Thanks for the mention, Tom. They've been using different terms in addition to registered weeks in the contracts I've got and have seen; bottom line up front is that the registered weeks don't really become residence weeks, but go away instead. They're written as two part contracts, one good for 10 years and one good for 100 years if renewed at every 10 year point. The 10-year typical contract is for one registered week every other year plus the ability to request what is termed an "Alternate Year Grand Luxxe Week" in the off years; registered weeks have a 12-month reservation window and the others have a 10-month window, but they typically extend that to 12 months by addendum. (The reservations windows open on the first of the month for the entire month 12 months out.) The contract requires a usage fee payment for every registered week by February 28 of the year, but typically is waived by addendum, making it a payment on use as is the case for the Alternate Grand Luxxe Weeks and the "Grand Luxxe Weeks" covered in the 100-year contract. In my opinion, the importance of the registered weeks is that they are what limits the number of contracts Vida Vacations (the sales branch of Grupo Vidanta) is allowed to sell under their rules. (Take it for what it's worth - I'm not a Mexican attorney or knowledgeable in how Mexico regulates timeshares to any extent beyond a customer who reads contracts.) I believe this allows them to sell X number of contracts for X type of room every 10 years, with the corresponding ability to book other weeks there as part of their inventory management scheme to fill the resort; sales lead to profits on the Vida Vacations side and bookings lead to profits on the hotel side, which are managed as separate entities.
The 100-year contracts typically get a "certificate holder" the ability to use 2 "Grand Luxxe Weeks" every year with a reservation window of 12 months, except for the high season (January - March) when it's a 10-month window. (I've seen a couple that actually don't allow reservations in the high season, too - there are different versions of the contracts.) These ones can only be transferred to family or heirs; the 10-year contracts can be sold, but there's a high transfer fee and a sale typically doesn't include addenda. It's also not clear to me whether the sale of the 10-year contract would include the 100-year one. They've pretty much eliminated the retail market for these types of contracts; the older ones like Tom has have much better transfer terms as well as the lower MFs, though I don't think you'll find any on the market for the upper level Grand Luxxe units.
The entry-level Grand Luxxe units would be something like the Grand Luxxe Lofts (studio ones in Nuevo Vallarta building 5) or studio portions of the Grand Luxxe suites. The prices I've seen and experienced are in the $30K range. The break points in upgrading are at the 2 BR spa level for improved treatment in the Registry Collection, the 3 BR spa level for improved treatment in the Vida Lifestyle program, the 1 BR Loft (true 2-story loft) for being part of the Residence at Grand Luxxe rather than the Grand Luxxe Residence Club, and the 3 BR loft for being Vidanta Platinum level. Vidanta treats you better as you go up the ladder and pay more to them; at some point before the 3 BR loft you become Vidanta Gold level, which has a different reservation number to call and some other benefits. Getting higher on the food chain has some perks that can reduce your "operating costs" for going back to Vidanta for vacations similar to getting VIP levels in other resort systems.
That's pretty much why we chose to buy in, Van. We haven't been stuck with a parking lot view; I'm not sure there really are any at the Grand Luxxe level anyway. You can manage your room assignment to some extent by picking what room types you reserve in Grand Luxxe because of their limited locations; there are no spa or loft units on the ground floor in Nuevo Vallarta. In Riviera Maya the views don't seem to be that important to me because of the limited building heights there and the jungle surrounding the buildings anyway. Looking forward to learning how to use things in East Cape if they ever build that one. Hope this helps. I'm contemplating putting together a "User's Guide to Grand Luxxe" when I get a chance, but won't be posting it publicly; Vidanta has a great product, but doesn't seem to tell you how to use it. There's a lot of good info on aimfair.com, too, including resale listings that give you an idea of what the prices are for the upgraded levels.
