Grand Luxxe membership levels & costs (merged)

[cricket]

I have read on one or more of these threads about GL membership levels: silver, gold, & platinum. Can someone explain those to me? What are the differences & how do you acheive a "level"?

 

[Eric B]

Not sure about silver as I haven't heard anything from anyone about that level. They used to give good status at a certain equity level, but I heard they don't do that anymore. Platinum generally starts at the 3 BR loft level or so. They set aside some pool areas for platinum members and give earlier access to the Beach Club. There are a few other perks as well.

 

[pittle]

I think Silver is regular ownership. The others are for multiple Registered weeks owners or how much you have in Mayan World "Equity" - the more you spend the higher the level you are assigned.

We have Gold - it is very similar to the Profile A that we had with 2 Grand Mayan 2-bedroom units units in 2005 plus 3 more MP units, until upgrading to GL in 2013. The main difference is a special phone number. We have owned as many as 8 weeks at a time over the years. We consolidated somewhat when we upgraded to Grand Mayan, and then consolidated again for Grand Luxxe when we did not want as many weeks - we now have 2 of the 2-bedroom GL units. Therefore they kept us at what used to be the Profile A level and the new name is Gold. I did not know about Platinum, until I made my first reservation on the special phone line and the automatic greeting said welcome to the Grand Luxxe Customer Service / Reservation line for Gold and Platinum members.

Our paperwork states Gold status has:

• Preferred Check In (Not that I noticed - it seemed pretty much the same as everyone else)
  
• Special Phone # for Reservations or Customer Service
• Early Reservations - 12 months out (I think many contracts have this now.)
  
• Preferred View Rooms

 

[cricket]

Can anyone tell me the approximate average cost to get to the 1BR Grand Luxxe level?

I went to an update yesterday. Of course they are trying to upgrade me. I am trying to decide if it is worth the additional $$ that I have already invested to get to a 1 BR.

They are also really pushing marketing & telling me it is a way to get my money back. Anyone have any experience with marketing your unit?

 

[Eric B]

I wouldn’t consider it a good investment as an income source, as with any TS. Things might change when the Parks open, but it’s fairly simple to get a 1 BR GL through the various exchanges, particularly outside the high season (January-March). We quite enjoy the amenities and perks of owning GL and look forward to being able to go there in the better units in the high season, but as with most TS, you are probably best of looking at it as though what you’re getting for your investment is the ability to vacation there rather than as a monetary investment with potential returns.

I do know some folks that are fairly successful at renting out larger units in high demand weeks, but it seems like they put a lot of effort into it.

 

[jssquared]

We rent out our 4 bedroom GL Residence. It is a LOT of work, time, and effort. During high season we can make a nice profit on a weekly rental. Unless you are making it a full time job, the return on investment from renting some weeks is not nearly as good as other investment options. We will typically see about a 3% annual return from renting our unused weeks.

 

[pittle]

If you own MP, GM, or GB, you can do the same thing. They are all on the same property. The MF for older contracts are lower than the new contracts. When the park opens, there will be a need for some of the lower cost properties. Think Disney - they have the Value locations on property and they are always full with families. The tickets to the park are so expensive, people will choose the MP or GM to save some money. That is what we did when we took our grandson to Disney World - we knew that dollars would be spent on snacks and souvenirs all the time. We stayed in just a hotel room on property at one of the less expensive units.

Just something to think about. I would pass on the upgrade if it is just for rental.

 

[cricket]

Thanks, everyone for the comments.

 

[cricket]

I wouldn’t consider it a good investment as an income source, as with any TS. Things might change when the Parks open, but it’s fairly simple to get a 1 BR GL through the various exchanges, particularly outside the high season (January-March).

This is at the 1 BR Condo level. It would trade down to a GL 2 BR Villa or below. It really doesn't matter to me since I usually travel solo.

However, I am not really happy with what I have. I bought in at the Jr Villa level. NV "upgraded" me to basically a non existant studio loft. They only exist in a very limited number at NV (which were fully booked last year when I went). There is no intention of building them elsewhere because no one likes them. (they do not offer privacy so is basically a sleep 2). So it trades for----drum roll---a Jr. Villa! Pisses me off. Why did I pay an addition $20K to get the same unit? I am currently in a 1 BR Jungle. I don't really like it either. So would not upgrade to a regular 1BR because then I would possibly get a Jungle unit. Location may be nice when the water park opens but I don't really currently care. I guess the unit size is Ok but I feel I got conned into paying again for something I already owned without any other benefits.

