Presidential Reserve

[Jan M.]

Unless your goal is to be able to stay in the PR units at the limited number of PR resorts I would never recommend spending the money. There are currently only 18 PR resorts. If you look at the list of PR resorts on the website Glacier Canyon is still listed. It hasn't been a PR resort for a year now. Don't be swayed by the PR perks for PR owners staying in a PR unit. They make it sound much better than it is. At some resorts, it's a joke.

 

[VacayKat]

Do you want to book PR units at PR resorts in the ARP window? 14-12 at home resort, 12-10 at other PR resorts. If you do then PR will work for you. If not, points are points at 10 months out just like other points. So the difference would be to get robes, chocolates, better soaps, Starbucks coffee, and the occassional amenity. So that perk alone is not worth an upgrade to PR in actuality. And that perk only applies to the PR resorts. As far at Registry Collection, I have it through my DVC RCI account. I saw one Wyndham property and it would have cost so much more than our full price points for that resort.

Since you are already Founder's, there isn't much that you are missing for the price tag that will come along with it.

For registry collection we wouldn't be looking for wyndham properties, would be looking for ones we cant reserve in wyndham. How is registry collection? Have you used it? What’s the availability etc.

 

[VacayKat]

We spend five to six months a year in Florida during the winter months. We are VIPP and are able to book the entire time at 50% points discount with unit upgrades by being flexible. And, we have points left over for some summer travel. We’ve retired and have been doing this for the last 10 years. My point is, you don’t need a lot of points if you travel in the winter.

Question to PR owners, how often are point discounts available for PR units? Being that there are a limited number of PR units, isn’t it more difficult to reserve a PR unit vs. a regular unit at a points discount.

Yes- though we won’t be retired and won’t have the the same flexibility. We’ll need more points than folks who are.

 

[VacayKat]

Unless your goal is to be able to stay in the PR units at the limited number of PR resorts I would never recommend spending the money. There are currently only 18 PR resorts. If you look at the list of PR resorts on the website Glacier Canyon is still listed. It hasn't been a PR resort for a year now. Don't be swayed by the PR perks for PR owners staying in a PR unit. They make it sound much better than it is. At some resorts, it's a joke.

The perks aren't swaying - just looking to learn about them. For e.g. found great details about Smuggler’s notch but nothing about anywhere else.

 

[Manzana]

The perks aren't swaying - just looking to learn about them. For e.g. found great details about Smuggler’s notch but nothing about anywhere else.

Can you share the Smuggles Notch details

 

[VacayKat]

Can you share the Smuggles Notch details

RCI Members | Smugglers’ Notch Resort Vermont

If you're planning to visit us here in Northern Vermont, check our programs and facilities schedule based upon your chosen dates.

www.smuggs.com

 

[Eric B]

For registry collection we wouldn't be looking for wyndham properties, would be looking for ones we cant reserve in wyndham. How is registry collection? Have you used it? What’s the availability etc.

You can look for yourself at the website; they post the current availability updated twice per day. My membership is on the weeks side of Registry; similar to RCI there is also a points side and the availability is different. Availability right now will be much greater than typical due to COVID, though.

As I've mentioned in some other threads, some of the higher-end resorts are shifting their bulk deposits from RCI/II/Registry to ThirdHome and other exchanges. There used to be a fairly decent amount of 4 BR and 3 BR Loft Grand Luxxe Residence weeks going into Registry and II, but that's dried up due to Vidanta moving their bulk deposits and the relatively low number of owner deposits. Happy to let you know what I've seen on the Registry weeks side if there are any resorts you're particularly interested in. I do know that Wyndham limits certain resorts to access through Wyndham corporate accounts (e.g., the 2 BR weeks at Sirena del Mar are only accessible through the Wyndham RCI Portal, not through an individual RCI account), so there are likely some Registry ones that are only accessible through a Wyndham PR Registry account; I just don't have any experience with what ones those would be. IMHO, you can get access to exchanges into equivalent or better resorts using independent exchanges rather than investing in a 1,000,000 point Wyndham PR addition to your holdings.

 

[bendadin]

The perks aren't swaying - just looking to learn about them. For e.g. found great details about Smuggler’s notch but nothing about anywhere else.

