New photo album of Ocean Pointe 3 bdrm ocean front unit

[dougp26364]

I have a new photo ablum of our 3 bedroom unit at Ocean Pointe. I'll need to get a few more shots of a few areas but, it's mostly complete. I also have quite a few shots of Oceans Mall, which only has one small section of the old Oceans Mall remaining. The only tenent remaining in the old section is the 7-Eleven. Portifino's is gone and has been replaced by a pretty decent restaurant called Two Drunken Goats. There is also a Pop's Creamery and a NY Bagel and Deli in addition to the tried and true Johnny Longboats that's familiar to those who have been to Ocean Pointe.

I'll try to add pics of the fitness center, the Tiki Bar and maybe a few shots from Kingfish (we're in Cobia this trip). I might try to get a few better shots of the pools sometime this week.

The surf has been extremely high and ruff this trip. There has not been a good beach day yet and with a tropical storm by the Bahama's, it doesn't look good before we go home. There has been significant beach erosion and will take some time to get back to "normal". If the wind doesn't die down, I doubt I'll get much in the way of beach pics. I just don't want to take the camera down to the beach to get sand blasted.

I did walk from Ocean Pointe to Oceana Palms. It took me maybe 20 to 30 minutes of steady walking. I also walked to the Ocean Mall for breakfast this morning and timed myself from the registration building to NY Bagel. It took 7 minutes at decent pace. If you walked it at a leasurely pace, it would probably take maybe 10 to 12 minutes.

The Sands Hotel has a new sports bar called Buddy's. The place looks like it's been cleaned up to match the new Ocean's Mall.

Here's the link to the new photo album http://dougp26364.smugmug.com/Travel/Ocean-Pointe-Nov-2011/19839855_L653xD#1570053185_nfHVnSv

 

[jimf41]

Doug,
Nice pics. I'm glad to see we have more comfortable chairs in the LR but I hate that green sofa. You can't sit in it without sliding off. Looks like they got rid of those two little box ottomans in favor of a glass top coffee table in the LR. Unfortunately Kingfish will have the old/new stuff for quite a few more years. Shame about the high surf. Evidently it's been up for a few weeks now. Splash park looks great. The G-kids are going to love that next summer.

The new stores in Oceans Mall look great.

 

[dougp26364]

Doug,
Nice pics. I'm glad to see we have more comfortable chairs in the LR but I hate that green sofa. You can't sit in it without sliding off. Looks like they got rid of those two little box ottomans in favor of a glass top coffee table in the LR. Unfortunately Kingfish will have the old/new stuff for quite a few more years. Shame about the high surf. Evidently it's been up for a few weeks now. Splash park looks great. The G-kids are going to love that next summer.

The new stores in Oceans Mall look great.

Jim,

Keep in mind this is the old stuff. I believe Cobia will be refurbished to look like Sailfish and Dolphin next year. That will leave Pompano as the only building with the original style.

I'm having mixed feelings about the refurb. It actually grew on me enough that I miss the lighter feel in colors from Kingfish last year but, I find the old over stuffed chairs more comfortable and the extra chair considerably more comfortable to sit by the windows and look out.

I finally got fed up with the TV, which was having sound issues (loud then lower) and called the front desk to see if there was an issue with the cable provider. Turns out they've been having issues with these LG TV's. The living room TV's are having vol. control issues and the 32" TV's were having an issue of turning themselves on, sometimes in the middle of the night.

My wife pointed out there was a vol. issue with the large TV in the living room during our stay at Willowridge last month. Needless to say, I don't believe believe I'll be buying an LG TV for our home and, I hope the HOA/BOD considers dumping the expensive LG's that don't appear to be sturdy enough to timeshare use in favor of something a little more long lasting or, if there's nothing more sturdy, something more affordable to replace once every 3 years, which appears to be the lifespan of these TV's.

