Thoughts and Suggestions on Purchase Decision

[Password is taco]

I'm looking to buy my first timeshare on the resale market and have decided on Marriott. At the moment, I'm trying to decide where to buy, so I'd like to lay out my current thoughts and hear if anyone has any suggestions or other items I should consider. I'm probably about 6 months away from actually buying, but trying to do lots of research in the mean time.

By way of background, we're currently a family of four located in Chicago. The kids are currently 3 and 1 and we expect to have at least one more, maybe two. Given that we'll be tied to the school calendar very soon, we're considering only platinum season weeks. We generally don't care if we have a view or not, with one exception that will be noted below. Our vacation interests include Hilton Head, Florida (beach), Florida (Orlando/Disney), Carribean, Southern California, maybe skiing in the future, maybe Hawaii some day.

Our current thoughts are as follows:

Hilton Head
-This is a place we feel like we would be happy going to repeatedly.
-Within driving distance (although a long drive) so we wouldn't have to worry about paying for so many plane tickets especially as our family grows.
-Top choice would be Barony Beach (although not a garden view at this particular resort) because it seems family friendly, we've stayed there before, and they have kid pools.
-Other choices would be Grande Ocean, Surfwatch and Monarch pending further research on what each of these offers. Basically the beach front options.
-Downside is there doesn't seem to be any "every other year" options in Hilton Head which I was hoping for given this is our first timeshare and I kind of wanted to walk before I run. This isn't a deal killer though.

Orlando
-Another place we expect to go to a lot, and my wife and I like it ourselves, so we wouldn't just go for the kids.
-Also drivable, although, again, not a short drive. We drove down this past February with both kids and it went pretty well.
-Here we would likely go with a 3 bedroom at Grande Vista, ideally every other year.
-We stayed here before we had kids back in 2010 so it is familiar.
-Downside is that it's Orlando which should be easy to get through exchange. But would getting a 3 bedroom here be a good trader for 2 bedrooms in other locations like Hilton Head or non-Orlando Florida?

Newport Coast
-This is one that we've stayed at and like, but not sure how often we'd be able to get there considering it requires us to fly and not sure if we want be forced to buy lots of plane tickets for our vacations.
-Despite the fact we wouldn't be able to use it as much, it should be a good trader and has low maintenance fees and upfront cost for that matter compared to Hilton Head.
-Another plus is that every other year weeks seem to be the most abundant here, so we could ease into timeshare ownership. We'd also have the opportunity to buy at a different property for the off year down the road. It would be nice to have two different locations.

There's no one option that is perfect, hence this post asking for opinions. I've tried to base the options around the advice I've gotten here on the board of buy where you'd like to go, a place that's within driving distance, etc.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks. Thank you in advance.

 

[CCR]

My vote is for Orlando or Hilton Head.

I'd scratch Newport from your list. Flying is going to get way too expensive. Hilton Head is a hard trade to get into so if you want to go there I'd buy there. I think you can trade out for great places with that unit too.

Orlando EOY 3 bedroom is also a great option but can be rented easily possibly even for less than your maintenance fees

However Orlando trades well so I'd also look at Maintenance fees between Orlando and Hilton Head and if Orlando is a much better deal based on your annual commitment that may be the way to go.

I've only owned and traded in Interval for 1 year so others I'm sure will have much more expertise than I.

CC

 

[jont]

My advice would to buy where you would be happy to go, especially if it's within driving distance.

another suggestion: you may want to consider Ocean Pointe in West Palm Beach Fl. they have lock-off and 3 bedrooms. but i dont think there are EOY weeks. There is also a possiblty of being in the Florida Club, which I know very little about, but I hear its a good option. maybe others will weigh in. It's a beautiful resort and very kid friendly. If your driving, you can always stop off in orlando for a few days fix of the attractions there. it's also about a 2 -2 1/2 hr drive away for a possible day trip.

just a thought

 

[JIMinNC]

Given that Orlando is generally considered to be an easy trade-in, I would think a Platinum Hilton Head would give you more flexibility and value. Others with more experience will have to confirm this, but my perception from what I've read on TUG is that it would be harder to trade into summer season at one of the beachfront Hilton Head locations with an Orlando week than to trade into summer season in Orlando with a Hilton Head week.