WBC. Lounge in Tower 6. Fancy coffee machine and a pool table.
National Harbor--nothing
Panama City Beach--gift certificate to next door restaurant ($50) or two beach loungers and umbrella for two days
Clearwater--a couple of bottles of water and a candy bar
Midtown 45--lounge for breakfast, snacks daily, maybe only PR hours for the outdoor balcony
Great Smokies Lodge--gift bag with 2 ceramic mugs
Rio Mar-cabana with PR unit
Sundara--water and snack bars
Desert Blue-gift basket
Smuggler's Notch Daily amenity 1 per night
Emerald Grande amenity 1 per night


Maybe someone could verify these:
Avon
Park City
Bali Hai
St Thomas
Canterbury
Dye Villas
King Cotton

 

[Jan M.]

St. Thomas was a few snacks.

 

[VacayKat]

WBC. Lounge in Tower 6. Fancy coffee machine and a pool table.
National Harbor--nothing
Panama City Beach--gift certificate to next door restaurant ($50) or two beach loungers and umbrella for two days
Clearwater--a couple of bottles of water and a candy bar
Midtown 45--lounge for breakfast, snacks daily, maybe only PR hours for the outdoor balcony
Great Smokies Lodge--gift bag with 2 ceramic mugs
Rio Mar-cabana with PR unit
Sundara--water and snack bars
Desert Blue-gift basket
Smuggler's Notch Daily amenity 1 per night
Emerald Grande amenity 1 per night


Maybe someone could verify these:
Avon
Park City
Bali Hai
St Thomas
Canterbury
Dye Villas
King Cotton

Thanks- others were not kidding in that there were some poor ‘perks’. Waterbottles and a candy bar? I get better than that in Napa (and did even with only resale points).

 

[Sonny Pham]

Thanks- others were not kidding in that there were some poor ‘perks’. Waterbottles and a candy bar? I get better than that in Napa (and did even with only resale points).

Avon - $150 AMEX card per stay

 

[jhoug]

Park city—varies. sometimes gift basket or bag. sometimes $150 gift card to restaurant Powder at Waldorf across the street or $150 ski rental

 

[dgalati]

It will cost a lot more than just a tip for the chef. Don't believe the sales lies, they were feeding you to convince you to upgrade. You will be disappointed.

Disappointed and a few dollars lighter.

 

[Wyndhamgirl]

I‘m a PR owner and have been for about 10 years. I see the future of PR very questionable! I would not advise doing it. We upgraded to PR because of the PR rooms at Emerald Grande. in the past 1 1/2 years PR rooms at EG have been closed. Different answers every time I ask. They sit empty while I am in a nonPR room And unable to utilize any of the PR benefits!

Glacier Canyon is another resort that was PR and no longer is PR! This was a great perk as I was able to upgrade easily and no longer able to upgrade to PR since these rooms are only presidential. No longer get any of the PR perks either. I think there are other resorts listed as PR but no longer have PR rooms available? Seems like they are doing away with it?

Also you can only get the 13 month APR at your home resort and have to pay the full points. No discount. I love discounts and prefer to use all my points in the 60 day window and now get 60 percent off. All other non PR rooms you down to 9 or 10 months I believe. You get much better apr with club access. Wyndham can discontinue PR at any resort at anytime they want! I see little benefit and feel I would be able to do the same with club access.

btw I have 2/1/2 million points with home resorts are Avon and Edisto. We chose these due to lower maintenance fees.

 

[Jan M.]

We upgraded to PR because of the PR rooms at Emerald Grande. in the past 1 1/2 years PR rooms at EG have been closed. Different answers every time I ask. They sit empty while I am in a nonPR room And unable to utilize any of the PR benefits!

The good news is that the PR units at Emerald Grande are expected to be open in April; possibly sooner.

Why didn't you get your PR benefits when you stayed at Emerald Grande? While PR units are down they're giving PR owners staying in the non PR units the PR benefits. We stayed there in August and again earlier this month and were given our choice of the PR benefits for every day of our stay.