 

[kmij]

O/P photos

thanks, doug, for sharing your recent pictures of the three bedroom unit at
ocean pointe. they are very nice. we will be there in a little over three months and i can't wait. i think the grandkids will love the new splash pool, and the new additions at the mall look nice. i am thrilled about a bagel shop within walking distance.
hope the weather gets better and you can enjoy the rest of your vacation.
jean

 

[dougp26364]

thanks, doug, for sharing your recent pictures of the three bedroom unit at
ocean pointe. they are very nice. we will be there in a little over three months and i can't wait. i think the grandkids will love the new splash pool, and the new additions at the mall look nice. i am thrilled about a bagel shop within walking distance.
hope the weather gets better and you can enjoy the rest of your vacation.
jean

The weather's actually fine. It's just the surf being up so high that's an issue. There's likely to be no swimming in the ocean this trip. A couple of days ago, some parents let their little girl play in the high surf. It got her and a few adults had a tough time going in after her and getting her out. I've seen several not-so-smart parents allow their kids to play to close to some dangerous surf conditions. Hopefully it calms down or people get a little smarter. Otherwise there's likely to be a tragedy report in the news. It's just not safe to play in high surf with 10 to 15 ft waves and rip tide warnings.

 

[pedro47]

As always great. no outstanding photos !

 

[dmharris]

Jim,


I finally got fed up with the TV, which was having sound issues (loud then lower) and called the front desk to see if there was an issue with the cable provider. Turns out they've been having issues with these LG TV's. The living room TV's are having vol. control issues and the 32" TV's were having an issue of turning themselves on, sometimes in the middle of the night.

My wife pointed out there was a vol. issue with the large TV in the living room during our stay at Willowridge last month. Needless to say, I don't believe believe I'll be buying an LG TV for our home and, I hope the HOA/BOD considers dumping the expensive LG's that don't appear to be sturdy enough to timeshare use in favor of something a little more long lasting or, if there's nothing more sturdy, something more affordable to replace once every 3 years, which appears to be the lifespan of these TV's.

Sidebar comment: Last week at Grande Ocean on HHI we noticed the TV in the living room (an LG) had the same volume issues. I never thought it was a brand specific issue until I read this post. Great insight for future TV purchase!

 

[dougp26364]

Sidebar comment: Last week at Grande Ocean on HHI we noticed the TV in the living room (an LG) had the same volume issues. I never thought it was a brand specific issue until I read this post. Great insight for future TV purchase!

Right now I'm thinking that, if it's a known problem, Marriott needs to dump the LG brand and find something that lasts a little longer. LG TV's aren't inexpensive. If they're not going to last any longer than less expensive brands like Sanyo, Samsung or Vizio, I'll take TV's that are less expensive to replace. A 3 year life expectancy for an expensive large screen flat panel TV is to dang short.

 

[SueDonJ]

My TV's at home do the same thing when they're on certain national stations and they're not LG's. I thought this is something that the advertisers are able to do, hiking up the volume to get us to notice ads more. Wasn't there something in the news a few months ago about legislation being introduced to stop this tactic? In any event, if what you experienced has nothing to do with what I'm talking about, it's good that the resort is looking into it because of the complaints.

Excellent pictures as usual, Doug. Thank you.

 

[dougp26364]

My TV's at home do the same thing when they're on certain national stations and they're not LG's. I thought this is something that the advertisers are able to do, hiking up the volume to get us to notice ads more. Wasn't there something in the news a few months ago about legislation being introduced to stop this tactic? In any event, if what you experienced has nothing to do with what I'm talking about, it's good that the resort is looking into it because of the complaints.

Excellent pictures as usual, Doug. Thank you.

This has been on all channels. Even the adds volume varied greatly. It goes from so soft you can barely here it to blowing your ears out. The volume varies without rhyme or reason. It is definately an issue with the TV's according to the maintence man who replaced the TV and, most importantly, they know the LG's are having issues. With the 42" TV's it's volume control. With the 32" TV's it's a problem with them coming on without anyone turning them on.