Sorry if I am rambling. I think I am trying to think thru this do I/don't I upgrade. I obviously don't trust them completely.

 

[cricket]

Now I have an additional question for clarification: What is the difference between a 1BR suite, 1BR villa and 1 BR condo (which they call a Grand Suite Deluxxe)???

Vidanta/Vida has so many terms for the same thing I get totally confused. Supposedly they are differences but I don't see many references to the Condo size.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

1 BR condo (which they call a Grand Suite Deluxxe)???
Vidanta/Vida has so many terms for the same thing .....I don't see many references to the Condo size.

I believe the Deluxxe - Grand Suite may be what you are staying in = ! bedroom Jungle - GL RM .

EricB is more of an expert , having stayed in a GL Jungle Suite and done a presentation that included information on the Deluxxe GL

 

[Eric B]

The 2 BR GL suite is a standard size lockout composed of a 1 BR suite plus a hotel type of unit (master bedroom an suite - no kitchen). In total it's about 2200 sq ft. In the typical Grand Luxx e building structure, these are the middle two of four units on either side of a hallway containing right units. The ones on the corners are 2 BR GL Villas, which are also lockouts, made up of a 1 BR Villa plus a Junior Villa. They are larger, ~2500 sq ft or so and include an extra sitting room in the Junior Villa side plus a small deck. They use the terms suite and condo interchangeably to refer to the first type of unit.

The 1 BR DeLuxxe suites, formerly called the Jungle Luxxe suites, only exist in Riviera Maya. They are built on the footprint of 2 BR Bliss or Mayan Palace suites and are somewhere between the size of a 1 BR GL suite and a 2 BR suite, but have the very small MP sized deck with no plunge pool.

There is a different DeLuxxe 2 BR suite floor plan going into NV tower 5C and another one going into the Park hotels there, so it will get more confusing. You can see all of the different room and suite styles on the Vidanta website.

 

[cricket]

Thanks T-Dot-Traveller. I just created a new thread with this question so as to not confuse the original issue

 

[cricket]

You can see all of the different room and suite styles on the Vidanta website

Actually I don't think ALL the different room styles are on the website. Even if looking at both locations.

Here is the source of my confusion. I was just offered a Grand Suite Deluxxe. Which would trade down to a GL Villa which I was told is a 2 BR unit. However, this is not true based on your definition. But they make the destinction between a GL Villa vs a GL Suite. Which, by your definition is basically the same 1 BR.

Also, the floor plan of the Grand Suite Deluxxe is like the other 1 BR in that it is a 1 1/2 bath 1 BR unit. But sales says it is a larger one bedroom. I believe it has a similar lockoff as the Jr Villa but they call it a Jr Suite Deluxxe. I guess a Jungle Suite would qualify as a Grand Suite Deluxxe since it is also a 1 BR 1 1/2 BA unit but with a much different floor plan.

I remain very confused.

 

[cricket]

There is a different DeLuxxe 2 BR suite floor plan going into NV tower 5C and another one going into the Park hotels there, so it will get more confusing.

Possibly this is the floor plan I was shown. But if I understand you correctly, this will be filled at RM with the Jungle units.

And if it makes me MORE confused, this contract is written from Acapulco-which has NO GL units.

 

[Eric B]

Somebody had posted that they had heard Vidanta was putting some Grand Luxxe units in in Acapulco. I haven't been there, so don't know whether or not it's true; there was a rumor about some going in in Puerto Penasco as well. If sales is starting to sell them there is probably some truth to it; there is otherwise a bit of a communications gap between the sales side of things and the construction side. Anyway, they don't add to the rooms and suites part of the website until the rooms are available.

Wild guess: what they could be doing in Acapulco is modifying a few existing floors in one of the existing buildings to include the "Grand Suite Deluxxe" units. If the floor plan you got in the update doesn't have a deck with a plunge pool, it's likely to be in a Mayan Palace building - no doubt high in the building. If there is a deck with a plunge pool, it's likely to be in a Grand Mayan building, which would make these units a bit bigger than the DeLuxxe 1 BR ones in Riviera Maya. I'd be interested in seeing the floor plan if you can post it. If it does have a lockout, by the way, there will be a door on one of the walls of the floor plan; on some of the unit types they include a grayed out portion for the part you aren't buying and on some others they have the two separate unit types that compose the lockout on separate floor plans.

