SFX Questions

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Dear GO2Guy ,
1 ) Rescind - as per instructions posted by others
2) enjoy the rest of your vacation

3) when you get home - read TUG & figure out how to better use your Worldmark.
& join the Worldmark group as Hudshut suggested .

*****
FYI - it can be done at the resort - using Vidanta Member Services ( NOT SALES )
You did not post what Vidanta location - In Nuevo - Member Services is in the Grand Bliss
building - same floor as the sales closing area , but near the elevator . Member Services requires an appointment and is open Mon.-Friday. They will counter offer with a better price , more amenities etc .
BUT if you keep saying NO -NO -NO / it will get done .
The reason some rescind this way is that you walk away with signed paperwork - which can give immediate peace of mind .

Mail with a receipt works just as well- .as per the above information from DeniseM & others .

******
In the TUG Mexican Forum - there is lots of information on Vidanta Grand Luxe
- buying it to exchange other places is not the best use .
The happiest Grand Luxe owners have negotiated addentums like free golf privileges and use the resorts multi weeks a year .

If you wish to go back in the future , you can exchange into Vidanta for a week fairly easily -
( excepting peak snowbird season & Mexican holiday weeks ) so any time from mid -April to early Dec )

Eric B - gave really good information about using SFX & exchanging - BUT your real question was -
" will buying this TS get me the vacations we want " - IMO the answer is NO , based on your posted information .Therefore rescind . Just like in a clothing store - youn bought something very nice but it does not fit - so return it .

 

[Go2Guy]

I'm in a similar position as you, but my motivators are a bit different. We bought at Grand Luxxe because we loved the resort and value SFX as an option to use to stay at GL or the other Vidanta resorts for less than their usage fees. SFX has access to all of the Vidanta properties without the $11 per person per day fee that is applicable to RCI exchanges and without the 1 or 2 week a year limits. Since we own timeshares elsewhere, we can deposit a 2BR week with SFX and use it for a 2BR GL week for the SFX exchange fee ($149) plus a luxury fee ($299, I believe), which when combined with the lower MF at our other resort adds up to less than a typical usage fee. I believe there's a $75 additional fee when we check in and we don't get the golf and spa benefits we would using our GL weeks, but can stay there longer for less. After all, the value in a TS week is in using it....

As far as there being a glut of Vidanta weeks on SFX, I have only been using them for a bit less than a year and have never seen any on there web site. I think that's because they ordinarily access developer weeks through their relationship with Vidanta and the fact that the usage fees seem (at least to me) to be higher than typical timeshare MFs. Given that there aren't mandatory MFs at Vidanta and weeks are cheaper elsewhere, I don't plan on ever paying for an extra week to deposit w/SFX, but instead use weeks from elsewhere, which SFX gives you bonus weeks for as well. For example, someone just gave away a 4BR lockout in the bargain basement with a $785 annual MF; that can be deposited w/SFX as 2 weeks of 2 BR at $392.50, one of which could be used to book a 2 BR GL for another $448 plus a $75 resort fee for a total outlay of several hundred less than they have for the current usage fees (mine were $1350 last I heard for a GL loft studio unit, which is big enough for us typically - fees vary based on your contract, though; I understand it's closer to $2K for a 2BR suite or villa).

BTW, there are a number of GL weeks on RCI in the platinum priority access section right now with availability in the next 90 days. They show up there occasionally and seem to require minimal RCI points (<1000) and just an exchange fee plus the $11 per person per day resort fee. GL isn't typically on RCI, and I nay started noticing them there recently, but this seems an even more efficient way to stay there if you're ok with lower season stays. We're heading back down there next month for 250 RCI points plus $339....

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice. We did go back (in person) and rescind our agreement with Vidanta in Cancun. I have to say, they were very courteous and professional throughout the whole process. It took several hours, but they didn't try to talk us out of rescinding. They simply wanted to understand exactly what claims by the sales staff had driven us to originally buy, and what were our reasons for rescinding. They seemed sincerely interested in preventing (and even punishing) any false or misleading claims by sales people. To a cynic, perhaps this was to cover themselves by pretending they don't know what the sub-contracted sales guys are saying; but on the other hand their questions forced us to document our complaints in writing, which means that they now know what’s going on and can't claim otherwise, and that can’t be good for defending themselves legally.

To Eric in particular, thanks for sharing some strategies. Some of it is over my head, but I think I get the gist. What I still don't quite understand: why would you buy at Vidanta’s Grand Luxxe at all if you don't intend to actually use those weeks you purchased? I understand you've found a way to trade into weeks at the Grand Luxxe and save a few hundred dollars per week by trading your points from other timeshares and paying an Exchange Fee rather than Vidanta’s own Usage Fee. But what was the rationale for buying at Vidanta at all?

Thank you!

 

[Eric B]

Didn't figure out all the options at the time because I hadn't even heard of SFX when we went there. If I knew in advance (or within the rescission period), I might not have bought there. That being said, the only value in a timeshare is if you use it, and it's up to you to maximize the efficiency of using it.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Vidanta has lots of owners from cold winter places - Canada , Minnesota , Wisconsin etc.

Maybe it was the February sunshine - but anyway we (all) bought .
From Sea Garden & Mayan Palace to Grand Luxe .

I use another TS ownership and pay the RCI exchange fee to get President's week - and then book our registered week on day one of the ARP booking window for a 2nd February week. (Vidanta/ RCI current rules only allow one high season week exchange per year )

Vidanta builds for peak snowbird season -( in pesos & collects MF in $ USD) Their resorts are full from Christmas week until mid April .
This means Vidanta has lots of weeks the rest of the year - available from SFX etc.