Sunterra Powhatan Plantation

[GaGreyBeard]

I see a lot of 4br weeks at this resort on EBAY at a very low price. Is there a problem with this resort. The unit # I've been looking at was remodeled in '06.

The bid is about to close with no closing fee, $1.00 bid, and week 42.

Any suggestions will help me.

Thanks,
GGB:whoopie:

 

[PeelBoy]

Lots of supply in Williamsburg, low season and not much to do in the area unless you like history.

Nice resort and area very good for a relaxing vacation.

MF reasonable but not very low.

I would buy to use but not to trade.

 

[Spence]

I see a lot of 4br weeks at this resort on EBAY at a very low price. Is there a problem with this resort. The unit # I've been looking at was remodeled in '06.
The bid is about to close with no closing fee, $1.00 bid, and week 42.
Any suggestions will help me. Thanks, GGB

As Peel Boy said, if you want to go Wk42 every year, go for it. MFs are really quite reasonable for 2x2BR. But if you were expecting to trade it for anything good (like when kids are out of school) forgetit.

Lots of supply in Williamsburg, low season and not much to do in the area unless you like history.
Nice resort and area very good for a relaxing vacation.
MF reasonable but not very low.
I would buy to use but not to trade.

 

[Sandy]

I agree. This would be a good week to use, but you will have difficulty trading it for much.

Of course, I could be wrong. If you are using RCI and deposit it very, very, early, at least 2 years out, then you might have some luck.

I recall my early days of trading when I owned a blue, January week in the Outer Banks. Definitely off season. But for the past 10 years or so, I traded that sucker for fabulous trades, mainly by early deposit, early requests.

But those days may be over for RCI since they have changed so much of their procedures. I sold that unit to my friend for what I paid, about $1000 a few years back.

 

[bruwery]

I've stayed at Powhatan Plantation twice in the past eight months via rentals - the most recent being last week.

During both stays, I've observed that the units could use some freshening, and there are some minor maintenance issues, but it's a nice enough resort.

If you're going to be in the area every year, it's certainly better than a hotel room. The outdoor pool is quite nice, there is an indoor pool which is very comfortable (although it is showing its age), the grounds are nice, and there seems to be a fair amount of activities. About 1 mile away is a grocery store, a Target, a good wine store, a pharmacy, and various other shops.

As other posters have indicated, though, don't expect overwhelming trading power. If going to Williamsburg every year is on your agenda, you could do worse, but there are plenty of other options nearby that you should consider as well. For one, consider whether you really need four bedrooms. Extra space is fine, but why shell out maintenance fees every year for space you're not going to use? It's set up as two separate 2 BR units (one upstairs, one down). I've stayed in upstairs units both times, but I believe the only material difference between the two is that the downstairs unit has a hot tub, where the upstairs has a wet bar.

Theoretically, you could rent one unit while using the other and recoup some of your maintenance fee. However, given the apparent surplus of supply in Williamsburg vs. demand, renting that second unit may not be a sure thing.

Bottom line: It's a nice enough place if you're going to use it most years, but tread carefully if you're looking to trade, or rent it out.

Onward and upward,

MB

 

[Sandy]

I will be checking in to Powhatan tomorrow (Sat, May 12) using 3 exchange weeks and one rental.

We are gathering for my son's graduation from Hampton University on Sunday.

I have stayed there before, but I will pay particular attention to the quality of the units and the other conditions of the resort.

I believe if you buy a 4 bedroom, not only can you lock out one of the units, but you can then trade both, either, or neither. thus, you double your timeshare ownership. Factor that in to the amount of the maintenance fees.

I agree that week #42 is not a good trader, but for use it might be just right. Isn't this around Thanksgiving?

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I agree. This would be a good week to use, but you will have difficulty trading it for much.

Of course, I could be wrong. If you are using RCI and deposit it very, very, early, at least 2 years out, then you might have some luck.

I recall my early days of trading when I owned a blue, January week in the Outer Banks. Definitely off season. But for the past 10 years or so, I traded that sucker for fabulous trades, mainly by early deposit, early requests.

.

I agree with this Sandy here, though the "you will have difficulty trading for much" is a matter of perception and relative to the exchanger. Only you can determine what type of trades will make you happy.

I own a 2-BR lock-off unit at Powhatan Plantation. It is a very, very undesirable time, (week 5!), but I didn't have much choice, as it was given to me,

I deposit it as 2 1 BR weeks, and do so at least 1-2 years early and we request early too. We're kind of flexible, and must be very lucky, as we've managed to get wonderful trades, including a few Gold Crown resorts.