DH thought I had to be wrong when I tried explaining to him where the PR units are located at Emerald Grande. On his way to the pool one morning on our stay earlier this month he saw one of the salesmen so asked him where the PR units are. Later DH and I went exploring. We had intended to just poke our heads in the door to the hallway but saw no one so we walked up and down the hallways to have a good look around. There were ladders and stuff in the hallways but no one was around on either floor. It was during normal work hours on a week day, not lunch time, and we couldn't see any signs of work actively being done. Other PR owners were told that the PR units had been damaged from a water leak. As soon as we opened the door to the hallway the PR units are located in I told DH husband no way was it a water leak; it was a sewage leak. I know the difference between a musty smell from water and the stink of sewer. If you've ever lived anywhere you had the sewer back up in the basement, that's a smell you don't forget. I'm sure they stripped everything out of the units and had professionals in to clean up and decontaminate but the smell still lingers. I told DH I wondered if it's now even possible to get rid of the smell without having to strip the units down to the studs. The delay would be because the developer and possibly Wyndham too have been waiting for the insurance carrier to settle and pay. That's often the case.

I was so po'd about Glacier Canyon! Wyndham must have made the PR owners at Glacier Canyon a sweet deal and had them sign a non disclosure agreement to keep what they were up to under wraps until it was a done deal. Loosing both Glacier Canyon and Chicago in the space of a year sure shook our confidence in the PR program.

 

[A.Win]

I am a bit confused by PR ownership. A Wyndham rep told me that as Founders VIP, I am already at the highest level. She advised me that there was absolutely no need to get PR. Can someone explain what adding PR would do for me? I assume my MFs would increase a tiny bit and I get slightly better access to book PR rooms earlier?

 

[rpeacock]

@Jan M, when you said: "As soon as we opened the door to the hallway the PR units are located in I told DH husband no way was it a water leak; it was a sewage leak."
I wouldn't necessarily come to this (that it was a sewer leak) conclusion as it is likely that the traps to the DWS pipes have dried out (with no one using the plumbing fixtures) causing sewer gasses to come into the units. It is not a permanent smell that seeps into building materials (stripping down to the studs). The likely answer to the units not being available is an intended complete refurbishment of the units. A call to one of your board members would likely clear up this question.
BTW, if you are a PR owner staying at a PR resort but not currently staying in a PR unit it doesn't hurt to ask if you can get the PR amenities (soaps, lotions, coffee, and robes). We ask nicely and they have provided them to us, at least so far.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Wyndhamgirl]

The good news is that the PR units at Emerald Grande are expected to be open in April; possibly sooner.

Why didn't you get your PR benefits when you stayed at Emerald Grande? While PR units are down they're giving PR owners staying in the non PR units the PR benefits. We stayed there in August and again earlier this month and were given our choice of the PR benefits for every day of our stay.

DH thought I had to be wrong when I tried explaining to him where the PR units are located at Emerald Grande. On his way to the pool one morning on our stay earlier this month he saw one of the salesmen so asked him where the PR units are. Later DH and I went exploring. We had intended to just poke our heads in the door to the hallway but saw no one so we walked up and down the hallways to have a good look around. There were ladders and stuff in the hallways but no one was around on either floor. It was during normal work hours on a week day, not lunch time, and we couldn't see any signs of work actively being done. Other PR owners were told that the PR units had been damaged from a water leak. As soon as we opened the door to the hallway the PR units are located in I told DH husband no way was it a water leak; it was a sewage leak. I know the difference between a musty smell from water and the stink of sewer. If you've ever lived anywhere you had the sewer back up in the basement, that's a smell you don't forget. I'm sure they stripped everything out of the units and had professionals in to clean up and decontaminate but the smell still lingers. I told DH I wondered if it's now even possible to get rid of the smell without having to strip the units down to the studs. The delay would be because the developer and possibly Wyndham too have been waiting for the insurance carrier to settle and pay. That's often the case.

I was so po'd about Glacier Canyon! Wyndham must have made the PR owners at Glacier Canyon a sweet deal and had them sign a non disclosure agreement to keep what they were up to under wraps until it was a done deal. Loosing both Glacier Canyon and Chicago in the space of a year sure shook our confidence in the PR program.

