Email about an [DC Collette Tour] explorer package to Costa Rica

[thinze3]

Marriott Vacation Club has designed a tour exclusively for Marriott Vacation Club Owners and their guests.

This amazing adventure featuring zip-lining, horseback riding, exploring the active Arenal Volcano, relaxing on Tamarindo beach, and just enjoying great food with a few dozen Owners like you who are seeking the ultimate in recreation and relaxation.
This special Costa Rica Adventure tour departs July 14, 2012 and is priced at 6,000 Vacation Club Points per couple.
Tour Includes:

• 1st Class Hotel Accommodations
• 11 Meals: 6 Breakfasts and 5 Dinners
• All baggage handling (1 bag per person)
• Services of a professional Tour Manager
• Group motor coach transfer to/from your departure airport
• Transportation via deluxe air-conditioned motor coach
• All taxes and service charges
• Marriott Vacation Club Explorer travel amenity

Don't miss out on this great opportunity! Reserve your place on this tour by calling your Vacation Ownership Advisor at 1-888-682-4862.

Marriott Vacation Club International and their respective affiliates and subsidiaries, make no warranty, express or implied, as to the condition, capacity, performance or any other aspect of the activities, events, or service providers listed herein. No inquiry has been made into the activities or events, or the qualifications or the quality of services offered by the providers. Do not consider this an endorsement of or recommendation for any of the activities, events, or providers. Offer subject to change without notice.

 

[Mamianka]

This is a new place they are binging on board - and it will be sold, as it were, for Tryst PoInts only access - since they will be selling no WEEKS. So this trip - not cheap! - is designed for you no only to see the place, but to fall in love so hard that you will NEED to buy more of the super-duper-precious-magical Other Bicker NEW points. For 6,000 of them for future trips - this will cost you well over 60 grand. Since I have seen whole chunks of this place in the Jurassic Park movies - I am not at all interested - unless, of course, there were live dinosaurs to see.

 

[m61376]

What resort is it? I didn't see a resort/accomodations name or description in the e-mail.

 

[LAX Mom]

It says "hotel accommodations", probably the JW hotel in Costa Rica. I think it's close to the Tamarindo beach. I haven't seen anything about Marriott building a new vacation club property in Costa Rica.

 

[SueDonJ]

The info in the latest MVC Insider had a few more details than today's email; it looks like the tour group will move to different regions and accommodations.

Mamianka, were you told by a Marriott rep that any of the properties on the tour would eventually be 100% conveyed to the Trust? The email and newsletter info doesn't say anything to lead to that conclusion, and it doesn't appear that we have to commit to a sales presentation if we sign up for the trip. My first impression is that this was simply an extra Collections option, maybe a one-time thing with only the 7/14/12 departure date and limited to a small group ("a few dozen") Marriott DC users.

Has anyone called in for more details?

 

[suzannesimon]

The info in the latest MVC Insider had a few more details than today's email; it looks like the tour group will move to different regions and accommodations.

Mamianka, were you told by a Marriott rep that any of the properties on the tour would eventually be 100% conveyed to the Trust? The email and newsletter info doesn't say anything to lead to that conclusion, and it doesn't appear that we have to commit to a sales presentation if we sign up for the trip. My first impression is that this was simply an extra Collections option, maybe a one-time thing with only the 7/14/12 departure date and limited to a small group ("a few dozen") Marriott DC users.

Has anyone called in for more details?

My impression was that this was just an explorer tour. The various accommodations along the way may not be Marriotts at all.

 

[tw502000]

Last year, I considered taking one of the Explorer Tours thru Collette Travel, but decided to wait because of the less than stellar reviews on the internet about Collette. Has anybody taken a Collette Tour and can
give first hand info about their experience on their trip ?

 

[thinze3]

This is the headline photo. I agree with Sue that this is probably a one time trip. If it is geared toward making people want to buy points, I must say that it is at least a "different" type of presentation.

 

[myoakley]

I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Costa Rica with Caravan Tours. Some highlights of the tour were the rainforest at Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast, the volcano and hanging bridges at Arenal, and a 2-night stay at the gorgeous JW Marriott beachfront resort in Guanacaste on the Pacific coast. I'm sure this Marriott trip will include a stop here. If anyone is interested in visiting Costa Rica, I heartily recommend Caravan ($1100. all meals included + airfare) - excellent value in my opinion, considering that a room at the Marriott alone was $350. per night, if booked privately.

 

[myoakley]

P.S. I should probably add that all meals included means 3 meals per day, and the breakfast and dinner buffets in the hotels were incredible!

 

[MarriottVIP??]

collette tours

Last year, I considered taking one of the Explorer Tours thru Collette Travel, but decided to wait because of the less than stellar reviews on the internet about Collette. Has anybody taken a Collette Tour and can
give first hand info about their experience on their trip ?

We took the Beijing trip using 4000 Marriott points. Tour was fine, accommodations were a disaster, and we were switched from what seemed to be a better quality hotel 3 weeks prior to our departure. They misinformed us regarding the availability of Marriott Hotels in Beijing.
I would not, based on our experience ever use Collette.

 

[Jan Handlers]

See Marriott Vacation Club Site

When you look at the Explorer trips on the MVC website, an itinerary is provided. For each day, there is an accomodations button which will tell you which hotel is being used for that night. I have never seen a Marriott property used, but there is enough information to decide if you like that hotel or not. I usually double check the hotel at its website and TripAdvisor. As to whether the trips are worth the point valuu, that is a decision each individual needs to make.

 

[SueDonJ]

[Moderator Note]

There are currently two separate threads about the DC Explorer Collection options through Collette Travel, this one pertaining to the Costa Rica Adventure and another pertaining to the April '13 Beijing City Tour. It's understandable why TUGger MarriottVIP?? brought this one out of mothballs, in order to answer the question about TUGgers' experience with any of these tours, but in the interest of preventing further cross-posting this thread is now being locked.

TUGger Jan Handlers, your point in the last post here is a good one. If you'd like it can be copied to the other Collette-related thread so that readers of that more-recent thread will see it. Let me know if I can help.