On the EY vs EOY decision, I would suggest you ask yourself how often you would want to go to the home resort you choose? With an EOY, it could be four years between visits to your home resort if you opt to trade out one year and go somewhere else (i.e. - home resort in 2016, trade in 2018, back to home resort in 2020). Generally I've found the upfront cost of EOY units to be more than half the cost of an EY - so you get half the usage but you don't save half of the upfront cost. If you plan to travel every year, then in my opinion, an EY is a better value. The one exception might be if you bought an EOY lock-off, but given the size of your family, you will increasingly want to have at least 2BR units, I suppose as your children get older, so the value of the lock-off might be less to you if you can't get two, 2BR prime season weeks for the lock-off.

 

[GregT]

Password,

I would consider a 3BR at Grande Vista. That is a terrific property, because it offers a great personal use feature (especially if you become a family of 6), and it is a very powerful trader if you left it intact (you could get a 2BR in Hawaii with the intact 3BR), or you could lock it off into a Studio and a 2BR, and should be successful trading into Hilton Head. And if you study Jont's technique, you may be able to trade your Studio for an HHI 2BR and then trade your other 2BR into another HHI 2BR for a two week trip (changing properties).

Because of its unique qualities, it is a coveted trading property and they get bid up when they appear on eBay. I got sniped on an EOY 3BR Grande Vista in 2012, and it's the-one-that-got-away. I don't need a trading property enough to pay the going rate for it, but if I was buying a dedicated trader, that's the one I would buy.

I would also consider HGVC though. They have properties in Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head (soon), Carlsbad and Hawaii, to name a few. It's a true point system and it is worth investigating.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Best,

Greg

 

[Fasttr]

Lets assume you end up with an every year purchase.

For each of the 3 locations listed...if you ended up purchasing that location, over the next 10 years, how many times would you see yourself going to your home resort??

HHI?
Orlando?
NCV?

 

[jpc763]

I have had Marriott's since 1999 and have done a lot of staying and trading but I am by no means an expert.

We bought all of our timeshares before finding Tug so we paid a premium but overall are very happy with our choices.

We bought a Platinum week in Orlando as our first timeshare. It was Imperial Palms (3 BR, no lockoff) and we have used it in our season exactly ONCE. We do not want to go to Orlando over the summer or on Spring Break. We like to go for Thanksgiving which is not Platinum at IP. Given that, we have traded IP for IP a few times. This property is our trader. We book a spring break week and have traded this unit for Marriotts in Orlando, Ko Olina, Maui, Hilton Head, Palm Desert and Newport Beach. We have traded it for non-Marriotts in Cancun and Maui. It trades very well.

Our other "week" is an even year unit at Ko Olina and an odd year unit at Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert. We have never traded either one. We always occupy in our season.

My brother and sister both have every other year platinum units at Newport Coast Villas and both report that they cannot book their week during the summer... ever. I am not sure what they are doing, but I have heard that getting a summer week in Newport, even for an owner, is near impossible.

So, I would pick Hilton Head or Orlando, but I believe that Hilton Head would be a stronger trade.

As far as EOY vs. EY, remember that you can always book a Getaway from Interval or rent on your off week.

 

[jme]

another option

Buy an EVERY YEAR week resale, occupy it every other year as you have expressed an interest to do, and rent it out the other time. It'll pay for your maintenance fees. That's assuming you buy the right week which commands a rental fee which is double the mf. A summer HH week definitely qualifies (slightly more than double, actually), maybe a 3-BR Grande Vista week does (more questionable), but I'd pass on the Newport Coast week (too far, & can get on trade if desired occasionally).

