Newbie Questions for a Hilton Head Marriott Timeshare

[ctbohio]

My husband and I have vacationed in Hilton Head for many years. We typically stay in the Omni (formerly Hilton) and it has served us well. However, we are limited there to a single hotel room and getting a decent rate is getting harder to come by. We are also limited to the school year calendar.

A time share is appealing because it seems like a way to "lock-in" peak season access to an oceanfront resort by making an upfront financial commitment. We would only buy used and would not rush into this decision.

Couple questions for the "Experts".

My husband's job prevents us from booking until around January of the year we plan to travel. Do we still have odds of getting summer rentals waiting until that time of year? This year, we traveled right after memorial day, which is not quite peak season, so we will try to do that when his schedule allows.

Do you think prices on the Marriott properties will moderate once the new Hilton timeshare property is active? I don't have any perspective on what these timeshares cost originally, but given our desire for oceanview unit/platinum weeks/oceanfront property, used prices seem to be in $13-$20+K range.

We would only do a timeshare that has a floating week (not a single fixed week). Thinking about Barony that has the full summer as platinum so we have more flexibility as to when to travel. I like the idea of doing gold at Grande Ocean, but have been reading that those last two week of gold in late May and June are tough to get. Thoughts on this?

We definitely want at least ocean view - hubby would probably prefer ocean front, but read here that availability is limited. Would you go ocean view or ocean front for availability reasons?

Give our comfort in waiting this out for a good deal, is it absurd to visit each of the resorts on this year's trip? Would we call Marriott to arrange that or each resort individually?

For those of you that own within HHI, how did you pick your resort? I feel like my options are being narrowed quickly because 1) we want an oceanfront resort, 2) we don't want a fixed week, and 2) the calendars are not identical.

Any other important lessons learned from being a timeshare owner within the Marriott system you would like to share?

 

[dioxide45]

I think a platinum HHI week is a good option. I believe most of the calendars go from the first week of June to the last week of August. So if you can book one of those weeks, that would work well. The peak July weeks will be booked long before you can book in January. I would actually suggest booking a desired week at the 12 month mark and then change it if you need to when your husband's schedule can be nailed down.

Now, a platinum HHI week isn't going to come cheap. Even resale. It will be cheaper than the equivalent DC points from Marriott.

 

[m61376]

And to add to Dioxide's post- not only will a Plat. resale week be cheaper than the requisite number of points required to book a summer week in Barony, for ex., but ownership of a deeded week guarantees you a week in your season, while getting a points reservation may be more difficult.

That said, perhaps one of the Barony owners (or other HH owners here) can chime in as to how likely you will be to get a good week if you need to switch. Def. make a reservation at the 12 month mark. Come Jan., you'll just be left will mostly cancellations or weeks that others have switched, and it may take several calls to get what you want, if you can get a week that'll work. Your best chance of getting what you want is when you reserve when the reservation window opens- exactly 12 months out )if you buy, we'll be happy to explain the reservation system). And you may get a Friday or Sunday arrival when you'd prefer a Sat., for ex.; def. will have less choices closer in.

I haven't been down there, but from reading other's posts there is def. a "flavor" to each resort, and visiting each one would enable you to decide which you prefer. Alternately, you can search for posts here comparing the different resorts, but that's interpreting others' opinions.

 

[wisbadgerm]

Two suggestions you might consider.

First if you buy and reserve a great week at 12 months and it turns out to be a week that does not work out for you, you could rent the week and use the money to rent a week on HH for the week you want. This is more work but gives you flexibility on timing and location.

Another easier way is to rent DC points which generally cost about the same as the points maintenance fee, about 50 cents per point. Since you would not be DC points members you would have to rent the points from someone willing to make the reservation for you. Again you get flexibility in timing and location. Also you would avoid the large purchase investment with the mandatory maintenance fee cost, which can turn out to be burdensome in the future if your situation changes. There are usually some points owners with a large number of points that they want to rent and they get to make point reservations as far out as possible.

 

[downtownrb]

Another easier way is to rent DC points which generally cost about the same as the points maintenance fee, about 50 cents per point.

