Hi, I'm new here!

[CestLaVie]

The title of DeniseM's thread prompted me to join and chime in. (It felt so welcoming ) I have been lurking on this board for the past couple of months looking for answers to questions that I have about the 2BR LO EY use at WPORV that I purchased from the developer in March of 2008.

This is my first vacation ownership and, though I could have bought it as a resale , I'm making do with it the best I can until the economy improves. Earlier this year, I converted my annual star options to star points and applied a large portion of them to two rooms at the Westin Times Square in NYC for use this summer. I wouldn't have been able to do this if I had bought a resale.

Thanks to all the helpful TUG-gers on this board who generously provide so much information to newly-inducted TS owners like myself.

 

[Jesse N Kristina]

The title of DeniseM's thread prompted me to join and chime in. (It felt so welcoming ) I have been lurking on this board for the past couple of months looking for answers to questions that I have about the 2BR LO EY use at WPORV that I purchased from the developer in March of 2008.

This is my first vacation ownership and, though I could have bought it as a resale , I'm making do with it the best I can until the economy improves. Earlier this year, I converted my annual star options to star points and applied a large portion of them to two rooms at the Westin Times Square in NYC for use this summer. I wouldn't have been able to do this if I had bought a resale.

Thanks to all the helpful TUG-gers on this board who generously provide so much information to newly-inducted TS owners like myself.

Funny! We also bought WPORV from the developer in March of 2008 when we stayed at the Westin Maui. We haven't visited WPORV yet, but we likely will in 2010 or 2011.

 

[85degrees]

Hi Everyone!

I joined a few weeks ago, and am amazed at the wealth of helpful info on this site. Wish I found you sooner! We live in the Boston area (also hate the cold – I grew up in Chicago, and Boston is no better) and ever since I learned to manage my extreme fear of flying with hypnosis and meds, I realized I love to travel!

We purchased with SVO because we love Starwood’s hotel/resort properties and their loyalty program. We own WKV (since ’04) and WLR (’08), which are both beautiful properties, and we have used SO to visit WSJ, and WKORV. I too am frustrated by how hard it is to trade into WSJ and HRA – we’ve been trying for those for next summer, but have booked WDW (love the heat!) as a backup. I also detest the MF – we were told 1% average increase/year when we made our first purchase! We did buy through the developer, which I now realize was a mistake, but we justified it by using our incentive SPG points to take our 2 kids to Europe for 2 truly fabulous vacations – London and Italy with the WVK incentive points, and France and Spain with the WLR incentive points. We used FF miles, and stayed at some wonderful Starwood properties for free or cash and points. We also like to visit new places, so we really need the SO.

I do have one (stupid?) question – why is it that everyone is aware of the Mandatory/Voluntary resort thing except for me? I had no idea about this, and still can’t find any mention of it in the documents we signed. Clearly the sales people forgot to mention this in their presentation. I did some research ahead of time, and was aware that TS are not investments, and we would never be able to sell these properties, but I hoped that if the time came, and we couldn’t use them or afford the MFs, we could sign them over to our kids to enjoy. I guess it’s not an issue with WKV, but I hope they like Cancun.

 

[HenryT]

Same here -- except we bought ours for going to instead of for trading. That was in 2002.

In 2003, we sold it for the same amount we paid for it & bought a 3BR Diamond unit at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas right across the street -- for approximately $1,500 less.

Yesterday, 1 of our TUG-BBS colleagues bought a Cypress Pointe 3BR Diamond unit via eBay for $1.

Times change, no ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

It's a good thing that Cypress Pointe is a well managed resort. At the current selling price it is definitely worth more to own than to sell. Given that it has very reasonable maintenance fees it still makes sense to keep it. I have gotten my money's worth from this resort so even if I had to sell it for $1 it wouldn't be a loss.

 

[DeniseM]

I do have one (stupid?) question – why is it that everyone is aware of the Mandatory/Voluntary resort thing except for me? I had no idea about this, and still can’t find any mention of it in the documents we signed. Clearly the sales people forgot to mention this in their presentation.

Welcome to TUG!

