How to book Mexico?

[brookberry]

Sorry for the silly question but I couldn't seem to find an answer. How do I reserve any of the resorts in Mexico? The online reservation system does not have the country listed (only Scotland and Europe).

Thanks!

 

[Seaport104]

Sorry for the silly question but I couldn't seem to find an answer. How do I reserve any of the resorts in Mexico? The online reservation system does not have the country listed (only Scotland and Europe).

Thanks!

You will need to call the HGVC reservation number to check availability and reserve the Mexican affiliates.

 

[brookberry]

Thanks Seaport!

 

[zchen86]

How difficult is it to book a week in FA Cancun during the 9 month period for March?

 

[Seaport104]

How difficult is it to book a week in FA Cancun during the 9 month period for March?

Sorry I don't have any personal experience in this. For the Mexico resorts, I've used my other timeshares to book since it was cheaper to use those than my HGVC points.

 

[newportbeach]

HGVC thru RCI is a good deal, and you just call RCI assuming you have HGVC points. I have RCI timeshares that I own so I frequently just book thru RCI.

 

[Vacationfuntips]

I recently booked Fiesta Americana Villas Cancun (FAVC) with RCI using the Wyndham/ RCI Portal. A 1 bedroom was 77,000 points in Wyndham /RCI currency - I think this would be in Gold Season if booked with HGVC for a June trip? There was also the $209 RCI exchange fee. I thought this was a decent price for 1 week in Mexico without having to select all-inclusive which adds on to the cost of the vacation. Many RCI properties have all-inclusive mandatory for Cancun, MX. This property looked good to me - I guess I will see soon enough? Last year, I stayed at Melia/Paradisus Cancun which I loved! It was an RCI exchange too.

My cost with RCI was $401 (in my points currency) + 209 (exchange fee) = $610 for the week for FAVC.

I really like Hilton properties and am thinking that if I buy another timeshare system in the future, I may choose Hilton? I would have liked II to add on as an exchange company to have more selections - Hilton is only with RCI, right? I am trying to learn more about Hilton and HGVC. I have much reading to do.

I like the resorts that I can go to within the Hilton System. However, I do not know enough about HGVC and am not very well read on them yet.

I don't even know if this is a good price for an RCI exchange? I don't know if it is a good price if I owned and was able to book through HGVC either? Does anyone know or can comment about this?

I think the Hilton points chart if I read correctly that it would be 3400 points for the week? I don't know what maintenance fees are either for this FAVC property? So if anyone knows, what does this translate to in booking fees/ maintenace, etc...?

Cynthia T.

 

[presley]

I recently booked Fiesta Americana Villas Cancun (FAVC) with RCI using the Wyndham/ RCI Portal. A 1 bedroom was 77,000 points in Wyndham /RCI currency - I think this would be in Gold Season if booked with HGVC for a June trip? There was also the $209 RCI exchange fee. I thought this was a decent price for 1 week in Mexico without having to select all-inclusive which adds on to the cost of the vacation. Many RCI properties have all-inclusive mandatory for Cancun, MX. This property looked good to me - I guess I will see soon enough? Last year, I stayed at Melia/Paradisus Cancun which I loved! It was an RCI exchange too.

My cost with RCI was $401 (in my points currency) + 209 (exchange fee) = $610 for the week for FAVC.

I really like Hilton properties and am thinking that if I buy another timeshare system in the future, I may choose Hilton? I would have liked II to add on as an exchange company to have more selections - Hilton is only with RCI, right? I am trying to learn more about Hilton and HGVC. I have much reading to do.

I like the resorts that I can go to within the Hilton System. However, I do not know enough about HGVC and am not very well read on them yet.

I don't even know if this is a good price for an RCI exchange? I don't know if it is a good price if I owned and was able to book through HGVC either? Does anyone know or can comment about this?

I think the Hilton points chart if I read correctly that it would be 3400 points for the week? I don't know what maintenance fees are either for this FAVC property? So if anyone knows, what does this translate to in booking fees/ maintenace, etc...?

Cynthia T.

