"Canuck" looking for help buying a timeshare! Suggestions welcome!

[Zeus7111]

Hello Everyone!

First off, this site is amazing! I am grateful that I came across this site, what great information oh here, and thank you to everyone who reads these things and answers people's questions!

I am new to the timeshare game, and I'm hoping you could help me out. I think I know what I want, but I don't know if it's possible.

I want my home resort to be the Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club Resort in Las Vegas (2 bedroom - 2 bathroom), however I want to be able to deposit/exchange my week to RCI points so I can have the flexibility to go wherever I want if something better comes up, or if our travel partners decide to go somewhere else.

When I attended the timeshare at the HICV Desert, it seems as if it was possible if I purchased through the resort, however I don't know if I purchase a resale if this is doable.

I have inquired on a timeshare through SellMyTimeshareNow, and I was told (from the one advertisement I was looking at) that the unit was a "fixed week" only and could not be deposited into points (why is that?)

Also, for all of the smart people (and if needed), here are the questions answered below. If I'm way out to lunch, and should be looking somewhere else other than the HICV Desert (Bluegreen, Wyndham, etc.), please let me know.

Thank you in advance for any insight you all may have. Go Oilers!

Zeus7111

1) Where do you want your home resort to be?
Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club Resort

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?
Yes

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?
Canada, Florida, California, Nevada, Oregon

4) How many people do you usually travel with?
5 people (4 adults, 1 child)

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?
Yes can travel at any time

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?
Yes I can

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?
yes (or more)

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
3+

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?
$5K if needed (but has to be a great deal)

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?
$2K MAX (prefer if this is lower)

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?
yes

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?
yes

 

[bizaro86]

Fellow Albertan here, although I can't say I approve of the oilers...

Anyway, why do you want Holiday Inn specifically? Do you like that resort more than all the other Vegas options?

I'd check out worldmark, which has all the locations you listed plus tons more. I love the Canmore resort, and they have 3 Vegas locations.

You could also check out Grandview, which has RCI points on some resales.

Another option to research would be HGVC, which has RCI points for resale owners, and lots of Vegas locations. Might be a tad more than 5k for a 2bedroom in top season.

If you're really stuck on Holiday Inn, I would consider researching it more with the search feature here. I'm pretty sure there are some HICV resorts where the points transfer on resale, but Vegas isn't one of them.

 

[LisaH]

I second Worldmark recommendation. It's a much more liquid product than HICV. With RCI points, you still rely on exchange. With the escalating fees charged by RCI, this could be expensive in the long run. Worldmark resort reservations are free, and it trades well in both RCI and II systems. If you really like the Las Vegas location and want better quality resorts, Hilton is another better option. It has several LV resorts and also located in other popular destinations such as Hawaii and Fl. It also retains its value much better than HICV.

 

[Passepartout]

If you are stuck on wanting HIVC/Vegas, just keep looking on like eBay and other resale sites. It's a Points resort, so there MUST be some owners looking to sell. The maintenance bills are going out from now to the year's end, so we can anticipate more owners would rather sell than pay another year on an unwanted- or unused vacation week. But that said, there are other systems with lower cost exchanges and more extensive internal resorts. Like Worldmark. Or lower cost RCI Points. Like Grandview.

Good luck with your search, and Welcome to TUG!

Jim

 

[Bigmac69]

Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Desert Club Resort in Las Vegas has some of the lowest maintenance fees of all the HIVC properties. It is a points resort, but points revert to fixed week on resale.

HIVC has three points locations that transfer as points on resale... Lake Geneva, Gaitlinburg & South Beach.

 

[Zeus7111]

Thank you all for the responses!

I have stayed twice at the Holiday Inn in Vegas (once on points by my father who has a timeshare in Fairmont which he converts into points, and once as a getaway week). I love the location of the resort on the strip, and the multiple small pools around the resort.

I will check out Worldmark - would you have a specific resort in mind that I could start my research at?

I'm still confused on why resales could not convert to RCI points at this resort. Is this for all resales here? Because we vacation annually to Vegas (and not always for a week), HICV Desert has a 1-N-3 so to my understanding we cannot use points here again until 3 years have passed, but please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

Open to your expert opinions. Thank you everyone again!

Zeus7111

 

[rhonda]

+1 for Worldmark (WM)

WM is a pure points system -- there is no home resort. You can find a map of resort locations <here>. All of the locations with "red dots" (once you drill down to state or province level) are native to the WM network. Within the WM network, you may book any location, any size unit, short or long stays -- depending on your available balance of credits (points).

All of your target destinations, listed in your survey answers, are covered by WM locations! If you check the WM board on this website, you'll see lots of recent Q&A including links to the 2017 Maintenance Fee table.

Best wishes on your research!

 

[bizaro86]

If you truly want to stay at the Holiday Inn regularly, I would buy one of the resale holiday Inn units that come with points. HIVC Vegas doesn't, because the develop wants you to pay the huge premium to buy direct.

For worldmark, the consensus is that this is the nicest of the Vegas locations. https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/ve/

 

[HudsHut]

Forget HIVC and look into WorldMark. It covers all of the geography you have listed, and is the most flexible of the timeshare systems. You can find the 70+ resorts here. There is no home resort. You buy X number of points (between 5,000 - as large as you can afford), and you have equal access to any of the WorldMark resorts as early as 13 months before check in.

https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/

 

[Zeus7111]

Thank you very much! I will check out WorldMark and if I have questions I know where to turn to!

 

[tbylsma]

I'm a Worldmark owner in Sherwood Park, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!

 

[Red Knave]

As a HICV owner in Vegas and elsewhere I don't disagree with any posts here. I don't know anything about Worldmark. I can tell you I'm satisfied with my HICV ownership and can also answer questions if you want.