Good luck!

 

[fnewman]

To me the only way to own/use Powhatan as a trader would be as a member of Club Sunterra. I regularly trade SunOptions for Mariott units in very nice locations.

 

[guy33]

I agree with this Sandy here, though the "you will have difficulty trading for much" is a matter of perception and relative to the exchanger. Only you can determine what type of trades will make you happy.

I own a 2-BR lock-off unit at Powhatan Plantation. It is a very, very undesirable time, (week 5!), but I didn't have much choice, as it was given to me,

I deposit it as 2 1 BR weeks, and do so at least 1-2 years early and we request early too. We're kind of flexible, and must be very lucky, as we've managed to get wonderful trades, including a few Gold Crown resorts.

Good luck!

I traded into Powhatan four times and I think it is first class. It was one of the few Gold Crown Resorts in the entire State of Virginia until a few years ago. The sister resort, Greensprings in still Gold Crown and is located right behind Powhatan. I don't agree with it not trading well either. It will easily get you to Vegas, Orlando or most of the Atlantic Beaches if deposited wisely. Like most local US Resorts, it won't regularly get you to Hawaii, France or England. It's a great buy, but the maintenance fees are over $700 per year, nearly double what it was a few years ago. Sorry, Powhatan is no longer rated as Gold, Silver or even an RCI Hospitality Resort.

 

[KristinB]

We own a week 16 4 BR EOY lockoff (our very first ts purchase), and I've found that its trading power has increased over the years, but I do as suggested upthread -- deposit almost two years out and look 1+ years out. It never used to pull July/August trades, but now it does (albeit not at the most desired resorts). And there are still a number of fixed Sunterra weeks in the system that it will pull using internal trade preference (I think).

Here are the trades I've made with this week -- since we don't have to worry about school holidays, it hasn't been a bad trader for us. There's only one trade in this list that I regret (Club Vacances) and not because of the location, but because the 1 BR unit was just too small and uncomfortable. One of these days we're going to go back, but only in a 2 BR (which I've been able to pull in the summer with this week, btw). Of course I know a lot more now about trading than I did back in the beginning...

December 08 -- Sunterra Royal Palm Beach, St. Maarten, 2 BR (2 weeks)
April 06 -- Morritt's Grand, Grand Cayman, 1 BR (2 weeks, pulled this during a bulk bank, of course)
January 04 -- Palm Beach Resort & Club, FL, 1 BR
January 04 -- Camaron Cove, FL, 2 BR
January 03 -- Embassy Vacation Resort Maui, 1 BR (2 weeks, got this thru SFX when they were accepting it)
May 00 -- Kilconquhar Country Club, Scotland, 2 BR
May 00 -- Barnsdale Country Club, England, 3 BR
September 98 -- Club Vacances Toutes Saisons, Quebec, 1 BR
September 98 -- Smuggler's Notch, VT, 1 BR
December 97 -- Embassy Vacation Resort, Orlando, 3 BR
October 96 -- Newport Onshore, RI, 2 BR
May 95 -- Fairway Forest at Sapphire Valley, NC, 2 BR
May 94 -- Harbor Hill, Cape Cod, 2 BR

 

[Kagehitokiri]

its alright. renovations are underway. MF is unpleasant at almost $1000 for "renovations" that have been "happening" for years. and they lost gold crown after the increase happened. seems like they focus more on II now, and advertise it / 5* or whatever it is.

atmosphere is WAY better than greensprings, even though its newer/nicer.

i own 2 2BR (whole unit) week 13, went this year, and it seemed fairly crowded (lots of families). only used one, and someone else had been put in the other.

it also trades decently.

seems odd to me that i cant sell, but oh well.

 

[pedro47]

Powhatan Plantation is a nice resort. Sunterra inherited lot of problems from the previous owners. The resort is over built in turn of the quaility of construction of the orginal units. Prior to Sunterra ownership the MF & Reserve fees were to low to support the number of units at the resort. Not one unit was updated until after Sunterra have purchased this resort. These are my opinions.

Best weeks to own at this resort: spring break, any summer week, Thanksgiving and Christmas week.

Enjoy your week.

 

[Kagehitokiri]

pretty sure thats mostly Sunterra excusing itself.. considering the sums involved (as with any timeshare)