Only problem with this is, Barony for summer Ocean Side is 4500 points - which is $2250 renting points. The maintenance fee if you own the week is $1232 for 2016, so you save about $1k / year if you plan on going here for a while by buying a week. You can find slightly cheaper rentals ($2k) by renting off someone who owns the week and not doing points.

Barony owner here... bought my unit (Platinum Ocean Side) for $10k off Ebay last year. My parents have been an owner there from the start.

If you want a July week, you need to reserve in advance.

If you are fine with June or August, booking after January is generally fine.

My parents usually wait until Feb / March to book and have always been able to get an August week. You may just need to be flexible on check-in day. Such as Friday or Sunday, rather than a Saturday check-in.

 

[jpc763]

Something to think about would be to delay any purchase decision until you could rent from each of the properties that you are interested in.

Looking at TUG there are a few Barony summer weeks for 2400 - 2600.

Right now, there at ton's of weeks on Redweek.com for summer and this is December. Example is a Oceanfront 2BR for 2800 (May 20 - 27) or an Ocean View in June (19-26) for $2650.

Also consider that purchasing a Barony week will run you $1232 next year in maintenance fees above and beyond the cost of the week.

For points, the cost of a week prior to May 27 is 3450 for Ocean View and 4000 for Oceanfront. From May 27 through August 25 it is 4500 for OV and 5400 for OF. Rental of points tends to be around $0.50 per point so you can expect to pay about $2700 for an Oceanfront summer week using points.

 

[SueDonJ]

... We definitely want at least ocean view - hubby would probably prefer ocean front, but read here that availability is limited. Would you go ocean view or ocean front for availability reasons?

Give our comfort in waiting this out for a good deal, is it absurd to visit each of the resorts on this year's trip? Would we call Marriott to arrange that or each resort individually?

For those of you that own within HHI, how did you pick your resort? I feel like my options are being narrowed quickly because 1) we want an oceanfront resort, 2) we don't want a fixed week, and 2) the calendars are not identical.

Any other important lessons learned from being a timeshare owner within the Marriott system you would like to share?

I think visiting each of the HHI resorts that directly front the ocean (Barony Beach, SurfWatch, Grande Ocean, Monarch) is a good idea so you can get the "flavor" of each, and visiting for just a few days can be done either through cash stays booked at marriott.com or through rentals from Marriott DC Points owners/members.

The Gold weeks bookmarking the Plat season are high-demand as are all of the full-summer Plat weeks. Availability is going to be an issue and I wouldn't suggest that you purchase unless you can commit at the earliest possible 12-months single-week Reservation Window.

You mention that you prefer "oceanview." A caution that at these four resorts the units were sold with "oceanfront, oceanvista, oceanside and gardenview" and that an actual view of the ocean isn't guaranteed from any of them - the designation relates more to the building placements within the resort footprints than to the view that will be seen by each unit in a building. At Barony Beach all of the units designated "oceanfront" actually front the ocean; at Grande Ocean some of the "oceanfront" units are side-facing; at SurfWatch there is no "oceanfront" designation and the "oceanvista" building is set back from the beach by a marsh. (I'm not sure about Monarch.) If a view of the ocean is that important to you, you'll want to purchase "oceanfront" or "oceanvista" so that the unit placement odds are in your favor for an actual ocean view more times than not, but even then if you're placed in a unit on a lower floor your view will be obstructed by the dune line. (And note that the marriott.com system uses different terminology such as "close to ocean," "courtyard view" etc.)

These are many threads comparing the HHI resorts, these should get you started:
Grande Ocean - Ocean Front versus Ocean Side
Most family friendly Hilton Head resort?
Your thoughts about Marriott's Barony Beach

 

[ctbohio]

Thank you so much for the initial thoughts, especially about the "ocean view" being different than what we would all consider ocean view. Renting points confuses me, but renting a week does make sense. I am a little uneasy about making sure I don't get scammed but I just need to do my homework to make sure I know the best approach.

Thanks also for the helpful links - I will take a look at all of them.

 

[ctbohio]

Another follow-up related question about the adjacent beach for each of these properties.

We did NOT like the beach outside the westin. There was a weird pool of water that we had to trudge through with our stuff before you got to a spot where you could put down your chairs. We also found the sand to be more "shelly" and the water to have a steep drop-off versus the very gradual drop off at the Omni.

Is Barony's beach the same as the westin?

