[2009] The Dawn Beach Resort and Spa [moved]

[Fredm]

Lets see some DD from the nonowners, non visitors who have opinions without facts.
How hard would it be to go to the Interval International website and see the Westin Dawn Beach and the other Westin timeshares.. Geez that would take some DD huh.Are they there well of course they are!!
Before you respond go to the website!!
Actually we bought two weeks for the price of one. We have 99 years to use. And the maintenance fee is $1050 per weeks use each year. But why deal in facts.
Why read your contract we have persons posting here who have never visited never seen a contract with opinions.WHY????
If you have not visited why do you share you opinion here!!
Please explain who you are helping with your distortions!
Just curious!
Whats your motivation to fly by the seat of your pants!

Your confusion is understandable.

Westin hotels/resorts in Mexico have shared resort grounds with Regina timeshare developments for years.
So, you will see timeshare resort names like Westin Regina Cabo, Westin Regina PV, Westin Regina Cancun.
Some owners actually believed they were purchasing the timeshare from Starawood. But, they were not. A shared facilities agreement between the Westin hotel and the timeshare property did exist.
None of them were included in the Starwood Vacation Network.

Seems to me Dawn Beach Club is following the same template. Although it is clear that the Westin name is not used by the Dawn Beach Club.

As others have already said, you will not be able to exchange within the Starwood Vacation Nework. Nor will you receive Starwood priority for exchange to other Starwood ownership resorts via I.I.
You can exchange via I.I. on the same basis as any other I.I. member to anywhere in the I.I. network of affiliated resorts.

Hope you have many years of enjoyable vacations.

 

[DavidnRobin]

jft310 - I will be moving all your future posts to the Caribbean forum, because you don't own a Starwood timeshare and your posts don't belong on the Starwood forum.

As to who I am, I am the moderator of this forum.

Lisa - I know you are trying to be nice, but you are just enabling the OP - this is not a Starwood resort.

Or perhaps better suited for All Other TS Resort forum..
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30

 

[Captron]

The resort and the location are what they are, I haven't seen anyone bashing the property here. The ownership interest does not have Westin in it's name. According to David's post above. "Besides the use of the Westin facilities Dawn Beach Club is not affiliated with Westin Hotels or Starwood." My conclusion is that the resort is paying Westin for the use of the facilities.

It is well documented that there are not 65 Westin Ownership resorts. We are all quite clear that Dawn Beach Club is NOT a Starwood Vacation Ownership resort. This would mean no options, no affiliated internal exchange structure, no exchange priority in II, etc. Let me clarify that "exchange priority" includes a period when only other SVO owners can obtain exchanges into SVO properties deposited with II, before other owners. (Owners of Marriott, Starwood and other systems enjoy this benefit for their own resorts only) The 3BR certainly WILL carry significant trading power, unfortunately without a lockoff, much of that power will be wasted exchanging onto smaller/"lesser" properties if he does choose to exchange.

Another thought/concern would be with the neighboring Westin resort affiliation. These affiliation contracts come up for periodic renewal and may be withdrawn, which would leave his resort without facilities. That would be a BAD thing. My last issue would be the MF. I hope for his sake the MF does not skyrocket, which it likely will, sooner or later (like when the developer stops subsidizing it to make sales).

I wish this person luck and years of enjoyment. I hope he got what he wanted.

 

[DeniseM]

David posted this above, but I think some posters missed it:

MODSXM, Manager at The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa [HOTEL], St. Maarten, responded to this review

October 18, 2012
Dear JanvierPapillon,

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed your visit to St. Maarten and the Oyster Bay area. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your tour of the Dawn Beach Club. While the Dawn Beach Club [TIMESHARE] is separate from the Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa [HOTEL] one of the best perks of ownership is that you are able to enjoy all of the amenities that the Westin has to offer. This includes, the pool and beach facilities, the Westin Workout room, restaurants, the Hibiscus Spa, casino and even in-room dining. Besides the use of the Westin facilities Dawn Beach Club is NOT affiliated with Westin Hotels or Starwood.

While we appreciate that our resort might be the right feel for everyone. We are proud that we have many guests that return year after year because they love the ambiance at the Westin, Dawn Beach and the Oyster Bay area of St. Maarten. Many of whom enjoy snorkeling right off shore.

