Canadian timeshare owners

[chillz911]

Curious to see how many timeshare owners , where are you from and where do you own?
Do you feel that you get a good value out of your purchase being canadian?

Thanks, Looking forward to your answers

 

[Soccer Canada]

Alberta
Own at Grandview Las Vegas but have owned most programs over the years
I don’t know if being Canadian has much to do with it, unless you own a deeded week at our sparse resorts you use it primarily in the USA or elsewhere. We have gotten good use out of our ownerships over time, swapping in and out as required mostly with free/gifted situations.

 

[gpj555]

Any changes being a owner at Grandview in light of the new ownership of parent corporation?

 

[Soccer Canada]

Too early to tell. An owner filmed the recent AGM, just haven’t had a chance to look. Short term nothing I think.

 

[moonstone]

We live 6 mos of the year in Ontario. We bought our first timeshare (from a sales presentation after attending 3 or 4 around FL) in St Augustine Beach in 1982. It was a soon to be closed Holiday Inn at the time that we used to walk to for happy hour from our campsite across the road. We loved, and still love, the area and have only exchanged it a handful of times. Our only regret was not spending the extra $500. for a 2 bedroom unit as we would eventually have 3 children. The kids grew up vacationing in timeshares. Our oldest son and his wife announced their engagement at a family vacation (I booked 4 two bedroom units) years ago and our younger son proposed to his wife at a FL beach timeshare stay (her first) the year before that. Now our grandchildren love to stay in timeshares instead of hotel/motel rooms. We have also made good use of Extra Vacations and Last Calls to add a week or more onto our stays or take additional vacations over the decades. Around 2010 we obtained a deeded 77K points timeshare from an older couple we met at a pool when we were on vacation in Kissimmee. They didn't know how to get rid of it and knew it was worthless. Those 77K RCI points have gotten us 3-5 vacations, all 7-13 nights long with the 1 annual maintenance fee since we got it.

Even with the poor value of our Canadian peso we still feel we get a better value staying in a timeshare rather than a motel/hotel room. We also enjoy having a kitchen so we can eat most meals in our unit and save money for more vacations. I always calculate our nightly cost at the end of each year and so far it has always been well under $120.Cndn. Now that we have a condo (right up the road from our St. Augustine Beach timeshare) and are snowbirds, we don't really need the timeshares, but for now we will keep them and visit places other than Florida.



~Diane

 

[VanX]

From BC and own in Mexico. Exchange through RCI often in Canada and previously in the US when $ was higher.

Very happen with Mexican 25 year RTU memberships and have broke even very early on them after buying them 2nd hand.

No actual maintenance fee so very happy with RCI weeks and points memberships linked to home resort.

 

[Christina_Snape]

Alberta here. Technically it's my mom that owns, not me, but I usually am the one doing all the planning when we travel....
We own at Paradise Canyon in Lethbridge, AB. (not sure if fixed or floating.... We've literally never been there.) And a floating week at Bonnet Creek in Florida. Also have never stayed there.

I'm not sure we get enough value out of it, but that's purely because we can't afford to travel very often.... If we could go somewhere every year it would be worth it. But, on the flip side, I also really like banking our Wyndham points into RCI for a few years, and then using all of them to go somewhere. Allows us to get a larger suite usually, and invite friends to join or visit while we're there. So I suppose it depends on your definition of value. I think it wasn't a smart purchase, so not great value that way..... (we're certainly not getting as much out of it as we could be.) however, when we DO use it, I love the flexibility and variety that RCI offers, so in that regard it's excellent.
That said I think they're both paid off, or will be soon, so it's only maintenance fees now... so that'll help the value we get out of it going forward!

 

[Ski-Dad]

Prince Edward Island

I own 6 units all purchased resale. They are all listed in my sidebar.

I have gotten great value out of my units. 1 unit is RCI points and the others are all affiliated with II. I have never been to any of my owned properties. I use them exclusively to trade.