I don't think most of us knew about it before we came to TUG. These terms both relate to resales, and sales people don't even want you to know that the resale market exists, so they very carefully avoid anything related to it.

 

[DanCali]

I do have one (stupid?) question – why is it that everyone is aware of the Mandatory/Voluntary resort thing except for me? I had no idea about this, and still can’t find any mention of it in the documents we signed. Clearly the sales people forgot to mention this in their presentation. I did some research ahead of time, and was aware that TS are not investments, and we would never be able to sell these properties, but I hoped that if the time came, and we couldn’t use them or afford the MFs, we could sign them over to our kids to enjoy. I guess it’s not an issue with WKV, but I hope they like Cancun.

The mandatory/voluntary thing is not something Starwood advertises. If it was up to them all resorts would be voluntary but they couldn't change the mandatory designation of the initial resorts.

The reason they have voluntary resorts is that if you are at a sales presentation previewing say Princville Villas and dare to ask the salesperson about the resale market, they tell you that resale units can't trade in SVN and have no StarPoints (the 5 mandatory resorts are the exception regarding SOs and a nuisance to Starwood in that sense but there is no reason to tell you you can buy in Orlando or Scottsdale and trade into Princeville...). So that reasoning apparently convinces many people to buy, without necessarily realizing that, because the unit they paid $55,000 for is voluntary, it is worth close to nothing on the resale market (a good salesperson will even convnce people the units appreciate in value as Starwood raises developer prices).

 

[tlpnet]

I do have one (stupid?) question – why is it that everyone is aware of the Mandatory/Voluntary resort thing except for me? I had no idea about this, and still can’t find any mention of it in the documents we signed. Clearly the sales people forgot to mention this in their presentation. I did some research ahead of time, and was aware that TS are not investments, and we would never be able to sell these properties, but I hoped that if the time came, and we couldn’t use them or afford the MFs, we could sign them over to our kids to enjoy. I guess it’s not an issue with WKV, but I hope they like Cancun.

Actually, if you're transferring to immediate family, StarOptions and StarPoints conversion do transfer on Voluntary resorts, so those benefits will transfer for WLR as well.

-tim

 

[Ken555]

Once upon a time...

Hi all. I've been a member of TUG for four years. I got serious about timeshares when my cousin purchased a unit in Mexico. He's a pretty smart guy, and I thought there must be something to it since he decided to purchase. Of course, he overpaid by a lot - but that's another story. Until then I had not been traveling as often as I wanted, was constantly stressed out at work, and could not schedule a vacation. The idea of timeshares resonated with me as a way of forcing myself to get out of town on a regular basis. Long story short, it's worked very well for me.

I spent some time researching timeshares online and came to realize that I needed to see them for myself before purchasing. I found a very nice resale agent who offered to rent me a few nights in Palm Springs at one of the timeshares. While I wasn't too happy with the timeshare that I stayed at, it gave me an appreciation of the "average" timeshare. I visited all the Marriott's in Palm Springs and the Westin Mission Hills. At that time, in 2005, Starwood was selling Westin Mission Hills North. I bought preconstruction, which required $1000 and the remainder once construction began. After a year, I requested a refund and, as many of you know, that property never developed. Starwood did offer me every other year at Maui instead at the same price of about $21,000 but I declined. At about this time I also rented a week at the Marriott Custom House in Boston -- which is a fantastic building and a great location.

When I returned home from Palm Springs I did some more research online and found a resale unit for Westin Mission Hills every other year summer week. I bought this at (what was) a great price, of about $4000. This was my first unit which allowed me to get my feet wet and truly experience what timeshares are all about. I learned fairly quickly that my ownership was best used by trading in Interval since I could rent weeks at Westin Mission Hills for less than my maintenance fee as a getaway week. Starting in 2005 I have split the week and deposited two, 1-bed units in II. As some of you know, I've been able to get some incredible trades with these units. I've used these 1-bed deposits to get: WKORV twice in 2-bed units, Grand Timber Lodge in a 2-bed and 3-bed, and Marriott Timber Lodge in a 2-bed. (GTL 3-bed is next month!)

