List your GREAT Timeshare exchanges here. [2009 and forward]

[rickandcindy23]

Wow some great trades esp the MKO 2BR PH ocean view. We just stayed there with DPs. You really lucked out. Was it just random that you picked a 2BR and that was the code? I wonder why MVC deposits those when they book up right away on their portal.

It's owner deposits. Some Marriott owners are not willing to enroll (or are resale and it would cost a lot to enroll). I have gotten some great exchanges into Ko Olina for the kids and for us and my sister, too. Exchanges with Marriott preference are fairly abundant.

 

[TravelTime]

It's owner deposits. Some Marriott owners are not willing to enroll (or are resale and it would cost a lot to enroll). I have gotten some great exchanges into Ko Olina for the kids and for us and my sister, too. Exchanges with Marriott preference are fairly abundant.

Who would deposit a MKO 2BR PH ocean view? That seems insane to deposit such a high value timeshare.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Who would deposit a MKO 2BR PH ocean view? That seems insane to deposit such a high value timeshare.

If you planned to go and plans change. You cannot just cancel a week with Marriott. Or if you tried to rent and cannot get what you are asking, that is your alternative.

There are also a lot of people who are clueless about timeshare.

 

[suzannesimon]

If you planned to go and plans change. You cannot just cancel a week with Marriott. Or if you tried to rent and cannot get what you are asking, that is your alternative.

There are also a lot of people who are clueless about timeshare.

Or real newbies. I deposited a 3 bedroom Christmas week at Frenchman’s Cove the first year I owned it.

 

[travelhacker]

Who would deposit a MKO 2BR PH ocean view? That seems insane to deposit such a high value timeshare.

A lot of the Hawaii exchanges I’ve received are coded with an H which means it was a bulk deposit. I believe these are points that people have deposited from the DC program.

 

[winger]

A lot of the Hawaii exchanges I’ve received are coded with an H which means it was a bulk deposit. I believe these are points that people have deposited from the DC program.

So you mean the view type starts with 'H'?

 

[travelhacker]

So you mean the view type starts with 'H'?

Yep!

 

[rickandcindy23]

My best recent exchange was a small 1 bedroom at SBP into a 3 bedroom at Sands of Kahana on Maui for 3/5. It's for our son and his family. That was a lucky ongoing search. I put in that I needed a 2-3 bedroom at Westin Nanea or Sands of Kahana and happened to get a 3 bedroom. All of those SOK 3 bedrooms are amazing.

 

[Monykalyn]

Was the 3BR Cayman Islands beachfront a Morris’s property? If so which one and how did you like it? What is a week worth in one of those?

I do not remember the name of the place-was near where the Barefoot man band played-we walked over. It was a couple decades ago for honeymoon
It was a FABULOUS location though-walked right out onto beach.

 

[TravelTime]

A lot of the Hawaii exchanges I’ve received are coded with an H which means it was a bulk deposit. I believe these are points that people have deposited from the DC program.

This makes sense. I own MKO and I exchange it for points. I did not realize that when I exchange it for points, the week would go into II. I would have assumed it would turn into points for MKO so someone else can book it with points.

 

[travelhacker]

This makes sense. I own MKO and I exchange it for points. I did not realize that when I exchange it for points, the week would go into II. I would have assumed it would turn into points for MKO so someone else can book it with points.

Your points don't go into II unless you use your points for an II exchange or deposit them to II.

Members of the DC system can choose to exchange using II, and I think they can deposit points to extend them (I'm not sure about this since I don't have Marriott Points).

Marriott then chooses which weeks to deposit to II.

When you elect points they are available to the DC system. Marriott can then pull whole weeks out of the system and deposit to II to make up for points that have been used within II.

Alternatively, the DC system can actually pull in weeks from II to make available to points owners (but they would obviously have to deposit an equivalent amount of points back to II).

 

[escanoe]

Alternatively, the DC system can actually pull in weeks from II to make available to points owners (but they would obviously have to deposit an equivalent amount of points back to II).

I had no idea they could do that. Do they pay exchange fees to II (owned by the same conglomerate) when they do this?

Is this just a perk MVC gets from its unique ownership relationship with II or does II have similar policies with other systems?

 

[travelhacker]

I had no idea they could do that. Do they pay exchange fees to II (owned by the same conglomerate) when they do this?

Is this just a perk MVC gets from its unique ownership relationship with II or does II have similar policies with other systems?

Yes, I believe it's just limited to MVC inventory. @dioxide45 posted about it recently and I'm sure could explain it much more eloquently. It sounds like it's done on a very limited basis if at all (and it sounds like it may have been done more at the beginning of the trust).