My only issue at the moment is I have 8 weeks from 2024 and 2025 banked in II, and we have ceased travelling to the USA for the time being. Political discussions are not permitted on TUG so I will refrain from discussing our reasons, but fellow Canadians implicitly understand.

 

[jbman]

Prince Edward Island

I own 6 units all purchased resale. They are all listed in my sidebar.

I have gotten great value out of my units. 1 unit is RCI points and the other are all affiliated with II. I have never been to any of my owned properties. I use them exclusively to trade.

My only issue at the moment is I have 8 weeks from 2024 and 2025 banked in II, and we have ceased travelling to the USA for the time being. Political discussions are not permitted on TUG so I will refrain from discussing our reasons, but fellow Canadians implicitly understand.

We don't need to discuss the reasons, but can discuss resorts outside of the US that are worth visiting.

I would be happy to go back to Aruba for every vacation. The only thing that would stop me from booking either St. Thomas or St. Kitts is there doesn't seem to be any affordable flights to either from Toronto. There is always Lagunamar though, at least studios and 1-BRs, and I've been looking at options in St. Maarten as well.

This might be the time to check out the MVC resorts in France and Spain.

But even better would be to stay in Canada, the Embarc/HGVC resorts all look really nice, anyone have recommendations for Canadian resorts?

 

[Christina_Snape]

anyone have recommendations for Canadian resorts?

If you're into skiing/snowboarding in the winter, or mountain biking in the summer, I stayed at Pinnacle Lodge in Sun Peaks, BC a few years ago. We were there during shoulder season in late spring, so the lifts up the mountain weren't open yet for summer, and a number of the shops/restaurants in town weren't open either. But it was still worth it just to walk around town, take a hike to a waterfall, and just get into nature for a while. There's also a golf course if you're into that, which is open earlier than summer season opens.
It is NOT a fancy resort by any means... It's very small... but it's also really quiet (at least during shoulder season it was), which I loved. It does have pretty high fees. ($19/day/person for breakfast. It used to be breakfast and High Tea, but they recently removed the high tea, but didn't change the fee price. And I think there's a housekeeping fee as well, of $75 per stay. Plus parking fee of $11... plus tax on all of them.) They will also be doing renos on the carpet in one of the buildings this year. The rooms are also really small, with no kitchen, because they're a Bed & Breakfast style resort. They're all studios, that either sleep 2, 3, or 4, so it's snug, but there's a fireplace and a balcony with amazing views! And the points required through RCI are CHEAP, in my opinion.

All that said, I'd absolutely go back again! The manager/host is top notch! Great at making recommendations for activities, and food. He lives on site, and is available all the time. I want to go back in the summer sometime to eat at a few of the places that were closed in the spring, as well as hike some of the trails that are only accessible up the ski lifts. The town is so cute, and there's always activities happening! If you want to just relax and enjoy the outdoors in a very low key, laid back place, I'd highly recommend.

Edit: made a couple edits to the fees after double checking them.

 

[Ski-Dad]

We don't need to discuss the reasons, but can discuss resorts outside of the US that are worth visiting.

I would be happy to go back to Aruba for every vacation. The only thing that would stop me from booking either St. Thomas or St. Kitts is there doesn't seem to be any affordable flights to either from Toronto. There is always Lagunamar though, at least studios and 1-BRs, and I've been looking at options in St. Maarten as well.

This might be the time to check out the MVC resorts in France and Spain.

But even better would be to stay in Canada, the Embarc/HGVC resorts all look really nice, anyone have recommendations for Canadian resorts?

100% agree

We have been to Lagunamar twice. We will go back again for sure.

Aruba is on our list, but the the travel cost is noteworthy. We are booked for our first trip to Marriott St Kitts in November. We will grin and bear the cost of flights. We only have one week booked so far, but I have a search for a second consecutive week.

We are thinking Marriott Marabella in Spain for spring 2026.

