Can you get 4 BR LX2/LXR with SFX? They seem to be pretty rare with II now. Which weeks of the year can you get? I have HGVC so I'm curious what the all-in cost would be? Is Request first a better strategy with SFX?
AFAIK, the 4 BR LX2/LXR don't show up very often, if at all. They had a 3 BR Spa unit (I think it was the Spa tower) in Riviera Maya once, but I couldn't travel at that time. I vaguely recall a discussion on the mexico forums here on TUG that certain rooms/towers/whatever were not available via exchanging any longer (or some never have). So don't quote me on the above.
So if you have Hilton, there's 3 ways you can get into Vidanta:
1) via Hilton points itself (there's the chart on the Hilton page) via Hilton's partnership with SFX.
2) via Hilton RCI account (although Riviera Maya can only get into Grand Bliss and lower, last time I checked--no Grand Luxxe, unless you go to Nuevo Vallarta)
3) via SFX directly by depositing/exchanging a Hilton week
Interval International also has units, but unless you have an Affiliate resort with Hilton, you can't deposit/enroll a Hilton week with II (again the affiliates are an exception).
Now, in the grand scheme of things, the "cheapest" option, IMO is #3 (although it will depend on how much your MF/point ratio is with Hilton)
IF you can deposit a 1 BR Vegas week your points will be either 2,400 (Flamingo) or 3,400 for 2 BR (Flamingo). While HIlton considers those weeks "silver" season (I think it's the 4 weeks in January/Feb), SFX considers those "red/high" season deposits.
Anyway:
Your cost for that, plus the approx. $110 Hilton resevation fee/guest cert fee, plus the $189 (I think) SFX exchange fee, plus teh $75 resort fee is your total all-in cost. Unless you want Grand Luxxe, and then it's another $299 upgrade fee.
Option #2 is of course, 3,400 or 4,800 Hilton points for 1/2 BR unit (red/high season), plus the $239 RCI booking fee, plus the resort fee (I forget what the 1 BR size is, I wanna say the 2 BR size is $460?).
Option #3 is the most "expensive" IMO, as I think a 2 BR Grand Luxxe is like 12,000 Hilton points (or thereabouts). OUCH! Plus the booking fee. I can't recall if the $75 resort fee is also there, I think it is.
Lastly, AFAIK, the request first option with SFX is only available if you have the paid membership. I don't believe it's available via the free membership.
Also, I am a Diamond Lifetime member with SFX. EONS ago, I did the free trial and it worked well, so I upgraded to Diamond "lifetime" (i think technically it was like 30 years or something), as in the long run, it saved me money. I don't know what the cost for that is any longer, so I cannot advise if it's still worth it. I want to say at the time it was like $2,300 but included 2 cruise certs ("free" cruise, which I valued at approx. $400/cruise), and with the reduced exchange fees and free unit upgrades, I'm ahead of the game now. I typically make 3 deposits/exchanges/year, although have done more when friends/family needed something.
Hope this helps answer some questions anyway.