I hope that you continue to enjoy all that beautiful St. Maarten/St. Martin has to offer in your upcoming visits.

Sincerely,
Daniel Beddor
Director of Rooms
Westin Dawn Beach Resort and Spa [HOTEL]

[Thread has been moved to Caribbean Forum]

 

[LisaRex]

http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1502&areaCode=960&areaName=St. Maarten & St. Martin

I got the concept that "Dawn Beach Club" timeshare is adjacent to the "Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa" but not officially a Westin timeshare (similar to Club Regina at Puerto Vallarta). What had me confused me is that there is a separate listing for "Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa" in II. I assumed that if an entity was listed in II, it was by definition, an actual timeshare. I was mistaken. After looking at its occupancy ("2" - thanks SMHarman), it does appear that the Westin HOTEL is using II. Which I find rather misleading, though not objectionable. (If Days Inn Dubuque starts showing up, I'll object.)

Now, had WDBR&S listed a 3 bdrm in II, I would have still insisted that it was some weird hotel/timeshare hybrid, and jft10 must have bought THERE. However, since they don't even have 3 bdrm units, per II, he couldn't have bought there. And since "Dawn Beach Club" ONLY sells 3 bdrms... well, even I can connect those dots.

The good news for everyone is that BOTH entities are designated gold. And I'd still gladly consider exchanging to either of them, though honestly, all things being equal, I'd rather stay in a timeshare with kitchen and laundry. It's odd to feel "spoiled" by the fact that you'd prefer to cook your own meals and do your own laundry, but there you have it.

 

[DavidnRobin]

http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1502&areaCode=960&areaName=St. Maarten & St. Martin

I got the concept that "Dawn Beach Club" timeshare is adjacent to the "Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa" but not officially a Westin timeshare (similar to Club Regina at Puerto Vallarta). What had me confused me is that there is a separate listing for "Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa" in II. I assumed that if an entity was listed in II, it was by definition, an actual timeshare. I was mistaken. After looking at its occupancy ("2" - thanks SMHarman), it does appear that the Westin HOTEL is using II. Which I find rather misleading, though not objectionable. (If Days Inn Dubuque starts showing up, I'll object.)

Now, had WDBR&S listed a 3 bdrm in II, I would have still insisted that it was some weird hotel/timeshare hybrid, and jft10 must have bought THERE. However, since they don't even have 3 bdrm units, per II, he couldn't have bought there. And since "Dawn Beach Club" ONLY sells 3 bdrms... well, even I can connect those dots.

The good news for everyone is that BOTH entities are designated gold. And I'd still gladly consider exchanging to either of them, though honestly, all things being equal, I'd rather stay in a timeshare with kitchen and laundry. It's odd to feel "spoiled" by the fact that you'd prefer to cook your own meals and do your own laundry, but there you have it.

I do not disagree - if we were to go to Dawn Beach in St Maarten - I would prefer staying at the DBC over WDB (like you, we prefer staying in a TS over hotel room) - especially after reading the reviews for WDB. Have you seen the aerial shots of WDB (and DBC)? Not very enticing, but it sounds as if Dawn Beach area is nice.

I found my info by simply searching for DBC and WDB - not hard to find. It is clear both are in II. FlyerTalk also has a WDB thread.

However, this thread (since yesterday) is about the assertion by jtf that DBC is a Westin-branded TS, and part of some weird Westin TS club (that does not exist). This is simply incorrect information (typical TS sales BS), and all I/we were trying to do was to inform and help (like we always do). If it perceived by jtf that we are attacking by giving them 'correct' info and a severe 'watchout!', then that is on them. He is the one that told us that we were full of sh*t, and not the other way around.

Notice that jtf still has not told us what his 'deal' was - like what he actually paid to be a Owner of a 3Bd at DBC - other than some BS about 99 weeks of ownership, and low MFs, etc.

One thing we have all learned (some the hard way) is that this 'deal' from the Developer is almost assuredly not as great as jtf thinks it is - unless it is some 0.0001% anomally - but apparently jtf will not be convinced as he is in the justifying (denial) mode. I believe that he will someday be in the acceptance mode, but unlikely we will never hear about it since we are the 'bad' guys here.

We have all seen this before (and some are even guilty) of trying to justify a purchase from a Developer. Some listen and rescind if lucky, and some do not.