 

[Poette]

You seem to be on the right track. I would stick with Hilton Head considering west coast air fares, and generally good availability in Orlando. Note Grande Ocean offers a bit roomier unit, Surfwatch offers 3 bedrooms and Barony Gardenview has a larger 2nd bedroom. Myrtle Beach would also be drivable for you, and a good trader, if you like that atmosphere. Don't forget to check TUG classified for resales. We got a great deal.

 

[BocaBoy]

Among the resorts you asked about, for trading I would go with a 3BR Grande Vista because it is a lock-off, making it less expensive than Hilton Head. The exception is that if you frequently want to stay on Hilton Head in high season, buy there. As a trader, the only resort I place above the 3BR Grande Vista is the 3BR Grand Chateau in Las Vegas because it locks off into a 2BR and a 1BR (no studio). If you only want to go to a timeshare every other year and want it to be high season Hilton Head most years, then I believe Marty's (jme) advice is clearly the best--buy an Platinum EY at Hilton Head, stay every other year and rent it out in the other years to cover your costs.

 

[puckmanfl]

good evening

I vote 2 bedroom plat HHI (GO if possible) I own 3 bedroom GV platinum but before DC I used as trader. To occupy I vote HHI platinum..You can get to orlando easily on getaways.. 2 bedroom summer HHI will get you good trades as well..only downside...doesn't lock off!!!

 

[BocaBoy]

good evening

I vote 2 bedroom plat HHI (GO if possible) I own 3 bedroom GV platinum but before DC I used as trader. To occupy I vote HHI platinum..You can get to orlando easily on getaways.. 2 bedroom summer HHI will get you good trades as well..only downside...doesn't lock off!!!

Which is huge unless you want to occupy in HHI most years, in which case I agree with you.

 

[AlmostRetired]

I vote HHI summer. We started going to HHI in 1993 renting timeshares before purchasing in 1995. My sons were 3 and 1 when we started. You have many years of use where 2 bedrooms are a nust during prime seasons when school is out. If/when you add to the family, that extends the number of years. Worrying about a lock off may be 20 years away. Summer HHI is also a good renter on years you wish to skip the timeshare scene to travel non timeshare. You can get 2 for 1 on MF. Though we had less choice of Marriotts back in 1995 given 95 percent of what we liked to do was between sea pines and shelter cove with the emphasis around ocean and sea pines, we would have only considered monarch or GO. Living in Long Island, I try to avoid traffic during vacation, so though HHI is a small island, traffic needs to be considered during the summer. Consider what parts of the Island you like to spend time into your timeshare selection. This is personal preference based on what we enjoy and not a knock on any Marriott resort. The Monarch will not be a good choice for 4 kids given it maxs out at 6. Total of 5 is the most it can handle as the kids get older.

Orlando has so many good timeshares that you can trade, rent or use getaways to get there. In fact if you look on redweek, you can rent your HHI, rent a Marriott timeshare in Orlando and have enough left over to fund A little of Disney.

Can't speak for Newport since the one time we wanted to trade it didn't work out. When we go to California, LA, SF and the nearby locations to both were our focus. Again, preference not a knock.

Good luck....btw my first time in Chicago a few weeks ago...Shedd, Field, Art, Cubs, 360, Willis, Taste of Chicago, Pier, Soul City, Twin Anchor Ribs, Pizza...what a city.

 

[mbeach89]

Oceanwatch-Myrtle Beach

My family owns a week at Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach and love it. If you don't have to be "close" to the ocean, the Gardenview/Oceanview villas are ideal for kids, and can be had for a very good price resale and Platinum season would be a great trader. You would want Oceanfront/Oceanside if you prefer to be very close to the ocean.

Oceanwatch is located in the Grande Dunes area which lies between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. (Not) located in the crowded Redneck Riviera area of MB. The beach is never crowded when we are there in early/mid June.

We also enjoy HHI where we have traded into Grande Ocean and Surfwatch.

