Considering WM for 1st TS

[geist1223]

I just thought of another important question. It sounds like there is some protection from "overbooking" as @geist1223 's reply suggests the points are created and fixed upon bringing in a new resort. However, I'm wondering, since this is a non-deeded vacation club, is there any protection in the ownership structure against the club itself going under? I was reading in some of the general TUG articles that direct ownership of the real estate through something like a trust provides protection in case the club company itself goes under. Not that I'm super worried about an established player like WorldMark going under, but what's to stop them from doing nefarious things like doubling point costs, removing resorts, etc.?

They simply can not. But that kind of thinking is like: "We could be in a car accident driving to ************. So you don't go.

 

[dboeger1]

@dboeger1 , I live in San Jose also, but I guess I don't mind the 3 hour drives to Bass Lake, Angels Camp, Windsor (Sonoma), etc I am the "cool friend" now too because I do getaways with my girlfriends and I've gone from being "the crazy timeshare friend" to the one they call for "vacation advice" (READ: they subtly ask me if I can book Inventory Specials or Monday Madness for them haha!)

You are asking good questions, I wish you luck on your timeshare learning journey

That is awesome! I love the idea of being able to invite friends and family on vacation. I've noticed that as the years have gone by and we've gotten more geographically dispersed, it has gotten harder and harder to convince people to put in the effort to committing to see each other. That being said, I really don't want to just never see family again, and we are in an increasingly secure financial position, so part of me just wants to be like, "Hey, we have points to book more units, if you want to come, come, if not, we'll invite someone else." That's kind of what we did with our short-lived DRI sampler package, and it worked. I don't know how comfortable most families are with sending their kids on vacation with another family, but I know when I was growing up, my siblings and I shared a number of trips with school friends, and those were always good experiences, so I think it would be awesome for our daughter to be able to invite her best friend(s) on Summer vacations with us. Having to price-shop hotels, split costs with people, etc. is just a drag. I mean, if it came to that, I would keep doing it, and have done it in the past, but I'm just really drawn to this whole idea of setting a vacation budget, having some nice fixed options, and making the best of it.

 

[VacationForever]

The club points have underlying deeds that are in the trust. You own a portion of it when you buy Worldmark credits.

 

[DaveNV]

One other question that comes to mind now: How easy is it to book WM Hawaii destinations, and are they any good?

I currently have two weeks booked next month with WM Hawaii resorts (Kona and Kihei) as a back-to-back thing. I booked them last year at the 13-month mark, simply by being in front of my computer when the booking window opened up. I booked the first week, then a week later I booked the second week. Easy breezy. It is one of the tricks of booking high-demand places like Hawaii - being there and ready to grab it when the window opens. Less demand places are easier to book more randomly. But Hawaii is a demand destination, so you have to be ready to grab it when you can.

The Hawaii resorts (Big Island, Maui, and Kauai) are nice, but not over the top. None of the WM resorts are what I'd call over the top. But they're clean, nicely run and a great place to stay. Of the three islands, I'd say Kauai would be the least one to book. The resort is very modest, has no air condiitoning, and is the most motel-like. But its location is central to the eastern side of the island, and makes a great launching pad for visiting either the north or south sides of Kauai. However you want to slice it, they're easier to book than Marina Dunes.

Dave

 

[dboeger1]

I have not stayed in WM Hawaii, but for some reason there isn't a ton of hype on the WM Hawaii properties. But this might be because of the locations for the WM Hawaii properties or the fact that it is the Marriotts in Hawaii that get all of the hype. I have seen some folks here feel underwhelmed with WM Hawaii and yet others have said it's good enough. Food for thought, I'm sure others will comment on this.

Honestly, I think I'm okay with that. Would I like a nicer resort? Sure. But I want to be able to book them, first and foremost. And Hawaii is for the nature in my opinion (at least that's my understanding; we haven't been yet so my mind could be changed). For luxury accommodations, I think I would prefer Las Vegas anyway. I think the values are just better there, and we spend more time indoors there anyway. I could see adding a higher-end Las Vegas resort in the future if we decided the typical points-based options there weren't fancy enough for us. But that would definitely be years down the line depending on many variables.

 

[DaveNV]

That is awesome! I love the idea of being able to invite friends and family on vacation.

Many WM two bedroom units sleep 8 people, so depending on how much privacy some need (thinking adults vs. kids) you may not even need to book multiple units.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Honestly, I think I'm okay with that. Would I like a nicer resort? Sure. But I want to be able to book them, first and foremost. And Hawaii is for the nature in my opinion (at least that's my understanding; we haven't been yet so my mind could be changed). For luxury accommodations, I think I would prefer Las Vegas anyway. I think the values are just better there, and we spend more time indoors there anyway. I could see adding a higher-end Las Vegas resort in the future if we decided the typical points-based options there weren't fancy enough for us. But that would definitely be years down the line depending on many variables.

