shouldn't be considered in making a decision about whether to buy into Diamond or another system.  Up until Diamond, I wasn't part of any of the timeshare systems out there.  I was always drawn to the independents.  

I made a business out of my timeshares (owning 42 weeks in 2015).  Diamond's acquisition threw a monkey-wrench into my business, caused me headaches beyond belief, expended my energy and time, and cost me some money.  Fortunately, that lost money will amount to much less than some lose on a single timeshare purchase through the developer.  I've got five Diamond contracts left with a couple of options for getting rid of them.  They rent for well over maintenance fees and will be rented until they are gone.  I will then be down to two independents, which I will keep for personal use or rentals.

Again, do your research and ask questions before jumping in.   Diamond could be something that works for you.  

PS:  When you speak of "sales tactics", are you considering a developer purchase?   Be fully knowledgeable and prepared if that is a consideration.  TUG is a great forum for gaining that knowledge and prepping for a purchase.  Best to you!


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## chemteach (Sep 26, 2018)

If you buy Starwood/vistana, be sure to purchase a mandatory week.  Marriott is great for trading in Interval International due to their internal priority.  Diamond points are nice and very flexible, but their maintenance fees are quite high for what you get.  I just recently purchased Marriott, and wish I had done that a few years back.  The Interval International trades are pretty great!  I have a trip to Marriott in Kauai this summer that I traded into with another Marriott.  If you are flexible with timing, you can get some great Vistana trades in II as well.


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## dlferree (Sep 27, 2018)

I am a happy Diamond owner, but I originally bought from a relative and not the developer. I then purchased twice from the developer. The first time to convert from a fixed week to points and the second time to add additional points.  Both my wife and I are retired, so we are able to travel any time during the year and on short notice, which allows us to expand the use of our points.  I waited most of the year for the reduced booking window and reserved a four bedroom in Williamsburg for 50% off, which allows us to use more days with our points then if we had to purchase for full price. The other thing I like about DRI is club select. It allows me to purchase additional weeks (2br units) for less then $500 a week.  With all of that said, I have no plans of purchasing any additional points from DRI.

There is an old thread I started a year ago you might be interested in reading called "DRI Negativism". It includes both positive and negative comments that might be of interest to you.

Dave


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## RLS50 (Sep 28, 2018)

I did not vote, we don't own Diamond points and have no plans to purchase any in the near future (developer or resale).   We are in the same boat as Egret1986 above.  We did not choose Diamond, we are involuntary Diamond members when they purchased Gold Key.

In my opinion Diamond has started to improve and get better at managing and operating the ex-Gold Key properties in Virginia Beach and Kitty Hawk.   I largely credit the regional GM in Virginia Beach for this turnaround.   He has made some significant improvements since he took over in 2017.

However in the opinion of more than just a few ex-Gold Key members (as Egret has already described) the initial transition and acquisition felt poorly handled and real communication to ex-Gold Key owners was inadequate to say the least.  Was that intentional so they could more easily herd all of us into our "Owner's Update" the first couple of times we showed up at our home resorts after the acquisition looking for help and answers?   Owner Updates where some reported being told that the only way to save themselves from skyrocketing maintenance fees and terrible future special assessments was to convert to Diamond points?   Whatever the reason that rough transition period has left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of owners.

Moving past the transition saga, if you analyze the near industry high management fees charged by Diamond, in addition to the significant expense Diamond charges owners for indirect corporate costs (their additional Admin, Owner Services, and back office overheard line item on the budgets), Diamond is basically charging their owners fees that might suggest they are the BEST timeshare management company in the business, and they offer the best properties in the business.

However where is the physical evidence of that?   How does Diamond's reputation, management excellence, and property portfolio stack up to Marriott?   Hyatt?  Wyndham?  Disney?

So my main concern with Diamond is that I think they charge their owners very high fees that suggests one should reasonably expect near industry best properties and near industry best management but they are not actually delivering on that premise.   And the issue I describe is not something I see as the fault of the actual resort site management.  I think the Diamond operations people working onsite at the various resorts mostly do a pretty good job given what resources they have to work with.

But it seems there is a lot of money that gets funneled from the resort HOA's back to Diamond corporate that is not being reinvested in the resorts themselves.  At one ex-Gold Key resort we own at the percentage of the budget spent on just Diamond management fees and their corporate back office overheard approaches 27%.  Contrast that to the Diamond line item at the same resort for Reserves which is used to renovate and refurbish the actual properties and one will find that at around 14%.

Now contrast 14% for the Reserve line item at the Diamond property with 26% budgeted for Reserves at one of the Marriott properties we own at.

Do you see and understand the impact of that over time if you are an owner?

**********************************

Outside of the fact that it is my personal belief that all Diamond owners are overpaying for what they actually receive in return, I guess I understand owning Diamond points if one has the personal circumstances to travel frequently inside 60 day windows and take advantage of the last minute point saver deals.   Or maybe if one plans on taking many 4-5 day trips in the course of a year.

But for anyone who still wants full week stays during peak seasons at summer beach locations or winter ski locations, I don't understand the value proposition of points.   In that respect Diamond points are basically as expensive as Marriott points...but in general the Marriott properties are significantly better...which is at least partially explained by the fact that Marriott is reinvesting more of your maintenance fees back into the properties you are visiting (Reserve Line Item).  And the cost of a full peak season week in points can be double to triple the cost of the equivalent deeded week maintenance fee at a particular resort.

Diamond has some nice properties in a few locations.  It seems to me that if a person wants to visit the same Diamond resort frequently, and especially if that visit is during peak season, that owning a Diamond deeded week is still the best way to go.


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## pierrepierre (Dec 1, 2018)

New to time shares (10 years) and being Diamond Platinum, we have mixed feelings.  We use to be able to rent our cars, but that is no longer.  We were able to use for airfare - but that is changing down the road in 2-3 yrs.......I have seen more things taken away, then great things being added!  Some of it is my fault, as I need to get more involved seeing what my points could do for me.  Disappointed that when booking air fare you cannot access Delta Comfort seating, just regular coach and 1st class.  That extra leg room is wonderful ( husband has had back surgery and knee surgery) on flights longer than 3 hrs.


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## artringwald (Dec 5, 2018)

We're happy with DRI because there's two properties that we really like, Kaanapali Beach Club and the Point at Poipu, our home property. Although our first purchase was from the developer, we'd never buy from DRI again. Their prices are ridiculous. I'd suggest that if you find a DRI property you really like, and would stay there often, buy a deeded week on the resale market. If you want to try another location, you can trade it through DRI's  Destination Xchange program, RCI, or Interval International.


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## Grammarhero (Aug 26, 2020)

Changed my vote from indifferent to happy


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## pedro47 (Aug 27, 2020)

This thread was reopen today with a very positive post, after two years.


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## pedro47 (Aug 27, 2020)

I  Deleted my post


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## Grammarhero (Aug 27, 2020)

pedro47 said:


> This thread was reopen today with a very positive post, after two years.


Technically, it was 1.7 years, not 2 years.  I’m happy with the supposed DRI owner discounts to other DRI resorts actually exist.


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## pedro47 (Aug 27, 2020)

Grammarhero said:


> Technically, it was 1.7 years, not 2 years.  I’m happy with the supposed DRI owner discounts to other DRI resorts actually exist.


LOL. The thread was started September 25, 2018. by a guest to this website.
The key to this thread to me: are  DRI owners happy owning their Diamond Resorts Timeshare?.
There are thirty-nine (39) votes on this poll / with the results.

The last post was on December 5, 2018; prior to a post, posted on August 26, 2018 @ 5:04 PM. LOL


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