I was trying to find out costs for DBC and (weirdly) none were to be found in my searches - now I am curious.

 

[LisaRex]

I just did a search on "Dawn Beach Club Timeshare" on Yahoo, and guess what came up first? WestinVacationOwnership.com

(But, no, WDBR&S is NOT listed.)

Acc to this ad, DBC is selling for $55k per year by the developer. This guy is selling his for $25k. Others are selling for $7-8k. None of the ad mentions a season.

 

[Pmuppet]

Notice that jtf still has not told us what his 'deal' was - like what he actually paid to be a Owner of a 3Bd at DBC - other than some BS about 99 weeks of ownership, and low MFs, etc.

This is purely hypothetical and I have no inside information, but does anyone get the feeling that JTF is a timeshare salesman just razzing us tuggers?

Cause, he is clearly offended when folks are just trying to help out. He seems to think all of his purchases are great but doesn't offer any details as to why.

Sounds like a straw house (salesman) to me.

But I could be wrong.

 

[DavidnRobin]

I just did a search on "Dawn Beach Club Timeshare" on Yahoo, and guess what came up first? WestinVacationOwnership.com

(But, no, WDBR&S is NOT listed.)

Acc to this ad, DBC is selling for $55k per year by the developer. This guy is selling his for $25k. Others are selling for $7-8k. None of the ad mentions a season.

This is probably why Yahoo is failing. Same search on Google has DBC 1st, Timeshare Trap from TripAdvisor 2nd, and this thread on TUG 3rd.

$55K - ouch.
I did not see the resales that you did - at least that I believed...
I saw the $20K for DBC on RW - which has been changed since yesterday (iirc)
There seems to be a surprising lack of info on DBC.

2010 thread for DBC - has people who own there and claim that it is managed by Westin (it does share amenities with WDB) - but based on further investigation - it appears that this is not correct.

btw - your VRBO rental at Dawn Beach looks nice

 

[DavidnRobin]

This is purely hypothetical and I have no inside information, but does anyone get the feeling that JTF is a timeshare salesman just razzing us tuggers?

Cause, he is clearly offended when folks are just trying to help out. He seems to think all of his purchases are great but doesn't offer any details as to why.

Sounds like a straw house (salesman) to me.

But I could be wrong.

I thought the same thing, but after reading his very bizaare post (his 1st TUG post) about scamming Mayan TS salespeople - I wasn't as sure. However, you are possibly correct because he posted 2x on what a great 'deal' he got for DBC.

If he is a sales flunky for DBC - he is probably hating these responses and regrets that this thread is 3rd on Google when searching DBC.

 

[DeniseM]

$55K - ouch.

1. Probably financed.
2. The "trade-in" of his Mexican resort may be bogus as well, because it's hard to even give those things away these day, much less to actually get trade in value out of them.

So now he owns 2 developer purchases, and has payments, and high interest.

 

[DeniseM]

This is purely hypothetical and I have no inside information, but does anyone get the feeling that JTF is a timeshare salesman just razzing us tuggers?

I don't think so - he is posting from his work IP in VA.

 

[SMHarman]

I don't think so - he is posting from his work IP in VA.

jft310
Guest
BBS Reg. Date: Mar 25, 13
Location: Moneta Virginia
Posts: 8
Resorts: Mayan Palace Marina Puerta Vallarta Westin Dawn Beach Club ST Martin

Gotta love what the admins see!

 

[LisaRex]

Sorry, I should have posted the link to the ad that I saw where the owner said that the developer is selling these units for $55k.

http://www.myresortnetwork.com/Timeshares-For-Sale/Sint-Maarten/Caribbean/Dawn-Beach-Club/

 

[pharmgirl]

We rented a 3 bedroom at dawn beach club last year, the units are gorgeous, even nicer than Maui

We weren't enthusiastic about st Martin but the Westin hotel, the timeshare dawn beach club were very nice

 

[DeniseM]

jft310
Guest
BBS Reg. Date: Mar 25, 13
Location: Moneta Virginia
Posts: 8
Resorts: Mayan Palace Marina Puerta Vallarta Westin Dawn Beach Club ST Martin

Gotta love what the admins see!

Sorry if I was unclear - I was saying that his IP address, and he stated location, are one and the same, in response to someone asking if he could be a Sales Rep.

