Grand Wailea, Maui

[imgritz]

I went to a DVC presentation three days ago at Disneyland, CA. The offer seemed decent.

I started asking detailed questions about hotels I frequent. For example, I stay at the Grand Wailea on Maui in a garden room for 4K for 10 days. I simply asked the DVC rep how many points do I need to buy to stay at the Grand Wailea? I got the run around.

After the meeting, I calculated I need to purchase about 700 points (roughly $73K) to stay at the resort for 7 nights each year. This does not include the annual maintenance fee.

Does may calculation seem correct? If so, it would take me 18.5 years (not including maintenance fees) to recoup my costs.

 

[dvc_john]

The per night point cost for the Grand Wailea ranges from 73 to 109 points, depending on season and view. So for a 7 night yearly stay, it would require from 511 to 763 points. Note that for the concierge collection of resorts, the points requirements can and do change on a yearly basis, unlike the DVC resorts which basically remain constant.

If you were to purchase DVC for this purpose, you would be better off buying resale, as resale prices generally range from about $70 to $90 per point, depending on resort. And for this type of use, home resort doesn't matter.

However, most DVC members will tell you that the best, most cost-effective use of a DVC membership is at the DVC resorts. The other uses are a nice option, but not the best use of points.

 

[alwysonvac]

You should buy DVC to primarily stay at the Disney timeshare resorts. All other exchange options are just giving members options when they want something different from time to time. These options are not setup to save money. It just allows members to apply some of their DVC expense towards other vacation options.

NOTE: Not only, can the DVC point requirement increase over time for the Grand Wailea, the exchange option between Disney and Grand Wailea can also end at any time.

 

[DeniseM]

Welcome to TUG! You should consider buying at another resort, on the resale market. Resales at even the nicest resorts go for less than 50% of the developer cost. However, DVC has ROFR, so even their resales are high.

I would recommend that you buy a timeshare only if you want to go to the same location at least every other year. You can do it for far less than $73K. A 2 bdm. oceanview unit at the newest resort on Maui is only about $30K on the resale market, and you can buy very nice resorts in Hawaii for as little as a few hundred. It's a buyers market right now. Take your time, do your homework, and make an informed decision before you buy.

My recommendations for a first timeshare purchase. Be sure you check out the ebay link - you will be astounded at how little you can get a timeshare for. (Click the link above.)

 

[annenp]

I went to a DVC presentation three days ago at Disneyland, CA. The offer seemed decent.

I started asking detailed questions about hotels I frequent. For example, I stay at the Grand Wailea on Maui in a garden room for 4K for 10 days. I simply asked the DVC rep how many points do I need to buy to stay at the Grand Wailea? I got the run around.

After the meeting, I calculated I need to purchase about 700 points (roughly $73K) to stay at the resort for 7 nights each year. This does not include the annual maintenance fee.

Does may calculation seem correct? If so, it would take me 18.5 years (not including maintenance fees) to recoup my costs.

Isn't the Grand Wailea a Hilton affiliate?????

 

[dvc_john]

Isn't the Grand Wailea a Hilton affiliate?????

Yes, it a hotel in the Waldorf-Astoria collection of hotels, and affiliated with Hilton.

It's also available to DVC members thru their concierge collection of hotels.