• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Pictures: HICV Scottsdale Resort - 2 BR - Villa 8, Unit 303 (3rd floor)

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
Staying here via RCI. Coming from HGVC, we can see it's a step down from it. As my wife said, the villa feels more like a nice mobile home than a hotel, and as a former owner of a brand new high quality mobile home back in 2016, I do agree. Vinyl flooring, cheap interior doors, outdated shower tiling, older appliances etc. Housekeeping was also an issue. Both bathrooms had long human hair everywhere - we asked the front desk to take care of it, and they did, so overall no big issue.

Having said that, this resort has a lot of other things that are perfect. The pool with the slide is the biggest hit for my kids. They have so much fun there, as do I. There's also a schedule of activities for kids (free for HICV owners, paid for others, AFAIK). The unit itself is very spacious, and has a good layout. You can park your car close to your villa.

Given the price I paid - 7,680 HGVC points + $239 RCI fee, which is equivalent to $783.36 in MFs + $239 RCI = $1,022.36. No resort/housekeeping fees because of a full week stay. At $1022, it's a very good value for money, at least for me. At this price, we will definitely come back in the future (assuming 1-in-3 rule is really gone). Booking via IHG directly would be $1,691, so RCI is 35% off.

I'm not very familiar with HICV system, but AFAIK, it would cost 175,000 HICV points as it's a Prime/Gold season. How much in MFs is this amount of points?

Full gallery is here:
 

Bmatrose

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
373
Reaction score
118
Points
153
Resorts Owned
HICV Elite
If you bought points now it would be around $1750 in maintenance fees for the 175k points
 

golfman

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
19
Reaction score
15
Points
363
Location
Northwest Indiana
I'm not very familiar with HICV system, but AFAIK, it would cost 175,000 HICV points as it's a Prime/Gold season. How much in MFs is this amount of points?
A 2 bedroom in the prime/gold season is actually 135,000 HICV points for a week.
If you ever go again request the other 2 bedroom floor plan(Plan B) and you will get 2 beds in the second bedroom if you have multiple kids.
I just returned from my third trip there and my grandkids loved the pool/play area when they were there.
 

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
A 2 bedroom in the prime/gold season is actually 135,000 HICV points for a week.
Ah, yeah, I identified the season correctly, but then looked it up in the wrong season. Thanks for correcting me.

If you bought points now it would be around $1750 in maintenance fees for the 175k points
Trust points, right?

At this price of MF, ignoring the acquisition cost of points (which is also ridiculous, since you can't buy trust points in resale without losing most of the benefits), I don't see how HICV could be a good long term purchase. Booking this unit for a week is $1691 via IHG. When accounted for the value of IHG rewards earned by using IHG card, it's probably around $1400.

And 135,000 points is $1350 in MFs, vs $1400 hassle free hotel booking? There's absolutely zero sense in owning this timeshare.

How much in MFs are points that originate from the 3 "good" deeded properties - Myrtle Beach, Lake Geneva, Gatlinburg? Is this where the economics turn out better?

If you ever go again request the other 2 bedroom floor plan(Plan B) and you will get 2 beds in the second bedroom if you have multiple kids.

Thanks. They're young enough that a queen bed is not only fine, but even preferable for them. This will change soon, so thanks for sharing.

I just returned from my third trip there and my grandkids loved the pool/play area when they were there.

Yeah, the pool is the main seller here. My wife and I wouldn't see us going back here again if not the kids. Overall, they love it here, I'm neutral, and my wife dislikes it here. My wife feels grossed out by all pool furniture, especially the dirty chaise lounges made of plastic stripes (the cheapest possible chairs, basically). To me, it's acceptable, as the disadvantages are compensated by some others things (like the slide and activities).
 