It boils down to what you want from the resort. If you want the convenience of it being a timeshare (e.g. kitchen, laundry, multiple bathrooms and bedrooms), in a good location, and a great place from which to head out to see the area, then every WM resort will serve you well. If you want to hang around a resort's lazy river pool all day and be entertained by resort staff with kid activities and movie nights - well, then WM may not be the best first choice. Personally, I can lay by the pool in my backyard. When I go on vacation, it's to see and enjoy the location I'm visiting. It's about the area, the people, and the culture, not ice cream socials or scavenger hunts in the parking lot.

Dave

 

[ski_sierra]

It took me two years to get a reservation at Marina Dunes. In the meantime, I got reservations at many other amazing properties like Westin Ka'anapali, Hilton Kings' Land, Hilton Marbrisa, Hyatt Northstar (ski season), Hyatt Sierra Lodge (summer), Hyatt Carmel, Marriott Timber Lodge. I believe all of these properties are better than Marina Dunes and easier to book (yes, they also cost at least twice as much for a week compared to booking Marina Dunes).

I have been able to book the WM Hawaii properties many times as well, but I have only stayed at WM Kihei, other trips were canceled. My daughter and wife said they would rather stay home than stay at that property, partly because we stayed there after Westing Ka'anapali and Hilton Kings' Land.

The biggest differentiator is the Marina Dunes resort near Monterey, which is a beach destination within driving distance of where we live. There are also not very many timeshare resorts in the area.

Hyatt Carmel Highlands is fabulous. There are a couple of others like Pine Acres Lodge and Pacific Grove Plaza. If you live within driving distance, you should look into these for bonus time. All of them are in a nicer area than Marina Dunes.

If you love the Monterey area, I recommend picking up a Hyatt points resort like Hyatt Sedona. Then you can book Hyatt Carmel Highlands. It is not difficult to book. It's also in a much more upscale area compared to Marina Dunes. You will find drug addicts next to the Marina Dunes property and there is an RV park on the other side of the road. We were scared to walk around.

When I had a reservation at Marina Dunes, I was hoping to book another room for friends who wanted to join us. The Country Inn is the closest hotel (other than Sanctuary, which charges $800/night). You can see the comments about how bad that location is on TripAdvisor.

COUNTRY INN & SUITES BY RADISSON, MONTEREY BEACHFRONT-MARINA, CA $84 ($̶1̶1̶2̶) - Updated 2023 Prices & Hotel Reviews

Now $84 (Was $̶1̶1̶2̶) on Tripadvisor: Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Monterey Beachfront-Marina, CA, Marina. See 353 traveler reviews, 142 candid photos, and great deals for Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Monterey Beachfront-Marina, CA, ranked #10 of 11 hotels in Marina and rated 2.5 of 5...

www.tripadvisor.com

There are many great WM properties other than Marina Dunes. None of them come anything close to what Hyatt offers, but they are great options. My daughter's favorite WM property is Reunion in Orlando. It is like staying in a country club. A huge three-bedroom unit, water park, access to beautiful clubhouses, and plenty of other activities.

If you are buying WM to book Marina Dunes, I think that's risky. But if you would like to primarily stay at other WM properties, and think of winning the lottery ticket once in a while with a Marina Dunes reservation, then your chances of being happy are high.

 

[ski_sierra]

I have not stayed in WM Hawaii, but for some reason there isn't a ton of hype on the WM Hawaii properties. But this might be because of the locations for the WM Hawaii properties or the fact that it is the Marriotts in Hawaii that get all of the hype. I have seen some folks here feel underwhelmed with WM Hawaii and yet others have said it's good enough

WM has four properties in Hawaii:

• The Kihei property is old and run down. Most of the units have mold, from what I have read and in the unit I stayed in. Kihei in general is not as nice as Ka'anapali or Wailea.
• The beach near Valley Isle is mostly gone. There is no AC. It has an ocean view though.
• WM Kauai is motel-like with no AC.
• WM Big Island in Kona is near downtown. Big Island is an affordable island and you can find Airbnbs there for not much more than maintenance dues of WM if you plan in advance (usually WM Kona also needs to be booked 13 months in advance).

I think these properties are perfect for people who go to Hawaii for all the outdoor activities. But many WM owners who travel with kids (like us), end up spending more time at the property than groups of young adults. I'd rather pay the premium of the Marriott and Hilton properties in Hawaii.

 

[ski_sierra]

accidentally reposted

 

[dboeger1]

It took me two years to get a reservation at Marina Dunes. In the meantime, I got reservations at many other amazing properties like Westin Ka'anapali, Hilton Kings' Land, Hilton Marbrisa, Hyatt Northstar (ski season), Hyatt Sierra Lodge (summer), Hyatt Carmel, Marriott Timber Lodge. I believe all of these properties are better than Marina Dunes and easier to book (yes, they also cost at least twice as much for a week compared to booking Marina Dunes).

