New Vidanta Resort fees - June 15, 2024

[acatmeowz]

I have a reservation in Riveria Maya at the Grand Luxxe Jungle (#F125) and this is what I found under "Urgent Information" about the resort fees.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 1890.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to subscribers one and two on the account in this unit type per reservation.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 3500.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to guests traveling in this unit type per reservation.

These fees are so utterly ridiculous. I made my reservation in May so I should still fall under the (more reasonable) $300 resort fee.

I also have II and there are currently no Vidanta resorts available at any location.

 

[DAKOTATEX]

I assume owners of Vidanta do not have to pay these fees?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I assume owners of Vidanta do not have to pay these fees?

Probably not, and that suggests one rationale for imposing the fees. Namely, to address the situation where prospects don't buy because they don't have a difficult time securing exchanges to the resort. So the move could be targeted at people who visit the resorts regularly via exchanges instead of buying. If you like the resort so much, then you need to buy in if you want to keep visiting.

 

[lotus921v]

Vidanta Resorts is building a huge development in Nuevo Vallarta. It is a Disney-type amusement park. They need money to finance their project. Their sales must have taken a huge hit during COVID-19 and may not be going as well as expected. They likely need cash.

For that price I’d rather pay a bit more and just do an AI . That’s absolutely ridiculous

 

[bnoble]

I have a feeling that part of the motivation here is to (further) screen out the bargain hunters who weren't going to buy no matter what. If you don't mind dropping $2-3K on a stay here, buying may not seem so extravagant. This also helps the hotel side with P/L

So the bet is that they will be "full enough" doing this, the higher fees will cover their fixed hotel-side costs despite lower volume, and while tour flow may be lower, conversion rates may be higher. As an aside, this also means you can have fewer sales agents on staff.

 

[rpennisi]

This new fee structure for exchangers should be a big benefit to those who bought Vidanta (ie Grand Luxxe) and don't have the mandatory MF each year. They can, if they choose to rent their unit, pay the MF and get it back plus $ and beat the above mentioned resort fees, thereby paying them back some of their purchase price outlay. My guess is many who have bought don't use their purchase every year. I know someone as a fact who fits that description, told me I should use his as he doesn't use it often, but paid to renew after 10 years.

 

[tommullen]

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[jasavak]

Does the resort fee include food and drinks? Are these all-inclusive resorts?

No , we have stayed in Puerto Penasco and the food is good but very expensive . About $1,000 for two of us for the week . Only 3 beers all week. The rooms have tiny 2 burner electric stoves , no outdoor grills and no refrigerators . Town is 20 miles away , 7 miles of dirt roads. They offered us a free dinner if we visited all 4 of their eateries , but they did not honor it . Their reason was , we did not order correctly at the pool side lunch place . We spent $60 for lunch , but I guess it was not enough .

 

[trippka]

Ugh. SFX informed me that the same resort fees we see on RCI apply to them as well. Terrible. I’m sure the fees for grand bliss and grand luxxe will be even more. Ridiculous. It’ll be cheaper to just rent from an owner on redweek

Owners have been complaining that the sales pitch was to sell what they didn't use, but folks were better off with RCI. Even owners were better off with RCI if they didn't need special perks in their contract like discounted golf. I see they are specific that owners can't use RCI weeks, and they have canceled weeks that owners booked in other exchange platforms. Some folks have paid $1M+ for their Vidanta memberships only to have it be cheaper for outsiders to use it.

 

[trippka]

No , we have stayed in Puerto Penasco and the food is good but very expensive . About $1,000 for two of us for the week . Only 3 beers all week. The rooms have tiny 2 burner electric stoves , no outdoor grills and no refrigerators . Town is 20 miles away , 7 miles of dirt roads. They offered us a free dinner if we visited all 4 of their eateries , but they did not honor it . Their reason was , we did not order correctly at the pool side lunch place . We spent $60 for lunch , but I guess it was not enough .

NV and RM have much better kitchen facilities in the Grand Luxxe units, and at NV they have a small onsite grocery store or you can visit major grocery stores via taxi. Restaurants are very expensive at the resorts, but at NV you can walk down the beach and have a lot of options.

 

[trippka]

I assume owners of Vidanta do not have to pay these fees?

We have to pay similar fees, but not quite as much. That is why you see notes on all exchange sites that owners can't use the exchange platforms, and they cancel the reservations once they figure out you have tried to slip in. I own at both Hilton Club and Vidanta. If I were to exchange I would have to take the value of what I am giving up at the Hilton Club PLUS the exchange fee plus their resort fees. I am a Grand Luxxe 2BR owner and I paid a lot up front. They make it pretty much impossible to buy on the resale market as there are huge fees for transfers and all the perks you can negotiate (free golf, free use of the gondola, etc.) disappear on transfer. We don't pay maintenance fees, only pay when we use it, so a similar fee applies to use it.

 

[trippka]

Easy enough to find weeks on Redweek. Why all the complaints about the fees on RCI? Just rent from an owner and leave out the RCI middleman. It is nearly impossible to transfer a membership with Vidanta, and a lot of folks have aged out of using the huge properties with lots of walking or even 2 story units with circular staircases that are impossible to lug up your luggage. Help these folks out! Yes, I am an owner, and I would rent my units but mostly I use them. I know the day will come when I have to rely on Redweek though to try and recoup some of my upfront fees.

 

[jasavak]

Ugh. SFX informed me that the same resort fees we see on RCI apply to them as well. Terrible. I’m sure the fees for grand bliss and grand luxxe will be even more. Ridiculous. It’ll be cheaper to just rent from an owner on redweek

I am an owner at Grand Mayan . My fees are $1150 for a studio. I prefer paying $1100 for a 1 bed Mayan Palace . Our contract expires this year . A 10 year extension is $1150 . The problem is they keep raising the MF . It will probably increase to $1300 in less than 2 years. The MF should be lower , because they pay *bleep* wages to employees . Property taxes in Mexico are maybe $500 per year ($10 per week) . There is no need for us to rent it out , because we only have to pay MF when we stay.

