Deeded Owner - Completely Satisfied!

[cindyc]

My husband and I fell twice for the sales pitch at Diamond Resorts - Sedona Summit. I blame it on Red Rocks Intoxication, either that or those mysterious Sedona vortices! Anyway, we sobered up each time and rescinded. Ultimately we did purchase, a 2BR 2BA LO resale at a fraction of the price, last year. We are so happy we did. The MF were $890 in 2018 and stayed the same in 2019! The MFs are about 55% of what they would be for an equivalent number of 10,000 DRI Points.

Our experience as Deeded Owners has been top-knotch. Our deed came in mid-summer and I was initially worried we would not be able to book anything for 2018. One perk of being a deeded owner is that you can split your week into a 4-day stay and a 3-day stay, for a modest $35 split fee. I had two times in mind to use our TS. It is true that both times that I called I was initially told that no inventory was available. The agent also told me they would make a special inventory request to try to get me room. They came through each time within 24 hours, including a booking during a Holiday Week 52 stay! Today I paid my 2019 MFs and was able to book the week I wanted for 2019 with no issues. As, Tuggers always write, it helps to plan ahead and be organized!

While I am very happy, I do wish that I could book the resort on-line myself. Currently, Deeded Owners must call a dedicated line and have an agent book for you. There are quite a few upsides: there is no fee for booking, no fee for a guest certificate, no fee for changing your reservation as long as it is 21+ days in advance.

Oh, another upside of being a two-time rescinder and resale purchaser: shortest "Owner Updates" ever! The last one was a record 12 minutes with the salesperson telling us, there is clearly nothing we can offer you that would be enticing. Then the "closer" came in and said we don't recommend anything for you, of course then they did a horrible "lock in these prices now" option. Ridiculous. Anyway, we walked out with our $125 Visa Gift Card and a bonus 5-night Destination Exchange at one of 5 DRI resorts!

 

[artringwald]

My husband and I fell twice for the sales pitch at Diamond Resorts - Sedona Summit. I blame it on Red Rocks Intoxication, either that or those mysterious Sedona vortices! Anyway, we sobered up each time and rescinded. Ultimately we did purchase, a 2BR 2BA LO resale at a fraction of the price, last year. We are so happy we did. The MF were $890 in 2018 and stayed the same in 2019! The MFs are about 55% of what they would be for an equivalent number of 10,000 DRI Points.

Our experience as Deeded Owners has been top-knotch. Our deed came in mid-summer and I was initially worried we would not be able to book anything for 2018. One perk of being a deeded owner is that you can split your week into a 4-day stay and a 3-day stay, for a modest $35 split fee. I had two times in mind to use our TS. It is true that both times that I called I was initially told that no inventory was available. The agent also told me they would make a special inventory request to try to get me room. They came through each time within 24 hours, including a booking during a Holiday Week 52 stay! Today I paid my 2019 MFs and was able to book the week I wanted for 2019 with no issues. As, Tuggers always write, it helps to plan ahead and be organized!

While I am very happy, I do wish that I could book the resort on-line myself. Currently, Deeded Owners must call a dedicated line and have an agent book for you. There are quite a few upsides: there is no fee for booking, no fee for a guest certificate, no fee for changing your reservation as long as it is 21+ days in advance.

Oh, another upside of being a two-time rescinder and resale purchaser: shortest "Owner Updates" ever! The last one was a record 12 minutes with the salesperson telling us, there is clearly nothing we can offer you that would be enticing. Then the "closer" came in and said we don't recommend anything for you, of course then they did a horrible "lock in these prices now" option. Ridiculous. Anyway, we walked out with our $125 Visa Gift Card and a bonus 5-night Destination Exchange at one of 5 DRI resorts!

I agree that deeded resale weeks are the way to go. MF's are lower and you can stay at other DRI resorts through their Destination Xchange program at lower cost than joining RCI or II.

 

[RLS50]

I agree that deeded resale weeks are the way to go. MF's are lower and you can stay at other DRI resorts through their Destination Xchange program at lower cost than joining RCI or II.

I also agree. Diamond has developed a poor reputation over the years, which they have largely earned on merit from their abhorrent sales force and tactics, but they do have some nice properties so owning deeded weeks at some of their better resorts in certain locations makes alot of sense for owners who want to use them regularly.

And to give credit where credit is due, I think the Destination Xchange program is a great concept and benefit to Diamond owners. It's definitely something we will likely utilize at some point.