That week is 3400 HGVC points if booked through Hilton. I don't know what the MFs are if you own through the property. If you own hilton points and use those, MFs will vary greatly depending on where you own. I have a 3400 point contract that runs about $1K/year and that is on the high end.

More often than not, it is less expensive to trade into a Hilton affiliate via RCI (or II if trading for Club Intrawest) than to own HGVC and use those points to book. The benefit to owning is that you can choose your exact room type and exactly how many days you want. And, yes, Hilton is only RCI affiliated. We have a corporate portal much like what Wyndham's sounds like.

 

[Vacationfuntips]

That week is 3400 HGVC points if booked through Hilton. I don't know what the MFs are if you own through the property. If you own hilton points and use those, MFs will vary greatly depending on where you own. I have a 3400 point contract that runs about $1K/year and that is on the high end.

More often than not, it is less expensive to trade into a Hilton affiliate via RCI (or II if trading for Club Intrawest) than to own HGVC and use those points to book. The benefit to owning is that you can choose your exact room type and exactly how many days you want. And, yes, Hilton is only RCI affiliated. We have a corporate portal much like what Wyndham's sounds like.

Thank you for your post!

Questions, questions...??? I am wondering about Hilton and how it works? With Wyndham maintenance fees are not standard across the board - they vary from resort to resort. With Wyndham you do not buy into tiers such a platinum, gold or bronze. You use your points currency to determine your price based upon how many points you have. You can select any season you want, and any size unit that you want (based upon if you have the points) and if there is availability? You get 13 months out ahead to book at your home resort and 10 months out to book the rest.

If I was to use my other Wyndham contract to book, I could have booked the FAVC Mexico vacation for $376 + 209 = $585 and saved $25 additional dollars off the vacation. I was just happy to get a vacation under $100 per night. I was not able to book this property with Last Call. However, RCI has others such as Mazatlan (mostly), Cabo San Lucas,& Puerto Vallarto.

Using RCI, for the El Cid properties in Mazatlan for a 1 bedroom in Last Call are $269 for the week in June with no all inclusive mandatory daily per person fees (making it a super deal). It would cost much more $ to book with Wyndham points the very same vacation (El Cid is a current affiliate of Wyndham's)

RCI has Hacienda Del Mar Resort in Cabo San Lucas (Starwood affiliate) for $244 for the week in June for a studio.

Most people shy away from Mexico in June, but we always go to the Beach anyway in June! June is hot wear I live too. Airfare prices are the key cost for me to go to Mexico, not the hotel price itself. When I would go to Rehoboth Beach in DE (no timeshare we would pay around $2500 for the week to rent a Condo. Unfortunately, There are no timeshares that I know of in Rehoboth Beach !

In Mexico, with RCI the resorts usually have good price points. When I stayed last year for Christmas week in Mexico at Melia Paradisus Cancun (before it became all-inclusive mandatory) it was 52,000 points or $291 (for my Wyndham points) plus $199 totaling $490 for a Prime time week with Ocean Front View. I think Mexico properties have better than the normal exchange fee rate than other places? Usually, much less points are needed. With Wyndham/RCI exchange it is NOT typical to get deals like this. For Mexico, it seems RCI exchange is the way to go to get great pricing!

RCI has been a blessing to my family. I never thought I would get such wonderful vacations for the prices that I pay!

HGVC has the type of resorts that I am after without having to exchange. I may consider joining HGVC - I have much to learn and the system?

Would roughly a 10,000-12,000 contract be equal to in cost? I am sure it varies like Wyndham's for the Home Resort owned? Also, what size unit would I get for the $? Any information links or suggestions to learn more about Hilton? I have only seen point charts and resort descriptions - but I do not know how the system works? Lots of reading too.!

Cynthia T.

 

[presley]

HGVC has the type of resorts that I am after without having to exchange. I may consider joining HGVC - I have much to learn and the system?

Would roughly a 10,000-12,000 contract be equal to in cost? I am sure it varies like Wyndham's for the Home Resort owned? Also, what size unit would I get for the $? Any information links or suggestions to learn more about Hilton? I have only seen point charts and resort descriptions - but I do not know how the system works? Lots of reading too.!

