korndoc
TUG Member
OK, so as a long time member of TUG I know I'm not supposed to buy retail from the developer, but Wednesday we were at the Marriott Timber Lodge in Lake Tahoe for a presentation and bought anyway. Lake Tahoe is beautiful and I will probably go here every few years or so, but I would prefer to use the time share for trading purposes
This is a 2 BR Lock-out in a Summer Platinum season. The sales pitch was that there can be no new timeshares build around Lake Tahoe, making this generally highly demanded area even more valuable for trading. Also, he made the point exchange system that Marriott only offers for sales from the developer sound very appealing. And they threw in 105,000 incentive points (would normally take 2 years to accumulate with depositing my week). That's 1/2 a trip to Europe and a week in a hotel. By trading in my new condo this year, we could go to Europe on Marriott next year.
So, for those in the know:
1. Is the point system really worth paying $7500 or so more than a resale at the same time share? Is it worth the extra cost plus giving up one week of vacation every year for the points. I read in the Marriott BB that these points keep getting devalued.
2. I like the feel of the Marriotts and Starwoods...I like the feeling of luxury. I have not stayed at any other time shares to compare (Embassy, Hilton, Hyatt, etc). Is the Marriott really worth the extra money compared to other lock-out time shares, assuming the answer to question #1 is "NO, I should buy on resale". For instance, I can buy an Embassy Lock out on Lake Tahoe...on the lake...for $12500, for an all year floating use, rather than across the main street from the lake, for only summer use, at Marriott's Timber Lodge for $24,000 on resale. Is owning at Marriott really that much better?
Thank you for any insight while I still have the right to rescind. If this is a good deal, I'll be happy to keep it and drop the "buyer's remorse"
Jeff in San Diego
This is a 2 BR Lock-out in a Summer Platinum season. The sales pitch was that there can be no new timeshares build around Lake Tahoe, making this generally highly demanded area even more valuable for trading. Also, he made the point exchange system that Marriott only offers for sales from the developer sound very appealing. And they threw in 105,000 incentive points (would normally take 2 years to accumulate with depositing my week). That's 1/2 a trip to Europe and a week in a hotel. By trading in my new condo this year, we could go to Europe on Marriott next year.
So, for those in the know:
1. Is the point system really worth paying $7500 or so more than a resale at the same time share? Is it worth the extra cost plus giving up one week of vacation every year for the points. I read in the Marriott BB that these points keep getting devalued.
2. I like the feel of the Marriotts and Starwoods...I like the feeling of luxury. I have not stayed at any other time shares to compare (Embassy, Hilton, Hyatt, etc). Is the Marriott really worth the extra money compared to other lock-out time shares, assuming the answer to question #1 is "NO, I should buy on resale". For instance, I can buy an Embassy Lock out on Lake Tahoe...on the lake...for $12500, for an all year floating use, rather than across the main street from the lake, for only summer use, at Marriott's Timber Lodge for $24,000 on resale. Is owning at Marriott really that much better?
Thank you for any insight while I still have the right to rescind. If this is a good deal, I'll be happy to keep it and drop the "buyer's remorse"
Jeff in San Diego