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Westin Lagunamar - upgrade?

r1lee

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Hi All,
i was talking to one of the guys at Vistana Resort who was selling me the explorer package. He had mention that one of the best ways to book Lagunamar was to do it through Vacation savers on Interval then upgrading (if available) the suite to a 1 bedroom for the length of the stay for $200. Has anyone been able to do this in the past?
 

DannyTS

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Hi All,
i was talking to one of the guys at Vistana Resort who was selling me the explorer package. He had mention that one of the best ways to book Lagunamar was to do it through Vacation savers on Interval then upgrading (if available) the suite to a 1 bedroom for the length of the stay for $200. Has anyone been able to do this in the past?
Most getaway inventory at Lagunamar is off season. I tried to upgrade a studio last March (booked through Expedia , we were not owners at the time), it was very expensive, i think it was close to 200 a day if i remember correctly. Moreover, Interval getaway gets the absolute lowest priority. Although most Lagunamar condos have great views, you may end up in one of the few that does not have a view at all.
 

r1lee

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Most getaway inventory at Lagunamar is off season. I tried to upgrade a studio last March (booked through Expedia , we were not owners at the time), it was very expensive, i think it was close to 200 a day if i remember correctly. Moreover, Interval getaway gets the absolute lowest priority. Although most Lagunamar condos have great views, you may end up in one of the few that does not have a view at all.


haha thanks Danny. yeah that's ok, we aren't there for the view.

i was told it was $200 for the entire stay since we were 3 star elite and owners, but who knows.
 

DannyTS

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haha thanks Danny. yeah that's ok, we aren't there for the view.

i was told it was $200 for the entire stay since we were 3 star elite and owners, but who knows.
if you really care about the upgrade, you can email the resort and ask them before you buy, just to be sure (and share with us). We travel with kids and the studio is tight for more than a couple IMO.
 

controller1

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haha thanks Danny. yeah that's ok, we aren't there for the view.

i was told it was $200 for the entire stay since we were 3 star elite and owners, but who knows.

Would Interval know or care that you’re Vistana 3-Star Elite?
 

r1lee

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Would Interval know or care that you’re Vistana 3-Star Elite?

No, but i would be at westin lagunamar and it has nothing to do with interval. I was only told about this from someone working there.
 

controller1

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No, but i would be at westin lagunamar and it has nothing to do with interval. I was only told about this from someone working there.

I misunderstood as I thought the entire transaction was through Interval but the upgrade is through Lagunamar, correct? If so, would the upgrade be confirmed at booking or only upon arrival?
 

r1lee

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I misunderstood as I thought the entire transaction was through Interval but the upgrade is through Lagunamar, correct? If so, would the upgrade be confirmed at booking or only upon arrival?

On arrival, I was told that if there were rooms available, you can book the upgrade since your 3 star elite for $200 for the entire stay. So I’m hoping that is, I emailed the resort, but I doubt I’ll get an answer.
 

DannyTS

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i have more questions than answers unfortunately:
has anyone heard of this before? If true, I am surprised this was not reported earlier.
is this just at Lagunamar or it can be done at any other Vistana property?
why would anyone buy one and 2 bedroom units when you can pay $200 for an upgrade?
Unless i hear more to support the story, at this point i am inclined to believe that "his lips were moving"
 

r1lee

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i have more questions than answers unfortunately:
has anyone heard of this before? If true, I am surprised this was not reported earlier.
is this just at Lagunamar or it can be done at any other Vistana property?
why would anyone buy one and 2 bedroom units when you can pay $200 for an upgrade?
Unless i hear more to support the story, at this point i am inclined to believe that "his lips were moving"


DannyTS,
well the guy was pretty honest (at least i think so), he told me it was best that i declined Sheraton Flex and to wait out to see what Marriot offers to owners on the next upgrade path. He asked me where i travelled a lot to and told me, always to book Westin Laguanmar through Getaways on II. Especially if you are going in low seasons, cause its $200 to upgrade to the 1bedroom suite for the length of the stay. If you have multiple reservations, then its $200 each.

When i look on the Marriot website, it shows room upgrades as part of the Gold Elite status.

https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits/gold.mi

my assumption is that people book 1 - 2 bedroom suites cause they are guaranteed the units. Whereas, i might be stuck in a studio.
 

DannyTS

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DannyTS,
well the guy was pretty honest (at least i think so), he told me it was best that i declined Sheraton Flex and to wait out to see what Marriot offers to owners on the next upgrade path. He asked me where i travelled a lot to and told me, always to book Westin Laguanmar through Getaways on II. Especially if you are going in low seasons, cause its $200 to upgrade to the 1bedroom suite for the length of the stay. If you have multiple reservations, then its $200 each.

When i look on the Marriot website, it shows room upgrades as part of the Gold Elite status.

https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/member-benefits/gold.mi

my assumption is that people book 1 - 2 bedroom suites cause they are guaranteed the units. Whereas, i might be stuck in a studio.

Appearing to be honest is part of the strategy to lower your guard. I hope i am not sounding too cynical but he sells overpriced timeshares! Complete honesty would be telling everyone to NOT buy timeshares from the developer but that does not happen for obvious reasons.

As far as I know you do not get room upgrades on the timeshare side, the Bonvoy link is for hotel stays. Again, i doubt that it is true but if we get confirmation from a reliable source, it would be very useful to many TUGgers so thanks for sharing.

If I may add, according to the HOA annual documents, Lagunamar has an average occupancy rate of 92%. When you factor in the slow months like September-October, that means that the resort is at full capacity most time of the year. Given that and the fact that the 1 bdr condos are the most popular, there is a very low chance that you would be getting an upgrade even if this program existed.


IMO the best way to get a 1 bedroom at Lagumar consistently and for the dates you want is by using Staroptions for the low season (just 44k for a week) or through a resale ownership (EOY?) for the platinum season, the MF are reasonable, one of the lowest in the network for that size.
 
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r1lee

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Appearing to be honest is part of the strategy to lower your guard. I hope i am not sounding too cynical but he is selling overpriced timeshares! Complete honesty is telling everyone to NOT buy timeshares from the developer but that does not happen for obvious reasons.

As far as I know you do not get room upgrades on the timeshare side, the Bonvoy link is for hotel stays. Again, i doubt that it is true but if we get confirmation from a reliable source, it would be very useful to many TUGgers so thanks for sharing.

he wasn't selling me a timeshare, just the explorer package. He told me never to buy a timeshare from the developer and he himself owned multiple resale. But yes, he is a salesman at the end of the day, but this was after i had already signed for the explorer package, that he offered me the idea.
 

DannyTS

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On arrival, I was told that if there were rooms available, you can book the upgrade since your 3 star elite for $200 for the entire stay. So I’m hoping that is, I emailed the resort, but I doubt I’ll get an answer.
you can also contact Vistana. Since this is, if true, a benefit for the elite owners, it sounds more like a company policy rather than a resort policy. At the minimum they should know about it either way.
 

controller1

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. . .
he told me it was best that i declined Sheraton Flex and to wait out to see what Marriot offers to owners on the next upgrade path.

. . .

When i look on the Marriot website, it shows room upgrades as part of the Gold Elite status.

. . .

Ok, sure he told you not to buy Sheraton Flex because he doesn’t sell that product!


As @DannyTS stated the Marriott website is only for hotel stays and doesn’t apply to Vistana timeshares.


. . .
He told me never to buy a timeshare from the developer . . .

That right there should have tipped you off he wasn’t honest since that is his livelihood.
 
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