 

[jft310]

[Dawn Beach Club]

Paid $7,000 for two weeks in 1993 from the Vidafel which became a Mayan Palace Puerta Vallarta.Thats $7,000 for both weeks.Retail today is $50,000 per week. Not sure who pays that rate???
The St Martin property trade in was with a Hilton Vacation Club in Ft Myers FL.
Paid lower than other prices here posted. Paid cash for the balance. They quoted $50K for a summer week and $70K for a winter week.I negotiated 2 weeks for a fraction of the one week summer week rate.CASH.
My 3 bedroon has laundry facilities a full washer and dryer and a grand kitchen. Remember 1850 sq feet.Granite, brand new .My unit finished in 30 days or so. All 3 bedrooms are Beachfront.
So divide whatever low fee I paid by TWO.

[Inappropriate comments deleted - DeniseM Moderator]

 

[DeniseM]

Paid $7,000 for two weeks in 1993 from the Vidafel which became a Mayan Palace Puerta Vallarta.Thats $7,000 for both weeks.Retail today is $50,000 per week. Not sure who pays that rate???
The St Martin property trade in was with a Hilton Vacation Club in Ft Myers FL.
Paid lower than other prices here posted. Paid cash for the balance. They quoted $50K for a summer week and $70K for a winter week.I negotiated 2 weeks for a fraction of the one week summer week rate.CASH.
My 3 bedroon has laundry facilities a full washer and dryer and a grand kitchen. Remember 1850 sq feet.Granite, brand new .My unit finished in 30 days or so. All 3 bedrooms are Beachfront.
So divide whatever low fee I paid by TWO.

Sounds lovely - truly. But it's still not in the SVN, so I moved the whole thread to the Caribbean forum.

You will want to bird dog the transfer of your "trade-in" - this is a common scam.

 

[DavidnRobin]

jtf keeps referring to this Timeshare as Westin Dawn Beach - this is blantantly incorrect. What is owned as a Timeshare is the Dawn Beach Club (DBC, as stated on their very fancy brochure, and their website - www.dawnbeachclub.com). The association between the two is the use of the facilities of the adjacent Westin hotel at Dawn Beach - which is nice to have. WSJ (Westin St John) has a similar arrangement, except WSJ is actually part of SVO/SVN - unlike DBC which is not part of SVO/SVN (or some nonexistant Westin TS club as repeatedly mentioned).

Please see post #49 for the differences (based on facts) between the Westin Hotel at Dawn Beach and the Dawn Beach Club timeshare in regards to SVO/SVN, SPG and II. Understanding these differences will go a very long way to credibility on multiple levels.

 

[DeniseM]

jtf keeps referring to this Timeshare as Westin Dawn Beach - this is blantantly incorrect.

I fixed it for him.

 

[siesta]

Jft310 is hopelessly confused, thanks to the timeshare salesmen no doubt. Go easy on him guys.

Jft, I do not think you own a Starwood property. You likely own at Dawn Beach Club, which is a very nice resort in its own right, and it may share amenities with the Westin hotel next door. But the Westin next door is a hotel, you likely own at the timeshare next door.

Additionally, the Starwood Vacation Network is made up of Westin and Sheraton Timeshares that form a network. Owners at these resorts (see www.starwoodvacationnetwork.com) can trade internally among these resorts, as well as via II. Your timeshare trades in II, and has no internal network. Its a 3 br at a very nice resort so you should get very nice trades, but you dont get the preference among other Westin and Sheraton timeshares in II, in fact you get no preference at all, because preference is given by II because of the developer. Another thing, any timehare owner that belongs to II can upgrade to gold, in fact they can also upgrade to platinum, it doesnt matter what/where you own or even the quality of the resort. The "worst"timeshare in II can still have an II gold or Ii platinum account should they want. II memberships start at $89 annually, you can visit the site to learn more about the tiers and the pricing. It does not result on your timeshare getting better trades or preference or anything like that. Just gives you extra benefit like getaway discounts, etc., again you can read the site for the info.

Additionslly, there are not 65 westin timeshares, that was a big sales gimmick, in fact do yourself a favor, everything you heard from the salesman consider a lie. Everything you hear from people on this forum consider the truth, because guess what, the salesman had a vested interest in making a sale and blowing smoke up your youknowwhat, and we have no vested interest. We would like you to maxmize your purchase and have many wonderful vacations, with no commission going to us. But first, we need to remove the wool thats been pulled over your eyes, and when you are being combative when you hear the truth some posters get agitated as you can tell.

