Just bought westin vacation club flex timeshare. PLEASE HELP! I think I made a mistake…

[mastagaetz]

Just bought westin vacation club flex timeshare. PLEASE HELP! I think I made a mistake… I bought it at the Westin Maui as our home resort but after reading all of the bad reviews online I feel like a sucker. I have 5 days left to cancel and they said I just have to send a fax to cancel it. But then I really don’t have any proof that it is canceled. Has anyone ever dealt with this before?

Should I keep it? I feel like I really want to cancel.
Please help!

 

[DavidnRobin]

Rescind
Research
Resale


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[jdent1]

Also please read the contract carefully for instructions on how to rescind. Recommended way is to use certified mail to cancel/rescind.


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[jabberwocky]

If there is any uncertainty you should cancel. Vistana will always be there to sell you a developer package in the future should you decide you want it, but your time to get out is limited.

Follow the instructions for recission as outlined within the contract package that they gave you. Make sure it is signed by everyone on the Flex contract, is dated and includes the contract number. Usually, on TUG the recommendation is to send this in certified mail as that is typically what is specified in the contract. It also provides you with proof that they have received it.

Are you currently an owner at one of the Westin resorts on Maui? If so, did they want you to trade in your existing unit?

 

[mastagaetz]

If there is any uncertainty you should cancel. Vistana will always be there to sell you a developer package in the future should you decide you want it, but your time to get out is limited.

Follow the instructions for recission as outlined within the contract package that they gave you. Make sure it is signed by everyone on the Flex contract, is dated and includes the contract number. Usually, on TUG the recommendation is to send this in certified mail as that is typically what is specified in the contract. It also provides you with proof that they have received it.

Are you currently an owner at one of the Westin resorts on Maui? If so, did they want you to trade in your existing unit?

First time owner the sucked me in but after reading reviews I had instant buyers remorse.

 

[jabberwocky]

You've made the right decision to rescind then.

Don't worry - a lot of us here have made their first purchase from the developer. You're lucky that you've realized it in time.

Vistana is a great system with fantastic resorts and timesharing has been a lifestyle enhancer for our family. The key is to get in at a reasonable cost on the resale market and make the system work for you. Take your time, do some research and you may decide to become an owner yet. Welcome to TUG!

 

[vacationtime1]

Follow the instructions for recission as outlined within the contract package that they gave you. Make sure it is signed by everyone on the Flex contract, is dated and includes the contract number. Usually, on TUG the recommendation is to send this in certified mail as that is typically what is specified in the contract. It also provides you with proof that they have received it.

^^^^^^ This.

After the rescission is complete and if you are still interested in timesharing, take a look a the secondary market. Westin Flex is not the right vehicle for an initial purchase (it can be useful in specific situations, but it is not cost/effective for most purposes).

But your first step is to rescind. Follow the instructions exactly, but also send a second copy by a method that generates a proof of mailing if the method in the instructions does not.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Go to the post office and send the letter so that you get a return receipt email. That works really well.

 

[dioxide45]

Send a rescission letter, you can do it certified, return receipt or first class or priority mail. One that at least tracks the letter and confirms delivery is what makes one feel most comfortable.

 

[Ken555]

Run away!

Then do research and buy on the resale market.


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[mastagaetz]

Send a rescission letter, you can do it certified, return receipt or first class or priority mail. One that at least tracks the letter and confirms delivery is what makes one feel most comfortable.

Thanks guys. I sent the cancellation letter that came with my contract and I called the Vistana number that came with my package and they told me to fax them a letter stating that I want to cancel signed by me and my wife. Hopefully they don’t play games and try to screw me over. Thanks for the advice!

What do you guys consider the best time share program available?

 

[jabberwocky]

Outside of sales Vistana is an upstanding company. They will honor the rescission request and you shouldn’t have to worry about it. They don’t have an obligation to update you in the status of any refunds though.

Since this is a Vistana forum you’re likely to get a biased opinion. Generally the “name brands” tend to get good followings. It really depends on where you want to go and what your travel style is. Stay away from Westgate as that is nothing but trouble.

I’ve been very pleased with my Vistana ownership and Hilton has been outstanding in how they have treated owners in the pandemic. For us and where we want to go they make a good combination. I’d suggest looking at the following thread and posting your own questionnaire in the New to Timesharing forum. You’ll get some helpful advice from a broader group.

"What to Buy" Questions for New Timeshare Owners

Here are some questions you can answer to focus your timeshare wants/needs. Suggestion - copy the questions below, and start a new thread entitled "My Survey" or "What should I buy?," or something similar, and answer the questions in a NEW thread. 1) Is there a vacation destination you wish...

tugbbs.com

 

[echino]

What do you guys consider the best time share program available?

Usually the advice is buy where you want to stay. So if you want to travel to Hawaii every year, buy a week (not points) at a specific resort, with a specific view you want. Look at Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas or Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North resales, ocean view or oceanfront. It will cost you $15,000 - $35,000 to buy, depending on unit and view, with about $2,700 annual maintenance fees for the week.

 

[er57]

If you had instant Buyers remorse, you should probably cancel. But, in my opinion, Westin Flex is not a bad product. I especially like the "flex" part. I can stay at a resort from Tues to Friday, or Thurs through Wednesday. Makes it easy to travel and trip on off times rather than fighting peak times on the weekends.

Others have different opinions. But so far I am happy with Westin Flex FWIW.

 

[Mowogo]

If you had instant Buyers remorse, you should probably cancel. But, in my opinion, Westin Flex is not a bad product. I especially like the "flex" part. I can stay at a resort from Tues to Friday, or Thurs through Wednesday. Makes it easy to travel and trip on off times rather than fighting peak times on the weekends.