 

[NiteMaire]

Our very first trip to The Grand Luxxe Residence Club was one of the best for our family. It was part of a 2-week vacation in Mexico at 3 locations. We had no idea about Vidanta when we exchanged; it just happened to be available the week we needed a unit. They were (and probably still are) the best units we've ever stayed in. At the time, the shuttles were available on request by Grand Luxxe owners/exchangers, and they arrived quickly. Between the on-call shuttles, superb staff, great pools, and turn-down service, we were hooked. Our DD said she felt like a princess! Our next 8 exchanges were into the the Grand Luxxe (RM and NV). Then I came to Hawaii on a business trip, and it grabbed a hold of my heart. I brought DW later the same year; next thing we know, 19 of our last 24 exchanges have been for resorts in Hawaii. Most of those were for us, but a couple were for friends.

Here's my "best" list by ownership - I'm only including the exchanges we did not retrade:

Vacation Village at Williamsburg (1BR): The Grand Luxxe 2BR (x5); Marriott's Grande Ocean Resort 2BR
The Colonies at Williamsburg (2BR): The Grand Luxxe 3BR; Hyatt High Sierra Lodge 2BR ski week
Marriott's Grand Chateau (2BR): Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club 2BR; Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club 2BR
Marriott's Grand Chateau (1BR): Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club 2BR; Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club 2BR
Marriott's Grand Chateau (Studio): Marriott's Kauai Beach Club 1BR; Marriott's Streamside at Vail 1BR ski week
Sheraton Vistana Resort (1BR): Marriott's Maui Lahaina & Napili Villas 2BR (x2); Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas 1BR
HVC Sedona Summit (1BR): The Point at Poipu 2BR Thanksgiving week; Shell Vacations Club @ Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village 2BR July 4th
HVC Sedona Summit (Studio): The Grand Islander by HGVC 1BR (only exchange so far)

We were also able to use accommodation certificates for 4 straight weeks at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club; 3 in a 2BR Ocean View and 1 in a 1BR Ocean View. This was most likely a once in a lifetime opportunity since it was October-November 2020.

 

[nerodog]

I do not remember the name of the place-was near where the Barefoot man band played-we walked over. It was a couple decades ago for honeymoon
It was a FABULOUS location though-walked right out onto beach.

I stayed at Morritt's Grand right on beach and it was beautiful. Also enjoyed my HHI exchanges into Port O Call and Royal Sands. One of the prettiest overseas was the MacDonalds Elmer's court. We had a cute cottage. You could walk right down to the English channel and take a ferry to the Isle of Wight. Mondi Bellevue in Bad Gastein was another fabulous stay. We have been there 2x .

 

[amsunshine]

We traded into a 1 Bedroom at Embarc Zihuatanejo for Oct, 2021 (last year). That was our best exchange so far. We absolutely loved the resort and would go back in a heartbeat. (Even though we got hit by hurricane Rick.) I would seriously go back every year if availability popped up, but I never see it listed much on II.

Hoping to land a Hawaii trade for next year and have an OGS for that. Getting discouraged reading about all the preferences for Marriott and Vistana. But it's early yet.

Then hoping/planning for an awesome trade for Disneyworld Thanksgiving 2023....

 

[Eric B]

Just got back from a ThirdHome exchange into Flora Farms in a 2 BR Hillside Hayloft just outside of San Jose del Cabo. Those of you that travel to that area have no doubt heard of Flora Farms - it's an organic farm in Las Animas, a few miles from the beach with a great restaurant. There are also some cottages and the haylofts that are fractional ownership units that exchange through ThirdHome on the rare occasions that someone doesn't use theirs.

The unit we got was a stand alone house with a pool and a large Japanese soaking style cedar hot tub. Stays there include harvesting privileges on the farm as well as access to the beach club at Vera-Neo, which is a short Uber trip away in the El Encanto area. The cottages and haylofts are all strawbale construction and well appointed, including high speed internet with a VPN set up for U.S. TV, should you have any interest in that.

I wrote a brief review of the place on TUG2 - highly recommend grabbing an exchange here if you ever get the opportunity. Next spring we'll be trying out the adjoining property, Acre Baja. I'm looking forward to it, though someone described it to us as being a concrete jungle designed by someone on mushrooms. I'm not really sure what they meant by that, but it too has a restaurant and hotel with a good reputation.

 

[timsi]

Our very first trip to The Grand Luxxe Residence Club was one of the best for our family. It was part of a 2-week vacation in Mexico at 3 locations. We had no idea about Vidanta when we exchanged; it just happened to be available the week we needed a unit. They were (and probably still are) the best units we've ever stayed in. At the time, the shuttles were available on request by Grand Luxxe owners/exchangers, and they arrived quickly. Between the on-call shuttles, superb staff, great pools, and turn-down service, we were hooked. Our DD said she felt like a princess! Our next 8 exchanges were into the the Grand Luxxe (RM and NV). Then I came to Hawaii on a business trip, and it grabbed a hold of my heart. I brought DW later the same year; next thing we know, 19 of our last 24 exchanges have been for resorts in Hawaii. Most of those were for us, but a couple were for friends.

