• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Grande Bay Resort, St John Vi

C

Cardinal fan

TUG Member
Joined
May 17, 2013
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Location
Springfield, MO
Question for anyone that's stayed there: How hard is it to exchange into this place? I've been to St. John a few times and know the island is expensive but the rooms at this place are really high. I'd be going there in late May which is a slower time. Any help out there?
 
I don't know, but I've seen it come up a few times when I've searched St. John.
 
After 76 views, I'm glad somebody could chime in. So it's fair to say it does come up sporadically as a property that can be traded into through II?
 
I've seen it come up on Getaways but I don't recall seeing it as an exchange. It may come up and I just haven't seen it. It overlooks "downtown" Cruz Bay. I remember seeing these units under construction. No Beach / Beautiful view of the bay.

I already know I love St. John, so I would happily stay there. The island is 2/3 National park. We like to rent a jeep for the week and drive around from beach to beach each day. The roads are very steep and narrow!! I don't know how you'd handle transportation if you wouldn't be comfortable renting a vehicle.

No one else is speaking up, so just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. Hope it helps!
 
I used a really strong trader (Westin Ka'anapali 2 bdrm) in II from now until Jun '15 and nothing came up. That may mean nothing, but I'd definitely submit an Ongoing request if that's the resort I wanted. May is low season on St. John, so I think you have a decent shot.
 
Thanks for fishing for the trade. It says the resort has limited availability on trades. I stayed next door about 3 years ago at Lavender Hill and it looked nice as it was being built. That's a great location as Cruz Bay is about the only place with any sort of night life on St. John. It must have high demand as they are asking a king's ransom to stay there.
 
Exchanges?

I am interested also in whether it is possible to exchange in to Grande Bay through II because I have had a request in for a while for August 2014 and nothing has come up. I have only ever seen 1 bedroom getaways available on II so I think this trade is going to be impossible. II told me that no one has ever put their Grande Bay unit in for exchange so I am wondering if anyone has ever managed to trade in through II!
 
I saw an October week pop up on a Sunday morning when they joined II. Only sighting I've ever had for that resort.
 
soob said:
I am interested also in whether it is possible to exchange in to Grande Bay through II because I have had a request in for a while for August 2014 and nothing has come up. I have only ever seen 1 bedroom getaways available on II so I think this trade is going to be impossible. II told me that no one has ever put their Grande Bay unit in for exchange so I am wondering if anyone has ever managed to trade in through II!
Click to expand...

Do you remember how much this getaway costs?
 
LisaH said:
Do you remember how much this getaway costs?
Click to expand...

There are still Getaways listed on II for Grande Bay thru December. Don't search for St. John though...search for St. Thomas then they'll show up. Go figure!

We're using a Getaway week in early November at Grande Bay. Our cost when booked late last year was $1674 for a one bedroom unit. IIRC the studio was in the $1300's. Rates did vary across weeks. We also were able to snag a Getaway at Frenchman's Reef for $1100 so we're looking forward to our upcoming stay. Love the islands.

FWIW

bbb
 
Fractional project...or not!

This project was being marketed as a fractional. It appears that they have given up on that.

However if you were touring this project as a potential whole ownership buyer, I suspect they would offer you a fractional share if you balked at the price and carrying charges.

So I suspect that, since the developers were in the timeshare universe, they are simply looking for warm bodies who can afford to get to St. John to sell you--hence the link up with the exchange and "certificate" world.

Lovely place--preposterously expensive to build and operate there.
 
Parents own here/ live on the island

Grand Bay is a mixed use property. It currently has dedicated rental units, fully owned condos and dedicated fractional units. They had released inventory into II when they joined as a property. From what I understand these were developer owned weeks and this was necessary for them to join. They also released some inventory into getaways hoping to drive sales to those who purchased getaways. This apparently did not work, because from what I've heard, they will not be giving any more inventory to this program...

They are currently headed into their third year of sales... My parents own a 2 BR lockoff in "hurricane" season and they love it. They use the two bedroom to go back and no longer keep an II membership. I suspect most of the owners are in the same boat... People who buy timeshare in STJ aren't sold on "trade" programs but on a guaranteed place on STJ w/ bene's of ownership...

When they looked at their break even/ROI-- was around 7 years- including the MF's in the equation. They could use it as two weeks (lock off option) or 1 week in a 2 BR. They use one week/2br for now.

They LOVE the location in Great Cruz Bay. It comes to life at night and it's SO nice not to have to drive at night! They get a jeep and cruise around the Nat Park beaches during the day... Back for happy hour and dinner... Prob a good thing they're not driving at night! Ha. Lots of cocktail time on STJ!

The team there is super small for sales (they also own at marriott in STT, Westin In Kauai and an EOY in Myrtle beach w Starwood)... They said it was by far their best purchase experience and living in the island, the staff seems great and super nice for timeshare ppl... It's worth noting the boight from a guy named Alex and they LOVE him. I think they want me to go out with him but he's taken! Lol!!!

Parents don't "do" tugg so I thought I'd chime in in this! Hope it helped!
 
Grand Bay certainly looks nice and in great location, but at the cost of buying GB and the associated MFs (even w/o considering annual increases) - but sorry - "break even in ~7 years" ??? - that is pure Timeshare Sales-speak (or they are deluding themselves) - ain't never going to happen.

Villa rentals on StJ during Hurricane season are very cheap, but that wouldn't matter anyway - I looked into GB as a curiousity - not even close to a postive ROI - especially considering other factors.

Answer these questions...
What did this GB 2Bd LO (in hurricane season) villa cost to buy?
What are the annual fees (including amenities and taxes)?

No way these numbers can add up to a break even in 7 years (or 70 years) w/o some serious use of fuzzy math. (fuzzy math is defined as what TS salespeople use to show potential victims why they should buy the TS).
 
Ha... Took a while!

David...! Wow.. Never saw your questions... We bought at the beginning for around 14k for the 2 Br LO and have used it every single year. MF around $1200 and it comes with a 4 door Jeep included for the week. (This alone would be 400-600 for the rental/year)

We love being in town because we enjoy the restaurants and nightlife in Cruz Bay... We drive to all the beaches anyway, so this was a no-brainier as far as location goes. We stay in the front buildings because we also enjoy having happy hour on the balcony while we watch the sunset and the charter boats coming in before heading down to the happy hours in town...

Also, we have upgraded to a three bedroom before and just paid the difference in MF cost as a benefit of GBR owners...

We never plan on trading and have dropped II from our membership. I actually searched the forum looking for Resales:) All in all, we have gotten great value out of it and still beleive, especially with the rental car (and free transport to and from the resort. Even though it's a short walk, we wouldn't drag our stuff from ferry to resort...) We still beleive our break even is between 7-9 years based on what we'd have spent out of pocket... For rent room (300/night for a front two br with pull out couch), plus 10% tax, plus a rental car ($500 average)... It puts us squarely in 7-9 years to be even Steven.
 
Hi SunnyVI - You meant 'they' bought? I thought this was your parents?
Glad it is working out for you/them. When it first opened, I looked at prices that far exceeded $14K. The MFs sound great - especially w/ jeep rental. Would love to know how an EY 2Bd can be maintained at $1200.

If you are ever there in mid-June - let me know. We would like to see the villas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top