Grand mayan Riviera maya info for purchasing

[Catira]

We travel frequently to Riviera maya area and once again looking into purchasing a timeshare via resale market.
Some years ago I remember that at any vidanta timeshare owners paid 5 times the MF due for special assessment or something similar. Is that still the case?

We have 2 timeshares that trade well with RCI so this purchase is mainly to get a resort that does not require an all inclusive and has sister properties. Also that we can deposit into II when necessary so we can also have access to that exchange company.

Do vidanta owners pay any other fees when using their units?

Thank you for any assistance you can provide me with.

 

[Eric B]

The older contracts written for Vidanta, which transfer more easily, had annual maintenance fees, 5-year renovation fees at an MF multiple that depended on when they were signed, and were good for 25 years, renewable 3 times for another MF multiple. Newer contracts are in two parts and can really only be transferred in the first ten years, but transferring generally results in stripping a lot of benefits and costs a lot.

Vidanta owners only pay a usage fee (MF), though there are some additional minor room and environmental taxes that run about $20 US or so over the week.

If you want to go there in the high season (January - April), the older contracts might be the way to go, but Mayan Palace ones are more common as resales. There was one in eBay recently as an auction.

If you aren't looking for use in the high season, find a cheaper TS that trades in II and is rated as a Premier resort. You can verify if one you're looking at is premier and if the week (if fixed) is a good trading one by looking at the II resort directory and at the Travel Demand Index. For example, I've had good luck with a summer week in Williamsburg. You can get into the higher level Vidanta resorts in shoulder and low seasons at a lower total cost that way even with the resort fees than you would be able to owning there and you'd be able to exchange elsewhere just as well for a lower MF.

 

[Catira]

Eric great info! We travel mainly May or June into that area. May be easier to look into getting a resort that trades into vidanta RM. I know with my RCI acct I can’t get the grand bliss or grand luxxe. The others I can easily find.
Thanks for the information and advice.

 

[Eric B]

YQW! You might look into whether you can deposit your current TS with SFX. They have excellent access to Vidanta and a lower resort fee, though for GL they charge a quality upgrade fee that results in a total cost of $449 IIRC. For GB, I believe it's just an exchange fee of $199 or so. That would keep you from needing to take on another ownership. SFX does well with Mexican resorts though they have fairly slim pickings elsewhere. They might serve your needs with the free gold level membership, but have a fee-based membership that has some benefits like free size upgrades for sometime $99/year.

 

[pittle]

Another vote for SFX to go to Vidanta resorts. We have a PBEB that has MF of $700 for a 1-bedroom and can deposit it into SFX and get a 2-bedroom GM or GB at any of the Vidanta resorts for a $149 exchange fee (plus the membership fee). So we can get a 2-bedroom unit for less than $1000, which is significantly lower than the MF for most GM & GB units. SFX still has the $75 resort fee. Guest Certificates are free for Diamond level members, so I have also used this for friends to go to the resort of their choice if we are not using it.

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I have posted this many times, but here is the Transfer Information:

Before August 2002, transfer fees for Mayan Palace units were the cost of Maintenance fees for 1 year. The Vacation Fair week transfers with the contract. (A large majority of these have now upgraded to Grand Mayan and their old units are sold with the new terms.) These have a 25 year renewal fee(5 MF) and 5 year renovation fee that is equal to 1 MF.

From August 2002 - November 2005, it was 10% of the original purchase price. The Vacation Fair week does transfer with the contract. I am not sure they started selling Grand Mayan units before 2003. This was the information for Mayan Palace that was in a contract that we had. This has the 5 year renovation fee and 25 year renewal.

The 5 times the MF to transfer (sell) to another person started in late 2005, just before we upgraded to two GM 2-bedroom units in April 2006. These also had a 5 year renovation fee that is equal to 1 MF. The no pay unless you go feature was new in 2006, but came with an addendum that if you transferred your contract to someone else, the Vacation Fair (bonus week) and the no pay unless you go feature does not go with the transfer.

In 2008, there were some contracts that still had the 5 year renovation fee that was then 1-1/2 the cost of your MF, and still had the 5 times the MF to transfer to someone else. These also had the 25 year renewal fee that was 5 times the MF.

I am not exactly sure when, but by the time we upgraded to the Grand Luxxe in 2013, the cost to transfer your week to someone else had gone up to 10 times the MF and none of the special benefits, especially the no pay unless you go and extra weeks go with the transfer. The new contracts have some 10 year renewal options which seem to change regularly. transfer to immediate family is $ 0 - no charge , and VF week and no pay addendum DO transfer .
and the registered week renews as a registered week at the 25 year renewal .

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Transfer fees are waived for immediate family members – Children, Grandchildren or Heirs. (This statement is in contracts that I have after 2005.)