# timesharing in Europe



## letsgobobby (Dec 18, 2009)

Hello all,

I'm a West Coast (WA state) resident and have been thinking of timesharing for quite a while. We vacation everywhere and tend to be very flexible. My reason for wanting a timeshare now as opposed to a hotel (which is definitely cheaper) is that we now have 2 young children, and as we get older a single hotel room is no longer going to work. At that point a timeshare may be more cost effective.

My question is if there is a timeshare system that has a lot of utility in European cities? Specifically we would like the opportunity to stay for up to 1 week in places like Rome, London, Barcelona, Paris, etc. These are all places we've been and we could commit to going to Europe annually, indefinitely. But most of the timeshare programs I am familiar with are US-based, or have European resorts only in "resort areas" such as Marbella (Spain), where we've been and have no desire to go back. I'm thinking this would probably be a points-based system? Or maybe what we're looking for is some kind of fractional program (which unfortunately may be out of our price range)?

We could certainly use the timeshare for other locations, as we travel a lot, but Europe is where our heart is set.

I would appreciate any guidance or suggestions for this NEWBIE.

Thanks,

bobby


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## Jimster (Dec 19, 2009)

*europe*

Most European timeshares are located in places the Europeans want to go on Holiday and that is NOT in the middle of a European City.  There are exceptions including Holiday Club and Hapimag but those are not traded through RCI generally.  DAE has some Hapimag and SFX has some Holiday Club.  Search Holiday Club on here and find out about it- it has some definite problems but some of their properties are quite nice.  OTOH if you dont want to TS in Europe because of the inconvenience of some of the locations, that's ok but these days with the value of the dollar to the Euro, you may find the cost of staying in the cities rather expensive.


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## lprstn (Dec 19, 2009)

try Hapimag  http://www.hapimag.com/en/homepage.htm

http://www.tug2.net/advice/hapimag.htm


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## pedro47 (Dec 19, 2009)

Also t/s accommodation in Europe are going to be smaller in size than your t/s accommodation the United States.


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## letsgobobby (Dec 19, 2009)

thank you all for the advice. 

Hapimag is interesting, I now recall having heard of them before. Hard to find detailed pricing about them, the only details I could find were in German. As I understand, you buy a share of the company and become a shareholder (shares not sold on a public exchange), giving you access to points which are then used to reserve time. Over long periods of time the shares go up in price in part because Hapimag guarantees they will rebuy them, so there isn't much of a resale market at the present. But the cost of the shares, the annual fees, the usage fees, etc, I couldn't find any details. I am intrigued by some of the locations (though none in Rome, Barcelona, or Madrid is a drawback).

the fact that the units may be smaller is not an issue, since hotels in Europe are also much smaller than the states, so we are used to it. What we need is the extra bedroom or two, for the kids.

Looks like DAE works nicely, if you have something to exchange (which I don't)!


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## Laurie (Dec 19, 2009)

letsgobobby said:


> Looks like DAE works nicely, if you have something to exchange (which I don't)!


I don't know anything about Hapimag, so can't speak to that, but have traded into Europe several times, I belong to RCI and DAE.

I don't think you'll find DAE a good option if you're trying to get to the major cities you listed - the total number of exchanges there that DAE might offer in a year is probably single-digit. DAE might work for you if you are looking for a country cottage, or a European resort timeshare in an area with lots of them.

There are very few timeshare apartments (larger than hotel rooms) in cities you've listed, in any system. One of the few is Royal Regency near Paris which is Sunterra and trades thru RCI and II. There are one or 2 in London which are very hard to get. Florence has one in town, Venice a couple, Rome has one which is a bit out of town, so it depends whether you do or don't mind a daily commute. All of these are hard to trade into - RCI points might give you the best shot.

For an entire week, your best and most reliable bet IMO might be to look into apartment rentals in the private market. Aside from that, think about planning for a timeshare vacation in a specific country, not too far from a city, and tack on a couple of days before or after in the city with separately-paid-for accommodations, or take public transportation into the city a couple of times during your week.


