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Royal Islander, Royal resorts

hi99p

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If I buy a Royal Islander week off the open market, do I get the same rights as if I had purchased at the resort? Can you exchange between other Royal properties without going through II? Is it easy to exchange or do you get the run around like RCI?
 

pjrose

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If I buy a Royal Islander week off the open market, do I get the same rights as if I had purchased at the resort? Can you exchange between other Royal properties without going through II? Is it easy to exchange or do you get the run around like RCI?

Yes, absolutely you have exactly the same rights. Is there anything in particular you were wondering about?

Yes, you can exchange without going through II - you do it through ISCO, the Royal Resorts' management.

It's easy if the week/resort you want is available. You are limited to the other properties of the Royal Resorts, and it depends on whether another owner deposited his/her unit. There is no run around.
 

mfan

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Which Royal Resort?

Which of the 3 Tri-Royal Resorts would be the best to get, in terms of the quality and condition of the facilities (living and recreational), the convenience of the location (accessibility and beach), the desirability on trades (most demanded & popular), etc.?
 

pjrose

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Which of the 3 Tri-Royal Resorts would be the best to get, in terms of the quality and condition of the facilities (living and recreational), the convenience of the location (accessibility and beach), the desirability on trades (most demanded & popular), etc.?

All are kept in top condition, with constant maintenance and frequent upgrades.

All have pretty much the same layout (2 bedroom lockoffs, though the Club Internacional has different layouts) and similar recreation available.

Club Internacional is different than the others - it has small buildings and is arranged kind of like a village. It is on a very quiet beach and has a very quiet atmosphere.

The others are all set up in a C or horseshoe shape, with the open end at the beach, so with the exception of one building in the Royal Mayan, all will have an ocean view.

The RTU (right to use) expires 30 years from the original opening date for the Royal Mayan, Royal Caribbean, and Royal Islander - I believe it's 2012 for the Mayan, 2018 for the Caribbean, and 2023 for the Islander - don't have time to look it up right now. The RTU is good for 50 years for the Royal Sands and Royal Haciendas - I think till 2050 for the Sands and 2057 for the Haciendas.

At that time the developers *might* renew for another period of time - that's what they did with Club Internacional. In that case, current owners might have the option to buy in again at a reduced rate. That's what happened with Club Internacional. However, the current thoughts are that they are more likely to sell to the highest bidder. In that case, owners will get part of the proceeds depending on how much is left after legal, taxes, etc are paid for. How much if any depends on the selling price, costs, and the detals of the original contracts which vary by resort.

With each successive resort the developers made some changes and upgrades - e.g. the kitchens have formica in the Tri-Royals and granite in the Haciendas. Likewise, the appliances are upgraded in the Sands and Haciendas, and the bathrooms are upgraded in the Haciendas. The Haciendas has additional upgrades, such as a jacuzzi on each terrace.

The newer resorts also cost more, of course.

They are all in good demand for trading. As far as rentals, I'm not sure about Club Internacional, but depending on the week the others are good in terms of rentals - with holiday and summer weeks being in high demand and returning well more than the maintenance fee.

As far as the vacation experience, in all cases you have very clean well maintained and comfortable resorts, with very friendly responsive staff, clean pools, and reasonably priced restaurants. You'll have an older crowd at the older resorts. All are family resorts that are kid friendly.

I suggest spending some time on royalresorts.com, reading the reviews on TUG, and searching this forum for more comparing the resorts. Of course ask more questions here!
 
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KCI

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One thing you should be aware of....I believe the Royal Mayan and the Royal Caribbean can not be split into a master unit and a lockoff and traded through II. I own at the Islander and that can be separated for trading into two units. I know the Caribbean can't be split but I think the Mayan is the same. If you are considering buying either a Caribbean week or Mayan week, check that out before you purchase. Mexicondo.com is a great site for looking for resale Royal resorts. Linda
 

pjrose

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One thing you should be aware of....I believe the Royal Mayan and the Royal Caribbean can not be split into a master unit and a lockoff and traded through II. I own at the Islander and that can be separated for trading into two units. I know the Caribbean can't be split but I think the Mayan is the same. If you are considering buying either a Caribbean week or Mayan week, check that out before you purchase. Mexicondo.com is a great site for looking for resale Royal resorts. Linda

You're right that you can't split them through II - but you can split them through ISCO, can't you? I'm pretty sure you can with the Caribbean, but I don't know about the Mayan.

