Considering Welk TS for Northstar - any advice?

[2004for]

Hi

I posted this also in another forum as well, but thought this may be a better place to ask.

I'm considering to buy in to the Welk's timeshare point program (and thanks to this site - it would be via resale market!)

We are mainly interested in their Northstar property and typical go for long weekends like MLK or a week like President's day week. I was reading that you can book a week 15 mths in advance or for stays less than a week, only 4 mths in advance. I went on their website for a regular rental booking and it seemed to have availability for a 3 night stay the weekend after presidents weekend. Does the regular rental availability reflect the same availability a time share owner would have?

I was hoping to find out from existing Welk timeshare owners how difficult is it to book the Northstar property during President's week or weekends during the peak periods.

And if anyone has any other advice or info they could share about Welk (pitfalls, etc). I tried to search and there doesn't seem much info

Thanks in advance!!

 

[mjm1]

We used to own at Welk in Escondido and then their Platinum Points Program.

The quality of their resorts is good. However, we found that the locations weren't ideal for us. Of course, for a skier, the Northstar location would be very good. They acquired the original building from Hyatt and have built or will finish building some additional buildings (we haven't been there in quite a while).

With regard to booking a short stay during a high demand week at the four month mark, I think that would be a very long shot. Unfortunately, I don't have any personal experience with this, but that tends to be how things work.

A couple things to note if you do buy some points. The only benefit you lose by buying resale is that you can't get a discount if you rent additional nights from Welk. The other thing to note is you can't merge separate ownership contracts. For example, let's say you want to buy 240k points initially. Then you want to add to it later. You would have two separate contracts and would have to use them as such. Your maintenance fees will also be more, because there is a base amount of fees plus incremental fees based on your point ownership. The last I heard, the base fee was around $600, but I am not sure how accurate it is now.

I hope this information is helpful. Good luck with your decision and the process if you choose to move forward.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[2004for]

We used to own at Welk in Escondido and then their Platinum Points Program.

The quality of their resorts is good. However, we found that the locations weren't ideal for us. Of course, for a skier, the Northstar location would be very good. They acquired the original building from Hyatt and have built or will finish building some additional buildings (we haven't been there in quite a while).

With regard to booking a short stay during a high demand week at the four month mark, I think that would be a very long shot. Unfortunately, I don't have any personal experience with this, but that tends to be how things work.

A couple things to note if you do buy some points. The only benefit you lose by buying resale is that you can't get a discount if you rent additional nights from Welk. The other thing to note is you can't merge separate ownership contracts. For example, let's say you want to buy 240k points initially. Then you want to add to it later. You would have two separate contracts and would have to use them as such. Your maintenance fees will also be more, because there is a base amount of fees plus incremental fees based on your point ownership. The last I heard, the base fee was around $600, but I am not sure how accurate it is now.

I hope this information is helpful. Good luck with your decision and the process if you choose to move forward.

Best regards.

Mike

Mike

Appreciate your reply!! It is very helpful.

Do you know of have any experience with booking a week reservation during holiday times? It sounds like you can book 15 months in advance. Is it also very difficult?

I also read some where that you can transfer your points to Holiday Inn points or something to that effect. Is that true? Or is it only via those exchanges?

Thanks again!

 

[mjm1]

To have a chance you would need to call right when the lines open at the beginning of the 15 month window. That said, I believe owners at higher levels (own more points) can make reservations even earlier. I don't recall the details, but you should check that out.

With regard to exchanging for Holiday Inn points, I don't think that was available to us. However, the general view in other programs like Marriott, Vistana and Hilton is that you don't get nearly as much value as using your ownership to stay in the timeshare units. I would only do that as a last resort.

If you know you always want to vacation in a specific location and week, you might consider a resort that offers fixed week ownership. For instance, Hyatt in the north shore runs that way. I think it's Hyatt Sierra, but am not sure. Of course, these type of units usually cost more. It also may not work if the holiday week moves each year.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[2004for]

To have a chance you would need to call right when the lines open at the beginning of the 15 month window. That said, I believe owners at higher levels (own more points) can make reservations even earlier. I don't recall the details, but you should check that out.

With regard to exchanging for Holiday Inn points, I don't think that was available to us. However, the general view in other programs like Marriott, Vistana and Hilton is that you don't get nearly as much value as using your ownership to stay in the timeshare units. I would only do that as a last resort.

If you know you always want to vacation in a specific location and week, you might consider a resort that offers fixed week ownership. For instance, Hyatt in the north shore runs that way. I think it's Hyatt Sierra, but am not sure. Of course, these type of units usually cost more. It also may not work if the holiday week moves each year.

Best regards.

Mike

Thanks Mike! This is great info!!