Last point, dont ever buy from the developer again. You apparently like a good deal, and let me tell you no good deal ever came from the developer, ever....ever ever ever. (ok there are a few instances like that recent SMV owner resale, but thats a different story!)

Good luck, and welcome to the forum. With a slight attitude change, and acceptance that you really dont know what your talking about, I think youll make some friends here and more importantly learn to maximize what you own and learn how to be a true timeshare bargain finder and user for the future. see you around the boards.

 

[LisaRex]

Another thing, any timehare owner that belongs to II can upgrade to gold, in fact they can also upgrade to platinum, it doesnt matter what/where you own or even the quality of the resort. The "worst"timeshare in II can still have an II gold or Ii platinum account should they want. II memberships start at $89 annually, you can visit the site to learn more about the tiers and the pricing. It does not result on your timeshare getting better trades or preference or anything like that. Just gives you extra benefit like getaway discounts, etc., again you can read the site for the info.

I don't know about jft10, but I know that when I talked about "gold" in II, I was referring to the resort designation. Both WDBR&S and DBC have a gold leaf next to their name, which means that they are considered a top tier resort, on par with Starwood, Marriotts, and Hiltons.

I just looked and the "gold" properties are called "Premier" properties on II, and these are the highest designation.

 

[siesta]

I don't know about jft10, but I know that when I talked about "gold" in II, I was referring to the resort designation. Both WDBR&S and DBC have a gold leaf next to their name, which means that they are considered a top tier resort, on par with Starwood, Marriotts, and Hiltons.

I just looked and the "gold" properties are called "Premier" properties on II, and these are the highest designation.

i actually never saw your reference to "gold" properties, but yes the properties with the gold leaflet next to them are called premier properties.

What I was referring to (which I think you caught too) was this by jft:

Two weeks for the price of one Penthouse Beachfront 3 bedroom 1850 sq ft fixed week member of II Gold got me.

I guess that could be deciphered either way as you just pointed out, now I'm not so sure what he meant. I still have a feeling he meant II gold membership though.

 

[LisaRex]

I guess that could be deciphered either way as you just pointed out, now I'm not so sure what he meant. I still have a feeling he meant II gold membership though.

Normally I'd be sarcastic about how punctuation would have perhaps made his post clearer, but now that I have an iPad I'm more lenient.

 

[DavidnRobin]

siesta - nice post to jtf. As you saw from the 1st post in this thread by jtf which apparently was just a brag on what a great deal he got at DBC (and looked like some strawman sales ploy...).

We were direct and honest, and told him his info was incorrect - that it was not in SVN, not part of SVO, and there was no other Westin TS club. We were not rude, and merely trying to set him straight. I even attempted to clarify to jtf what he owned (after a few minutes of research). All he did was deny that we knew anything about what he bought (and was quite rude about it), and that he only gets bargain deals as he is a TS expert (since 1993 - wow! impressive).

If getting real information in a direct manner, and going against his pre-conceived notions is attacking - then we are guilty. But clearly, if you read his very 1st TUG post where he bragged about how he manage to scam $$ from Mayan Palace TS fronts while on vacation in Mexico (who in their right mind spends their vacation - trying to dink money from these TS fronts?) - essentially showing the content of his true character.

Then when asked directly about what he paid for the great deal he got for DBC - he somehow managed to work in his property at Mayan Palace where he paid $7000 for a TS that is essentially worthless eventhough the current 'retail' price is $50000 (right... some incredible bargain hunter he is...) - and nothing about Mayan Palace had anything to do with the DBC purchase. When he really (supposedly) traded in was a HVC (of unknown value) to help pay for his 'bargain' at DBC and still never came close to revealing what he actually paid - other than some fuzzy description - and then had to add details about the DBC villa which has nothing to do with the question on what he paid (which was apparently some fraction of the cost of a summer week).

then... silence (big surprise).

So... I am calling BS on his whole story. He is either delusional, a troll, a remote straw salesman, or seriously misguided individual. But, bottom-line, we tried to help (as always) and were not rude - just honest and forth-coming. The agitation meter turned-up when his BS began as apparently something underneath the surface was going on with his 'story'.
IMO