Last edited:

Mongoose

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
2,064
Reaction score
1,079
Points
373
Location
Colorado
Resorts Owned
Hyatt Pinion Pointe, Hilton The Bay Club, Worldmark
Staying here via RCI. Coming from HGVC, we can see it's a step down from it. As my wife said, the villa feels more like a nice mobile home than a hotel, and as a former owner of a brand new high quality mobile home back in 2016, I do agree. Vinyl flooring, cheap interior doors, outdated shower tiling, older appliances etc. Housekeeping was also an issue. Both bathrooms had long human hair everywhere - we asked the front desk to take care of it, and they did, so overall no big issue.

Having said that, this resort has a lot of other things that are perfect. The pool with the slide is the biggest hit for my kids. They have so much fun there, as do I. There's also a schedule of activities for kids (free for HICV owners, paid for others, AFAIK). The unit itself is very spacious, and has a good layout. You can park your car close to your villa.

Given the price I paid - 7,680 HGVC points + $239 RCI fee, which is equivalent to $783.36 in MFs + $239 RCI = $1,022.36. No resort/housekeeping fees because of a full week stay. At $1022, it's a very good value for money, at least for me. At this price, we will definitely come back in the future (assuming 1-in-3 rule is really gone). Booking via IHG directly would be $1,691, so RCI is 35% off.

I'm not very familiar with HICV system, but AFAIK, it would cost 175,000 HICV points as it's a Prime/Gold season. How much in MFs is this amount of points?

Full gallery is here:
I have 150K at South Beach and I pay $1098 in MFs. A lot of the locations are great. Some of the old Silver Leaf locations are dogs. I love Scottsdale, Cape Canaveral, Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, Vegas and Orange Lake-Orlando.
 

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
I have 150K at South Beach and I pay $1098 in MFs.
That's better! 135K cost you $988.20 in MFs, and I paid $1,022.36 via RCI. And as a member, you'd get free access to some activities that I'd have to pay for.

Is there a booking fee, and/or an annual club fee? (coming from HGVC, it's $59/booking and $193 respectively; the booking fee doesn't apply to RCI as it has its own fees schedule)
 

Mongoose

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
2,064
Reaction score
1,079
Points
373
Location
Colorado
Resorts Owned
Hyatt Pinion Pointe, Hilton The Bay Club, Worldmark
That's better! 135K cost you $988.20 in MFs, and I paid $1,022.36 via RCI. And as a member, you'd get free access to some activities that I'd have to pay for.

Is there a booking fee, and/or an annual club fee? (coming from HGVC, it's $59/booking and $193 respectively; the booking fee doesn't apply to RCI as it has its own fees schedule)
Yes, I think $49 and $135.
 

Bmatrose

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
373
Reaction score
118
Points
153
Resorts Owned
HICV Elite
Ah, yeah, I identified the season correctly, but then looked it up in the wrong season. Thanks for correcting me.


Trust points, right?

At this price of MF, ignoring the acquisition cost of points (which is also ridiculous, since you can't buy trust points in resale without losing most of the benefits), I don't see how HICV could be a good long term purchase. Booking this unit for a week is $1691 via IHG. When accounted for the value of IHG rewards earned by using IHG card, it's probably around $1400.

And 135,000 points is $1350 in MFs, vs $1400 hassle free hotel booking? There's absolutely zero sense in owning this timeshare.

How much in MFs are points that originate from the 3 "good" deeded properties - Myrtle Beach, Lake Geneva, Gatlinburg? Is this where the economics turn out better?



Thanks. They're young enough that a queen bed is not only fine, but even preferable for them. This will change soon, so thanks for sharing.



Yeah, the pool is the main seller here. My wife and I wouldn't see us going back here again if not the kids. Overall, they love it here, I'm neutral, and my wife dislikes it here. My wife feels grossed out by all pool furniture, especially the dirty chaise lounges made of plastic stripes (the cheapest possible chairs, basically). To me, it's acceptable, as the disadvantages are compensated by some others things (like the slide and activities).
I agree buying trust points is not a great option. I currently have 1.3 million of the older deeded points and i pay .0074 cents a point. The sweet spot to be at is the Standard Elite Level which includes unlimited free upgrades and gives me the ability to rent another 1.3 million points at .005 cents a point which is half the cost of trust maintenance fees.
 

