Diamond Resorts May Not Be a Villain

[csalter2]

This is my first post. I have been online reviewing this site for a few months. I am a Marriott owner at Ko Olina and I am a gold member with Diamond Resorts International. I have owned a timeshare for 7 years.

I just want to say that I like Diamond Resorts and what they seem to be trying to do. I like the flexibility. However, I hear lots of complaints about the rising costs of maintenance fees and the condition of the properties. I have gone to several properties over the summer and I have seen renovations being done. I was at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas, Marquis Villas, Grand Beach, am scheduled to visit the Daytona Beach Property. I am seeing them trying to keep their word and improve things. The Club does have some very nice properties for owners to choose from in the Club Select program.

I am a high school principal. I don't know a whole lot about timeshares other than the ones I own, but I notice that I can do what I want and have traveled to a lot of nice places in and out of the country with them.

Diamond Resorts may not be the villain. They are trying to improve properties that were just let go by Epic and Sunterra. I don't like staying at the Diamond properties as much as I do my Marriott, but I am starting to see a change. I saw the model at Grand Beach and will have our family reunion there in August 2009. I have 3 really nice 3 bedrooms booked. The rooms are fantastic and look like my Marriott rooms.

I have asked this question on Diamond Resorts forum and I will ask here too. Are there any folks out there that are Diamond Resorts owners that are happy like me? I like what they are trying to do. Do you?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Credit Where Credit Is Due.

I hear lots of complaints about the rising costs of maintenance fees and the condition of the properties. I have gone to several properties over the summer and I have seen renovations being done. I was at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas, Marquis Villas, Grand Beach, am scheduled to visit the Daytona Beach Property. I am seeing them trying to keep their word and improve things. The Club does have some very nice properties for owners to choose from in the Club Select program.

Cypress Pointe Grande Villas is an outstanding timeshare, no doubt about it. And while Diamond Resorts is the official Developer Of Record at The Grandevillas -- ditto at Cypress Pointe Resort At Lake Buena Vista -- both those timeshares, Phase II & Phase I respectively, are not simply 2 more links in the Diamond Resorts chain.

Instead, both of them are independently managed, owner-controlled timeshare resorts that are out from under the management decisions of the timeshare company -- although Diamond still has major influence via representation on the independent HOA-BODs.

In short, Diamond does not call the shots at either phase of Cypress Pointe. Credit for all the improvements & upgrades & renovations goes to the members of the 2 independent, non-Diamond HOA-BODs who are responsible for managing both those timeshares for the benefit of the individual owners, not for the enrichment of the shareholders in Diamond Resorts -- not that there's anything wrong with the shareholders in Diamond Resorts Co.

Even though both Cypress Pointe timeshares are managed independently of Diamond Resorts, they both remain affiliated with Diamond & are part of T. H. E. Club -- not that there's anything wrong with T. H. E. Club either.

Full Disclosure : I like Cypress Pointe so well that I bought a (resale) Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off unit at Phase II & an EEY Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off unit at Phase I (also resale). Not only that, I was a candidate for election to the Phase II HOA-BOD earlier this year -- got whupped bigtime in the voting. (So it goes.) I am not a member of T. H. E. Club.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[pgnewarkboy]

I am extremely happy with Diamond resorts. They are not a villain. They are an excellent company with excellent offerings- some of which surpass marriott in my view. Marriotts are great. They do not always have the best offering in area. As always, it is a matter of taste and what you as an individual are looking for. The new units at the Diamond Resort in Branson are among the best units I have seen anywhere. I find Diamond properties, regardless of management (owner or otherwise), to be well maintained.

 

[Jimbo]

This is my first post. I have been online reviewing this site for a few months. I am a Marriott owner at Ko Olina and I am a gold member with Diamond Resorts International. I have owned a timeshare for 7 years.

I just want to say that I like Diamond Resorts and what they seem to be trying to do. I like the flexibility. However, I hear lots of complaints about the rising costs of maintenance fees and the condition of the properties. I have gone to several properties over the summer and I have seen renovations being done. I was at Cypress Pointe Grand Villas, Marquis Villas, Grand Beach, am scheduled to visit the Daytona Beach Property. I am seeing them trying to keep their word and improve things. The Club does have some very nice properties for owners to choose from in the Club Select program.

I am a high school principal. I don't know a whole lot about timeshares other than the ones I own, but I notice that I can do what I want and have traveled to a lot of nice places in and out of the country with them.

Diamond Resorts may not be the villain. They are trying to improve properties that were just let go by Epic and Sunterra. I don't like staying at the Diamond properties as much as I do my Marriott, but I am starting to see a change. I saw the model at Grand Beach and will have our family reunion there in August 2009. I have 3 really nice 3 bedrooms booked. The rooms are fantastic and look like my Marriott rooms.

I have asked this question on Diamond Resorts forum and I will ask here too. Are there any folks out there that are Diamond Resorts owners that are happy like me? I like what they are trying to do. Do you?

Salter,

Welcome to TUG.

I too am an owner at both Marriott and recently a convert to the CLUB with DRI. I love our Marriott and all the many Marriott's we have been to thru the years but I see a big difference in what DRI will do (and in a short time has done) with the old Sunterra properties. I am very excited about our recent purchase (actually it was a conversion and purchase) that brought us to Silver Elite status. The flexibility is amazing and if Marriott wants to compete in this market in the future they need to abandon the old weeks routine they started nearly 25 years ago. (I hear they are working on it.)

In short, I like DRI and even though some practices might not be that great, I think they will make good progress overall.

