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Trading OLCC for Cypress Harbour... mistake?

V

veenstra56

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Location
Grand Rapids
I have a week at Cypress Harbour on hold until tomorrow. I have heard almost nothing but good things about CH, but a couple things have me concerned:

1) The CH resort was listed as a Siver Crown on RCI. I found this surprising, since I always thought CH was Gold Crown. Has CH slipped?
2) RCI made no mention that CH was a Marriott property. I found this surprising, too, since Marriott should be a selling point. I assume that CH is still a Marriott???

Again, I've heard many positive reviews regarding Cypress Harbour, and I always thought it'd be nice to stay there. We are DVC owners as well as OLCC, and I've read where some rank CH right up there with DVC. If this is the case, I know we'll be very happy. You don't see CH listed too often with RCI (especially during spring break), so I hope that I'm worrying needlessly.

For those who have stayed at CH, what are your impressions?

Any opinions are appreciated.
 
Warning OLCC will nickle and dime you death to use there on site amenities. This is my personal opinion. Marriott Cypress Harbour is a very nice resort just read Tugs Database reviews.
 
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CH is definitely Gold Crown IMO. It's one of my favorite Marriott resorts. Just make sure you didn't reserve Cypress Point. It's still a nice resort, but not like CH.
 
Smaller but better quality

veenstra56 said:
I have a week at Cypress Harbour on hold until tomorrow. I have heard almost nothing but good things about CH, but a couple things have me concerned:

1) The CH resort was listed as a Siver Crown on RCI. I found this surprising, since I always thought CH was Gold Crown. Has CH slipped?
2) RCI made no mention that CH was a Marriott property. I found this surprising, too, since Marriott should be a selling point. I assume that CH is still a Marriott???

Again, I've heard many positive reviews regarding Cypress Harbour, and I always thought it'd be nice to stay there. We are DVC owners as well as OLCC, and I've read where some rank CH right up there with DVC. If this is the case, I know we'll be very happy. You don't see CH listed too often with RCI (especially during spring break), so I hope that I'm worrying needlessly.

For those who have stayed at CH, what are your impressions?

Any opinions are appreciated.
Click to expand...

CH is a Marriott but one of the older ones whose owners are lucky enough to be in RCI. Like many resorts in RCI that are top quality the standards for Gold Crown are so steep that they fail to make that lofty grade - even some of Wyndhams best failed the past few years. In general GC is a very demanding score to achieve and, unlike the II awards, does get handed out to many (although there are a few unexplainable quirks once in a while but they quickly drop off the list after a year or two). That said Cypress Harbor was built with quality and has been maintained well over the years - well deserving of at least the Silver Crown or better even if they don't have it.

The location is much better than OLCC. The resort is more intimate which we prefer BUT at the cost of all the extra on site amenities. We prefer the smaller size and better location.

It is a great resort. You should be very happy there. You are worrying needlessly. Enjoy a rare exchange into a top resort in a prime time.
 
As far as I'm concerned, RCI's ratings are a joke. If a resort is dually affiliated with RCI and II, I also go to II to see how they have them rated if it's something I am interested in. Some of the nicest (and my favorite resorts) are standard in RCI and 5* in II.

I have stayed in most resorts in Orlando and Cypress Harbour is one, if not, the best.
 
sandcastles said:
As far as I'm concerned, RCI's ratings are a joke. If a resort is dually affiliated with RCI and II, I also go to II to see how they have them rated if it's something I am interested in. Some of the nicest (and my favorite resorts) are standard in RCI and 5* in II.

I have stayed in most resorts in Orlando and Cypress Harbour is one, if not, the best.
Click to expand...

There hasn't been a 5 Star II resort ranking in almost 3 years. I guess they had given so many undeserved ranks away that they ran out of stars! Now they hand out fruit but it's hard to even find what the tiers are, what the criteria are (except that you must be a favored developer or know one) and what resorts do or don't have rankings. The II ranking system is totally meaningless and has been for many years. Far better to follow true independent reports such as those here on TUG to get the real story. Even there be careful that the ratings are based only on recent reviews as things can change a lot in a year or two of resort neglect. Anything over 2 years old is probably meaningless now.