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
I agree buying trust points is not a great option. I currently have 1.3 million of the older deeded points and i pay .0074 cents a point.

That's a good price. The cost of booking this property with your MFs is on par with what I paid by exchanging using HGVC MFs + cash.

You: (135000 × $0.0074) + $49 = $1,048
Me: $783.36 in MFs + $239 RCI = $1,022.36

I currently have 1.3 million of the older deeded points

That's a decent number! Ten weeks of vacation in 2 BRs in mid-season, pretty cool!

gives me the ability to rent another 1.3 million points at .005 cents a point

Is it basically paying 0.0074pp for points but then getting paid 0.005pp for letting HICV use your points for IHG.com bookings, effectively paying only 0.0024pp for these unused points?

Or is it ability for your to rent another 1.3m pts from HICV, for a total of 2.6m for you to use in a year?
 

bizaro86

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
3,663
Reaction score
2,488
Points
598
Location
Calgary, AB, Canada
For most mini-systems you can exchange in using an inexpensive trader for less to the extent you can find exchange rooms available. Sometimes even with the same system!

If you don't need the flexibility of booking stays of different lengths and are happy with the availability in RCI then I'd probably just stick with what you have.

As an aside - which activities did you think were an extra charge for non-owners? We own HICV and were there in March - nobody asked me if we were owners during any activity, although we only did a few.
 

golfman

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
19
Reaction score
15
Points
363
Location
Northwest Indiana
As an aside - which activities did you think were an extra charge for non-owners? We own HICV and were there in March - nobody asked me if we were owners during any activity, although we only did a few.
Same for us. We were never asked if we were owners or not. Some of the craft activities have a fee but everyone pays the fee whether they are owners or not.
 

Bmatrose

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
373
Reaction score
118
Points
153
Resorts Owned
HICV Elite
That's a good price. The cost of booking this property with your MFs is on par with what I paid by exchanging using HGVC MFs + cash.

You: (135000 × $0.0074) + $49 = $1,048
Me: $783.36 in MFs + $239 RCI = $1,022.36



That's a decent number! Ten weeks of vacation in 2 BRs in mid-season, pretty cool!



Is it basically paying 0.0074pp for points but then getting paid 0.005pp for letting HICV use your points for IHG.com bookings, effectively paying only 0.0024pp for these unused points?

Or is it ability for your to rent another 1.3m pts from HICV, for a total of 2.6m for you to use in a year?

The price comparison doesn't take into account the unlimited upgrades so the 2 bedroom would only cost me 90k points so around $700 with booking fees.
So my 1.3 million points could get me about 14 weeks at that resort during mid season
The renting points is that I could technically use 2.6 million points with a total maintenance cost of around $16K
 

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
The price comparison doesn't take into account the unlimited upgrades so the 2 bedroom would only cost me 90k points so around $700 with booking fees.
Is it an upgrade determined at the time of booking, or at checkin? Because if it's the latter, I'd never book 1 BR if I have an actual need for 2 BR (e.g. extended family joining in, family with kids above certain age, etc). For example, I use my HH (hotels not timeshares) points to book 2 queen studios and get upgraded to 1 BR most of the times, because an upgrade is nice but not required (we're fine with 2 queen studio). But when I do need something, I book exactly what I need. You can increase your chances of an upgrade by booking last minute, and checking availability (e.g. make sure 2 BR is available for tomorrow, so you book 1 BR and expect to be upgraded), but it's still gambling, plus timeshares aren't typically booked last minute. So ultimately, I don't look at what "2 BR would cost you [assuming an upgrade happens]", because if you really needed 2 BR, you wouldn't book 1 BR and gamble on an upgrade, would you? That said, upgrades are nice when they happen. I love Diamond-status upgrades on my HH bookings.
 