Thanxxx for posting, Jim

 

[AwayWeGo]

Maybe Not Villains -- But For Sure Not Heroes, Either.

It may have been some rogue Diamond timeshare sellers rather than Diamond Resorts front-office policy, but in any case it was Diamond folks at some level who were spreading baloney about a Cypress Pointe Phase One special assessment.

I trust that by now they've straightened up & started flying right.

However that may be, shenanigans like that don't exactly endear the company name to us (resale) owners.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[JRS]

So, I wonder if I as an owner should then expect resale values to approach the Marriott level (since the quality is projected to be on par with them) ??

 

[JoeMid]

So, I wonder if I as an owner should then expect resale values to approach the Marriott level (since the quality is projected to be on par with them) ??

No. DRI is doing everything in their power to drive the price of resale down by making resale re-entry into THE Club as nebulous and difficult as possible. They are actively buying up all cheap resales and converting the weeks to points in THE Club and selling them like new, same with points they buy in the Trust.

 

[JRS]

Joe Mid

Ok, maybe you should explain this, how are maint fees assessed on points owners ? How do they compare to weeks owners ? Logic says that if maint fees for a given week go up, everyone pays those higher fees. IF this is true, what other actions can they take to drive the resale of weeks - down ?

 

[Bill4728]

So, I wonder if I as an owner should then expect resale values to approach the Marriott level (since the quality is projected to be on par with them) ??

No. DRI is doing everything in their power to drive the price of resale down by making resale re-entry into THE Club as nebulous and difficult as possible. They are actively buying up all cheap resales and converting the weeks to points in THE Club and selling them like new, same with points they buy in the Trust.

Joe is totally right.

DRI is doing everthing they can to lower the resale value of their TS. Does this make them a villian?? For someone trying to sell it does, but to a current owner who plans to own for many years, it doesn't.

 

[JRS]

Bill

I don't know that you answered my last question - is DRI charging roughly the same maint fees for the "points based" owners as "weeks" owners ? If as someone else mentioned - they are making life unpleasant for owners - is it only a specific group of owners, or all owners equally ?

 

[dwmantz]

The answer to your question is complex as usual.

It would appear that the rates of MFs for weeks owners are going up at many resorts, mostly those controlled by Diamond (the US Collection).

Points are made up of a collection of weeks. So . . . when weeks go up, points go up also.

History says, that MFs on some weeks are always less expensive then MF on points. In addition, for the past two years, MFs on points have gone up more of a percentage than on weeks.

 

[JoeMid]

I don't know that you answered my last question - is DRI charging roughly the same maint fees for the "points based" owners as "weeks" owners ? If as someone else mentioned - they are making life unpleasant for owners - is it only a specific group of owners, or all owners equally ?

The answer to your question is complex as usual.

It would appear that the rates of MFs for weeks owners are going up at many resorts, mostly those controlled by Diamond (the US Collection).

Points are made up of a collection of weeks. So . . . when weeks go up, points go up also.

History says, that MFs on some weeks are always less expensive then MF on points. In addition, for the past two years, MFs on points have gone up more of a percentage than on weeks.

I don't think you can say that dwman, unless you are omniscient or hold weeks at every resort in the Trust to compare to. MFs for the Trust are just an amalagamation of all the resorts in the Trust, plus the dreaded base fees.

 

[JRS]

Follow up on points vs weeks. My resort that has recently become a DRI resort is in the Carribean - St Maarten - Flamingo. For purposes of comparison, how many points for owners of a studio size unit - and roughly how much would their annual fees come out to ? I could then compare to my known weekly m/f cost ....

 

[dougp26364]

Follow up on points vs weeks. My resort that has recently become a DRI resort is in the Carribean - St Maarten - Flamingo. For purposes of comparison, how many points for owners of a studio size unit - and roughly how much would their annual fees come out to ? I could then compare to my known weekly m/f cost ....

MF's for Polo Towers 2 bedroom units work out to be around 7 1/2 cents per point before factoring in THE Club membership dues of $255. Since THE Club membership dues are a fixed amount regardless of how many points you own it would be accurate to figure them into the cost per point in MF's.

 

[JoeMid]

Follow up on points vs weeks. My resort that has recently become a DRI resort is in the Carribean - St Maarten - Flamingo. For purposes of comparison, how many points for owners of a studio size unit - and roughly how much would their annual fees come out to ? I could then compare to my known weekly m/f cost ....

Varies by week/season, a link to the points catalog is here. Take a look and tell us what you think. The exact cost per point depends on what you own, while this year's fees were 8.04 cents/pt you need to account for a $225 Club Fee and ~$200 'Base' Fee for the Trust. So, the more points youo own, the less overall per point.

 

[JRS]

To JoeMID

Varies by week/season, a link to the points catalog is here. Take a look and tell us what you think. The exact cost per point depends on what you own, while this year's fees were 8.04 cents/pt you need to account for a $225 Club Fee and ~$200 'Base' Fee for the Trust. So, the more points youo own, the less overall per point.

Joe, thanks for the link. I browsed a bit, but wasn't able to find how many points it typically takes for a week at Flamingo. Not sure if it varies by season, if someone can give me an idea, this appreciated ....

 

[JoeMid]

Joe, thanks for the link. I browsed a bit, but wasn't able to find how many points it typically takes for a week at Flamingo. Not sure if it varies by season, if someone can give me an idea, this appreciated ....

A bit, might be an overstatement. The moderator there provided the sometimes hard to find link to the Global Resorts Catalog in Post #7.