After my first stay at Westin Mission Hills, I decided to purchase a Westin Kierland Platinum 2-bed with the intent of using the SOs to trade and visit other resorts in the off-season. This has worked out extremely well for me as my ability to travel is not restricted by school schedule. I sympathize with all of you that have calendar restraints on your vacation timing. I've been to Maui three times, Lagunamar, Princeville, Mission Hills, Scottsdale (Kierland), and Harborside twice using these StarOptions in four years for a total of 71 nights (mostly in 1-bed premium units) and an average of $62.89/night in MFs/taxes.

For various reasons I decided to purchase two Sheraton Vistana Resort units last year. I'm actually quite happy I did, as I was able to obtain two 2-bed Harborside units for last month via II (just returned from that trip last week, where we had a small family reunion of 12 people that everyone enjoyed immensely). I also found that one of these purchases included an extra week at Interval (which was used for one of the Harborside reservations), which was a very nice bonus. For 2010 I've exchanged these units for a 1-bed unit at WKORV in January and a 2-bed unit in May via II.

There's a lot of discussion right now about II and Starwood which impacts our ability to trade in the future. None of us know how it's going to work out, but I have confidence that our ownership will continue to provide valuable holidays that we will enjoy immensely. In addition, I have been quite happy with the ability to purchase getaway weeks. Over the years, I've purchased weeks for myself, friends and family at Westin Mission Hills, Marriott Timber Lodge, Marriott Grand Château, Four Seasons Residence Club in Scottsdale, and Harborside.

With prices as low as they are I'm still giving thought to changing my ownership makeup. Even selling my SVR weeks for $1 would be fine since the value for my Harborside trades makes up for any maintenance fee and special assessments that I've paid to date. So I'm thinking of getting rid of those weeks and perhaps replacing them with another brand -- Marriott or Hyatt most likely. On the other hand, I'm not against purchasing another mandatory Starwood unit to get more StarOptions.

I'm definitely of the opinion that there is no good reason for me to purchase any timeshare from any developer. I don't see any advantage -- to me -- for the "perks" that the developers try to include with a sale as compared to ownership rights on the resale market. I applaud all of you whom have reached elite status with Starwood and know that the hotel upgrades and other benefits you receive are exactly what you desired when purchasing. Timeshares are a great and fairly flexible method of vacationing. Unfortunately, they also include bureaucratic and somewhat incomprehensible policies which make us question the managements goals. If we were simply renting we wouldn't have these questions but then we would most likely spend more money to have these great vacations that we rave about. I'm looking forward to many more years of utilizing my timeshares and I'm sure you are, too!

Welcome to all the new TUG members, and sorry for all the rambling!

 

[blackfly]

Hello, my name is Jim and I joined TUG earlier this year at the advice of Barbara (PointsJunkie), who I met poolside at WSJ. My wife and I had just taken the timeshare tour and were considering the developer’s offer when Barbara swam up and began sharing her (vast) knowledge of the timeshare business. Thankfully, we didn’t sign a thing that day—except the bar bill.

Once back home, we began looking on the resale market and with the help of Jim (James1975NY) found a great (?) deal on a 1-bedroom. David (DavidnRobin) kindly offered some poignant advice on the state of affairs at WSJ, as well a closing attorney on nearby St. Thomas. After a protracted closing period (you all know the story about the taxes down there) we became owners about a month ago.

I have found TUG members to be incredibly friendly and forthcoming with information. I log on every couple days to see what’s happening – and undoubtedly learn something new each time. Someday, I hope to return the many favors. Until then, it will have to be a free round of drinks poolside at WSJ – week 16.

 

[folashade]

Hi my name is Folashade and I live in NYC. I work for a financial services company and travel a ton for work. Around 25 weeks out of the year. But since its less than previous yrs I'm ok with it. I also love to travel for personal trips as well as often as I can. I've been a member for a while but rarely post

I purchased at VV 4 yrs ago from the developer. If I knew then what I know now more than likely I would not have purchased from the developer. But it works for me since I seem to have a ton of family reunions in Orlando, Myrtle Beach and have been able to use my TS over those long wkend dates. I also have used it for days in Phx and at Harborside. Right now I'm thinking of picking up a sml SDO timeshare and test the waters

I'm still looking to learn more about the timeshare industry and admit to being a Starwood junkie which also played a factor in purchasing my first timeshare. I am unhappy with the changes on the timeshare front but we shall see.

