Intro and a question

[Holly in South Jersey]

I just joined TUG this week and have spent hours reading the threads. I 've learned so much already!

My name is Holly and I live in South Jersey, 15 miles from Philly. I've bought my first timeshare, and it's in the process of having the deed recorded. My DD's MIL's best friend is ill and wanted to sell 2 timeshares at Shawnee, so my other daughter and I each bought one. I have a title company handling things, and it's taking about forever, but we paid a decent price, and are each getting two weeks that are banked. As soon as the deeds are recorded and we can get the resort transferred, we can join RCI and Claire will deposit the weeks to our accounts. We'll have a fixed week 18 and one week 37.

So here's my question. I've been reading reviews of various reports, and occasionally someone will say the bed was totally awful, lumpy or whatever. What can you do? Do you call the office and say you need a new mattress? Is there any recourse, or do you just not sleep well the whole stay?

And here's a second question. Do most resorts have WIFI? I don't know that my husband would survive a week without the internet!

Thanks!
Holly

 

[Greg G]

Holly

If the bed's lumpy and you can't sleep call the front office and tell them your problem. In general a resort wants you to have an enjoyable stay.
If they don't do anything then call your exchange company.

Greg

 

[DaveNV]

Hi Holly, and welcome to TUG. You'll find a lot of great information here.

To briefly answer your questions, I think the lumpy mattress question depends on the resort you're staying in, and what is available. If they have other units free, they'd probably be able to move you to a different unit. If it was THAT bad of a mattress, a replacement might be in order, but they might not have an extra one on hand. So yes, definitely ask the management people when there is a problem like that.

As for Wifi? I'd say most probably don't have it, or may have limited access in a common area, like the resort lobby. If your husband needs it that bad, you'd be best served bringing it with you. I have a special cell phone setup that turns it into a modem for my laptop. So anywhere I can get a cell phone signal, I can access the Internet. Makes it very convenient, and I don't need to rely on the sometimes unreliable availability of access in a timeshare.

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[vacationhopeful]

Hi Holly -
As a fellow South Jersey-ite, welcome to TUGs and timesharing.

A lot of resorts do have WIFI, but they charge you per day/week for the password. Other resorts have it free in the lobby. Only one of my resorts has it free in the room, but you need a password ... to keep nonguests off the system. Be careful of a free/nonresort hotspot in the unit ... it could be a spyware operation to capture your personal info for identity theft.

Enjoy your timeshare vacations in the Poconos or your exchanges.

 

[Passepartout]

Holly, as a member, you can read the reviews of your TS. If there's mention of a
lousy bed-oops, I didn't mean infested with lice, but lumpy, crummy or whatever, you might call the resort before you go and see if the mattresses have been upgraded. If not, you can bring it up with the owner's association. Remember, you are and owner, not just a guest. it matters!

There have been threads about which resorts do and do not have wi-fi. They are not too well organized, so pretty hard to sort through unless someone has included this information in a recent review. I always put the info in my reviews, and so far all the TS's I belong to have had varying degrees of wi-fi, even if I've been getting it from a neighboring business/hotel. Just an observation- I think TS's are slower to install wi-fi than chain hotels. I guess it's just something to bring up to the HOA.

It can take anywhere from 6-weeks to 3-4 months for the paperwork to run it's course and you get a deed in hand, but frequently you can call the resort, or ask the former owner to call and make a reservation. If you have the unit/week numbers, you should be able to use a week even before the deed is finished.

Welcome to TUG! Enjoy your TS, and beware, they are addictive- you can't own just one!

Jim Ricks

 

[pammex]

Hi Holly, welcome to TUG and enjoy your timeshare. Keep reading here, so much info to obtain and the greatest helpful people!

 

[luv2vacation]

Hi Holly - welcome from yet another South Jersey TUGger! I also live just over the bridge from Philly.

Good luck with your TS, enjoy your vacations, and watch out - not only is timesharing addictive, but so is TUG!!

 

[Talent312]

... I've been reading reviews of various reports, and occasionally someone will say the bed was totally awful, lumpy or whatever. What can you do? Do you call the office and say you need a new mattress? Is there any recourse, or do you just not sleep well the whole stay?...

I would complain... Just as I did at a resort in Cancun when the AC did not work. They tried to fix it, then they said they had no other units avaiable and would try again, but after two more complaints, the manager called to say that they would move us.

OTOH, I complained once about a lumpy comforter. They had laundered it so badly that the cotton was in huge clumps, making the bed look like a mountain landscape. They promptly brought a replacement, but it was only slightly better.

 

[talkamotta]

Welcome to TUG.

Thats nice that your DD is buying a timeshare too. That will give you more options for family vacations.

Some timeshares will allow you to use one week and then borrow from the next year. I have done that in Orlando before and we had 19 people for Thanksgiving one year.

Keep reading. There are tons of information here. These people are wonderful.

 

[Holly in South Jersey]

Thanks for all the comments!

Sure seems like a lot of NJ people on the boards!

I keep reading the ebay listings, then going to the reviews and checking them. Trying to get an idea of what's a good buy and what isn't.

My youngest daughter, Steph, is the one that also bought at Shawnee. Oldest daughter Heather has a float week at the Flagship that her inlaws deeded to her and her husband. That's how we got to Star Island last year- she got 2 units on 2 weeks notice in June thru II.

I feel like I've already learned so much, and have so much more to learn. Thanks everyone!

Holly

 

[vacationhopeful]

Holly -
Did you like Star Island? Did you stay in a walkup bldg or one of the elevator bldgs? While the decor is the exact same, the layouts and the balconies different. Try to keep pictures and notes of the different resorts you visit. You never know if you will get a trade or gift - your first reaction is, "Oh, I liked that place", but looking at a couple of pictures of the unit, you remember the steps, where the w/d were and the walk to the pool (or was it a hike), noise of the bar, etc.

One TUGGER woke, that they keep all the confirmation letters. I do the digital pictures and layouts of the bldgs. I got swapped into a Wyndham unit at Star Island 1st time with a shared foyer; hated that; Next, used Wyndham points, but got a unit w/o foyer - the balcony was not open from the master bedroom, dislike that more than the shared foyer. I actually own a third layout, but have only walked thru the unit - no real opinion til I sleep/live there for a week. But the resort staff has always been sweet; free in room WIFI, such a pleasure.

Just a word of warning about eBay - most of us can not "just look" at eBay; it is part of 12 step program - cancel the eBAY account.

 

[Holly in South Jersey]

Star Island

We were very happy with Star Island. It was an impulse vacation- my dad died very suddenly last April, and we were all in grief mode. Then I heard that my brother John in Polk City Fla was having a neighborhood party the end of June, on a Saturday, which was the day after school closed for us. I called Heather and said I was tired of grieving, and we needed to party, and I'd pay everyone's plane fare to go see John.

She got on the internet and phone and was able to get 2 1 bedroom units, the smaller sides, at Star Island. So she and Ed and the kids had one, and I had the other with Steph for part of the week, and even daughter Manda and boyfriend Ben flew in from Houston for a couple of days.

It was an elevator unit, I was on the 3rd floor and they were on the 4th. I know I took some pix, but not a lot, and they're not in my shutterfly album. I will find them and get them up.

Holly