Considering buying Westin Lagunamar resale

[vmpt]

I am strongly considering purchasing a platinum Westin Lagunamar every other year resale week for personal use and occasional rent/exchange. Any reason why this may be a bad idea if we find a week for an affordable price? Anything I should be asking about specifically? I own a Marriott floating resale week but never owned Westin. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks

 

[DTD1990]

We own two platinum weeks (every other year) -- we bought at developer prices and I have no regrets

Lagunamar is a fantastic resort in a great location in the resort district of Cancun. The folks that work the resort are always friendly and welcoming to American tourists. There are numerous restaurant and shopping options nearby. There is a ton of activities in the area - Xplr, Selvatica, Xel-Ha or the ruins at Tulum or Chichen Itza . We love Cancan and would endorse your purchase.

 

[DannyTS]

You have to give more details about what you need in terms of season, flexibility, unit size, if want 7 day trips or longer. Lagunamar is a great resort, we love it and we own there. I would not buy any timeshare to rent, especially now. If you want January or early December it is better to buy SVV Bella platinum season 2 BR 81,000 StarOptions, you can book almost 2 weeks in a 1 BR. If you want to go weeks 51-52 (hard to book though) or February-April buy Lagunamar platinum. If you want to go during the summer or low season September-November and you are a member of Interval you can probably find an exchange or even a cheap getaway. The disadvantage with the Interval exchanges is that you will probably have not so great views since they have the lowest priority.

 

[jabberwocky]

I think if you already own a Marriott resale week then you’ll be familiar with how Vistana voluntary weeks work as they are pretty similar most respects. I believe you should be able to include both in the same II account (assuming your resale MVC week isn’t enrolled).

a couple of key differences:
- no 13 month priority for multi-week owners (a good thing IMO)
- when you want to exchange in II you don’t have to book a week to deposit. Vistana chooses the week and your trading power is based on the blended or average value for the season you own.

 

[vmpt]

Thanks for the feedback so far. We would be interested in going there in April, Nov or Dec, so a platinum week may be best. Prefer a 2 bedroom week as well. Our MVC week isn't enrolled, so it would be nice to have the same II acct for both. Thanks for the info about depositing in case we did
that.

 

[cubigbird]

Thanks for the feedback so far. We would be interested in going there in April, Nov or Dec, so a platinum week may be best. Prefer a 2 bedroom week as well. Our MVC week isn't enrolled, so it would be nice to have the same II acct for both. Thanks for the info about depositing in case we did
that.

You should have no problem booking those dates with star options 8 months out. As stated before your best best is to buy a mandatory resort like SVV Bella.

On an additional note, booking weeks 51 & 52 at WLR are now impossible. It used to be available, now not at all. I own a fixed event week 51 and we use it every year and in recent years I have called just to shift the check in day and am always denied because it’s not available. I can’t even add days or change a thing on my auto-reservation because of availability. You now need to own it to book it, or get lucky and be at the right place at the right time.

 

[vmpt]

That is very helpful. Thank you!!

 

[Mroze]

Thanks for the feedback so far. We would be interested in going there in April, Nov or Dec, so a platinum week may be best. Prefer a 2 bedroom week as well. Our MVC week isn't enrolled, so it would be nice to have the same II acct for both. Thanks for the info about depositing in case we did
that.

We own 3 x 2BR-Platinum [148100-SO] EOY weeks at WLR. Owned since 2010 and haven't regretted it.
Love Cancun and the tourist activities. Even though its a bit of a drive love Chichen Itza, Tulum, Xplor, Xcaret, Xel Ha, Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres.
Location of the resort is awesome and central to nightlife, malls, restaurants, shopping,. Airport nearby.
Concur with others about the staff being super friendly and helpful.

Exchange-Power
Have always locked-off and deposited 2 units [Studio + 1BR] with Interval.
Have exchanged really well on Interval multiple times to Hawaii [Maui, Kauai] always 2BR and mostly in OV or OF views.
Even though the studio is kinda small it exchanges like a 1BR with Interval.

One of the biggest plusses is the MF which is almost the lowest in the network. Between 2015 & 2019 our MF went down.

 

[bobpark56]

Every-other-year ownership gets a bit sticky if you ever want to bank or borrow points. That does not work smoothly. I highly recommend every-year ownership...for greater flexibility.

 

[DannyTS]

We own 3 x 2BR-Platinum [148100-SO] EOY weeks at WLR. Owned since 2010 and haven't regretted it.
Love Cancun and the tourist activities. Even though its a bit of a drive love Chichen Itza, Tulum, Xplor, Xcaret, Xel Ha, Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres.
Location of the resort is awesome and central to nightlife, malls, restaurants, shopping,. Airport nearby.
Concur with others about the staff being super friendly and helpful.

Exchange-Power
Have always locked-off and deposited 2 units [Studio + 1BR] with Interval.
Have exchanged really well on Interval multiple times to Hawaii [Maui, Kauai] always 2BR and mostly in OV or OF views.
Even though the studio is kinda small it exchanges like a 1BR with Interval.

One of the biggest plusses is the MF which is almost the lowest in the network. Between 2015 & 2019 our MF went down.
View attachment 22792

The last increase is due to a large change in the insurance premium. The resort is trying to mitigate that in the future moving some money from the reserve fund so that the premium is reduced because of the higher deduction.
Also, with the peso so low, we may see a reduction of MF for the next year.

 

[vmpt]

I really appreciate the information. Thank you!

 

[DannyTS]

You should have no problem booking those dates with star options 8 months out. As stated before your best best is to buy a mandatory resort like SVV Bella.

On an additional note, booking weeks 51 & 52 at WLR are now impossible. It used to be available, now not at all. I own a fixed event week 51 and we use it every year and in recent years I have called just to shift the check in day and am always denied because it’s not available. I can’t even add days or change a thing on my auto-reservation because of availability. You now need to own it to book it, or get lucky and be at the right place at the right time.

I think it is expensive to book WLR in the platinum season with SO from SVV Bella, it is better to own Lagunamar. A 2 BR for a week at Lagunamar would be the equivalent of about $2600 (including SVN annual fees) vs about 1500 in MF at Lagunamar.

 

[vmpt]

For float weeks, do you get assigned a unit at check in? Are there different view types in the various buildings?

 

[vmpt]

I did figure that costs for star options would be too high for the platinum weeks we are interested in. Still trying to find a resale platinum week at the right price.

 

[DannyTS]

For float weeks, do you get assigned a unit at check in? Are there different view types in the various buildings?

Yes, you get a unit assigned at check in. Priority is as follows: Lagunamar owners, Staroption exchanges, rentals through Expedia, Marriott.com etc and last Interval exchanges.
There are two types of views: Oceanside right on the beach (the end cap units of buildings 1,9,13) and Oceanview for the rest of the units.
Most Oceanview units have great views, the lower floors though may have the view blocked by trees. The Oceanside units are rare on the resale market, especially platinum. Only those who own Oceanside will get Oceanside, they are not available to exchanges and rentals.

 

[blondietink]

The last increase is due to a large change in the insurance premium. The resort is trying to mitigate that in the future moving some money from the reserve fund so that the premium is reduced because of the higher deduction.
Also, with the peso so low, we may see a reduction of MF for the next year.

At our last visit we questioned the increase in MF. We were told that after the hurricane hit St. John and doing so much damage, that Lagunamar was going to try and have enough for a higher deductible thereby lowering the overall premiums in years to come.