I and our adult daughters are avid skiers. I did: a week in Dec/24 in Breckenridge, CO; 2 weeks in Jan/25 in Beaver Creek, CO; and we are just back from a March 25 week in Whistler. I prefer the skiing in Colorado and Utah owing mainly to the quality of the snow. I am now planning my 25/26 winter. We will be skiing in Canada only. I would consider Europe, but they don't get much snow anymore and not a lot of ski resort timeshares in Europe.

Fernie, BC? I have an OGS in II for Fernie for next winter. Anyone know how hard or easy is is to get a II trade into Fernie in ski season?

 

[Ski-Dad]

Could you clarify what you're looking for regarding Canadian timeshare owners? Are you asking about ownership options, selling a timeshare, exchange programs, or something else? Happy to help!

Not sure of the OP intentions, but the responses seem to be mostly from Canadians who own timeshares more than tuggers who own timeshares in Canada.

 

[jbman]

100% agree

We have been to Lagunamar twice. We will go back again for sure.

Aruba is on our list, but the the travel cost is noteworthy. We are booked for our first trip to Marriott St Kitts in November. We will grin and bear the cost of flights. We only have one week booked so far, but I have a search for a second consecutive week.

We are thinking Marriott Marabella in Spain for spring 2026.

I and our adult daughters are avid skiers. I did: a week in Dec/24 in Breckenridge, CO; 2 weeks in Jan/25 in Beaver Creek, CO; and we are just back from a March 25 week in Whistler. I prefer the skiing in Colorado and Utah owing mainly to the quality of the snow. I am now planning my 25/26 winter. We will be skiing in Canada only. I would consider Europe, but they don't get much snow anymore and not a lot of ski resort timeshares in Europe.

Fernie, BC? I have an OGS in II for Fernie for next winter. Anyone know how hard or easy is is to get a II trade into Fernie in ski season?

Have you looked into Panorama?

We ski a lot, but just here on the hills in Ontario, both kids are now in a competitive mogul program so between their lessons and competitions we aren't able to get away in either January or February and by March break they're skied out and would prefer to go somewhere warm. But we do want to take them to ski in the mountains at some point, Tremblant and Panorama are the two we have been most interested in, mostly because of access, we could drive to Tremblant and WestJet always has affordable flights to Calgary.

 

[imarley]

Ontario

We own in Weston Florida, but have only been there once, as we save up points and trade in RCI for Hawaii, Arizona, Vegas, Porto Rico and other US destinations.

This February due to personal political reasons we spent a week in Portugal and a week in the Cannary Islands. We had a great time and will be going back again.

 

[Ski-Dad]

Have you looked into Panorama?

We ski a lot, but just here on the hills in Ontario, both kids are now in a competitive mogul program so between their lessons and competitions we aren't able to get away in either January or February and by March break they're skied out and would prefer to go somewhere warm. But we do want to take them to ski in the mountains at some point, Tremblant and Panorama are the two we have been most interested in, mostly because of access, we could drive to Tremblant and WestJet always has affordable flights to Calgary.

Panorama is doable as a trade. At least I have seen good ski weeks available. It may make next year's list. Fernie is known for getting considerably more snow.

Tremblant can be good mid-week on a week that is not a school break in Ontario, Quebec or New England. On weekends and holiday weeks, the lift lines are unbearbale.

 

[SaltyCdnVet]

Curious to see how many timeshare owners , where are you from and where do you own?
Do you feel that you get a good value out of your purchase being canadian?

Thanks, Looking forward to your answers

It was a decent deal, I own a few timeshares and the maintenance fees enbs and flows. I would love a lower dollar but we just got back from Orlando and just bought food and cooked. Limited theme parks.