Since I travel so much I'm fortunate that I have a ton of airline and hotel points for various companies and have a ton AMEX pts and Starwood points from the Starwood Card that I use to defray the cost of all my personal trips

Upcoming travel plans include Rome a week from tuesday for 5 days (Starwood property free due to points and used points for the air) and three weeks in Peru in Feb

 

[SCMom]

Introduction

Hi Everyone,

My name is Emily and I live in San Clemente, CA. My husband and I have four boys, ages 8, 5, 3 and 2. I am a CPA, but now a stay at home, homeschooling mom.

We bought our first timeshare at HGVC MarBrisa in 2006. It was, of course, from the developer, but at least it was pre-construction pricing. We didn't know anything about timeshares at the time, but we were there on a promotional trip to Legoland. Our two nights in the hotel room were kind of crazy -- we had two kids in travel cribs and I had just found out I was pregnant with our fourth. At 7:30 we turned out the lights and we just lay there, hoping the kids would go to sleep. The next morning, room service breakfast was almost $50 from a reasonable priced adjacent restaurant, after we ordered milk for sippy cups and all such things.

Then they took us on the tour of the proposed units -- there were bedrooms, and a kitchen and a whirlpool bath! I couldn't believe that I could vacation like that instead of the hotel room scenario. Our timeshare saleslady was very nice, not at all pushy and we really liked her. She was a CPA who also used to work in public accounting and she owned several timeshares that she loved and told us all her stories about her fun vacations. We did not want to buy under a time limit, but her manager said that the offer was only good until we walked out the door. Well, we walked, but decided the next day that we would like to do it. And, surprise, the offer was still good!:hysterical: We thought we would come to San Diego each year from our home in Ventura County, CA.

Our first trip was with our bonus points to the San Luis Bay Inn in Avila Beach, CA, near some family. We loved it. In the meantime, we had moved to San Clemente, only about 25 minutes from Carlsbad. So it seemed funny to vacation somewhere that we could easily drive to. Our first HGVC trip was last June to Vegas. We went in gold season and used our points to book a five night stay for us, along with three to four night stays for family friends, my sister and her family and my dad. It was great and we loved the Hilton property. We went to the "update" and were shocked to have a pushy, weird salesman that we did not like at all. We were enjoying our time at the resort, and would have considered adding to our membership, but were surprised to see that the offer was for over $30,000 for a week! My husband was not working at the time, so we said, "No thanks!" We got the hard sell and left with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths.

From our room, I googled resales. Because our MarBrisa is set up so that HGVC points don't transfer to resale owners, I had always assumed that all timeshares were like that. However, I soon found out that was not the case when I found TUG. I started researching like crazy...

Since June, we have purchased an additonal 5,000 HGVC package on ebay which is due to close next week and a 2 bedroom at SDO, also on ebay. The HGVC is great for extended family vacations -- in May we are going to Waikaloa on the Big Island and have three two bedrooms booked. I love the flexibility of the points and the ability to borrow and roll forward points and to maximize based on lower seasons.

The SDO is great for just our family trips and having access to more locations that HGVC. We just got back from a week at the Hyatt Pinon Pointe in Sedona, AZ. In January we are going to the Hyatt High Sierra Lodge. Each of those trades are a one-bedroom SDO to a two bedroom. My husband's aunt is going to WPORV in January courtesy of half of our 2010 week. I know things are crazy and up in the air with the new rules, but SDO has been working well for us so far.

I can't believe it has been only 5 months since I knew nothing about timesharing. Thanks to all of you who share your knowledge on this great forum!

