New to timeshares ~ need advice

[sandymac13]

Hi Everyone!

We are considering buying a Marriott timeshare but we are just not sure where to buy. We have 3 children and vacation at the Cypress Harbor in Orlando almost every year. Therefore, we are thinking of buying into the CH...however, in reading these boards, it seems that the MGV would be a better buy. We have stayed there in the past, but I do like CH better. However, at some point we do plan on vacationing in areas other than Orlando, so we do want to buy into something that will trade well. Besides having 3 kids, I am a teacher, so we only vacation during school breaks...

I have read that Orlando is easy to trade into, but is that the case during school breaks? We have also been thinking about buying in Myrtle Beach.

Any help, suggestions, and/or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sandy

 

[vacationlover2]

Regardless of what most people here say about not buying to trade only, we've gotten great use of our Marriott Aruba Surf club 2BR lockoff. It gives us 3 weeks a year as we lock it off, deposit both sides and get an accommodation certificate. I've traded into Disney numerous times even in peak season. It really is a great trader.

 

[kjd]

Orlando is a great place for kids entertainment and as an owner at MGV I can highly recommend it to anyone. The best advice on timesharing is often stated on TUG. Buy where you want to vacation most of the time. Trading the unit should be a seconday consideration.

Having said that you might also want to think long term. A ts should be a long term purchase. You may not always want to go to Orlando and may travel at times other than spring break. Orlando is overbuilt with ts. It is easier to trade into than many other resort locations. Marriott has several ts there.

Orlando is also above the sub-tropical weather line which means that it can be less of a guarantee of good weather. If you're a snowbird you probably think anything above 50 degrees is considered warm, but if you're thinking of warm weather (80's) Orlando is more of a chance for weather below 70 at least three months of the year. I can still remember an ice storm in March.

An MGV 2 br is a lock-off ts so you can have two weeks vacation instead of one. Why not look into a EOY unit there and an EOY unit somewhere else? If you want an EY at MGV that's ok too because it will trade well during flextime or shoulder seasons. A plat unit would give you the school break reservations you need and will also trade well in the future.

 

[KathyPet]

There may well come a time (believe it or not)when you tire of Mickey and friends every year. I cannot recommend that with a family of 5 that you buy anywhere that you have to fly too. Airfares are only going up and for a family of 5 that is a big chunk of vacation change. I will exclude Florida from that statement since airfares there always seem to be relatively cheap. I would suggest that you look at Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. You could make those destinations in a day with either one very long drive or with a overnight stay in a inexpensive motel along the way. They both provide lovely ocean front properties and are excellent for family vacations.

 

[lprstn]

I second the Myrtle Beach/Hilton Head locations. However, if you wanting more bang for your buck the Aruba location and use of lockoffs with ACs can be a good bargain...getting you 3 vacations a year instead of just one. Unless you purchase a lockoff at one of the other locations.

 

[pwrshift]

You've come to the right place to ask about Marriott and you'll get a lot of input (sometimes confusing) from actual Marriott owners here instead of talking to sales reps first. Tuggers are great.

There's a new Marriott just announced for Orlando at the Grande Lakes complex area that you might want to investigate. The main reasons I like this are: the 2 bdrm lockoff is unique in design with two kitchens so you can actually split your week into two weeks in a 1 bdrm suite; on the same grounds you'll have access to the JW Marriott and their facilities and there's also a Ritz Carlton there too; the price seems reasonable ($33,000) in today's economy and comes with a million points as it's pre-construction (absolutely the best time to buy direct) and doesn't open until 2010. Advantage of this location is that you can drive your family there instead of having to fly...and you can also split and turn in your weeks to Interval as two units and possible bonus weeks too.

I can't imagine any other Marriott in Orlando that offers all that (Grand Vista is just too big for me and CH is too old IMO). With a million MR points buying Grande Lakes direct pre-construction, you'd be able to take a 2nd honeymoon (leave the kids at home) to Paris and London on business class air for two weeks!

Study the Marriott Rewards program as Marriott is a week's based system, not points, but has the Marriott Rewards point program you can grow through getting a VISA card and buying groceries with it -- but more important you can turn in your weeks for points EY at GL (for 7 years) and get 120,000 pts a year for use in the 2500 Marriotts around the world. The Air+hotel packages are the best, by far, and the real reason to join Marriott Rewards (free to join).