 

[Tacoma]

Since I always anticipated a time when travel to other countries would be more difficult I bought into many Canadian resorts over the years. I thought it would be less travel away due to health issues and insurance but times change. One stopped being a timeshare (Pacific Shores) and one I gave back after a legal fight (Fairmont). I still have my original BRMR, Holiday Park near Kelowna (EOY), Delta Grand Okanagan in Kelowna (EEY), and I own WM and Embarc. The only 3 I'm missing that I would like to go to (but not buy) are Riding Mountain Park in Manitoba, White Point Resort in Nova Scotia and one on Shuswap lakes. We use both WM and Embarc a lot in BC and AB and I have been to Tremblant. I have loved all of the Canadian Resorts that I have visited and will continue to travel to them. My plans for the next few years is to focus on non US locations where possible. That said I have 3 bought and paid for trips to the US planned in the next year. One this month to Sedona, Scottsdale and Palm Desert, an exchange into Custom House in Boston over Thanksgiving and I have SF booked for 6 nights over the super bowl. Based on how this trip goes decisions will be made about the other 2. I'm anticipating still being treated well in the US but we will see. I forgot to mention that I also love the Pinnacle Lodge at Sun Peaks. It is absolutely a hidden gem for skiers.

 

[Viv.Rob]

Curious to see how many timeshare owners , where are you from and where do you own?
Do you feel that you get a good value out of your purchase being canadian?

Thanks, Looking forward to your answers

We are from Ontario. We own at Bi-annual 2 bedroom Timeshare point system at Vacation Villa at Fantasy World in Orlando since 1995 and Las Vegas Grand Chateau since 2009. We used the Orlando timeshare and took our nieces and nephews to Disneyworld in the earlier years and later years used our points in Calabogie, Mont Tremblant, Collingwood. We also made several week exchanged in Las Vegas with adult family members and exchanged our week for Marriott Bonvoy points for hotel stay in the US and Canada. We intend in the future to use our points to spend 1-12 days in the Aruba, St Kitts. We feel that we continue to get good value for our purchase. As we are getting older and the current relationship with the US, we will re-evaluate and adjust our use of both timeshare.

 

[JanB]

Since I always anticipated a time when travel to other countries would be more difficult I bought into many Canadian resorts over the years. I thought it would be less travel away due to health issues and insurance but times change. One stopped being a timeshare (Pacific Shores) and one I gave back after a legal fight (Fairmont). I still have my original BRMR, Holiday Park near Kelowna (EOY), Delta Grand Okanagan in Kelowna (EEY), and I own WM and Embarc. The only 3 I'm missing that I would like to go to (but not buy) are Riding Mountain Park in Manitoba, White Point Resort in Nova Scotia and one on Shuswap lakes. We use both WM and Embarc a lot in BC and AB and I have been to Tremblant. I have loved all of the Canadian Resorts that I have visited and will continue to travel to them. My plans for the next few years is to focus on non US locations where possible. That said I have 3 bought and paid for trips to the US planned in the next year. One this month to Sedona, Scottsdale and Palm Desert, an exchange into Custom House in Boston over Thanksgiving and I have SF booked for 6 nights over the super bowl. Based on how this trip goes decisions will be made about the other 2. I'm anticipating still being treated well in the US but we will see. I forgot to mention that I also love the Pinnacle Lodge at Sun Peaks. It is absolutely a hidden gem for skiers.

We just got off a Panamá Canal cruise out of Fort Lauderdale with at least half the ship being Canadians. I found myself apologizing numerous times for the current situation. We are not all of the same mind.

 

[bizaro86]

Prince Edward Island

I own 6 units all purchased resale. They are all listed in my sidebar.

I have gotten great value out of my units. 1 unit is RCI points and the other are all affiliated with II. I have never been to any of my owned properties. I use them exclusively to trade.

My only issue at the moment is I have 8 weeks from 2024 and 2025 banked in II, and we have ceased travelling to the USA for the time being. Political discussions are not permitted on TUG so I will refrain from discussing our reasons, but fellow Canadians implicitly understand.

I traded my SDO into Harbourside at Atlantis in the Bahamas. We haven't gone yet but are very excited, that might be a good option.

We used RCI points for Raintree in Puerto Vallarta and really liked it - by booking exactly at 11 months we got peak dates. I believe the Cancun property is similar and might be more convenient from the East Coast (we are in Alberta).

