Ranking the Top Timeshare Systems

[DeniseM]

Hi Denise,

The resort I was thinking of most is Sheraton's Desert Oasis in Scottsdale.

Steve

That's simple to explain - it wasn't built by Starwood! They bought it from another one of the big Co.'s, but I can't remember who, right at the moment.

 

[mesamirage]

Sheraton Oasis

That's simple to explain - it wasn't built by Starwood! They bought it from another one of the big Co.'s, but I can't remember who, right at the moment.

That property was purchased from Embassy if I remember correctly.

Steve

 

[DeniseM]

That property was purchased from Embassy if I remember correctly.

Steve

Bingo! From the TUG Advice Page:
Sheraton’s Desert Oasis (formerly Embassy Vacation Resorts Scottsdale)

 

[Dean]

As hinted at above, it really depends on what criteria you use. For resort Quality across the board, and functioning of the points system, I'd put DVC ahead of all on this list. After that Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood. All with the plusses and minuses of course and all with a very close overall score. But if you manipulated the criteria the order would change depending on the specific parameters.

 

[Transit]

How awsome would it be if these top rated hotel based timeshares started an internal exchange with each other ?

 

[Dean]

How awsome would it be if these top rated hotel based timeshares started an internal exchange with each other ?

DVC has that on a small scale. Currently it is with CI and Cordial, included Shell also a number of years ago. I've said the same thing many times in the past. The points systems would be the easiest though I could envision ways for Marriott and similar companies to work as well. DVC actually has their own trading company registered, it's call the Buena Vista Trading Company. Their contract with II forbids them doing 7 day exchanges with members of II. I think they should simply drop II and expand this area.

 

[KOR5Star]

1) Starwood - Because I'm Platinum for hotel stays (wife has plat for 5Star). I know their TS offering really well.

2) Hilton - Because I'm Diamond for hotel stays. I know the Hilton TS offering really well too. Bought Starwood, because it was better for me, but it came really close.

3) Hyatt - Fairly familiar. A solid #3 IMHO.

4) Marriott - Know this really well. I used to be Platinum before I bought Westin and changed my hotel loyalties. When we decided to buy TS, Marriott was our first choice and we thought we were just doing due diligence by researching the others. We were surprised by how out-classed Marriott was by the competitors (in reference to what we felt was important). A couple of important kinks makes this #4 for us.

 

[haygos01]

HGVC #1 in my book

As with others on this thread I too have a bias...

My ranking would have HGVC at the top. The ease of booking, moving from one resort to the next and simplicity of the system speaks volumes to me.

Marriott may have more diverse resort locations however the ability to trade from one to the other is no where near as easy as booking the resort you want when you want.

If you are part of HGVC you may have already noticed the ability to view availability for most of thier resorts on line, and in the past year or two the addition of resort affiliates in BC, ONT, NYC, Bermuda, So Cal, Ireland and Portugal.

So the largest complaint I read on this BB is the selection which it seems to me has been heard and positive steps are in play to address this concern.

I have toured Starwood, and Hyatt and have read the Marriott program as well as discusded it with Marriott owners.

For me:

HGVC
Marriott
Hyatt
Starwood

rank in that order.

 

[Ken555]

Great post! And biased as anything else here...

For myself, I own at two SVN properties so I'd have to put SW at the top of my list. I found the comment re small 1-bed's hilarious since the same poster preferred a Marriott lock-off...and it's the tiny lock-off (can you say hotel room?) at the Marriott which convinced me to buy a Westin instead.

Marriott would be a close #2, but that's because out of these choices it's the only other that I know well enough to rate. I stayed at the Marriott Custom House and thought it was a fantastic property (and would love to return). I've also toured all the Palm Springs properties.

Years ago I stayed at the Highlands Inn for a conference. I had no idea where I was going when I left and thought it was a great place and would love to return on holiday. Only after I returned home did I find out my parents spent part of their honeymoon there... So, I can't rule out owning a Hyatt at some point...

 

[mesamirage]

We have had requests for some type of comparision of the BIG (4) Hotel based Timeshares... so I thought I would revive the thread so we can get some more input and opinions.

Steve

 

[myip]

I own HIlton, Marriott and Starwood. In term of quality, the are all compatible. I don't think one is better than the other.