We are familiar also with the public beach at the very end of the island, which I presume is similar to what I would find at Surfwatch or GO.

 

[SueDonJ]

Another follow-up related question about the adjacent beach for each of these properties.

We did NOT like the beach outside the westin. There was a weird pool of water that we had to trudge through with our stuff before you got to a spot where you could put down your chairs. We also found the sand to be more "shelly" and the water to have a steep drop-off versus the very gradual drop off at the Omni.

Is Barony's beach the same as the westin?

We are familiar also with the public beach at the very end of the island, which I presume is similar to what I would find at Surfwatch or GO.

We noticed the large tide pool at Barony during our last stay. Although the area isn't included in the major beach renourishment project that's scheduled for early 2016, we did hear some talk that it could be included for at least partial work because most of the effect was from recent storms that hadn't been considered when the project was planned.

These projects happen fairly routinely because nature changes the beaches all the time.

 

[disneymom1]

Regarding purchase at Surfwatch - please be aware that the resort was sold with "ultimate occupancy." Some units have 2 view designations on the deed. Preconstruction units were sold with a specific view once the resort was completed. In the interim, there was a temporary assigned view, thus 2 views will show on the deed. Prior to purchase, verify view assignment with Marriott Vacation Club owner services.

Barony, Surfwatch and Westin are in the same area of the beach. Barony is literally next door to the Westin.

In my opinion, Surfwatch is the most beautiful (and newest) of the three resorts. None of the units are beach front. Ocean Vista view has a view of the ocean, but is not ocean front per say. From the farthest building, it is a 10-15 minute walk to the beach. There is a golf cart service providing transportation to and from the beach. There is a pool and bar at the beach.

Barony does have ocean front. I have never stayed at Barony but I have toured it a few times and in my opinion, it feels congested. Oceanfront will be in the front of the property so it won't feel congested.

Grande Ocean (all units) has the easiest beach access and includes passes (bike and car) to Sea Pines. Ocean Front is a building assignment guaranteeing you a building closest to the ocean, not necessarily guaranteeing you a view of the ocean.

Platinum season at Surfwatch and Barony is a few weeks longer than Grande Ocean.

Next time you stay at Hilton Head, take a tour of the resorts you may be interested in purchasing.

Good luck! There are lots of Hilton Head fans on this board that can answer any questions you have.

 

[ctbohio]

I think the calendar at Barony and Surfwatch are bit more conducive to when I want to travel. My kids have a school calendar that lets out early and we really liked being there in early June, but again, can't guarantee that the calendar won't change or that hubby can get off those early weeks again.

In terms of touring, do you suggest calling each resort separately or just making a single call to Marriott to arrange it.

 

[taterhed]

Others may disagree...
We have always just 'popped in' for a quick tour when we want to visit. This works better on slower days and not during check-in times. This varies though based on whether the resort has active sales staff/demo rooms etc... It's worked well for us several times. Careful what you ask for; if you call sales, your 'tour' could turn into more than what you bargain for. cheers.

 

[dioxide45]

Any time we have wanted to just tour the resort, we were always told we had to call the sales/marketing department. You were not allowed to just wander around on your own. The only other way to tour was to book an actual stay there.

You may be able to call the resort GM and see if you can arrange a look around, but they may or may not be accommodating because they work for both the HOA and Marriott. Plus, they don't necessarily have the time to take someone around the property to look around.

 

[taterhed]

Others may disagree...
We have always just 'popped in' for a quick tour when we want to visit. This works better on slower days and not during check-in times. This varies though based on whether the resort has active sales staff/demo rooms etc... It's worked well for us several times. Careful what you ask for; if you call sales, your 'tour' could turn into more than what you bargain for. cheers.

Any time we have wanted to just tour the resort, we were always told we had to call the sales/marketing department. You were not allowed to just wander around on your own. The only other way to tour was to book an actual stay there.

You may be able to call the resort GM and see if you can arrange a look around, but they may or may not be accommodating because they work for both the HOA and Marriott. Plus, they don't necessarily have the time to take someone around the property to look around.

Good points:
In one case, we walked up to sales center at end of day...asked for 'quick tour' It worked. In other case, we asked nicely at front desk and were allowed to see a room and a 2c tour of general grounds area.
Of course, YMMV.