Concierge Services

[Lansdowne]

In the last 4 months we have been to 3 Marriott Timeshares - Doral, Newport News, Myrtle Beach and 1 Westin Timeshare (Rancho Mirage). The concierge services have been somewhere between awful and spotty at best.

These folks were clueless on good golf courses to play that were good values and were in good shape. Their restaurant suggestions were weak - mostly chain restaurants. We would ask about popular restaurants recommended in tourist books and almost 100 percent of the time the concierge personnel had no personal knowledge. The concierge at Myrtle was bailed out by its proximity to the Marriott Hotel next door - who had a great concierge. He set me up for golf at a quality course at a reasonable green fee and when he saw me the next day he asked me how it went. He was also great at recommending restaurants.

Have other travelers experienced the same?

 

[FractionalTraveler]

As time marches on, I find myself relying on Concierge services less and less.

With the Internet and Smart Phone proliferation, access to good quality travel content is easily found. There are many sites managed by locals who can give excellent recommendations on where to go and what to do as well as costs, scams, and places to avoid. And you can do all this from the comfort of your home or at an instant on a mobile device.

Tug is an excellent example of this.....

 

[Whirl]

As time marches on, I find myself relying on Concierge services less and less.

With the Internet and Smart Phone proliferation, access to good quality travel content is easily found. There are many sites managed by locals who can give excellent recommendations on where to go and what to do as well as costs, scams, and places to avoid. And you can do all this from the comfort of your home or at an instant on a mobile device.

Tug is an excellent example of this.....

I agree. Generally do not find them helpful at all. I do not think concierge services at timeshares are of the same caliber as at full service hotels. We have also found that they also seem to get kickbacks for recommending certain venues. That makes getting an unbiased and knowledgeable recommendation difficult.

I use my iPad.computer etc to look up a much broader array of experiences and reports.

 

[m61376]

I agree with the wonders of the Internet, but I have to comment that on our recent trip to MCV I was VERY impressed with the concierges. While I was able to book something cheaper using a AAA discount I found online (giving a 20% discount versus their 10%), other than that they were great- helpful, good recommendations, good directions, etc., both for activities/sites and restaurants. In contrast to your experiences, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the hotel-like services.

In Aruba all I need them for is generally confirming reservations and some directions, but I have seen them spend extended periods making recommendations to others, so I am not sure if your lackluster experience is widespread.

Of course, can't beat the helpful advice form fellow Tuggers here!