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

You might do well to read the following thread on Grande Lakes as it shows how the announcement evolved. If I didn't already have 6 Marriott weeks I would have bought there for sure as I love those Marriott Rewards point program. Have fun. If you need a Marriott rep I'd be pleased to recommend mine if you PM me. It's a hot resort, and they sold 300 the first week apparently.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75959

Brian

PS... there are three cute 10 min movies Ritz Carlton has put out with Amex - gives you a good feeling about that Marriott chain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wYXFPR_PtA&feature=user

 

[James1975NY]

Hi Everyone!

We are considering buying a Marriott timeshare but we are just not sure where to buy. We have 3 children and vacation at the Cypress Harbor in Orlando almost every year. Therefore, we are thinking of buying into the CH...however, in reading these boards, it seems that the MGV would be a better buy. We have stayed there in the past, but I do like CH better. However, at some point we do plan on vacationing in areas other than Orlando, so we do want to buy into something that will trade well. Besides having 3 kids, I am a teacher, so we only vacation during school breaks...

I have read that Orlando is easy to trade into, but is that the case during school breaks? We have also been thinking about buying in Myrtle Beach.

Any help, suggestions, and/or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Sandy

I always suggest to purchase where you would go 2-3 times out of every 5 years....if you like CH, there is no shame in owning there. There are a number of ways to purchase.

CH should exchange well if you are familiar with the exchange program and plan well for popular exchanges.

 

[JimIg23]

There's a new Marriott just announced for Orlando at the Grande Lakes complex area

the price seems reasonable ($33,000) in today's economy and comes with a million points as it's pre-construction (absolutely the best time to buy direct) and doesn't open until 2010.

Brian

How is the million points structured? Is financing involved?

Jim

 

[cp73]

sandy buy at CH

Sandy,

1. Buy at the resort you will go to most and like (Cypress Harbor) and buy in the season you want to go most frequently. Preferably within driving distance if possible. This will avoid any trading fees and member fees to II and be the easiest way to get the week you want.

2. Buy Resale - you will save lots of money. Dont let the confusion over points cloud this decision.

3. If you reserve good weeks/or have a lot of flexibility in the time you want to go, trading will not be a problem when your ready to trade to any resort.

 

[mas]

Sandy:

I'll add my 2 cents here:

Brian makes a good argument for the new Grand Lakes Marriott. It's new resort with several nice features including those mentioned: Two kitchen/2BR LOs and the million MR points.

However: I'm taking a guess here that, you being a teacher and with 3 kids, money is big part of the picture. If this is the case, then $33,000 for the new Marriott GL resort is, to say the least, a bit pricey.

Sure a million MR points would be nice, I've used the MR program myself and enjoyed traveling business class and staying at fancy Marriott resort hotels, but when you can purchase a CH week for probably $4K-$8K resale, justifying that extra $20k to $25K is something only you can decide if it's worth it. Assessing a value of .01 to .02 cent/point makes the million MR points worth $10K to $20K bringing the cost of the GL week down to $13K in the best scenario.

If I had the money, I'd go for the GL week but not everyone is in that situation. Myrtle Beach and HHI are good alternatives as far as trading power, but are significantly more expensive then Orlando. I'm not an expert on resale values but I'm guessing resale on either place in platinum season is around $15K, maybe more, so it's definitely more expensive than Orlando.

In any case, HTH, & good luck on your decision.

 

[Zac495]

Marriott is the BEST - and I own 2. But I also own Hilton. Honestly, if I wanted to go to Orlando most, I'd buy Hilton. Cheaper - easy to use - and very nice.

Trust me - I'm on the Marriott board because I love Marriotts! But if you're new to timeshare, don't just look at one boat.

 

[pianodinosaur]

I purchased my TS units with Hilton and love them. However, I have friends who purchased with Marriott and with Starwood and they are very happy as well. The nice thing about Marriott is all the different locations. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Marriott TS units in Aruba and Lake Tahoe. They are the cream of the crop as far as TS units are concerned. If you do decide to purchase a Marriott, it would also be a very good idea to participate in Marriott Rewards and to get a Marriott credit card. I don't own a Marriott TS and still participate in Marriott Rewards because it is such a good program. The Marriott Hotels in Puerto Rico and Cancun are fabulous. We will be staying at a Marriott Hotel in Victoria, Canada in the near future.