In both cases, you can use part and rent part, or rent both parts separately.

Mexicondo is a wonderful site, but due to illness of the person who runs it, it wasn't updated for months. Is it up to date again?
 

KarenLK

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pjrose, funny, but I just looked at mexicondo.com last night, and it still has a May 4 date --that's 5 months that he has been unable to update. Prayers going up for Ken.
 

Lanor

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Royal Sands, Cancun

We are exchanging 2 weeks there at the end of October for our 25th. We have a 1 bedroom confirmed but want to stay in the same unit for both weeks and want a lower or ground suite very near the beach with a wonderful view? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to arrange that and what recommendations do you offer from experience? Also We wanted to attend a sales talk in the hopes of getting some freebies without purchasing anything, what is your experience about these sales talks. I have read some horror stories about lots of pressure and they last 4-5 hours!
Any tips here?

Lanor
 

pjrose

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We are exchanging 2 weeks there at the end of October for our 25th. We have a 1 bedroom confirmed but want to stay in the same unit for both weeks and want a lower or ground suite very near the beach with a wonderful view? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to arrange that and what recommendations do you offer from experience? Also We wanted to attend a sales talk in the hopes of getting some freebies without purchasing anything, what is your experience about these sales talks. I have read some horror stories about lots of pressure and they last 4-5 hours!
Any tips here?

Lanor

Lanor,

What you want is nearly impossible. All of the Royal Resorts units are fixed week / fixed unit, thus the locations are under control of the owners. You are limited to specifically the units that were deposited by their owners. It's not likely that the same unit was deposited for both weeks.

For the same reason, the Royals do not control the locations. They have available only what was deposited. You can see what units you were assigned to at this point by logging on to intervalworld.com and looking at your History. Then you can look up the locations on mexicondo.com or royalresorts.com. However, it is possible you won't get those specific units, for example if there is a maintenance issue. Not to worry, though - there really are no bad units, and everything is within a minute or two of the ocean.

Which of the Royal Resorts have you been exchanged into?

As far as the presentations go, at the Royals the most you will be offered is brunch and either t-shirts or a tote-bag or backpack. The Royals do not do the hard sell - you will have lunch, a pleasant walk around the property, and a sit-down with some paperwork. You will not be held captive or pressured - sometimes I've seen an over-enthusiastic representative, but even so, they know the words "no thanks".

The two properties that they are now marketing are the Royal Haciendas, in Playa del Carmen, and the Club Internacional in Cancun. They are VERY different. The Haciendas are the newest Royal Resort, more upscale in terms of decor, kitchen, and bath, jacuzzi on the veranda. Club Internacional is a very quiet laid-back resort, on a super quiet flat beach - pleasant and relaxing. If you want to go to the Haciendas, figure on most of the day - a 45+ minute van or bus ride, brunch, tour, sit-down, and then hang out there till the return bus ride. You can snorkel right at the beach. Club Internacional, on the other hand, is maybe 20 minutes from the tri-Royals, and you can go back to your own resort more quickly when you're done.

The sales talks with the pressure, horror stories, and good incentives are elsewhere - I haven't been so I can't address that question, but if you go to one, don't take your checkbook or credit card!!!
 

jschmidt

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Lanor,

As far as the presentations go, at the Royals the most you will be offered is brunch and either t-shirts or a tote-bag or backpack. The Royals do not do the hard sell - you will have lunch, a pleasant walk around the property, and a sit-down with some paperwork. You will not be held captive or pressured - sometimes I've seen an over-enthusiastic representative, but even so, they know the words "no thanks".

PJ is 100% correct!

However, you may be able to negotiate for your free gift. :whoopie: When I sat in on my last sales presentation, I was able to negotiate for a free Royal Resorts baseball cap and a diet coke. :D Then, when I got back to my home computer, I found a resale for a lot less, which I bought. :p

BUY RESALE! :cheer:
 
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