Long-term stays and pets at HCC (& other)

[miked]

Hi Everyone --

My wife and I are considering joining HCC as a private member, to get 45 days at HCC properties. Here's our current situation: we own two homes, one in Seattle, and one in Phoenix. I'm in the advantageous position in which I can work from anywhere so long as I have Internet access. We are thinking of selling our house in Seattle, basing ourselves primarily in Phoenix, and then using HCC as a "second home." Maintaining two homes has proven to be somewhat of a hassle.

To this extent, I have a few question I'm hoping current HCC members can answer; I'd like to get your thoughts about this before we even start the process with HCC.

1) Is it possible to book six weeks of contiguous time at a single property (i.e., 42 out of the 45 days at a single property during a single continuous time span)? The idea for us would be to get away from a good chunk of the heat during the Phoenix summers -- early/mid July to mid/late August. We would be pretty flexible on location, so long as it's relatively cool (i.e., less than 85 F during the day). Is booking such a long stay "allowed," and if so, do you think it would be difficult to achieve (I understand that we would have to book a year in advance, which is not a problem)? I'm thinking the La Costa and Mammoth properties would be ideal for this, as well as the (future I think?) Tahoe property, as well as all the Colorado "skiing" properties, which I presume to some extent are less popular in the summer months.

2) Do all the properties offer high-speed Internet access? In reading the various HCC posts, I've come across some references to this at various properties, but would want to make sure that at least all continental US properties offer this.

3) Are there any pet restrictions? We have a 8 1/2 pound Maltese dog who is our constant travel companion. Obviously it would be a dealbreaker if he could not come with us.

Thanks greatly in advance for any information you can provide!

- Mike.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

You are limited to one week stays at all properties except Italy (they allow two week stays). You could stay 6 weeks in Colorado (they have 11 properties in the mountains), but you would need to move to a different location every week, unless the week was not booked.

All properties have high speed internet.

I believe that pets are not allowed, but you should call Heath at HCC about these questions. 866.991.2301

 

[travelguy]

High Country Club questions

Miked,

Your idea of using High Country Club as a second home is a great idea. I believe that you would have great availability for the properties you want at the times you need them.

All High Country Club properties except Tuscany have wireless internet. Tuscany has dial-up internet. The two ski properties that I've been to have wireless high-speed internet through Comcast cable. They also have wired ethernet available through a 4-port wireless-G 2.4Ghz router. I'm using the wireless in the High Country Club 4,800 s.f. house in Breckenridge right now and it works great all over the house and out on the deck.

High Country Club doesn't allow pets. Many of the resorts where the properties are located don't allow pets.

Feel free to ask any other questions.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

please post a mini review of the HCC Breck property...I am visiting the Hilton Head property on Thursday.

 

[GregGH]

another option

Is it possible to book six weeks of contiguous time at a single property (i.e., 42 out of the 45 days at a single property during a single continuous time span)? The idea for us would be to get away from a good chunk of the heat during the Phoenix summers -- early/mid July to mid/late August. .... snip ....

Are there any pet restrictions? We have a 8 1/2 pound Maltese dog who is our constant travel companion. Obviously it would be a dealbreaker if he could not come with us.
- Mike.

Hello Mike
We have similar issues - but for us it is the winter - not the summer.

Four Seasons Aviara ( North San Diego - Carlsbad ) fits us well - but for you the price gets higher as the guys from Texas bid up the price for Summer as they too REALLY want to escape their heat. Still smile when I think that Summer is hi season and winter is low season for San Diego - fits us very well.

And - yes - PET FRIENDLY ( $100 extra cleaning fee per stay )

We had looked at Destination Clubs - but to have to move every 7 days - just not us. Plus risk of deposit in rapidly changing & growing marketplace.

And with other exchange options like Registry Collection and others - you can keep changing from time to time.

A gold week seems to be $15k - so I might guess that a summer platinum week might be ( guess? ) $25k 6 x 25 * 5% = $7,500 (opportunity cost) + 2000mf x 6 = $19,500 total / 42 days = $464/day. This is for 2 bbd -= they have a lock out that has a HUGE bedroom - a nice bathroom and a small mini-kitchen - but no washer drier ( but available on site) that you could rent out if you didn't need. They do have one bbd units - but of you want to trade - you might be better off with 2 bbd. Golf is 7 day card at $250+ $50 thereafter for a pretty nice course on site. We got ours from Tri-West - they seem to have quite a selection.