Within Canada we regularly do Embarc Panorama (II) and Worldmark Canmore (we book direct but it's RCI). Both are great, Panorama is a more laid back location and has more amenities (water slides, mini-golf, closer to skiing, etc) but Canmore is a better location for Banff (and a shorter drive for us).

If you wanted Disney you might consider trying the Marriott by Disneyland Paris.

 

[smileyface]

We bought timeshare in Grand Cayman in 2003. We really love Grand Cayman Island and felt very safe there, plus the weather was perfect, not too hot and humid like some islands. We had a membership with II until about 8 years ago. It wasn't worth the cost because we rarely could get the resorts we wanted. The Grand Cayman timeshare was supposed to have high trading power but when it came time to exchange, we had difficulties. The good thing is one year we traded for Whistler in B.C. for skiing and another year we went to Cairns in Australia. They were both very good holidays. Since dropping out of II, I have used the resort in Grand Cayman or rented it out to others. I only rent to recover my maintenance fees.

 

[ChrisandBeth]

We live in BC and own both Worldmark and VI (both resale).The deteriorating exchange rate makes maintenance fees less affordable, but still cheaper than hotels + restaurants. We have used VI to stay at The Oasis in Palm Springs exclusively, but have no plans to travel there for the next 4 years. Hoping to get into their Mexican resorts next winter. Worldmark gives us options here in BC, and the ability to "rent" excess points to offset fees.

 

[Chrispee]

We live in BC and own both Marriott and Westin resale units solely for the purpose of trading in II. The majority of our trades have been into Hawaii, so the next year or two will be a real test to see if we keep our timeshares as we will have to try trading into Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe etc.

We’ve traded into the Hilton Whistler (formerly Embarc?) a couple of times and enjoyed our stay there, but it seems tough to get a trade there nowadays during ski season or the summer. My wife is a teacher and we have a son in high school so unfortunately we’re still tied to the school schedule.

Its great to hear other Canadians’ reviews on places to stay in order to get some good trading ideas for the upcoming years!

 

[clipper]

We live on the West Coast of BC. Our first timeshare was Banff Rocky Mountain Resort which we owned for about 30 yrs until we gave it back last year. We were able to get good trades with it, mostly through II, SFX and Diamond Resorts Select. We also own a deeded week in Diamond Resorts, now part of Hilton (HGV), and a small number of DRI points. Last year, we bought a Westin resale which we have used to trade into Hawaii.

We are happy that we started timesharing early in our marriage which allowed us to explore different places in the world. In Canada, I find that unlike in Hawaii, the resorts are not the destination but the location of the resort is the main attraction. These include Banff, Canmore and Whistler. Another timeshare of note is Bighorn Meadows Resort in Radium Hot Springs, BC. The view is scenic and the wildlife is amazing. From there, you can take easy daytrips to Lake Louise, Banff, Invermere, Panorama, Golden, Revelstoke, etc.

Has anyone have any feedback about Embarc Blue Mountain Resort near Toronto? That is one resort I would like to visit but it is not within driving distance from us.

 

[moonstone]

Has anyone have any feedback about Embarc Blue Mountain Resort near Toronto? That is one resort I would like to visit but it is not within driving distance from us.

I live less than an hour from Blue Mountain (Collingwood ON) but have not stayed at any of the timeshare resorts in the area except on a free overnight stay for a sales presentation at a couple of them many years ago. We prefer to vacation farther away from home. There is lots to do in the area in the summer as well as winter where the main attraction is skiing/snowboarding. In the summer you could take a short (15-20 min) drive to Wasaga Beach, the worlds longest freshwater beach on Georgian Bay. The water warms up fast as that part of the bay is so shallow.
Flying into Toronto and renting a car would be the best way to get there if you arent driving the whole way. Collingwood is about a 90 minute (140 Km) drive from YYZ with no traffic/weather issues.


~Diane