I have been able to book the WM Hawaii properties many times as well, but I have only stayed at WM Kihei, other trips were canceled. My daughter and wife said they would rather stay home than stay at that property, partly because we stayed there after Westing Ka'anapali and Hilton Kings' Land.


Hyatt Carmel Highlands is fabulous. There are a couple of others like Pine Acres Lodge and Pacific Grove Plaza. If you live within driving distance, you should look into these for bonus time. All of them are in a nicer area than Marina Dunes.

If you love the Monterey area, I recommend picking up a Hyatt points resort like Hyatt Sedona. Then you can book Hyatt Carmel Highlands. It is not difficult to book. It's also in a much more upscale area compared to Marina Dunes. You will find drug addicts next to the Marina Dunes property and there is an RV park on the other side of the road. We were scared to walk around.

When I had a reservation at Marina Dunes, I was hoping to book another room for friends who wanted to join us. The Country Inn is the closest hotel (other than Sanctuary, which charges $800/night). You can see the comments about how bad that location is on TripAdvisor.

COUNTRY INN & SUITES BY RADISSON, MONTEREY BEACHFRONT-MARINA, CA $84 ($̶1̶1̶2̶) - Updated 2023 Prices & Hotel Reviews

Now $84 (Was $̶1̶1̶2̶) on Tripadvisor: Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Monterey Beachfront-Marina, CA, Marina. See 353 traveler reviews, 142 candid photos, and great deals for Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Monterey Beachfront-Marina, CA, ranked #10 of 11 hotels in Marina and rated 2.5 of 5...

www.tripadvisor.com

There are many great WM properties other than Marina Dunes. None of them come anything close to what Hyatt offers, but they are great options. My daughter's favorite WM property is Reunion in Orlando. It is like staying in a country club. A huge three-bedroom unit, water park, access to beautiful clubhouses, and plenty of other activities.

If you are buying WM to book Marina Dunes, I think that's risky. But if you would like to primarily stay at other WM properties, and think of winning the lottery ticket once in a while with a Marina Dunes reservation, then your chances of being happy are high.

Thanks for providing your detailed experience! It's not even so much that Monterey itself is a dream destination for us, just that we happen to live close by. We can actually go just about any weekend. The reason we don't, as is often the case with locals visiting nearby tourist destinations, is that it's about a 90-minute drive each way in good traffic (definitely can be longer in bad traffic), and it's hard to justify the cost of hotels when we live nearby. So a couple of times per year, we drive down there early in the morning, spend most of the day walking/driving between points of interest along the coast, try out a restaurant or two, and then head back in the afternoon/evening. If we want to do something more substantial like a long hike, swimming in the ocean, the aquarium, etc., it really eats into the time we get to spend doing other things. One time, we decided to do a weekend trip staying in a hotel for 1 or 2 nights (can't remember exactly), and it opened up more possibilities for enjoying the local area at a more leisurely pace. We got to do things we don't normally do like wake up in time to see the sunrise, visit some more unique shops downtown, hike up the hills/ridges on the East side of town, check out prime oceanfront real estate, etc. We used to scoff at the idea of paying for a hotel (especially an expensive one) within driving distance of our home, but that trip kind of made me realize that trying to cram everything into a full day is the reason why we only go to the beach a couple times annually, despite living 90 minutes away.

Now, if I'm being perfectly honest, I don't think Monterey holds a candle to SoCal beaches as a week-long resort destination. There are some nice little towns there, and the views are absolutely stunning, but there's no comparing the swimming, and I also think there's a distinct lack of beachside restaurants, clubs, activities, events, etc. It's mostly very sleepy residential stuff. If I had a few million dollars to burn, I might just live in one of those oceanfront houses. It has its charm, but I think there's more to do near the beaches in places like Santa Barbara, Pismo, San Diego, etc. Here in the Bay Area, I'd say Santa Cruz is a bit more exciting, but I just find the accommodations really lacking and overpriced. Santa Cruz makes for an excellent day trip or a stop along Highway 1, but I just haven't found any compelling reasons to stay overnight. It's also closer to our home, so I'm even less inclined to book a hotel there.

 

[ski_sierra]

Thanks for providing your detailed experience! It's not even so much that Monterey itself is a dream destination for us, just that we happen to live close by.

Monterey is a dream destination for me, but Marina Dunes is not. I believe Monterey has the best weather on the planet, and I would love to retire there.