Other options ?? Whistler? Other places up here in Canada ( but we too have days above 85 - some times too many days). Being dog friendly is the hard part.

The TUG membership opens up the resort reviews and you get a good chance to see what is good - vs what is not. Well worth the money.

Regards
Greg H

 

[myip]

Hello Mike
We have similar issues - but for us it is the winter - not the summer.

Four Seasons Aviara ( North San Diego - Carlsbad ) fits us well - but for you the price gets higher as the guys from Texas bid up the price for Summer as they too REALLY want to escape their heat. Still smile when I think that Summer is hi season and winter is low season for San Diego - fits us very well.

And - yes - PET FRIENDLY ( $100 extra cleaning fee per stay )

Wow! It is nice to know that Four Seasons Aviara allows dog. This is a BIG plus for us.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Wow! It is nice to know that Four Seasons Aviara allows dog. This is a BIG plus for us.

I see you own DVC and they do NOT allow dogs..what do you do when you visit DVC?

 

[myip]

I see you own DVC and they do NOT allow dogs..what do you do when you visit DVC?

I have someone come in to take care of the dog. It costs me $350 for each trip. My hubby doesn't like to leave our dog behind and limited me to only 4 vacations per year. Now with resort that allow dog (Four Seasons Aviara) driving distance from us, it is tempting me to purchase another timeshare.:whoopie: The high maintenance fees is offset by kennel cost and plane ticket.

 

[GregGH]

The high maintenance fees is offset by kennel cost and plane ticket.

Hello Myip

Hold on -- the MF's are hi -- but I really think you get value. Everything is near perfect. My wife says the THREE gyms ( two in the TS's common units and the one in the Hotel) are the best she has ever been in ( for a hotel & TS) . The staff are trained to a level that is near perfection .... for example watching a sunset the young girl loading up the pool chairs asks if she can run in and get us a hot chocolate ...etc etc... no where else do I find this level of training in staff. For what you pay at a Marriott ( with higher purchase but lower MF's ) like at Newport Beach -- you really have a wonderful location - much smaller and quite with a unit that just outclasses the others hands down.

Sorry for sounding so biased. And they allow dogs! Now they do have a weight limit - of appox 40#'s -- but they are a bit flexible on that --they just want "friendly dogs' and GOOD PET OWNERS ...they figure if you can afford a Four Seasons - you know enough to be a considerate neighbour to other TS users. And that suits me fine. I love to travel with my dog.

If you can use the non-summer time - what a value in my estimate. Owner Services is at 800-930-4946 - call them. Hope you enjoy Aviara as much as we have and will continue.
Regards
Greg H

 

[myip]

If you buy resale through a authorized seller, what kind of extra benefits do you get. Is hotel stays worth it? If you trade in 2 bedroom platinum, how many nights of hotel do you get. If you want to stay in Scottsdale, do you use II or Four Seasons internal trade. How easy is it to trade to another Four Season Timeshare? If we buy, it will be platinum week in Aviara. I see the price is around $23K. If you banked your week with II, do they pick a week and deposit it into your II account.

Maria

 

[GregGH]

If you buy resale through a authorized seller, what kind of extra benefits do you get. Is hotel stays worth it?
Maria

If you buy re-sale you do NOT get the trade in for hotel credits. It was not a deal breaker for us - we didn't miss it. Not sure of the exact value but in 75-80% of MF range back as Hotel credit

Regarding trades -- we are going to test out some of the higher end trading companies ... but for now I can't tell you any more until we get first hand experience - hopefully others will offer their experience in this forum.

These accept your AVIARA unit but since Four Seasons didn't sign with them - they don't show Aviara on web sites
http://www.memberstrade.com/properties/show/49
http://www.theregistrycollection.com

Perry mentioned this one
http://www.resort2resort.com/how/how_r2r_works.asp

These I don't know much about
http://www.theelitealliance.com/properties.php
http://www.deiclub.com/properties.jsp
There can be even more - they seem to keep popping up and I bookmark them.

