Playa Grande?

[ada903]

I was playing in RCI tonight and put a hold on a two bedroom at Playa Grande Jan 20-27 2012. I see the reviews are overall good, it looks like a newer resort
In October we stayed at the Grand Solmar in the 4 bedroom presidential penthouse, but never visited Playa Grande.

Is Playa Grande similar to Grand Solmar or a notch down? What kind of views do the 2 bedrooms have? Trying to decide if to hold on to it or not, for a trip with hubby.

 

[oldbuyer]

Find out if it is at the ridge or the lower 40. The ridge can be noisy as it faces the navel base and the street below (complete with the barking dogs). The 2 bedroom units in the lower 40 are on the top two floors so they have good views but are typically back from the beach especially compared to Solmar. We prefer the lower 40 but some owners prefer the ridge as it smaller and exclusive from the lower 40. The rooms in both areas are very nice.
PM me if have more questions that I might be able to answer-we spend week one and two at PG every year.

 

[ada903]

Thanks - I don't think I can tell which section from the exchange details. I did read the reviews about the barking dogs, that's awful!

 

[PamMo]

Playa Grande used to be Solmar Group's flagship resort, until Grand Solmar was built. It is very nice, but a notch down from Grand Solmar, and the units are definitely not in the same league as that amazing trade you got at GS.

PG is a massive resort with two sections ("Lower 40" and The Ridge). If you're an exchanger, you won't know which side of the resort you'll be staying in until check-in. The Ridge is the newer section on the rock hill overlooking the Marina and/or the Pacific. The rooms are similar to GS. The upper floors in the A,C,D buildings have nice views (my husband loves the view of the marina). B,E are right above the street and would be way too noisy for me. The Lower 40 units are older, but were refurbished recently, and buildings A,B,C, and part of P have great views of the ocean. The other buildings have good views if you are higher up.

We own several weeks at GS and PG, and enjoy staying in both. We love watching the whales from our oceanfront balcony at PG, but we like the smaller scale of GS. That feeling may change as GS adds more buildings, though.

 

[ada903]

Thanks all for the feedback - I am letting this one go, if anyone wants it, go grab it! It's nice because it is Martin Luther King weekend. My biggest problem, which was the same at Grand Solmar, is the lack of a swimmable beach. I am hoping some day to get into Casa Dorada on Medano Beach, but a winter trade seems hard to get.

 

[maja651]

I sure wish PG traded with Interval! I would take it! Grand Solmar does, not sure why PG doesn't? Pam - do you know?

Michelle

 

[PamMo]

All the Solmar Group used to trade with RCI, but when the Grand Solmar project was announced, the developers decided it would exchange only through II. I suspect it had to do with marketing. Buyers are told they can easily trade into "comparable" resorts like the Westins, Marriotts, Hyatts, etc - all upscale resort systems that Americans buyers are familiar/comfortable with.

Also, RCI has by far the most availabilty in Cabo. Playa Grande and the three Pueblo Bonito resorts have literally thousands of units, so it's probably wise not to be in direct competition with them. Casa Dorada on Medano Beach is the most comparable II resort to Grand Solmar, but it has very limited availability. The new Welk resort is very nice, but not within walkable distance to town. Cabo Villas and Club Cascadas are great resorts, but less "grand".

On a different note, if you own an RCI resort in Los Cabos (San Jose, corridor, or Cabo San Lucas), you can not exchange into another Cabo resort because of the area restriction. Individual resorts have their own rules - PB owners can trade into other PB resorts, and PG can trade back in to PG or "old" Solmar. II has no such restriction on trading back into Cabo.

 

[maja651]

Thanks for the explanation Pam! I still wish we had more options to trade into Cabo via II. We have a request first for next February using our Royal Sands week 17 2013 unit via II but only have 3 resorts listed as options (Grand Solmar, Casa Dorada on Medano Beach and Haciendas Encantadas). We already have a direct trade with an owner for Welk Sirena del Mar, and looking for another week to go 2 weeks back to back. Just wish there were more options! (note, we are picky, and do not want to stay in San Jose or far down the corridor).

Michelle

 

[Neesie]

I almost let the lack of a "swimmable" beach keep me from the Pacific side of Cabo on our first trip. We booked at a resort on Medano beach and found that the four days we spent at Playa Grande was much more enjoyable. We'd have the whole gorgeous beach to ourselves for sunning or walking. No vendors!

 

[dmiller1]

Exchanging Into Cabo

Thanks for the explanation Pam! I still wish we had more options to trade into Cabo via II. We have a request first for next February using our Royal Sands week 17 2013 unit via II but only have 3 resorts listed as options (Grand Solmar, Casa Dorada on Medano Beach and Haciendas Encantadas). We already have a direct trade with an owner for Welk Sirena del Mar, and looking for another week to go 2 weeks back to back. Just wish there were more options! (note, we are picky, and do not want to stay in San Jose or far down the corridor).

Michelle

We exchanged into Cabo through SFX-Resorts. They have lots of resorts in Cabo.

 

[justskipee]

Regarding concurrent weeks rule.

Unrelated to the 2 bedroom question, but regarding playa grande and rci rules.

We are RCI members and on rci.com were able to confirm 3 units at playa grande for the same start date in the next couple months. We have a big group and need three 1 bedrooms (no 2 bedrooms available). After confirming we saw their little message about concurrent weeks:

"There is an area block that restricts owners within the State of Baja California from confirming into this resort. No more than two concurrent or consecutive weeks allowed for non owners.
Resort authorizes non owners only one extra vacation week to be confirmed. Playa Grande Owners are waived from the 1 in 4 year rule fro Extra Vacations and weeks exchanges. Owners may only confirm up to three concurrent or consecutive weeks." blah blah blah, usual confusing repetitive unedited rci material.

Seems like we were only supposed to confirm 2, but the 3 went through anyway. If it all gets approved by RCI, will we have an issue checking in with the three units? What if each room had a different guest certificate? Anyone with any experience with this?

Thanks for your help,
Justin

 

[nazclk]

February in Cabo

Weeks in February are pretty hard to trade for. I usually book my Cabo weeks in February a year in advance.

 

[heathpack]

Thanks all for the feedback - I am letting this one go, if anyone wants it, go grab it! It's nice because it is Martin Luther King weekend. My biggest problem, which was the same at Grand Solmar, is the lack of a swimmable beach. I am hoping some day to get into Casa Dorada on Medano Beach, but a winter trade seems hard to get.

Welk Sirena Del Mar has a cove with a small beach that I understand is usually swimmable. I think the beack is pebbly and down a flight of stairs, but if you want to swim in the ocean in the Cabo area, you might add this to your list. Will be able to tell you more after our April trip- we are at Sirena del Mar for the second week of our trip.

H