I hope someone can shed some light on purchasing at Marriott's Aruba Surf. Will the Gold season trade well? Will a garden view unit be a trading disadvantage? We plan to go to the resort often (every other year) and trade in the off years. I realize that Platinum season is always best for trading but need to know if Gold season or garden view is a poor choice for this resort. The Gold season, garden view is a few thousand dollars less than the Platinum ocean view units and I need to know if it will be worth spending the money for Platinum. Also, are the mosquitoes prevalent at the resorts in Aruba? Thanks!
The Aruba units are some of the strongest traders. In fact, a couple of years ago one of the Tuggers did a comparison on Redweek's trading system to see what July 4th weeks at different resorts were awarded point-wise by Redweek (reflecting Redweek's assessment or their relative trade value). The list included 2BR units at many popular Marriotts- including Maui and other Hawaii resorts, Vegas, Orlando resorts, NCV and I believe HH properties, etc.. Interestingly, Redweek valued the SC higher than any other property.
II is view-blind, so for trading purposes today OF=GV. IF Marriott introduces an internal exchange program, I would assume better views would both be awarded and cost more points to trade into. Of course, this is all conjecture.
Since, if the new program is release later this week as rumored, it will be impossible to have closed prior to the new program being instituted, I would recommend holding off until you see how future resale owners will fare. I suspect that Marriott may treat current resale owners differently than future resale buyers (but they may not), but given the current timing I'd hold off for a week or two and see what rolls down the pike.
But Gold IF you want to travel to Aruba during that time frame. Buy Platinum if you want a winter break. Aruba is a year round destination, below the hurricane belt. The season designations are more because of greater demand of Northeasterners to escape the winter cold than the weather being better over the Platinum season. We own both a Plat. and a Gold unit, and have visited winter and summer and have had great trips.
Personally, I am a mosquito magnet- if they are around, somehow they manage to find me. At home, my DH can be with me and not get a single bite, and I can have several. Yet, I have not gotten a single mosquito bite while on vacation in Aruba. I pack the Off as suggested for several of the outdoor restaurants, esp. on the beach at sunset, yet have never used it. My DH laughs every time I pack. Trust me, if mosquitoes were a problem, I'd know; I actually get allergic reactions to them and usually need to use a steroid cream.