It think there will be a 'shake out' of these companies as they find their niche markets and get to 'critical mass' for users and their break even points - some will make it; some won't -- kind of like the Destination Clubs as a whole.

It seems with II or RCI you are trading down - but with some of these listed above you are getting equals ( or near equals - some are odd fits for the exchange - like Rain Tree in Registry Collection ).

I do not know anything about summer at Aviara - it is busy (so we are told ) - there are fixed and floating weeks - maybe others on TUG can give you better summer experiences.

Regards
Greg

 

[hipslo]

Your idea of using High Country Club as a second home is a great idea. I believe that you would have great availability for the properties you want at the times you need them.

That "having to move every week" thing could be a pain, unless you enjoy that sort of thing over an extended period. I looked into HCC for the same sort of a "second home" intended use pattern but it didnt make sense for me due soley to this issue. That's just me, though, if you dont mind the weekly moves it sounds like a very viable option.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

That "having to move every week" thing could be a pain, unless you enjoy that sort of thing over an extended period. I looked into HCC for the same sort of a "second home" intended use pattern but it didnt make sense for me due soley to this issue. That's just me, though, if you dont mind the weekly moves it sounds like a very viable option.

Let's see...if staying in one location is your main concern, then you may need to buy a $500k or more condo vs paying $30-40k to join HCC.

I an't beleive that Four Seasons allows pets to stay in the units. What about people that have allergies or don't like the smell of animals in their house. I comapre this to a smoking vs nonsmoking room.

I am in HHI now and my allergies are killing me. It is worse inside my DVC than outside and I am starting to think the previous tennant allowed cats inside.

 

[hipslo]

Let's see...if staying in one location is your main concern, then you may need to buy a $500k or more condo vs paying $30-40k to join HCC.

Or, you could pay substantially less than 500k (though potentially still quite a bit more than 30-40k, depending on the property) to purchase multiple weeks at one property that you really like, such as Westagte Park City (and which would likely sell for much more than 500k as whole ownership) and make successive reservations (or locate and purchase multiple successive fixed weeks at one property that you really like). Just keep an open mind, there is more than one way to achieve your goals, each with different risks and potential rewards.

 

[hipslo]

Or, you could pay substantially less than 500k (though potentially still quite a bit more than 30-40k, depending on the property) to purchase multiple weeks at one property that you really like, such as Westagte Park City (and which would likely sell for much more than 500k as whole ownership) and make successive reservations (or locate and purchase multiple successive fixed weeks at one property that you really like). Just keep an open mind, there is more than one way to achieve your goals, each with different risks and potential rewards.

As a follow up, I just noticed that the OP was asking about summer in the Rockies, rather than high season. The economics in that case of purchasing multiple TS weeks become quite attractive as an alternative to second home ownership, and are not too different than an HCC membership. Take Summit Watch in Park City, hust by way of example. That would be a great spot to spend 6 weeks every summer, right at the foot of Main Street, walking distance to everything. Current asking prices for Gold (summer) weeks at Summit Watch appear to be around 7k. I dont know what they actually go for but would suspect at least somewhat less than that, especially given that there is no Marriott rofr to worry about. But let's use 7k, just by way of example. Total cost to purchase 6 weeks - 42k. Total mf - around $5500. No need to move to a different property each week. For me, that's a better option than HCC as a "virtual" second home. Others may feel differently. Granted the HCC properties are larger and nicer than the Summit Watch units. For me, that would be outweighed by not having to pack up and move to another one each week, though of course others might view that variety as a benefit. To each his own! be creative, there are all sorts of techniques out there that could work for you.

 

[travelguy]

High Country Club property size

Granted the HCC properties are larger and nicer than the Summit Watch units.

This is a point that we all tend to forget when comparing DCs like High Country Club to our timeshare properties. I'm very aware of this right now because I'm writing this at a 12 person dining room table in the 4,800 s.f. High Country Club Breckenridge Lodge.

I did a quick and dirty calc on 6 High Country Club properties in Summit and Eagle counties in Colorado and here are the averages:

Bedrooms - 4
Bathrooms - 3.5
Interior size - 2,425 square feet
Note that most properties have additional rooms (dining, billiard, recreation, laundry, game, etc.) and most have garages.