1. Hilton - why..
I booked July 4 week in Hawaii Waikola at 8 months out
I booked New Year Eve (3 bedroom) at 10 months out (elite status)
I booked President week Hawaiian Village @8 months out (still have some unit available)
I can convert my resale unit into Hilton Honors Pts and stayed in Japan, England and China.


2. Starwood
I can covert to starpoints (developer unit) and use it for airline tickets. It is not easy to book non-home resorts in peak time. I tried Maui for President week and didn't get it. I then booked HGVC Hawaiian Village.

3. Marriott
I have to wait up 5:00am in the morning to get my week. Sometime, it is not available. I don't like trading with II.

4. Hyatt
Don't know much about it. My unit was exercised by ROFR. I am shopping for another one...

 

[jzirker]

My thoughts

We've owned at DVC, Sands of Kahana, Club Intrawest, and Pahio. Intrawest and DVC are tops for us, based on our experience. Intrawest's selection isn't that broad, but their partnership with HGVC helps them in our eyes. DVC is exceptional for kid families, especially if you can save points for a Cruise like we did. Best family cruise line on the planet.

 

[mesamirage]

New Scoreboard 7-30-07 (Wow! Nobody wants to love on Hyatt... and we personally are moving to 100% Hyatt)


Rankings
1st place vote gets 4 points/2nd 3 points/3rd 2 points/4th 1 point

Starwood 33 points!!
6 1st place votes
1 2nd place
2 3rd place
2 4th place

Hilton 36 points
4 1st place
3 2nd place
5 3rd place
1 4th place

Marriott 29 points
3 1st place
5 2nd place
1 3rd place

Hyatt 36 points!
6 1st place
2 2nd place
1 3rd place
4 4th place

 

[Kal]

Hyatt is a smaller system and relatively few know much about it. Once a person becomes familiar with the program they want a piece of the action. In addition, it is very difficult to get an Interval exchange into the Hyatt properties. Thus, it's hard to know about the program if you can't get into any of the units.

 

[mesamirage]

Hyatt is a smaller system and relatively few know much about it. Once a person becomes familiar with the program they want a piece of the action. In addition, it is very difficult to get an Interval exchange into the Hyatt properties. Thus, it's hard to know about the program if you can't get into any of the units.

Give me your rankings 1 thru 4... at least Hyatt might get some respect. Then I can add your rankings to the rating list.... Steve

 

[Steamboat Bill]

My wish list

1. Four Seasons
2. Ritz Carlton

My reality list

1. High Country Club (Destination Club, not timeshare)
2. DVC
3. Westgate (Park City location only)
4. Hyatt
5. Marriott
6. Hilton
7. WorldMark

 

[Kazakie]

Boy, to me it's like compairing Audi vs SAAB vs Volvo vs BMW...it all depends on what you personally want from the experience. You can't really go wrong, unless you make the wrong choice for your personal needs: size of unit/points, location, trade ability, type of experience (Vegas vs Mountains).

Right on - the four are really not apples-to-apples at all. For us consistency (for the most part), choices (multiple locations), and reasonable maintenance fees are the most important factors, which leaves us with only Marriott.

I like Hiltons, but don't care for the big-3 Hilton locations (Las Vegas, Orlando & Big Island) - hello, we're paying a premium for the Hilton brand and the flexibility to travel to other places, if we always want to go to LV or Orlando we'll buy a similar quality resort for much less money.

Hyatt - them and Westin's probably have the most consistency, but also high maintenance fees (well the Four Seasons is higher, but they resorts really do leave everything else in the dust). Seems Hyatt's strategy is to go where none of the other majors are (Sedona, Key West, San Antonio). Love the system, but seems they're focusing on Skiing, which isn't my focus.

Starwood - Some good locations, think you pay way more than Marriott (in maint fees anyway) and get only a smidge of higher quality. We've rescinded on Westin more than once (and still don't own).

For us I guess if Marriott didn't exist we'd probably own Sunterra before buying Starwood, Hyatt or Hilton. Although honestly, we've suspended any further purchasing of Marriott weeks as we don't want to spend $30,000 until we know what marriotts new exchange system will look like (yes, we're afraid the new system is to enhance the shareholders rather than owners).