Blessings,

Emily

 

[Captron]

Greetings all,

Here goes...
The family is me, DW Kami, Kalina (4yrs), Kianna (2yrs), and Kaya (10wks). We live in Salt Lake City (metro area) and we both work in health care, me in cardiology and DW in pharmacy (MICU/Professor). (That is right - it is Dr. and Mr. - and never shall I live it down) I work for the "Intermountain" Obama keeps referring to as a model. HA! I am pretty sure I have you all beat on the cold front. I am a Canadian boy. "Home" is Edmonton Alberta Canada. I finally left when I decided I had seen -40 deg (C or F - it is the same at that point) too many times for one persons life time. (One time after leaving for a long weekend and skiing when the temp at the BOTTOM of the hill was -32degC I returned to find the grease in the bearings of my car frozen solid so I had to wait for it to warm up before moving it and shattering everything!) 5 yr pit stop in NC for DW to get her doctorate then here to SLC the summer before the Olympics (nice timing).

Twelve years ago or so I bought my first TS pre-construction from this "Embassy" company in MB, SC. (~$10.2k EY 2BR LO) I had just had a terrible car accident and thought if I had to have long term issues (T 9/10 disk herniation, etc) I might as well get some long term pleasure out of the settlement. Following that purchase I came online to learn more and happened across a guy selling his mothers TS in Orlando (Origingal Vistana Courts owner) (~$3500 inc. closing and transfer). I upgraded that to a Vistana Cascades EY 2BR LO for ~$8.5k (contracts written as 1 odd, 1 even). Sheraton then got involved and took over management of both properties. About 5 yrs ago at an "Update" :hysterical: at SVR I bought PGA EOY 2BR (~$10k) an achieved the retro of all retros. With one EOY unit they rolled all 3 contracts into SVN. 2 yrs later I actually stayed at PGA and although I am a golfer and the property is nice it was SMALL. On the same trip we upgraded that to a EY SVR Fountains 2BR (post SA) (again ~$10k). (I should have just bought it for $12.5k and kept PGA and had something else to retro - but OH WELL)! I have since added Grand Pacific Palisades 2BR ($450) for west coast quick hops from SLC and SDO EOY 2BR LO trader - JUST IN TIME FOR THE RULE CHANGE!!! . I guess that puts me in for about $33k purchase prices/upgrades for 4.5 wks/yr, not the best but not too bad!

We have had some truly terrific vacations because of TS. We have stayed in properties we NEVER would have stayed in at locations we likely would not have visited. We have exchanged 1BR SBP for Hawaii 2BR three times, we have been to Orlando ~12x, Florida beaches 2x, So Cal. beaches (San Diego/Carlsbad) 5x, SBP 2x with one more coming next spring.

I was another of those people who did not vacation regularly. I now spend A LOT of time "figurin'" our next trip or one after that or one after that etc. (I have started planning 2014 folks!) School schedules are going to make things more challenging soon but we will do well regardless. I DO call (religiously) exactly at 12 months or 8 months (13 mos for my CA property) to get the place I want at the time I want.

I too despise what SVO management is doing to my ownerships. THEY DO NOT OWN THE PROPERTIES!!! I was going to buy some more units for more SO to have 2 weeks of 148k options BUT NOT NOW!!! (Lurkers you see this???) I am currently considering Worldmark ownership. I like the number of west coast properties and the CAP ON MF INCREASES!!! Please PM me if you have anything about Worldmark - tips, tricks, the good, the bad or the ugly - all is welcome!

To those new in these here parts WELCOME! Have fun! Please realize that these are TERRIFIC properties in GREAT locations! It is the upper mgmt that SUCKS and unfortunately that is reflected in a lot of negativity here. Weed through the emotion. Take what you can learn - there is LOTS to be learned from these people. Enjoy your ownership and TREASURE the memories you have/will create with your family. This IS an investment - it just pays back with lower stress, INCREDIBLE experiences and FANTASTIC memories (rather than $$$ you can't take with you in the end anyway). PLEASE, NEVER hesitate to PM me to ask a question or for clarification or to CORRECT me about a comment made. I am far from the most experienced here and still have lots to learn. I try to share what I can.

See you on the boards!

 

[sherilah]

Hi! I'm Sheri, and I've been on Tug for over a year. We own at Lagunamar, and visited there this past July.....and loved it! We've done 2 trips WMH, with a 3rd in December, and just got back from WKORVN a few weeks ago (and loved it as well).