Last edited:

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
Here's my final take on the property. New or modified content in blue.
---

Staying here via RCI. Coming from HGVC, we can see it's a step down from it. As my wife said, the villa feels more like a nice mobile home than a hotel, and as a former owner of a brand new high quality mobile home back in 2016, I do agree. Vinyl flooring, cheap interior doors, everything is flimsy (e.g. kitchen bar countertop shakes when you close exterior doors), outdated shower tiling (seriously, it looks like 80s), older appliances, pretty weak dryer that won't dry a blanket (fortunately, it's 110F outside during my stay), extremely loud A/C, furniture of lesser quality, ceiling fan that almost falls apart, etc. Housekeeping was also an issue. Both bathrooms had long human hair everywhere - we asked the front desk to take care of it, and they did, so overall no big issue. And the clientele here is not the best. It's the first time I've ever seen three drunk people in my whole timesharing "career" - these folks were very obnoxious, one guy was super loud, and a lady was drunk so much she fell on the ground at the pool. I don't mind folks enjoying their time with a drink at the pool or even a joint on a balcony, but as soon as you're louder than kids around you, you're an asshole that needs to be booted.

Having said that, this resort has a lot of other things that are pretty okay. The pool with the slide is the biggest hit for my kids. They have so much fun there, as do I, even though the pool furniture is gross - not only is it the cheapest Walmart junk, but also dirty or rotten. There's also a schedule of activities for kids (free for HICV owners, paid for others, AFAIK). The unit itself is very spacious, and has a good layout. You have one huge balcony on one side (living room / master bedroom), and a smaller one on the staircase side overlooking a pool. There's a total of 4 pools, and every group of villas has "its own" closest pool with basically no walk needed (which is better than HGVC Kings Land or Kohala Suites). You can park your car close to your villa. And I like the outside look of all buildings - very appealing to eye.

This resort has a ton of unrealized potential. Fixing the bad parts wouldn't be that capital-intensive - more of a one-time effort to up the standards, and not something that would cost significantly more in maintenance fees to maintain at that standard.

Speaking of economics,
I paid 7,680 HGVC points + $239 RCI fee, which is equivalent to $783.36 in MFs + $239 RCI = $1,022.36. No resort/housekeeping fees because of a full week stay. At $1022, it's a very good value for money, at least for me. At this price, we may consider coming back in the future (assuming 1-in-3 rule is really gone), but HGVC MarBrisa or Orlando properties are better value (2 BR in late May/early June is still Gold season, so 8,000 HGVC points + $59 = $875, or 11,200 HGVC points + $59 = $1201 in Platinum season). Booking via IHG directly would be $1,691, so RCI is 35% off. Overall, this property is a good destination if you have a lot of expired HGVC points deposited to RCI - otherwise HGVC has better in-network resorts to offer.

Booking as a HICV member, 2 BR unit here would cost 135,000 points as it's a Prime/Gold season. That would be around:

  • $1,350 in MFs on trust points + $49 booking fee = $1,400. At that price, it makes more sense to book via IHG directly for $1,691 and pay with IHG credit card to get an effective discount of ~10-20%.
  • $1,000 in MFs on good deeded ownership + $49 booking fee = $1,050. At that price, HICV makes sense, especially if you are Standard Elite Level and get free upgrades.
 
Last edited:

Bmatrose

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
373
Reaction score
118
Points
153
Resorts Owned
HICV Elite
Is it an upgrade determined at the time of booking, or at checkin? Because if it's the latter, I'd never book 1 BR if I have an actual need for 2 BR (e.g. extended family joining in, family with kids above certain age, etc). For example, I use my HH (hotels not timeshares) points to book 2 queen studios and get upgraded to 1 BR most of the times, because an upgrade is nice but not required (we're fine with 2 queen studio). But when I do need something, I book exactly what I need. You can increase your chances of an upgrade by booking last minute, and checking availability (e.g. make sure 2 BR is available for tomorrow, so you book 1 BR and expect to be upgraded), but it's still gambling, plus timeshares aren't typically booked last minute. So ultimately, I don't look at what "2 BR would cost you [assuming an upgrade happens]", because if you really needed 2 BR, you wouldn't book 1 BR and gamble on an upgrade, would you? That said, upgrades are nice when they happen. I love Diamond-status upgrades on my HH bookings.