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## Carolinian (Dec 19, 2009)

The only two external systems that Hapimag trades with are DAE and DRI, and they do not offer all of their resorts to either.

With DAE, using their trading partners is often a good option.  I have gotten summer UK canalboat, summer French Riviera, and spring Ireland that way.


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## letsgobobby (Dec 19, 2009)

Laurie said:


> For an entire week, your best and most reliable bet IMO might be to look into apartment rentals in the private market. Aside from that, think about planning for a timeshare vacation in a specific country, not too far from a city, and tack on a couple of days before or after in the city with separately-paid-for accommodations, or take public transportation into the city a couple of times during your week.



Easter 2008 we spent 7 nights in a 3 BR/1 BA apartment on Campo di Fiori in Rome for about $2500. It took quite a bit of legwork to secure and wasn't luxurious, but perfectly acceptable and really, you could not beat the location. We walked almost everywhere and had great markets, food, and culture at our doorstep. No, we do need to be in the heart of the city (when we go to the city). We appreciate many other kinds of vacations, but when we go to European cities we do not want to commute.

For $2500, it does not seem like I could consistently do better in the TS market. As you said, we might do best just staying with private rentals.


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## PeelBoy (Dec 21, 2009)

Royal Holiday Club offers destinations in London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Madrid and Barcelona.  These are apartment hotels in the city or in the case of Paris in the suburban area with subway service. With the exception of London, they are not difficult to book, even in the warm summer months.  You may need 60000 points for some of the locations but 40000 will be sufficient for Paris, Rome and Madrid.

RHC is cheap on resale: it is free.  MF depends on your points but is comparable to those brand names.

RHC is not easy to deal with.  You may want to read this: http://timeshareforums.com/forums/royal-holiday-club/

Ask lots of questions before any commitment.


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## letsgobobby (Dec 22, 2009)

thank you I will take a look.


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## Larry (Dec 22, 2009)

pedro47 said:


> Also t/s accommodation in Europe are going to be smaller in size than your t/s accommodation the United States.



Although many hotels in Europe have tiny accommodations I have not found that to be true of timeshares that I have stayed in including Rome 
(Carpedium Roma golf resort) French Riviera and London ( Allen House) . All of these exchanges were through RCI.

All were very spacious 1BR apartment sized timeshares with high ceilings, huge closet space and nice sized LR's, kitchens and bathrooms. 

The only thing that was tiny in all 3 were the elevators and TV's.


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## geekette (Dec 22, 2009)

I think Club La Costa specializes in European sites and is a points system.  I do not know much about them, so do not take this as an endorsement.


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## nerodog (Dec 26, 2009)

*ts in Europe*

I agree with Laurie.. tag on a day or two before or after  your Ts  if possible..., we did that with one in AUstria... spent a bit of time in MUnich before driving to the ts.. then we took the train to Vienna and flew out from there to go home..it was  a magnificent trip.. in Portugal, we spent a week in the ALgarve and took the train to Lisbon for about 4 days and again it was wonderful.... I like the fact that its like having an apt. but like others have said, renting an apt is also a good idea if you dont want to ts... I love B&B's the best .... am trying out the pousada concept this year in PT , no ts on this trip... with a bit of this and that you can have a great trip.. try to allow at least 2 weeks time or more if you can for a great trip !!!


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## Daverock (Jan 2, 2010)

Having used ts to trade into Europe is not a great idea.  The way RCI works is that the first people to get a crack at a ts unit are Europeans.  There are not many ts in the big cities.  Might I suggest that I agree with a previous writer that renting an apartment might be the better way.  Consider your cost of ts ownership and your yearly maintenance fees plus having to do a search that probably won't make a match.  With children the costs of ts ownership, maintenance fees etc it will be a lot more comforting to knew you have rented an apartment and for the period you want.  Best of luck.