As for TV adds, the issue is there is a decible limit. Most TV shows stay below the limit so that they can go up in volume for action scene's and explosions. Advertisements don't have to worry about big scene's that need more volume for dramatic impact. They max out the volume through the entire comercial. So, in reality, we preceive they crand the volume when all they're really doing is maxing the volume for the entire 30 second spot.

 

[flyboy0681]

I may be stepping out of bounds here, but all Marriott interiors look pretty much the same these days. They utilize the same green and gold carpet, same red/gold stripe upholstered chairs and paint colors.

Look at photos of Harbour Lake and Ocean Pointe for example. These units are nearly identical. Even St Kitts uses the same chairs.

I guess Marriott buys these furnishings by the thousands and needs to place them somewhere.

 

[Lardan]

Thanks for pics. I don't really mind personally if Marriott uses the same or close to the same furnishings at different resorts if it helps to keep costs down.

There is a new TV in our future also, we know a brand to avoid.

 

[dmharris]

Doug, thanks for taking the photos and posting them on line for us to see! So Cobia has more traditional furnishing and Kingfisher is more contemporary, is this correct? We're there in 2 months so I want to figure out what to request. We're bringing friends for the first time to a timeshare and we want to make sure the furnishings will be comfortable for 4 graying adults. But then Kingfisher would give us a better chance at a water view.

 

[Smooth Air]

Diane: 2 out of 3 Kingfish "water views" are classified as "Oceanfront" in the Kingfish building: Direct East Ocean View and South Channel View are "Oceanfront" . The 3rd "waterview" in Kingfish is Northfacing looking north along the beach & that is "Oceanside", not Oceanfront.

Thanks for the great pix and the Mall update, Doug! Can't wait to get bcak to Ocean Pointe. Do you know if the water taxi is up and running down to Clematis Street on Thursday nights?

About the TV's spontaneously turning on....we had that happen to the Master bedroom LG TV last time we were at Marriott Aruba Ocean Club. It would turn on in the middle of the night. Sometimes while we were out in the middle of the day. Weird.

 

[dougp26364]

Kimgfish, dolphin & sailfish all have the contemporary look. Sailfish & dolphin have had a complete refurb while kingfish has only had the soft refurb (no new tile or appliances ). Cobia & pompano are the only two with the original style.

I believe that after numerous owner complaints, the inlet view at kingfish is considered ocean side. I know there was a big stink about that when it was announced Marriott was calling them ocean front. In the begining, sales was telling us that only those who bought in kingfish would be able to stay in kingfish. They were trying to give it an air of exclusivity to sell it to existing owners. But the part about considering the inlet view as oceanfront has persisted, even though I'm almost 100% positive they're now considered ocean side. No matter, the views of the shipping in the inlet are spectacular IMHO.

 

[jimf41]

Doug,
I don't know where you heard that rumor but I doubt it's true. If they implemented that after the fact they wouldn't have enough Ocean Front rooms for the folks who bought them. It would be like selling more unit weeks in a season than the season contained. Legally you can't do that.

 

[dougp26364]

Doug,
I don't know where you heard that rumor but I doubt it's true. If they implemented that after the fact they wouldn't have enough Ocean Front rooms for the folks who bought them. It would be like selling more unit weeks in a season than the season contained. Legally you can't do that.

I'll have to stop by the front desk and ask. I had thought they changed their minds 6 to 12 months after they ticked off owners who originally purchased in the first 4 buildings. Long before they sold so many ocean fronts units that the view couldn't be reclassified. I'll stop by later to clarify. I very well could be wrong.

 

[billymach4]

Inlet units at Kingfish are indeed oceanfront.

I have inquired about this in the past. I spoke to the front desk and it was clearly stated to me that the units in Kingfish facing the inlet are indeed Oceanfront.

Inquire at the frontdesk and let us know what they tell you now.