We reside in Southern California (both my husband and I are natives), about a half a mile from the beach. Currently, I'm a stay at home mom....taught 1st grade for 5 years prior to having my son, worked in the music biz prior to teaching for 8 years. One of my hobbies (though it used to be the center of my life) is playing the drums. Back in the late 80's, I toured the country with an all female rock band!

I love Tug.....especially since I'm inquisitive by nature!!! I had a taste this am of just how tough it is to get into Harborside. My alarm clock didn't go off, so I woke up 1/2 hour past 9 am eastern time....they had nothing!!! At least I was able to book Lagunamar as a back up.

Looking forward to more great trips, and hopefully, some new properties in the future....

 

[tomandrobin]

Back in the late 80's, I toured the country with an all female rock band!

Ah, would love to meet up poolside at a Starwood Resort and hear that back story!

I love Tug.....especially since I'm inquisitive by nature!!! I had a taste this am of just how tough it is to get into Harborside. My alarm clock didn't go off, so I woke up 1/2 hour past 9 am eastern time....they had nothing!!! At least I was able to book Lagunamar as a back up.

For that very reason is why we bought a Harborside unit last year. We were tired so trying every week and getting shut out.

 

[rickandcindy23]

When I first saw this topic, I thought Denise had gone mad, saying she is new here. Then I thought it was just for new folks. We just got back from Disneyworld late Friday, so I am late to post.

We have owned timeshares for 28 years, and we bought our first and second from the developer. I wish we could go back and undo those two purchases. :rofl: We could have bought a very nice car back then for what we paid for each week. The first we bought in 1981, the second in 1984.

Found TUG after a salesperson for Wyndham mentioned it, and I am ever so grateful. I have been addicted to both this site and to timeshare ever since. We already owned ten weeks when we joined TUG, and now we own many more. Rick thinks I am nuts, and our grown daughter and sons call this some kind of obsession. Insulting! But who gets to stay in Disney and various Hawaii resorts because of MY obsession? THE MARRIED KIDS DO! :rofl:

We own too many weeks, some of which are at Sheraton's Broadway Plantation, and then just one EOY even at Sheraton's Desert Oasis. We bought SBP to stay in Myrtle Beach sometime, originally, but now we have enough to stay there 2 1/2 weeks a year, and we will never do that. What to do, what to do?

 

[LisaRex]

I love Tug.....especially since I'm inquisitive by nature!!! I had a taste this am of just how tough it is to get into Harborside. My alarm clock didn't go off, so I woke up 1/2 hour past 9 am eastern time....they had nothing!!! At least I was able to book Lagunamar as a back up.

You were better off sleeping in. I can say with 100% confidence that you'll never get into Harborside (or WSJ) during the summer with StarOptions. Why?

1) Let's assume HRA's 2010 MFs will be around $3k. That's nearly double what you pay at WLR. The only resorts a lot of HRA owners would even consider trading to are the ones that have equivalent MFs because otherwise they'd be far better off financially simply renting their unit out and then renting where they want to go.

2)Summer is coded as gold season at HRA. That means that if an HRA owner did decide to check out other SVN resorts, here's how many SOs he'd be given:

3 bdrm lockoff: 125,900*
2 bdrm lockoff: 95,700
2 bdrm: 81,000
1 bdrm premium: 51,700
1 bdrm: 44,000

So a 3 bdrm summer HRA owner, who pays double what you pay in MFs, isn't even allotted sufficient SOs to trade into a 2 bdrm at your resort during the summer. Nor will he be given given enough SOs to trade into a 2 bdrm in Arizona, California, Colorado during high season, or Hawaii ever.

Now, they could theoretically get into WSJ, because they've been allotted the same crazy low number of SOs. But for the same reasons that scare away HRA owners, WSJ owners aren't budging either. End result is a stalemate with everyone wanting to get INTO these resorts and very few owners crazy enough to trade OUT.

"Honey! Instead of using our 3 bdrm villa in Atlantis this year, we're going to trade for a 1 bdrm in Cancun!"

3) Take heart. Even HRA owners who own gold weeks have difficulty getting into their own resort during the summer weeks. How frustrating would that be?

Enjoy WLR! I've heard it's beautiful.

 

[tomandrobin]

You were better off sleeping in. I can say with 100% confidence that you'll never get into Harborside (or WSJ) during the summer with StarOptions. Why?