I enjoyed the bike riding on HHI, but overall, I prefer the variety that Myrtle Beach has to offer.

 

[Password is taco]

Can't thank everyone enough for all the valuable feedback in this thread. My wife and I spoke about it last night, incorporating the feedback here and we're thinking maybe both - an annual HHI week and an every other year in Orlando might be a great fit for us. We're not in a rush, so we can take our time deciding what to buy first and when and how we go forward.

Again, thanks to everyone's great input and sharing your own experiences. I'm so glad to have found this forum.

 

[JIMinNC]

My wife and I spoke about it last night, incorporating the feedback here and we're thinking maybe both - an annual HHI week and an every other year in Orlando might be a great fit for us.

I think this might be a perfect match for a young family such as yours. If I could roll back the clock to 16 years ago when we bought our first timeshare at the Embassy Vacation Resort in Maui (now called the Diamond Kaanapali Beach Club), I would probably take a different path and do exactly what you are contemplating - an annual HHI and and EOY in Orlando.

We actually went on a Marriott presentation in Hilton Head at Barony in 2000. At the time we were much like you and had a 5 yr old and a 1 year old. We passed on Marriott because we were infatuated with the idea of owning on Maui and had already bought at the Embassy in Hawaii in early 1999. We never really regretted buying on Maui as we had many great trips to the islands, but we also went to Orlando almost every year - sometimes using RCI Bonus Weeks from our Maui ownership, but a few times we did the unconscionable and traded Maui for Orlando - mainly because trading in RCI for anything of high quality other than Orlando was a frustrating process for us.

Eventually, we tired of high Hawaii maintenance fees, and when Hawaii trips became a little less frequent when the kids got into high school (and Orlando trips ceased as well, removing an easy trade option for our week), we decided to restructure our ownership. We bought into the Marriott program last summer and sold the Maui timeshare last fall. Looking back, had we bought a summer Marriott HHI week and an Orlando week instead of the Maui timeshare, that would have been a perfect match for our family. We would have had a easy-to-get-to summer destination in HHI, would have had easy access to Mouse-ville in Orlando, and still could have traded to Hawaii on occasion. (And had we done that then, we would have been pre-6/2010 owners and could have enrolled our weeks into the DC and had the best of both worlds that all of the long-time Marriott owners here on TUG now have. )

So I think doing both HHI and Orlando may be an ideal solution for a family such as yours.

 

[m61376]

Looks like you're on the right path. I've never been to HH, although it's on my "soon to do" list, but many here love it, and its a great place to start annual family trip traditions. There's a lot to be said for ownership, and that's been a biggie for us.

I'd like to add another thought into the mix- you have a young, growing family. Where do grandparents live? Many of us here are on both sides of the fence, and timeshares are very conducive to traveling with extended families, whether 3 generations or with siblings. My kids are now adults, and now we're blessed to be the hosts for our daughter and grandsons, and have established an annual family beach vacation. Although sadly no longer, we even had the opportunity last year for a 4 generation trip, with both daughters, son-in-law and grandsons.memories of that trip are priceless.

Anyway, timeshare vacations are just conducive to traveling with other family, and you may want to consider a 3BR in HH to accommodate everyone if you foresee that as a good option. Obviously not for every family, but in many cases it's a great option for everyone- grandparents get to spend quality time with the family, and parents have some free time with extra hands (and babysitters) on board. And many of us here relish the opportunity to even be the hosting grandparents, so it's clearly a formula that works. Personally, can't wait I a few weeks to be with our munchkin's, and while I regret not getting into this until our daughters were in their twenties, I'm relishing the establishment of an annual family vacation even with grown children and their families. And a 3BR is conducive to that.

Of course, besides the trading power of the 3BR MGV, the unit size will afford you that option as well. The only other thing to think about ( and maybe you have) is that, while driving to Orlando will save you money, park admissions (if that's your I tent) can quickly approach airline fees even. For those that love the parks it is money well spent, but certainly not a cost saving trip.