Read all of the stickies in the HGVC forum as well as the HGVC info in tug2. That is where I learned most of the system before I bought in. Overall, it's a very nice system, but there are fees for anything that you do. It's expensive to own and while flexible, you pay a lot for the flexibility.

Each resort sells at their own pricing. You can buy a one bedroom in a silver season for much less than buying the same one bedroom in a platinum season, but you pay the same MFs every year and with platinum, you get more points. You can look at the broker's sites to get an idea of what resales are going for.
If you are looking at one contract with that number of points, I see resales starting about $18K with the majority of them being well over $20K. The MFs are around $1500./year if you include taxes and club membership.

The other way to do it would be to buy a couple gold season contracts. Your buy in would probably be less than buying one platinum for same amount of points. Your MFs would be double since you'd be paying for 2 contracts. Usually, if you do the math on the breakeven point between the 2, they would even out (purchase price and MFs) over 10-20 years.

 

[Vacationfuntips]

Read all of the stickies in the HGVC forum as well as the HGVC info in tug2. That is where I learned most of the system before I bought in. Overall, it's a very nice system, but there are fees for anything that you do. It's expensive to own and while flexible, you pay a lot for the flexibility.

Each resort sells at their own pricing. You can buy a one bedroom in a silver season for much less than buying the same one bedroom in a platinum season, but you pay the same MFs every year and with platinum, you get more points. You can look at the broker's sites to get an idea of what resales are going for.
If you are looking at one contract with that number of points, I see resales starting about $18K with the majority of them being well over $20K. The MFs are around $1500./year if you include taxes and club membership.

The other way to do it would be to buy a couple gold season contracts. Your buy in would probably be less than buying one platinum for same amount of points. Your MFs would be double since you'd be paying for 2 contracts. Usually, if you do the math on the breakeven point between the 2, they would even out (purchase price and MFs) over 10-20 years.

Thank you!

I am looking at ebay re-sales and have noticed that HGVC points are selling for much more than most Wyndham re-sales.

The maintenance fees seem similar or higher? Wyndham is tricky in that certain resorts give a buyer an edge because maintenance costs can be much less for the amount of points purchased at different resorts. Additionally, with developer purchased points at VIP levels, Wyndham offers unit size upgrades and 25 -50% off points discounts for Express reservations. One Wyndham points owner can get much more for their points than another even owning at the same Home Resort location versus one that has different maintenance fees.

Are there any restrictions for HGVC re-sale purchases and booking vacations versus HGVC developer purchases? Can you book more than 1 vacation for the $1500 average maintenance fee?

Cynthia T.

 

[SmithOp]

About the only restriction HGVC has on resale is that it won't qualify for the Elite levels, which would give the discounted fees and upgrades like W. The best way to stretch HGVC points are to book smaller units or the off seasons, gold/silver/bronze. Joining SFX is another way, they give me two bonus weeks for HGVC deposits. They also have tons of Mexico weeks if that is what you like, in fact anyone can book them from their sell-off listings but I think they will try to sign you up as a member.

https://www.sfx-resorts.com/public_selloff.asp

 

[Vacationfuntips]

About the only restriction HGVC has on resale is that it won't qualify for the Elite levels, which would give the discounted fees and upgrades like W. The best way to stretch HGVC points are to book smaller units or the off seasons, gold/silver/bronze. Joining SFX is another way, they give me two bonus weeks for HGVC deposits. They also have tons of Mexico weeks if that is what you like, in fact anyone can book them from their sell-off listings but I think they will try to sign you up as a member.

https://www.sfx-resorts.com/public_selloff.asp

Thank you for your post and for the website link! I am not familiar with SFX. They seem to be another choice to use as an exchange company? They also have have posted some last minute type of deals? Interesting? I have much to learn!

Cynthia T.

 

[DeniseM]

Thank you for your post and for the website link! I am not familiar with SFX but they seem to offer last minute type of deals? Interesting?

Cynthia T.

It's an independent exchange company - all of the exchange companies offer rentals as well - often discounted at the last minute.

 

[Vacationfuntips]

Thanks Denise! I just came to that same conclusion while editing my post. There is just so much reading involved in learning about how to use different timeshares, systems, exchange companies etc...

Cynthia T.