I had no idea I could get the PR benefits in a nonPR room at EG! That makes me so mad!! we Have stayed there several times and have paid for fishing trips. My boys love the breakfast. Thanks so much for this information!! We are going again in April and hope to be able to get in a PR room again but if it’s not open yet we will request those daily perks!!

 

[bendadin]

I had no idea I could get the PR benefits in a nonPR room at EG! That makes me so mad!! we Have stayed there several times and have paid for fishing trips. My boys love the breakfast. Thanks so much for this information!! We are going again in April and hope to be able to get in a PR room again but if it’s not open yet we will request those daily perks!!

We aren't getting PR perks on our upcoming visit as they are limited to 10 PR at one time as that is how many PR units they have. And that goes by date of booking.

I was told earlier this year that the PR have structural damage so to expect them to be out another year or two. Wyndham says that they will be open this Spring, though.

 

[Sandi Bo]

I am a bit confused by PR ownership. A Wyndham rep told me that as Founders VIP, I am already at the highest level. She advised me that there was absolutely no need to get PR. Can someone explain what adding PR would do for me? I assume my MFs would increase a tiny bit and I get slightly better access to book PR rooms earlier?

Same similar experience, we were told we didn't nee PR (it's been a few years now) but at both Bonnet Creek and Panama City they weren't interested in marketing it to us. They would have sold us more points, but weren't interested in pitching PR.

 

[jkdresser]

Before jumping to PR find out how many of the resorts actually have PR units and if they are resorts you want to use. I'm under the impression that many resorts do not have them. Also, I'm now seeing PR rooms showing up on my Founders reservations since sometime last month. For example I booked a PR week at National Harbor starting starting March 31. I did that about a month ago so your Founders level may well give you the access you want without the additional expense.

 

[VacayKat]

Before jumping to PR find out how many of the resorts actually have PR units and if they are resorts you want to use. I'm under the impression that many resorts do not have them. Also, I'm now seeing PR rooms showing up on my Founders reservations since sometime last month. For example I booked a PR week at National Harbor starting starting March 31. I did that about a month ago so your Founders level may well give you the access you want without the additional expense.

We were able to book PR units when platinum- but not the ones labeled presidential reserve, those are the ones that come with perks, I believe. At founders the availability wasn't different. Basically presidential room without it being official presidential reserve.
Yeah availability at some resorts but not all is a huge downside.

 

[Steve2]

I'm a PR and I wouldn't think that its really worth it. Almost every sale pitch they Try and convince me to switch to club access. I'm pretty sure they just want to sale something you do not have LOL. They talk about Dog walkers, (dogs not allowed in most resorts) Private Chefs etc. they come at a cost not free/include..Also only your home resort is 14 month reservation. The units are nice that I will say. 1 million points is required last I heard but who knows now? I don't..I avoid sales hostage taking 90 percent of the time nowadays. Same website too FYI

 

[Sandi Bo]

We were able to book PR units when platinum- but not the ones labeled presidential reserve, those are the ones that come with perks, I believe. At founders the availability wasn't different. Basically presidential room without it being official presidential reserve.
Yeah availability at some resorts but not all is a huge downside.

At times we will all see Presidential Reserve rooms available to us. I'm not sure why, they do sometimes appear earlier than I would expect them to (me thinking they are supposed to be saving them for Presidential Reserve members up until 30 days from checkin, there are times we see them months in advance - so must be a numbers thing). If we book those rooms, we are getting a nice room (basically getting a Presidential). We don't get any of the Presidential Reserve perks that a Presidential Reserve member would get.

 

[paxsarah]

At times we will all see Presidential Reserve rooms available to us. I'm not sure why, they do sometimes appear earlier than I would expect them to (me thinking they are supposed to be saving them for Presidential Reserve members up until 30 days from checkin, there are times we see them months in advance - so must be a numbers thing). If we book those rooms, we are getting a nice room (basically getting a Presidential). We don't get any of the Presidential Reserve perks that a Presidential Reserve member would get.

75% of the rooms are supposed to be held for PR members until 30 days prior to check-in, so the remaining 25% should be available to the rest of us until it's gone. I frequently see PR units if I'm checking a resort right at the 10 month mark. Then the closer you get the less likely, until you can see the leftovers at 30 days.