 

[trippka]

I am an owner at Grand Mayan . My fees are $1150 for a studio. I prefer paying $1100 for a 1 bed Mayan Palace . Our contract expires this year . A 10 year extension is $1150 . The problem is they keep raising the MF . It will probably increase to $1300 in less than 2 years. The MF should be lower , because they pay *bleep* wages to employees . Property taxes in Mexico are maybe $500 per year ($10 per week) . There is no need for us to rent it out , because we only have to pay MF when we stay.

But they are trying to build the amusement park and that is expensive.

 

[jasavak]

But they are trying to build the amusement park and that is expensive.

I guess that is sarcasm , cuz I don't want my Maintenance fees building anything unless it needed rebuilding .

 

[SmithOp]

Some folks have paid $1M+ for their Vidanta memberships only to have it be cheaper for outsiders to use it.

For that kind of money I would expect to live there at least six months of the year.

 

[trippka]

I guess that is sarcasm , cuz I don't want my Maintenance fees building anything unless it needed rebuilding .

No, not sarcasm. Just the unvarnished truth. They have the ability to spend our money anyway they choose.

 

[trippka]

For that kind of money I would expect to live there at least six months of the year.

You could buy a great condo and live there full time.

 

[Arusso]

The resorts are great. The sales and fees are weird. But they change all the time. It's just a question of waiting them out. And not doing the presentation nor buying in.

Glad I'm not dealing with this "high stakes poker" mentality any longer. I lived south of the border and must say, this resort group, while having splendid properties is like dealing with an syndicate. Searching for and getting a reservation should not require booking a visit with a therapist and wonder if you got swindled.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I have a reservation in Riveria Maya at the Grand Luxxe Jungle (#F125) and this is what I found under "Urgent Information" about the resort fees.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 1890.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to subscribers one and two on the account in this unit type per reservation.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 3500.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to guests traveling in this unit type per reservation.

These fees are so utterly ridiculous.

I made my reservation in May so I should still fall under the (more reasonable) $300 resort fee.

Vidanta will honor the resort fee listed at the time of booking .This has been previously stated on RCI's website by Vidanta ; and confirmed by TUG members.
Print & bring your RCI confirmation with you.

I also have II and there are currently no Vidanta resorts available at any location.

Previously when Vidanta went to a 1 in xx rule with RCI - there were apparently no Vidanta deposits for II until
they & Vidanta came to an agreement . I recall @tschwa2 posting about it.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I am an owner at Grand Mayan . My fees are $1150 for a studio. I prefer paying $1100 for a 1 bed Mayan Palace . Our contract expires this year . A 10 year extension is $1150 . The problem is they keep raising the MF . It will probably increase to $1300 in less than 2 years. The MF should be lower , because they pay *bleep* wages to employees . Property taxes in Mexico are maybe $500 per year ($10 per week) . There is no need for us to rent it out , because we only have to pay MF when we stay.

Hi @jasavak ,
You may wish to read the details in your contract regarding MF increases. [ Most} Vidanta contracts have a clause about this.
The yearly MF increase allowed is based on the change in the USA CPI Consumer Price Index. Since the CPI is influenced by inflation - your MF goes up.

Are you booking a 1 bed Mayan Palace by using the internal Vidanta exchange grid - based on your contract ?
- or were you depositing your GM studio into RCI & then using RCI to book a 1 bd MP ?

 

[WorldT]

I have a reservation in Riveria Maya at the Grand Luxxe Jungle (#F125) and this is what I found under "Urgent Information" about the resort fees.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 1890.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to subscribers one and two on the account in this unit type per reservation.

Mandatory Resort Fee is 3500.00 U.S. dollars for 1 Bedroom units. Only Credit Cards accepted. The fee applies to guests traveling in this unit type per reservation.

These fees are so utterly ridiculous. I made my reservation in May so I should still fall under the (more reasonable) $300 resort fee.

I also have II and there are currently no Vidanta resorts available at any location.

You should ask vidanta to send you the link to pay for your resort fee if they have not sent that already. You will be paying the resort fee as at the time of the reservation. Print that original confirmation and the payment confirmation and take it with you on your trip.

 

[hurnik]

Easy enough to find weeks on Redweek. Why all the complaints about the fees on RCI? Just rent from an owner and leave out the RCI middleman. It is nearly impossible to transfer a membership with Vidanta, and a lot of folks have aged out of using the huge properties with lots of walking or even 2 story units with circular staircases that are impossible to lug up your luggage. Help these folks out! Yes, I am an owner, and I would rent my units but mostly I use them. I know the day will come when I have to rely on Redweek though to try and recoup some of my upfront fees.

The complaints about the fees aren't just RCI. Compared to what the fees have been in the past, these new fees are 2-3x what they were.

If you were paying say, $450 in fees for something and it went to $900-$1300 I'm sure you'd complain too.

 

[trippka]

The complaints about the fees aren't just RCI. Compared to what the fees have been in the past, these new fees are 2-3x what they were.

If you were paying say, $450 in fees for something and it went to $900-$1300 I'm sure you'd complain too.

I understand your point, but the fees are really value of your trade-in + RCI fees + resort fees. My point is that you can still pay about the same amount by paying cash with Redweek and eliminating the trade-in cost and the fees.

 

[bnoble]

Another way I'd phrase what I think @trippka is trying to say: "It's not personal. It's strictly business."