As for what it trades to, read it carefully. In the Grand Luxxe Villa category the Junior Villa is a studio/hotel unit that has a sitting room but doesn't have a kitchen, though it has a cabinet with a microwave and coffee maker; the Grand Luxxe Villa Suite is a 1 BR with the kitchen; and the Grand Luxxe Villa Master Suite is the 2 BR combination of the two. If the Grand Suite Deluxxe trades to a Grand Luxxe Villa Suite, it's the 1 BR version. If you have any inkling of proceeding with the upgrade, have them give you a floor plan for every unit that you can trade into. Similarly for the GL suite level, a Grand Luxxe Master Room is a studio; a Grand Luxxe suite is a 1 BR; and a Grand Luxxe Master Suite is the 2 BR combination of the two.

One other thing you could negotiate for if you proceed with the upgrade is an addendum allowing you to exchange to a higher level unit a couple of times. If you only travel alone, there wouldn't be much point in exchanging to a 2 BR of anything, but it might be worth it to be able to exchange into the Celebrate Park units when the Park opens. Those are in essentially a separate category, though they do have exchange rights into Vidanta. (BTW, the "Junior Suite DeLuxxe" is one of the names for a unit in the Celebrate Park units; it's not obvious to me whether that is what they mean, though.)

Anyway, the major difference I see between what you have and what they are offering you is the ability to book the new units in Acapulco and the 1 BR Villa suite if I've interpreted it right. If your current contract allows you to trade to a regular 1 BR Grand Luxxe Suite, that gets you one with a kitchen and a deck with a pool. Those are different than the one you're in now and they shouldn't shift you to one of those units like you're in now if you've reserved a regular one. As far as the studio loft ones in NV go, it may be that they weren't really fully booked but instead had the building closed if you were down there in the fall. They tend to close buildings in the low season when there is lower occupancy and had tower 5 closed except for the restaurant on the roof for a few months in the fall. In any case, don't feel obligated to upgrade on this trip - there will always be something else available for you on a later trip. Our experience has been that they track what you were offered and share that information between the sales staff in the other locations; they've improved the offers between visits when we've declined to upgrade. For me, by the way, the value in owning with Vidanta is in the ability to book weeks in the high season (Jan-Mar). Things might change with the Parks, but it's pretty easy to get an exchange in there in the low seasons for close to or less than the usage fees overall including the resort fees they charge now.

 

[cricket]

Thank you! I can't post a picture yet as today is travel day. I will post it ASAP after returning home. There is a large deck with a plunge pool. And a blacked out area that could possibly be the connecting door.

I am in a Jungle unit now because they were upgrading EVERYONE that was in a unit below a 1 BR. I met a girl yesterday that was upgraded from GM. She was obviously an exchanger because she was very lost, wandering around trying to find where to check in. Wondered if an upgrade to GL was really an upgrade. Or "worth it" as she put it.

I OWN a studio loft. I was there in January so probably not closed. I am now convinced the Grand Deluxxe trades into only a 1 BR. But sales explained that it exchanged into a 2 BR Villa. They did give me a ONE TIME use of a 2 BR. Then also said it could be used more than one time because the addendum never fell off my contract & reservations would not know it was one time. Whatever, I should know better than to believe sales. I asked to see the floor plan of a standard 1 BR when they said this was a "much better" unit, but they would not show it to me.

I have cancelled my last 3 purchases because of confusion & lies. You would think they would know not to lie to me again.

 

[pittle]

"Somebody had posted that they had heard Vidanta was putting some Grand Luxxe units in in Acapulco. I haven't been there, so don't know whether or not it's true; there was a rumor about some going in in Puerto Penasco as well."

I looked at Google Earth for the Acapulco resort and you can see they are building something on the side where the 1-bedrrom MP units used to be. That could be smoe kind of GL. When I was in Acapulco in February 2011, they had a big billboard that GL was coming soon. But it was going to be built in front of the GM buildings where the water park was and they were planning to put Grand Bliss in the area where the 1-bedroom buildings were coming down while we were there. These were going to be built similar to the CAbo layout in that they would start tall near the street and then be just one or 2 stories near the beach. They took the water park out and built a large lazy river around the pond. The water park was not that large, so there was only space for one GL builidng in my opinion. You just have to wait and see, because everything changes from year to year!!

The first time we went to Puerto Penasco in 2007, there was a tall structure next to the MP Tower that was going to be Grand Mayan. They have made so many changes to that building over the years and then built the GM over to the side perpendicular to the still unfinished huge building.