The upgrade is at booking. So you know right away. As long as both rooms are available at time of booking you get the upgraded room for the price of the lower room.
 

TUGBrian

Administrator
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
22,091
Reaction score
7,673
Points
1,099
Location
Florida

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard

Nowaker

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2021
Messages
1,124
Reaction score
891
Points
173
Location
Wilson County, Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC: 41,520 points - Coylumbridge, Flamingo, Elara, Trump, 2x Boulevard
Update on the clientele part after my stay concluded:

And the clientele here is not the best. It's the first time I've ever seen three drunk people in my whole timesharing "career" - these folks were very obnoxious, one guy was super loud, and a lady was drunk so much she fell on the ground at the pool. And on our last night there, there was a smoker at one of the pools (Serenity) and when we couldn't stand the stench and moved to another pool (Waterfall), there were two dudes sitting in a hot tub drinking beers from glass containers, and opening their bottles against the fence. I don't mind folks enjoying their time with a drink at the pool or even a joint on a balcony, but as soon as you're louder than kids around you, you make other people at the pool smell your *bleep*ing cigarettes, or put other people at danger with glass containers, you're an asshole that needs to be booted, and the resort is no better by attracting such clientele.

Given 3 different problems at 3 different pools on 2 different days, my family decided we would never be coming back to HICV Scottsdale, and potentially all HICV (given this gross pool furniture seems to be standard for other HICV resorts, as seen pictures on Google Maps - and that's "Signature" collection?!). It's such a step down from HGVC in terms of quality of clientele that this isn't acceptable to us.
 

Mongoose

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
2,064
Reaction score
1,079
Points
373
Location
Colorado
Resorts Owned
Hyatt Pinion Pointe, Hilton The Bay Club, Worldmark
Update on the clientele part after my stay concluded:

And the clientele here is not the best. It's the first time I've ever seen three drunk people in my whole timesharing "career" - these folks were very obnoxious, one guy was super loud, and a lady was drunk so much she fell on the ground at the pool. And on our last night there, there was a smoker at one of the pools (Serenity) and when we couldn't stand the stench and moved to another pool (Waterfall), there were two dudes sitting in a hot tub drinking beers from glass containers, and opening their bottles against the fence. I don't mind folks enjoying their time with a drink at the pool or even a joint on a balcony, but as soon as you're louder than kids around you, you make other people at the pool smell your *bleep*ing cigarettes, or put other people at danger with glass containers, you're an asshole that needs to be booted, and the resort is no better by attracting such clientele.

Given 3 different problems at 3 different pools on 2 different days, my family decided we would never be coming back to HICV Scottsdale, and potentially all HICV (given this gross pool furniture seems to be standard for other HICV resorts, as seen pictures on Google Maps - and that's "Signature" collection?!). It's such a step down from HGVC in terms of quality of clientele that this isn't acceptable to us.
Only a small portion of units at that location are Signature. If you traded in, I would be surprised if you received signature. They (Signature) are very nice and above standard HGVC (I own both). I've stayed there many times and never had an issue. Not sure you can blame the hotel for bad acts of its guests. Sorry they had a negative impact on your stay. I have noticed a falling off in service at all hotels and timeshares (HICV, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Embassy Suite, etc) since covid. They blame it on staffing which may be partially true, but I think they accept reduced quality of service as part of the new normal.
 
Last edited:

silentg

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
6,185
Reaction score
3,260
Points
649
Location
Central Florida
Resorts Owned
Fitzpatrick's Castle Holiday Homes,
Enchanted Isle.
I can’t speak about HICV in Scottsdale, but all the other ones I've stayed at especially Orange Lake have been very nice. We haven’t interacted with too many other guests, but the actions of those folks you encountered would turn me off too. So sad that grown people don’t know how to act in public.
 
Top