 

[jimf41]

I'm very interested in the reply. I have two Ocean Front units that are deeded in Kingfish. Anyone who bought direct from Marriott and paid for an Ocean Front 2bdrm unit in 2004 or later that wasn't listed as a "resale" received a deed in the Kingfish Bldg. If those units are now classified as Ocean View I think there will be a rather large suit to recover the price difference between an Ocean Front and an Ocean View.

 

[dmharris]

Is Ocean Pointe deeded by the unit, like Monarch? I.e. when exchanging are you assigned the unit the owner deposited?

 

[jimf41]

Is Ocean Pointe deeded by the unit, like Monarch? I.e. when exchanging are you assigned the unit the owner deposited?

It's deeded by the unit as I think all floating weeks are. I have a specific week and unit on all my deeds both at Ocean Pointe and Frenchmans Cove. The only time I think it means anything is if they try to reclassify your unit as has been suggested or if the Marriott relationship with the resort ended and the new ownership, meaning the owners, decided to come up with something other than a floating week system.

As far as getting your specific deeded unit, no you get whatever the resort gives you that fits what you own and the resorts priority system.

That's my understanding of it anyway. I'd like to hear from anyone who has a different take on it.

 

[Smooth Air]

Last I heard, Kingfish inlet (South view) was still Oceanfront.

 

[dmharris]

It's deeded by the unit as I think all floating weeks are. I have a specific week and unit on all my deeds both at Ocean Pointe and Frenchmans Cove. The only time I think it means anything is if they try to reclassify your unit as has been suggested or if the Marriott relationship with the resort ended and the new ownership, meaning the owners, decided to come up with something other than a floating week system.

As far as getting your specific deeded unit, no you get whatever the resort gives you that fits what you own and the resorts priority system.

That's my understanding of it anyway. I'd like to hear from anyone who has a different take on it.

Monarch was originally built by another company and acquired by Marriott. The owners bought specific units so when Marriott took over, they kept that system. So when you exchange into Monarch you get what the owner deposited = no room requests. There is one other Marriott resort (I can't remember where) that has the same situation.

 

[dougp26364]

I'm very interested in the reply. I have two Ocean Front units that are deeded in Kingfish. Anyone who bought direct from Marriott and paid for an Ocean Front 2bdrm unit in 2004 or later that wasn't listed as a "resale" received a deed in the Kingfish Bldg. If those units are now classified as Ocean View I think there will be a rather large suit to recover the price difference between an Ocean Front and an Ocean View.

Keep in mind that the contract also has terminology (again, working from memory) that they exact unit on the deed did not matter as all units were sold as floating units. All that is required is that there is adaquate inventory to allow occupancy in the view classification. So if there are 10,000 ocean front weeks available for occupancy in a calander year, so long as no more than 10,000 ocean front weeks are sold, there's no problem.

If Marriott would have originally had 12,000 unit weeks classified as ocean front, had sold 9,000 of those unit weeks, then re-classified a view from ocean front to ocean view, it would not matter as they would still have ocean front catagory inventory remaining.

I'll stop by the front desk this morning and ask. Since we own a 3 bedroom unit, it would never matter to me as we can never be placed in a 2 bedroom OF unit. Since all the inlet views as 2 bdrm units, the only way we'd see one would be to exchange back in.

 

[jimf41]

Doug,
First of all what are you doing up at 6:59 in the morning? You're supposed to be on vacation.

The last price sheet I have for OP is NOV 2007. The difference between Silver and Gold ocean view and ocean front weeks was about $4500. In plat weeks it was $8500. What possible motive would MVCI have to lower the price on any of those weeks in a resort that was selling extremely well?

If you get a chance while you're at the desk ask them where owners using DC points fit into the room priority. In another thread I posted that they were right behind weeks owners at the resort but Dioxide posted the latest priority list from the MVCI website for OP and it doesn't indicate that. I'm particularly interested as I've made four reservations with DC points next summer at OP.