I own some nice timeshares but comparisons of them to the High Country Club properties is like apples to diamond encrusted oranges.

I was at the HGVC Valdoro timeshare before moving to the High Country Club Lodge and, while I really like Valdoro, I would move 6 times to stay at the HCC properties instead of 6 consecutive weeks at Valdoro.

It's also too bad about the High Country Club no pets policy. I'm a dog (and cat) lover and it would be a blast to have a dog at this Lodge. We have 5 acres of property and literally cannot see any of the surrounding houses. I'd love to watch my dog running through the timbers from the deck hot tub! Although I'm not sure how the native squirrels, foxes, moose and bears would feel about a dog.

 

[hipslo]

I was at the HGVC Valdoro timeshare before moving to the High Country Club Lodge and, while I really like Valdoro, I would move 6 times to stay at the HCC properties instead of 6 consecutive weeks at Valdoro.

I suspect some folks would (strongly) agree with you, and others would (strongly) disagree. Choice is a wondeful thing!

 

[Carlsbadguy]

At 4 Seasons Aviara I think they hold certain units for people with pets. We stayed in a timeshare once in St. George Utah that didn't allow pets, but found a kennel nearby and would take the dog out with us during the day.

 

[whatmough]

Probably too late to be of help to you with this reply, but you souund so much like us. We owned a home in Seattle )actually Fox Island) ARE AND sCOTTSDALE FOR 6 YEARS DOING 6 months each till last year when we sold our Seattle home and our AZ home and bought a new larger home in scottsdale.
We Joined HCC one year ago and abxolutely have loved every place we stayed. We spent 6 weeks last summer in Colorado resorts instead of returning to Seattle. We we so impressed we added 1/2 of a second group membership, now have 9 1/2 weeks total. Great for excaping the AZ heat.! Although we had to move from resort to resort every 7 days we had a great time as did many of our seattle area friends who joined us. We have also enjoyed weeks in Cabo, Wiakaloa and 3 weeks in yje great HCC villa in Tuscany, spending our 2 weeks (HCC allows this in Tuscany only) plus joining a friend for 1 of his 2 weeks. I highly recommend you join. It is the best DC by far for the price.
We also have a new dog, so we also joined 4 Seasons Aviara which as the above threads indicate is dog friendly. Our first of 4 weeks (we are posting from there now) was outstanding. Hard to belive two couples could be so closely in synch. Hope you make the same decisions we made and you can't go wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sir Newf]

Hi Whatmough:
Congratulations on your Four Seasons purchase....We (2 of us) are also seriously considering Aviara- EOY...please tell me more about pet policy (Maltese)...is it difficult to reserve the 'pet friendly' units? How about trading into Troon or even Jackson Hole- difficult, especially with pet? Any insight would be extremely helpful thank you..and congrats again!... Anna

 

[pwrshift]

I'm an empty nester ... most of the time I vacation alone or at the most with a significant other. What would I do with a 4 bedroom vacation place? It bugs me to stay in a 2 bdrm timeshare and only use 1 bdrm which is the reason I went to lockoffs at MVCI (a dying breed it seems).

Brian

...I did a quick and dirty calc on 6 High Country Club properties in Summit and Eagle counties in Colorado and here are the averages:

Bedrooms - 4
Bathrooms - 3.5
Interior size - 2,425 square feet
Note that most properties have additional rooms (dining, billiard, recreation, laundry, game, etc.) and most have garages.

 

[whatmough]

Our dog is a 10 lb. Havanese. I believe 4 Seasons dog friendly policy extends to all resorts. Exchanging into Troon is easy, but into Jackson Hole or any other 4S next to impossible. If you plan to stay with those 2, you will love it.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Whatmough - Welcome to TUG...you probably own the MOST HCC weeks here as we have about 12-15 owners here and most are 2-6 week owners.

As a Four seasons owner, you might be interested in trading IM or e-mail with another new member "Vineyarder" as he also owns 4 Seasons (he is not too happy with them though), but also owns Private Escapes. He is interested in the special TUG HCC memberhsip also. You might enjoy chatting with him as I found Vineyarder very intersting and successful (I don't want to disclose any personal info on him here).

Here is a thread he started.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47743