That's why I invested in a Hyatt timeshare so I can book the Carmel property and visit that area frequently.

t think Monterey holds a candle to SoCal beaches as a week-long resort destination. There are some nice little towns there, and the views are absolutely stunning, but there's no comparing the swimming, and I also think there's a distinct lack of beachside restaurants, clubs, activities, events, etc. It's mostly very sleepy residential stuff. If I had a few million dollars to burn, I might just live in one of those oceanfront houses. It has its charm, but I think there's more to do near the beaches in places like Santa Barbara, Pismo, San Diego, etc. Here in the Bay Area, I'd say Santa Cruz is a bit more exciting, but I just find the accommodations really lacking and overpriced. Santa Cruz makes for an excellent day trip or a stop along Highway 1, but I just haven't found any compelling reasons to stay overnight. It's also closer to our home, so I'm even less inclined to book a hotel there.

There is no question that the quality of accommodations & resorts in California is not as great as what you can find in Florida or Mexico. And their beaches are better too. The Reunion property is perhaps the best resort in the WM portfolio, and I could book it two weeks in advance for a spring break trip. There is just too much supply in FL. Marina Dunes needs to be booked within one second of the inventory becoming available to book. And then 100s are clicking with you, so you can never be sure if you will get the reservation. But I'm 100% confident that I can get Reunion for Christmas, winter break, or spring break. Reunion is 17k credits for a 3 BR per week with the water park included. Booking Marina Dunes will cost you around $200 extra in taxes along with 10k credits.

It's great to get a reservation at Marina Dunes but it doesn't greatly increase or decrease my satisfaction with WM.

 

[dboeger1]

Monterey is a dream destination for me, but Marina Dunes is not. I believe Monterey has the best weather on the planet, and I would love to retire there.

That's why I invested in a Hyatt timeshare so I can book the Carmel property and visit that area frequently.





There is no question that the quality of accommodations & resorts in California is not as great as what you can find in Florida or Mexico. And their beaches are better too. The Reunion property is perhaps the best resort in the WM portfolio, and I could book it two weeks in advance for a spring break trip. There is just too much supply in FL. Marina Dunes needs to be booked within one second of the inventory becoming available to book. And then 100s are clicking with you, so you can never be sure if you will get the reservation. But I'm 100% confident that I can get Reunion for Christmas, winter break, or spring break. Reunion is 17k credits for a 3 BR per week with the water park included. Booking Marina Dunes will cost you around $200 extra in taxes along with 10k credits.

It's great to get a reservation at Marina Dunes but it doesn't greatly increase or decrease my satisfaction with WM.

You know what else Monterey (or more specifically Pacific Grove) has the best of? Squirrels. They are the highlight of our trip every time we go to Lover's Point. They're always a hoot to watch, but the first time we went happened to be when they were suuuuuper fat. Fattest dang squirrels I've ever seen, hundreds of them just popping up from underneath the rocks in that little park, begging for all the visitors to drop some goodies. They've never been quite as fat on our other trips, so I think you need to go during a certain time of year. In fact, if there's any reason for me to go back there more often, it's not the beach, it's to check up on the hordes of mega squirrels and keep track of their weight gain. They looked more like small gophers.

 

[SteelerGal]

I think WM would definitely work. We started w/ renting from a family friend who own WM and continue to this day. Tend to stay in SoCal WM/Wyndham properties. we are SoCal, our home resort is HGVC in Carlsbad or Marriotts in Palm Desert. Since we are a family of 7, we like the larger accommodations. We just returned from Lake Tahoe and stayed at the Hyatt there. We are hooked and will be going there every other year hopefully.
Although we do own in a HGVC property inVegas, we only use it for points to travel to other HGVC properties.
We travel to Monterey annually for racing and still have not stayed at Marina Dunes. Love the area but hate to pay the hotel prices especially when you are rarely in the room. We may eventually add an Independent or just continue to stay in a hotel.
The thing about TS,if you enjoy it, it won’t be unusual to own more than one System.

 

[exyeh]

Regarding to the e-plus retrade and cancel in 24 hr:" I will NEVER do this again with a WM unit, they have a glitch in their system and will not recognize it as a swap, they will see it as a new reservation "
I don't think it is a glitch, It was not used to be this way. You are at the mercy of the person who is manually refund the credits/cash to you. and they follow the guild wm wants.

 

[DaveNV]

Regarding to the e-plus retrade and cancel in 24 hr:" I will NEVER do this again with a WM unit, they have a glitch in their system and will not recognize it as a swap, they will see it as a new reservation "
I don't think it is a glitch, It was not used to be this way. You are at the mercy of the person who is manually refund the credits/cash to you. and they follow the guild wm wants.

I made the same mistake. Will never use ePlus with WorldMark again. Took months to finally get it sorted out, and they still owe me credits I doubt I'll ever see.

Dave

 

[exyeh]

Just this year, an owner care guy worked on my retrade case (be careful, the 24 hr cancel policy is the same case), since it is so hard to get back the credits, he said he would suggest to wm to straight out this problem at two points of time, he never mentioned it again. He knew what he is dealing with afterwards.