 

[Kazakie]

Bingo! From the TUG Advice Page:
Sheraton’s Desert Oasis (formerly Embassy Vacation Resorts Scottsdale)

Embassy Vacation was SunTerra

 

[Kal]

Give me your rankings 1 thru 4... at least Hyatt might get some respect. Then I can add your rankings to the rating list.... Steve

These are all quality programs but the initial capital cost narrows the field. Maintenance fees will continue to be an issue, but some are very high for comparable resort quality.

Right now Hyatt has a limited number of resorts but their business plan is to double the number within the next 5 years. Marriott has the widest variety of good locations, but getting a reservation is extremely difficult for the high demand resorts. My biggest issue is the ease in making reservations. In that regard Hyatt is probably the best and Marriott is the very worst.

My rankings would be quite different based on criteria. A ranking on quality or locations or price or reservation system would each provide a different result. For some criteria the list would flip. But once you get past the initial purchase price and annual costs you're left with the basics of the underlying system. To me, ownership rights to a very specific unit combined with an excellent points sytem trumps all. If the points system is user friendly and doesn't cause intestinal blockage, that's the most important issue. In that regard, Hyatt ranks Number 1 for me.

 

[jerseygirl]

I own Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood and rank them in that order for the following reasons:

Hyatt -- nicest resorts, locations we love, best exchange system, flexibility (unit size / length of stay), ease of use (all online)

Hilton -- great exchange system, flexibility (unit size / length of stay), ease of use (all online), Open Season is GREAT, ability to bank and borrow, ability to convert to hotel points (haven't done so, but might want to someday!), online changeable reservation system. This is the BEST system, but they do need more locations.

Starwood -- can't see myself ever trading my only "mandatory" resort (Harborside) so don't have access to the benefits of SVN. Happy with II trading for my voluntary resorts, especially vs. the maintenance fees, but very unsatisfied with the unpredictability of trading power based on Starwood's II deposit practices. As a resale buyer, it's very hard to be happy with Starwood as a management company and I've been reducing my holdings.

As far as Marriott is concerned ... one of these days I'll get around to buying one but so far I'm only mildly impressed (Aruba Surf Club -- stayed in a beautiful oceanfront unit, but the resort was a little too big/crowded for my tastes; Cypress Harbour -- nice resort, but ended up with a shabby unit; Grande Vista -- much nicer unit than our Cypress Harbour unit, but thought the activities paled in comparison to those at Vistana Resort. Those are the only 3 I remember staying at, so far).

 

[mesamirage]

Hyatt -- nicest resorts, locations we love, best exchange system, flexibility (unit size / length of stay), ease of use (all online)

Way to go JerseyGirl! Somebody else who understands how amazing the Hyatt family of resorts really is! I wish we could keep it a secret, but slowly Hyatt is emerging. We thought we really wanted a piece of Westin (we think WKV is a FANTASTIC resort and I only have good things to say about the quality of Starwood) but once we actually purchased Kierland we realized how much we really like Hyatt.

I've said it before but the Hyatt locations being built lately are on par with Westin... we also enjoy how Hyatt doesn't build HUGE properties, really except for Coconut Platation and maybe San Antonio (we have never been to either) all the Hyatt locations are smaller and have a cozy personality to them.

JerseyGirl where have you been in the Hyatt network? Can you imagine if they actually double the number of resorts over the next 5 years?

We have began to shift all our ownership over to Hyatt... 3180 points and climbing... one more 1880 week... 5000 Hyatt points has a nice ring to it. I hate to have all my eggs in one basket, so we plan to not own more than 1 week at any one resort, in case the HVC network was to "fall apart" at some point. Note: Rumors are Hyatt has stopped all building until 2008.

We have been to the following Hyatts
Carmel > Amazing resort... historic, view, and location 2nd to none.
Sedona > alittle disappointing, only because its to simple, but how did they get the property in the middle of town with a 360 view of the redrock? If you like Sedona its wonderful, we use it for points burnoff if we have extra points left... been there 4 times.
Tahoe > It has it all, lake, seasons, fishing, Casino, hiking, peaceful. If I was to own 2 weeks anywhere, this would be it, if cost is a consideration.
Breckenridge > Wow Wow Wow... how about the private movie room?
Key West > Beach House (Cozy) Sunset Harbor (location/view/party) and Windward (to close to airport, rooms are great)

So since buying our first Hyatt May 2005 we have seen alot.... This late Oct during Mountain season we are going to Beaver Creek, Park Hyatt, and Aspen in one trip.