Here's my "best" list by ownership - I'm only including the exchanges we did not retrade:

Vacation Village at Williamsburg (1BR): The Grand Luxxe 2BR (x5); Marriott's Grande Ocean Resort 2BR
The Colonies at Williamsburg (2BR): The Grand Luxxe 3BR; Hyatt High Sierra Lodge 2BR ski week
Marriott's Grand Chateau (2BR): Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club 2BR; Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club 2BR
Marriott's Grand Chateau (1BR): Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club 2BR; Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club 2BR
Marriott's Grand Chateau (Studio): Marriott's Kauai Beach Club 1BR; Marriott's Streamside at Vail 1BR ski week
Sheraton Vistana Resort (1BR): Marriott's Maui Lahaina & Napili Villas 2BR (x2); Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas 1BR
HVC Sedona Summit (1BR): The Point at Poipu 2BR Thanksgiving week; Shell Vacations Club @ Holua Resort at Mauna Loa Village 2BR July 4th
HVC Sedona Summit (Studio): The Grand Islander by HGVC 1BR (only exchange so far)

We were also able to use accommodation certificates for 4 straight weeks at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club; 3 in a 2BR Ocean View and 1 in a 1BR Ocean View. This was most likely a once in a lifetime opportunity since it was October-November 2020.

Great exchanges! It seems you got great trades with MGC regardless of the size of the deposit. Have you noticed an important trading power difference between the studio, the 1 BR and the 2 BR?

 

[NiteMaire]

Great exchanges! It seems you got great trades with MGC regardless of the size of the deposit. Have you noticed an important trading power difference between the studio, the 1 BR and the 2 BR?

I'll caveat my comment by saying that I have never used an ongoing search in II. These are all from searching available inventory.

There's almost no difference between the 1BR and 2BR. There was only 1 sighting where the 1BR didn't see 1 week (of a mini-bulk) deposit for Waiohai, but it was during the first year of COVID. I imagine there may be a slight difference in 1BR and 2BR for ongoing searches, but I really don't know.

The studio definitely pulls less than the 1BR, but it still pulls great exchanges. Those 2 in my post are the only 2 exchanges I've made with it. There's more than enough units at Kauai Beach Club that show up that I can get my Kauai fix using the studio.

I originally owned a 3BR LO which LOs into a 2BR and 1BR. Based on the nearly identical trading power for available inventory, I sold it and picked up a 2BR LO which LOs into a 1BR and studio. I made the decision knowing I'd have at least one great exchange with the 1BR. Long time owners have noted that the studio doesn't see all the sightings, and I can verify the same with my studio (have had it only a few years). Cost also factored in my decision; the 3BR MF is nearly $700 more than the 2BR. I decided to downsize knowing I may miss out on some trades. I haven't regretted it yet.

 

[DaveHenry]

Last month I got a 2BR unit at Harbor Ridge near Acadia National Park for mid-July 2022. It was using an ongoing search with a 2BR Vacation Village at Williamsburg unit. We are very excited about this trip!

 

[b2bailey]

I've had some great exchanges, but two of my favorites were when Hilton and Hyatt would deposit hotel rooms into RCI. I stayed 2 weeks at Hyatt Manchester in San Diego and a week in an amazing Hilton in Chicago. Most recently an exchange into Hyatt Highlands Inn. Ocean view room -- felt like I struck gold with that one.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

A year ago, April, I exchanged a 1 BR Marriott Palm Desert for a 2 BR Four Seasons Troon (Scottsdale). I checked the nightly rate for the timeshare units and it was around $1050 a night. But my all-in cost was under that for a full week. April is a great time to be in the Phoenix area.

 

[heathpack]

A few days ago, I got an internal Hyatt exchange into a 1BR unit at Hyatt Kaanapali for Thanksgiving week. My cost around $1500.

Yesterday I exchanged my 1BR Sheraton Broadway Plantation into 1BR WKORVN for next May. My costs around $900 including exchange fee and II membership.

A few weeks ago, I traded a 430 point (ie studio) Hyatt deposit into Westing Princeville Ocean Resort for next April. What a storied life that deposit has led- first exchange was into Medano Beach in Cabo, then Westin Kaanapali, then Villa del Palmar Flamingos in Puerta Vallarta, and now into Westin Princeville. My cost around $700 including exchange fee.

No I will not be able to go to Hawaii 3x this year. But I like having options!

 

[heathpack]

A year ago, April, I exchanged a 1 BR Marriott Palm Desert for a 2 BR Four Seasons Troon (Scottsdale). I checked the nightly rate for the timeshare units and it was around $1050 a night. But my all-in cost was under that for a full week. April is a great time to be in the Phoenix area.

I was looking at hotel rates for the Hyatt Regency Kaanapali for Thanksgiving week (because I got an internal Hyatt exchange for that week, see post above). One week in the least expensive hotel room is $10,500+. I kid you not. A hotel room!

 

[bjones9942]

My 'Great' timeshare trades are when I use RCI to exchange my week in South Lake Tahoe with a week in Acapulco. Yes Tahoe is beautiful, but Acapulco is my current favorite vacation getaway. I prefer the Playa Suites in Acapulco, but the Fiesta Americana works well too