I hate to tell you this, but we got a room this morning at HRA. :whoopie:

 

[Transit]

I hate to tell you this, but we got a room this morning at HRA. :whoopie:

It pays to be persistant.

 

[grgs]

I hate to tell you this, but we got a room this morning at HRA. :whoopie:

Great! What size unit? I don't think it's impossible if you're persistent, but larger units seem hard to come by.

Glorian

 

[pointsjunkie]

Hello, my name is Jim and I joined TUG earlier this year at the advice of Barbara (PointsJunkie), who I met poolside at WSJ. My wife and I had just taken the timeshare tour and were considering the developer’s offer when Barbara swam up and began sharing her (vast) knowledge of the timeshare business. Thankfully, we didn’t sign a thing that day—except the bar bill.

Once back home, we began looking on the resale market and with the help of Jim (James1975NY) found a great (?) deal on a 1-bedroom. David (DavidnRobin) kindly offered some poignant advice on the state of affairs at WSJ, as well a closing attorney on nearby St. Thomas. After a protracted closing period (you all know the story about the taxes down there) we became owners about a month ago.

I have found TUG members to be incredibly friendly and forthcoming with information. I log on every couple days to see what’s happening – and undoubtedly learn something new each time. Someday, I hope to return the many favors. Until then, it will have to be a free round of drinks poolside at WSJ – week 16.

hi jim, how are you? won't be there next year. will be at wkv for 3 weeks in feb. doing a ot of timesharing in 2010.5 trips all timeshares.

 

[GrayFal]

I hate to tell you this, but we got a room this morning at HRA. :whoopie:

It pays to be persistent.

The squeaky wheel!

Hi, I have been a TS owner and TUGger since 2001 - my first 4 weeks of ownership were developer purchases with Marriott, I have sold two of those weeks and bought a third platinum week.

After two years, I realized I needed different ownerships to see different resorts - I wanted an RCI trader and now have 2. And after staying at Westin Mission Hills, I realized I liked the Starwood family and looked for a resale week. I purchased PGA first but sold it as it did not trade as well as other Starwood weeks.
I currently own 2 SBP which I use to trade to other Starwood properties thru II - I did not feel the need to buy direct because we are empty nesters and can travel during non-school holiday times. I am writing this from my lovely room at Westin Lagunamar

I will be very disappointed if the current SVN/II situation continues as I can't see me depositing with II in a 'generic' way - SVN doesn't own my week, I do and I will decide what I do with it.

I own a week right on the ocean in St Thomas and purchased Wyndham points to be able to spend more time there.
Same with the Morritt's Tortuga - I have 4 oceanfront weeks - paradise! (sound famiiar DeniseM?)

Over the past 8 years, I have bought and sold many weeks as my needs change - I could probably stand to get rid of a few but I like them all for various reasons

There are worse addictions, right ???

 

[DeniseM]

I have 4 oceanfront weeks - paradise! (sound famiiar DeniseM?)

Oh yeah....once you've had ocean front....you'll never go back!

I just need to sell my DH and buy one with more Vaca time!

 

[Troopers]

Hi, I’m Troopers.

My DW and I have a preschooler daughter and an 18 month old toddler son. We live in the SF Bay Area. I’m a land use/land development consultant and my DW works parts time in the consumer goods industry. We are both in our early 30s and relatively new to timesharing.

Our first timeshare (WKORV OV) was purchased several years ago. Thanks to TUG, we were fortunate to have purchased resale. Within the last year +/-, we have added a WKORV OFD (resale) and DVC points (retail) to our portfolio. We purchased our weeks primarily because my DW and I are religious about our kids sleep (we actually hired a sleep consultant)…we needed the extra rooms and bathrooms TS offered.

Despite the various issues with Starwood, we’re quite happy with our ownership. The issues are non-issues for me.

 

[sherilah]

I knew I should've set the alarm this am. I just had knee surgery and can't bare any weight on my left leg, so I'm a bit out of sorts!!!

Sheri

 

[LisaRex]

I hate to tell you this, but we got a room this morning at HRA. :whoopie:

You own there!