In any case CH is one of the resorts many resorts tried to match for quality. Not many made the grade.
 
At my age, it's hard to change. I will always say 5* instead of laurel and whatever else II calls them.

Not trying to rehash what I've posted on here before but I'll talk about the Sanibel resorts because I know them best. I corrected someone on TUG when he said Sanibel Cottages was not a gold crown. He directed me to the RCI directory on their site and he was right, it was a standard resort. Now I don't own Sanibel Cottages and haven't exchanged into it but I have visited there many times. It probably has the most "wow" factor of any resort on Sanibel. I called RCI to ask why it was standard and they had a supervisor call me back. She stated that in the past year there had been 3 comment cards filled out and they were not positive. I know for a fact there are not many exchanges into the Cottages and the ones that are, are usually in Sept.
That is the worst season for Sanibel and maybe the comments took that into consideration. I think they have their Gold Crown back now, I haven't bothered to look.

Now I do own at Hurricane House and it is my favorite resort. It lost it's GC and is now standard. I have no intention of exchanging or selling so I didn't bother to ask why.

Now we come to Caribe, a converted motel with a murphy bed and paper thin walls. I think but I'm not certain, it was GC. I know it was at least SC.

I believe another resort I own at South Seas on Captiva is now standard also.
I don't know why and don't really care.

We have owned TS for 26 years and have owned 10 different resorts in the past. That has added up to a lot of exchanges. After I noticed the Sanibel ratings, I started checking other resorts and areas I am familiar with. I found several instances that made no sense to me. Are people downgrading the resorts on the comment cards to lower the VEP of the resort? With resorts that have few exchanges it would be easy to do.
 
I recall reading somewhere that a minimum number of comment cards is required for RCI rating purposes. If a resort only has a handful of comment cards turned in, it will not get a rating.

TUG reviews are more reliable than Pineapples and Crowns, IMO.
 
I don't know about the number of comment cards needed to affect a rating. It was a supervisor that told me they had 3 cards in a one year period.

In the DeHaan day of RCI the resorts were visited by account reps and the VC were encouraged to visit other resorts in the areas they were staying and write a report on them. They were paid (maybe $50 a report back in the 80's for doing this.)
 
it sounds like you have Cypress Pointe

Cypress Harbour would say MArriott's Cypress Harbour. If there is not mention of MArriott, then it is not Cypress Harbour. Cypress Pointe is a silver crown--I think you have this one.
 
Actually, wherever you see the older Marriott resorts in RCI, RCI has dropped the "Marriott" from the name. Take a look online at RCI at Orlando's Royal Palms, for example, or Hilton Head's Monarch. They don't say "Marriott" in the name.

To the OP, we stayed at Cypress Harbour last New Year's week. Gorgeous resort with all amenities within walking distance of all units. There are fewer amenities than at the mega-resorts like Vistana Resort or Holiday Inn OLCC. But they still offered a lot. It's really lovely and IIRC, fully refurbished within the last couple years. Our room was tops and the grounds are wonderful. I'd go back in a snap! Enjoy!
 
The RCI description for Cypress Harbour (#2619) starts...
"Surrounded by an 18-hole public golf course, Marriott's Cypress Harbour offers..."

Definitely a Marriott and definitely very, very nice.

That silver crown designation probably reflects low trading within RCI as I understand that most Marriott inventory is traded through II.

Dick Taylor
 
I have never felt nickle and dimed at OLCC in fact just the opposite

Free mini golf for the little ones
$20 dollar private scuba lesson
Affordable pizza
Sure they charge for floats at river island but, you can always pick some up as families leave

Again i have never felt nickel and dimed there at all.
 
Can't be nickeled and dimed at OLCC anymore, they are cashless!
 
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