 

[pwrshift]

Brian

How is the million points structured? Is financing involved?

Jim

Jim ... Financing wasn't involved for me as Canadians can't get loans in the USA! I wouldn't finance anyways, but believe it is available at Grande Lakes at the rate of 9.9% instead of the 13.9% Marriott is famous (?) for. I bought all my six on my Amex card in the past and got Amex points too - and assume you can do that still.

I don't remember exactly how the points were structured, but did outline it in the thread I mentioned in the above post. From memory, there were no closing costs and the first year's non-use maint fee was free and you got 120k pts. 2nd to 7th year you pay the annual fee for 120k pts in each of them. There were upfront bonus points and with the first two non-use years I think it was about half the million - the rest came from the next 5 years of non use. The rub is the plan means you can't use it for 7 years, but it's not avail until 2010 anyways and if you own other weeks you may be able to trade into it or use getaways, etc.

The key is travel in business class - a very nice reward to yourself. 2 trips of 2 weeks to Europe over 7 years could amount to a 'value' of some $28,000 -- so the $33,000 cost should be reduced by the values of two unforgetable luxury trips many people can't (or won't) afford.

Grande Lakes is a real departure for Marriott in design, pricing and points and I hope it's just the start of a new direction - if I went there I'd probably not even leave the complex and eat at the JW 3 nights and the RC 3 nights and charge them to my room to earn points.

Brian

 

[Beverley]

I agree with Brian, you should check out their new resort in Orlando as the two bedroom deluxe is the one that offers a lockoff that has two kitchens and two living areas.

This way you could split and trade separately for 2 weeks each one a one bedroom unit rather than a studio. Or, you could travel for one week (not split) and use the 2 bedroom when you really need it.

Disney is a great place when the kids are younger, then there may be some years that you will be trading and having a smaller unit size until the grandkids come along. A lock off can serve your family needs as they change better than a standard two bedroom. Pre-construction and gets points ( I think every year)

Beverley :whoopie:

 

[JimIg23]

Thanks Brian.

I also agree with the lock off feature being a great advantage, especially when you want to trade. Right now, with longer children, we want 2 bedrooms, but as they children grow up it is nice to get two weeks for one (even if a studio/1 bdrm), and with the flexibility of when you can travel expands, you can get great trades with your smaller Marriott units. We recently were looking at going to Aruba in September (we cant do it now), but our Horizon studio was pulling 1 and 2 bedrooms at both Marriotts there. You can't beat that for a studio week trade.

 

[pwrshift]

Take a look at the 2 bdrm lockoff with two kitchens. Marriott has outdone themselves with this design IMO...It will be interesting to see how Interval will treat the two one-bdrm parts - will they give each part an AC?

Brian

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pwrshift/2bdtier2lock-off.jpg?t=1218631576

 

[erm]

Buy Marriott resale

Sandy, you're a teacher so I know you know how to plan (I'm a retired teacher). I started out like you by wanting to buy Cypress Harbor. I also had two school aged children. I found TUG and 3.5 timehares later I still love my Marriotts. I bought my first one resale from Marriott - a 2 bd older property on Hilton Head- platinum week 30($6500). Every year it has given me a fabulous exchange AND a bonus week. Yes, it will exchange into Orlando on school vacations- I even exchanged into Cypress Harbor on a bonus week during a Feb.school vacation. My first exchange was Ocean Pointe April vacation. Then I bought a sport week 2 bedroom Marriott Hilton Head from a private party (<$3000). It has been as good as the first purchase but I haven't gotten a bonus week for 2009 YET.. Next, was a resale Hilton managed property on Marco Island (<$5000) which also trades well and gets a bonus week. Finally, I purchased an every other year Legend's Edge ($3200), which I can use to reserve at 4 other Marriott Florida properties (but not Cypress Harbor). The secret is to deposit with II and request as far in advance as possible. My suggestion is to study Marriott on TUG, then buy a great Marriott trader as inexpensively as you can to enjoy many fabulous Marriott timeshare vacations.

 

[rthib]

Do you want to go to Disney when the kids are 20?

Before you buy in Orlando, remember your kids will grow up.
Some folks like Orlando without kids (Myself included) but some do not.

We bought in Palm Desert because we love it there (Warm and Golf) and right now we can use it trade to Orlando when we want to take the kids.

So, I would pick someplace you will still want to go 5-10 years after kids are gone.