HGVC Marbrisa poor reviews on YELP.

[jc92869]

Yelp has some bad reviews on the Marbrisa and the palisades properties. i think it gives these properties like 2.5 or 3 stars.

Some of the reviews are not directly about the property, but rather about the timeshare high pressure presentation, but a lot of negative reviews were directly about the place. The reviews ranged from the rooms being dirty, to bad customer service, to visual wear and tear of the place.

here's the links

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hilton-grand-vacations-club-at-marbrisa-carlsbad

http://www.yelp.com/biz/grand-pacific-palisades-carlsbad?osq=marbrisa

I thought these were supposed to be top properties. Can anyone confirm or deny?

 

[sjuhawk_jd]

Reviews

Front desk staff at Palisades is not always trained and can be snappy and rude.

Palisades also has a hotel side (rooms booked as hotel), customers pay good money comparable to a 4-star hotel and they do not see that. Timeshare clients are different. We understand that with $1050 maintenance fee, getting a 2 bedroom condo for 7 nights during holidays or summer is an excellent deal in southern california, so we keep expectations more realistic. Somebody paying $225 per night for a simple hotel room checks in with different expectations and they write a different review.

Timeshare sales pressure is becoming more and more of an issue at both resorts.

marbrisa is top notch all the way (staff as well as facilities).

 

[jehb2]

I enjoyed our stay at Marbrisa but there were some "not-so-great" elements. One of the original buildings overlooks the back of Legoland. I would have been very upset if I had that view. Also the first phase is a long walk to the very nice pool in the second phase. Again I would have been very unhappy to say the least. Our unit and view was lovely. They said we had a washer and dryer in our unit. However there was only 1 laundry room for the whole building. It was on the first floor and it only had 2 washers & 2 dryers "for the entire building!" Plus house keeping used the washer/dryer to wash dirty housekeeping rags. I really loved the pool but it felt a little sparse-like it could use a lot more landscaping compared to other HGVC resorts. Our stay was pleasant enough but I know I will not be returning.

We stayed at Grand Palisades as well. We had a truely awesome time. The families there were a lot of fun. I loved all the gas grills which they cleaned every day. And the man who cleaned them was the nicest guy. Con: Our bathroom had a perpetual pee-pee smell. I had them clean it to no avail. I was reduced to spraying down the bathroom floor with Clorox bleach once a day. Our room keys quick working once everyday. They tried to add on a ton of calls to our bill. They also tried to charge us for a ticket to Legoland. We checked out at 9pm at night but check-out took 40 minutes. Why? I needed to dispute all the charges on my bill but the manager did not want to come to the front desk because he was setting up the banquet hall for an event that was being held the next day. I finally made the clerk take me to him.

I have to add, I have owned 4 HGVC timeshares since 1999 and these are the only two timeshares that I know that I will not be returning to.

 

[vacationbear]

We stayed at Marbrisa July 2014.
The rooms (2bd) were clean, very nice and no complaints other than the location of our room which was next to the laundry room.
When used, the noise was unpleasant and woke us up one morning.
Other rooms further away wont have that problem.

The front desk staff was extremely polite and helpful!

 

[Talent312]

I discount totally negative reviews as coming from peep who'd find fault at a Four Seasons.
I pay attention to those which have both pro's + con's, as they seem more objective.

 

[presley]

I've stayed at both several times. I think I've stayed at Marbrisa 6 times, but I've never had a really good customer service experience there, except for from employees of the Sheraton. I'd rate it the lowest of any HGVC I've been to and also the lowest of any GPR that I've been to. They are very high pressure for attending the sales pitch. When you say no at check in and they say "okay" and let you leave, they will still call you every day and leave notes on your door if you don't answer the calls.

GPP is always very busy and that's probably why the low ratings. There are kids running around all the time and they are probably not staffed enough for all the guests onsite. Another reason for low ratings is if someone is used to a Hilton style resort/room and expecting that, they will be let down as this is GPR type place with just the Hilton affiliation. Other things to note is most people expect the little shampoos and such and sometimes they don't have that. They have pumps in the shower that have a combination of shampoo/shower gel. They say you have to have wrist bands to use the pool, but that is just a ploy to get you signed up for a timeshare presentation (Marbrisa does same thing). 90% of the people at the pools don't have writstbands.

Since you plan on checking out all these places in person, you'll get a pretty good hit on what they are like if you loiter around for a while. If you sit in the lobby at either place, you'll hear how they interact with people. Take a lot of time to really check them out and make several visits if that is what you need. You can also book a couple nights by using resortime.com and that will help you get an idea, too, if you are not in any hurry to buy.

 

[alexadeparis]

I discount totally negative reviews as coming from peep who'd find fault at a Four Seasons.
I pay attention to those which have both pro's + con's, as they seem more objective.

I usually look at where the reviewer came from. If from NY/NJ I tend to read those reviews with a grain of salt as they tend to view life in the negative as a default position unilaterally. For some reason, I am not sure why, NY/NJ people are never satisfied. I am from the Midwest, maybe I am just more laid back, but I tend to view life in the positive as my default, generally.

 

[llwilson]

We recently stayed at GPP, but also spent a day at Marbrisa. In my opinion, families with little kids will like GPP, as the pool is central to the rooms, and has fun play elements. The adult pool is meant for the adults, so it is away from the rooms and just a rectangular pool with nearby fire pit, music, etc. The rooms were somewhat worn and in need of refurbishing, but they were serviceable. A feature I did like there was both a shower/tub and another separate shower enclosure, both in the same bathroom. You can put kids in the tub and the shower at the same time. We had 4 grandkids with us, so that was awesome!

I didn't like that housekeeping was already "bothering" us to leave earlier than the 11:00 check out time. She came back twice, at 10:15 and 10:30, asking us to leave so she could clean the room. Not cool.

Marbrisa was much nicer, more "adult" and very spread out! The rooms were much better furnished, but of course, it is a newer resort! I think the rooms felt smaller at Marbrisa, but they are much nicer for a couples vacation. The pool area here was much more resort-like, with separate pools, a pool table, ping pong tables, a fire pit, and even a bar.

Our preference is to return to Marbrisa. Their facilities are newer, nicer and the pool area is great for everyone.

I've stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels with crappy views, and we don't vacation to stay in our room and enjoy the view. However, with a little homework and checking out the room map ahead of time, you can request a room with a view and hope for the best! Just my 2 cents . . . .

 

[VegasBella]

I've stayed at both and would happily stay at either again. Nice places. My reviews are in the TUG resort review database.