Dave


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## Carolinian (Jan 2, 2010)

It all depends on where someone wishes to go with RCI.  If it is to an overbuilt area like Hungary, the Canary Islands, or Spain's Costa Del Sol, then the odds of an exchange are very good.  If it is to a European city, good luck!

I have done well with requests at DAE for such trades as summer French Riviera, summer Croatia beach, summer Poland beach, summer UK canalboat, spring England 2BR GC, and spring Ireland 2BR.




Daverock said:


> Having used ts to trade into Europe is not a great idea.  The way RCI works is that the first people to get a crack at a ts unit are Europeans.  There are not many ts in the big cities.  Might I suggest that I agree with a previous writer that renting an apartment might be the better way.  Consider your cost of ts ownership and your yearly maintenance fees plus having to do a search that probably won't make a match.  With children the costs of ts ownership, maintenance fees etc it will be a lot more comforting to knew you have rented an apartment and for the period you want.  Best of luck.
> 
> Dave


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## letsgobobby (Jan 7, 2010)

I think I am going to stick with the apartment rentals for now (total flexibility) and if I go with a TS stick with more traditional USA-based locales.


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## wags (Jan 16, 2010)

*Resource to rent apartments*

Does anyone know where to find apartments for rent?


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## nerodog (Jan 16, 2010)

*apt for rent*

I usually just put in apartments in Paris   and a bunch of sites come up or whatever place you are searching for... also Trip advisor has alot to offer or Frommers site....


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## brigechols (Jan 16, 2010)

wags said:


> Does anyone know where to find apartments for rent?


try www.vrbo.com


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## caterina25 (May 2, 2010)

Tripadvisors.com is a very good planning tool for Europe.There are many small hotels in very good area at a good price.You might also try putting the area and type of accommodation your looking for into google and see what comes up.Good Luck


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## Kagehitokiri2 (May 3, 2010)

in response to OP >

http://www.hpb.co.uk/
http://www.rocksureproperty.com/conceptApts.html
http://www.safehavenproperty.com/


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## stmartinfan (May 3, 2010)

We were in a similar situation to the OP - had two kids and wanted to visit great cities in Europe.  We found apartment rentals to be our best bet.  (We own a TS week in St. Maarten and use it annual for spring break or trade within the Divi system.) 

Through lots of online research, we were able to locate some small "apartment" style hotel suites or private apartments in various cities in Europe, and traveled to lots of locations over the last ten years.  That route gave us much more flexibility in terms of length of stay and the exact part of the city we wanted.  While most weren't fancy, they were comfortable and allowed us to stay in small neighborhoods and use the local bakery, grocery, etc.  I spent lots of time reading online reviews, looking at photos, e-mailing questions,etc., and didn't end up ever booking anything that wasn't acceptable.  Several were actually quite amazing, and allowed us to feel, at least for a few days, like real residents of the city.

I know others have liked the option of booking a timeshare week outside of cities and traveling in, but we loved being right in the heart of cities like London, Paris and Barcelona with no need to rent a car and were able to spent all of our time enjoying the city, not commuting in.  I'm a timeshare fan, but for us it works for the beach or some US locations, but to accomplish the European travel we wanted.


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## Timeshare Von (May 5, 2010)

paulaf52 said:


> Tripadvisors.com is a very good planning tool for Europe.



tripadvisor.com . . . not plural.


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## welshhope (May 24, 2010)

*Citadines*

Citadines  have aparthotels in a number of european cities that may be worth your while having a look at, I have stayed at  the Paris Saint - Germain one and my sister has stayed in the one at Barcelona, they are clean functional and in great locations with good prices it may just be what your looking for something between a timeshare and a hotel that wont use up all the budget$$$$
Here is a link - good luck with the trip. J 
http://www.citadines.com/en/index.html


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## Laurie (May 25, 2010)

wags said:


> Does anyone know where to find apartments for rent?


Try www.airbnb.com


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## vaterp37 (Jul 7, 2010)

Try FlipKey owned by TA and helps you filter based on user based reviews


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