 

[MoPops]

I went through a similar experience, and now have a 1BR GL. Have never tried to reserve a week and rent it. So I can’t comment on how it would work out financially.
We went from MP to GL four or five years ago, because we were in the absolute worst room in RM. I went to the presentation and said move me over today and we have a deal. We ended up with a great 1BR on a higher floor. However,, what we bought was a GL loft. When we went to GL NV the next year I didn’t like the location at the back edge of the property, so we upgraded to 1BR. Last year we were going to Cabo, but switched at the last min to RM because we heard Cabo was torn up with construction. All they could get us into was the GL jungle loft. The room was nice, but small deck, and in the last building on the end of the tram route. When a tram would finally come by it was full. We are going back this year (Feb) to RM and are supposed to be in what we own, a 1BR GL. I’m hoping it’s in one of the closer buildings (I’d rather walk most of the time) that it’s on a decent floor (not first floor) and it has a nice deck with plunge pool. Won’t know for a month, when we actually go. I’ve already reserved two weeks for next year at GL NV in Jan, because we could only get a GL 1BR “deluxe” in RM. (figured out it was the GL jungle renamed.)
Too many names, too many levels, and way too many lies from the salespeople. But overall a nice place to stay. Ha!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rpennisi]

In Jan 2016, we stayed at the GM in Acapulco. They had recently opened, at that time, a new building that was where the old MPs were torn down. That building was a combination MP and GM (so we were told), very nice lobby. In front and to the side of that building was an unfinished and unworked upon building that was supposed to be a GL (?).

 

[SunFunTravel]

If you own in the GL Loft they are only located in NV in tower 5. There are a lot of them and availability is typically easy. They will probably not build anymore as they made the mistake of calling them 1 bedroom units when in fact they are studios. In fact their website still calls them 1 bedroom lofts. The true 1 bedroom loft is the GL Residence 1 BR loft. With that said you would be crazy to pay an upgrade from a GL Loft to a GL 1 bedroom. The GL Loft has the ability to trade into the GL 1 bedroom unit from Apr to Nov. So you are basically paying Vidanta for no real change in your contract.

 

[SunFunTravel]

When I am at the resort I identify people who overpaid for their membership by the platinum band on their wrist... I met a guy at the beach club pool in RM who has paid nearly $500k to Vidanta and all he owns is a 3 bedroom loft standard 1 + 2 week contract. It baffles me how someone could spend that much money on a freaking timeshare that is worth at best $50k. Can you imagine the bonus his sales guy gets every time he upgrades??? I own in the Estates and I don't have $50k invested yet. You would think that someone with that kind of money would know how to negotiate better...

 

[StructureGuy]

I have read on one or more of these threads about GL membership levels: silver, gold, & platinum. Can someone explain those to me? What are the differences & how do you acheive a "level"?

It's based upon two things. The amount of equity you have in Vidanta and the unit you have purchased.
under $90,000 you have no preferential status over other owners.

At $90,000 USD you are granted Silver (benefits include 12 month reservation window and preferred room views, etc.)
At $150,000 USD and owning a Grand Spa Tower or better you are gold status
At $250,000 USD equity and owing a 3 bedroom loft or several equivalents you are Platinum status.
(it's possible to qualify based upon equity if you bought a lot of weeks but not qualify based upon the unit purchased.)

I must say that Vidanta is very good at responding to any question I have emailed them.

 

[jssquared]

There is now also Founders Status that is a higher level than Platinum and is typically associated with an Estates contract. There are really no details yet about what benefits this may confer.

 

[PenascoLover]

We just returned from Puerto Penasco. Stayed in 3 2-BR at the GM. We had 6 families. 10 kids under 11 and had a blast! PP is a 14 hour drive for us and we have been going their since 2004. We regularly attend the sales pitch just for the 10% and whether we upgrade or not it takes about 2 hours to get the pit out of our stomach. This time was no different as they attempted to flatter us and said they thought we were GL owners and not just measly GB owners. We were very disheartened to learn that they are now taking what was suppose to be GB in the middle section of the new side and have converted them to GL. Judging by the size (still under construction) I would be very disappointed if I was paying GL MF. The GM has been amazing and we did received a 20% discount and were still able to use our benefits. The golf course is amazing!
Attached image is the unfinished future GL. The GM would be to the right and the new Mayan rooms are to the left.