So we will have been fortunate enough by then to have visited 10 of the Hyatt resorts!! When do I have time to work?

Steve

 

[jerseygirl]

Steve --

We've been to Coconut Plantation (home resort), San Antonio (it didn't seem overly large to me -- we had a great time), Breckenridge (you're right -- the private movie room is super cool -- we had a big group and the kids loved it!), and Beach House. Heading to Hacienda Del Mar later this year. I've seen Highlands Inn from the outside only -- can't wait to go for a long weekend. Sent my brother to Tahoe recently -- he loved it -- but we haven't been there yet.

Hoping to get to Sedona next year.

I love the whole program -- I'm sure they're very pleased with my response every time they send me one of their surveys! My favorite question -- Where would you like to see new resorts built? I keep answering Europe and the Caribbean .... Europe and the Caribbean ... Europe and the Caribbean!

I want to add more points also ... but I have to get rid of a few units first!

-- Jerseygirl

 

[Carmel85]

Way to go JerseyGirl! Somebody else who understands how amazing the Hyatt family of resorts really is! I wish we could keep it a secret, but slowly Hyatt is emerging. We thought we really wanted a piece of Westin (we think WKV is a FANTASTIC resort and I only have good things to say about the quality of Starwood) but once we actually purchased Kierland we realized how much we really like Hyatt.

I've said it before but the Hyatt locations being built lately are on par with Westin... we also enjoy how Hyatt doesn't build HUGE properties, really except for Coconut Platation and maybe San Antonio (we have never been to either) all the Hyatt locations are smaller and have a cozy personality to them.

JerseyGirl where have you been in the Hyatt network? Can you imagine if they actually double the number of resorts over the next 5 years?

We have began to shift all our ownership over to Hyatt... 3180 points and climbing... one more 1880 week... 5000 Hyatt points has a nice ring to it. I hate to have all my eggs in one basket, so we plan to not own more than 1 week at any one resort, in case the HVC network was to "fall apart" at some point. Note: Rumors are Hyatt has stopped all building until 2008.

We have been to the following Hyatts
Carmel > Amazing resort... historic, view, and location 2nd to none.
Sedona > alittle disappointing, only because its to simple, but how did they get the property in the middle of town with a 360 view of the redrock? If you like Sedona its wonderful, we use it for points burnoff if we have extra points left... been there 4 times.
Tahoe > It has it all, lake, seasons, fishing, Casino, hiking, peaceful. If I was to own 2 weeks anywhere, this would be it, if cost is a consideration.
Breckenridge > Wow Wow Wow... how about the private movie room?
Key West > Beach House (Cozy) Sunset Harbor (location/view/party) and Windward (to close to airport, rooms are great)

So since buying our first Hyatt May 2005 we have seen alot.... This late Oct during Mountain season we are going to Beaver Creek, Park Hyatt, and Aspen in one trip.

So we will have been fortunate enough by then to have visited 10 of the Hyatt resorts!! When do I have time to work?

Steve

HYATT IS #1 cast my vote!!!!

 

[Kal]

Steve --

....I love the whole program -- I'm sure they're very pleased with my response every time they send me one of their surveys! My favorite question -- Where would you like to see new resorts built? I keep answering Europe and the Caribbean .... Europe and the Caribbean ... Europe and the Caribbean!....

-- Jerseygirl

The last two times I completed an on-line survey I received a telephone call from Hyatt Corp the next day. I actually was shocked that not only was there a response but it was from a human. During the conversation the person gave me some great tips on using the system.

Also, it's kind of fun to bait them with that question of new resorts. I know where some of the new properties are planned so I always add those to the list. Some day they might call and discuss my wishes !

 

[mesamirage]

Whats the deal on stopping all new building until 2008?? Is this official? Does it mean Hawaii is never going to happen?

NYC will be a GREAT location....