Others have different opinions. But so far I am happy with Westin Flex FWIW.

Depending on what somebody wants/needs Flex can be a great product. Is it more expensive? Yes. However you can have a lot more flexibility with your vacations which does have some value if you want to go to newer resorts in high demand seasons. My family has Christmas in Steamboat with Sheraton Flex this year, and likely looking elsewhere for next year.

When looking at Resale, the main warning that I would not put much stock in Mandatory benefits for anything more than the next year with the upcoming changes. While MVC is not able to strip Mandatory resorts of their StarOptions, MVC is able to strip inventory from VSN. Depending on how much inventory trades in Destination Club initially and how much it takes existing owners to join the new system I see a lot of inventory disappearing from VSN over the next few years making Mandatory ownership resemble Voluntary ownership more.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

While even my mantra is now "buy resale" we started out buying Westin Flex from the developer here in Colorado. Has been a wonderful purchase and we've enjoyed using our Westin RiverFront resort many times. I have not seen any Westin Flex ownerships come up on the resale market in the 4 years we've owned in the places I normally monitor. Very happy with Westin Flex.

 

[Rman]

Westin flex is a good product for the holiday dates and travel, but don't think westin flex has the holiday dates available in maui, as those are event weeks , so don't think Christmas is available on westin flex in Hawaii, someone else might know beter

 

[echino]

While even my mantra is now "buy resale" we started out buying Westin Flex from the developer here in Colorado. Has been a wonderful purchase and we've enjoyed using our Westin RiverFront resort many times. I have not seen any Westin Flex ownerships come up on the resale market in the 4 years we've owned in the places I normally monitor. Very happy with Westin Flex.

How good is Westin Riverfront availability during peak ski season via Westin Flex?

 

[rcv82]

I also have Westin Flex and like it. My biggest dislike is the high maintenance fees. While I also haven’t seen it resale, if you could get it for a good price, even though voluntary for VSN, the 8 home resorts are many of my favorite in the system. If you aren’t using your HomeOptions at 8-12 months out, you aren’t getting the value of Flex. (Mine all is from developer, acquired by fixing some mistakes and bringing some voluntary resales back in network.) I do see Sheraton Flex available on resale dirt cheap.

Riverfront is always tough in prime ski season. It only has 30-ish lock off units that sold out prior to Flex. But I did manage to get a couple long weekends with my Flex, plus 8 nights of Presidents’ Day week.


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[jabberwocky]

While even my mantra is now "buy resale" we started out buying Westin Flex from the developer here in Colorado. Has been a wonderful purchase and we've enjoyed using our Westin RiverFront resort many times. I have not seen any Westin Flex ownerships come up on the resale market in the 4 years we've owned in the places I normally monitor. Very happy with Westin Flex.

I have seen a few WFlex ownerships on the resale market (Redweek mainly), but they are few and far between. While the asking prices were well below developer pricing, they definitely were above the SFlex prices. I like the flexibility and being able to pair it with our WKORV-N deeded week to add a few extra days to our vacation.

 

[jabberwocky]

Westin flex is a good product for the holiday dates and travel, but don't think westin flex has the holiday dates available in maui, as those are event weeks , so don't think Christmas is available on westin flex in Hawaii, someone else might know beter

Getting Maui via WFlex is not possible over Christmas (but I haven't seen any availability via SO either). The WFlex trust doesn't hold OF units at Maui or event weeks.

 

[rcv82]

Getting Maui via WFlex is not possible over Christmas (but I haven't seen any availability via SO either). The WFlex trust doesn't hold OF units at Maui or event weeks.

If you want Ocean Front or event weeks, the only reliable way to get them is to buy them deeded that way. I love my WKORV OFD units, but they are not very “flexible” meaning they have to pretty much be Saturday to Saturday, week at a time. Yes, they have StarOptions. But that would only be a last resort.


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[The Colorado Kid]

How good is Westin Riverfront availability during peak ski season via Westin Flex?

No experience booking WRF for ski season. We got our fill of skiing having lived and skied in Colorado for over 40 years. As such we don't ski anymore and enjoy the Colorado high country much more in the summer. So I haven't ever searched for winter weeks. Doing that just now for early December (not prime skiing in any sense and snow is scarce in the Colorado mountains right now) shows 4 weeks available for 1BR and 5 weeks for a studio.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

I also have Westin Flex and like it. My biggest dislike is the high maintenance fees. While I also haven’t seen it resale, if you could get it for a good price, even though voluntary for VSN, the 8 home resorts are many of my favorite in the system. If you aren’t using your HomeOptions at 8-12 months out, you aren’t getting the value of Flex. (Mine all is from developer, acquired by fixing some mistakes and bringing some voluntary resales back in network.) I do see Sheraton Flex available on resale dirt cheap.

Riverfront is always tough in prime ski season. It only has 30-ish lock off units that sold out prior to Flex. But I did manage to get a couple long weekends with my Flex, plus 8 nights of Presidents’ Day week.


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@rcv82 Nice pull on WRF Presidents' Day week!

 

[Grammarhero]

Just bought westin vacation club flex timeshare. PLEASE HELP! I think I made a mistake… I bought it at the Westin Maui as our home resort but after reading all of the bad reviews online I feel like a sucker. I have 5 days left to cancel and they said I just have to send a fax to cancel it. But then I really don’t have any proof that it is canceled. Has anyone ever dealt with this before?

Should I keep it? I feel like I really want to cancel.
Please help!

We hope your rescission and deposit refund were successful. To track TUG rescission savings, mind sharing how much you saved with rescission? As half of tuggers initially bought developer/retail TS, there is no shame.