Others here can advise you as to pricing. Feel free to ask for purchase advice along the way. Oh- last but not least, welcome to Tug. You're sure to be a happy owner because you're not buying on impulse and taking the time to analyze what's best for you and your family. Good luck!

 

[Password is taco]

So I think doing both HHI and Orlando may be an ideal solution for a family such as yours.

This is really great to hear. It is a big financial decision, so it's nice to hear from someone who's in it that it will be worthwhile.

 

[Password is taco]

Looks like you're on the right path. I've never been to HH, although it's on my "soon to do" list, but many here love it, and its a great place to start annual family trip traditions. There's a lot to be said for ownership, and that's been a biggie for us.

I'd like to add another thought into the mix- you have a young, growing family. Where do grandparents live? Many of us here are on both sides of the fence, and timeshares are very conducive to traveling with extended families, whether 3 generations or with siblings. My kids are now adults, and now we're blessed to be the hosts for our daughter and grandsons, and have established an annual family beach vacation. Although sadly no longer, we even had the opportunity last year for a 4 generation trip, with both daughters, son-in-law and grandsons.memories of that trip are priceless.

Anyway, timeshare vacations are just conducive to traveling with other family, and you may want to consider a 3BR in HH to accommodate everyone if you foresee that as a good option. Obviously not for every family, but in many cases it's a great option for everyone- grandparents get to spend quality time with the family, and parents have some free time with extra hands (and babysitters) on board. And many of us here relish the opportunity to even be the hosting grandparents, so it's clearly a formula that works. Personally, can't wait I a few weeks to be with our munchkin's, and while I regret not getting into this until our daughters were in their twenties, I'm relishing the establishment of an annual family vacation even with grown children and their families. And a 3BR is conducive to that.

This is a good thought, and I'm glad you mentioned it. Both of our parents have their own timeshares. My parents own in the Starwood program and my wife's parents own in the Marriott program. As you can imagine, the challenge for us lately, if we travel with our parents, is that we're squeezing a family of four into one bedroom of a timeshare. We're going to be at Newport Coast with my wife's parents for a week in September and I'm almost dreading it. I will likely be sleeping on the pullout to make it work. We were in St John last year with my dad before our son was born and my wife was 7 months pregnant...it was rough. You hate to have something like that put a damper on the trip.

So, as you can imagine, this is a big reason we've decided to get our own. We can do more trips on our own or, if we do travel with them, we can both book our own units and everyone will have plenty of space.

 

[JIMinNC]

The only other thing to think about ( and maybe you have) is that, while driving to Orlando will save you money, park admissions (if that's your I tent) can quickly approach airline fees even. For those that love the parks it is money well spent, but certainly not a cost saving trip.

While the OP's children are not quite to prime Disney age yet, when they get a little older, based on our experiences going through those same years, the experience at the Disney parks will be priceless. Sometimes cost saving becomes a lesser priority.

Thanks to our timeshare ownership (and because my wife simply loves everything Disney), we went to Disney World almost every year from 1999 through 2010 via bonus weeks, trades, and "preview packages". But by 2011, our kids were 16 and 12 and they had lost interest. In fact the last two trips that we took in 2009 and 2010, we spent more time at the Universal parks than at Disney. Yes the park admissions are steep, but a couple months ago I was putting together a slideshow for a milestone birthday celebration for my wife, and as I was scanning some family pictures, I realized we had an amazing chronology of the growth and maturation of our two children in the "Pictures with Mickey" from our many trips to Disney. You can't put a price on that.

I'll also note that one other thing we did that the OP needs to strongly consider before their kids are past prime Disney age is a Disney Cruise. We did a seven day Eastern Caribbean on the Disney Magic for spring break 2007 when our son was 12 and our daughter was 8. It was an incredible experience! (Also incredibly expensive for a family of four in a Verandah family stateroom, but well worth it.)

 

[disneymom1]

If you are seriously considering purchasing at Hilton Head, consider taking a trip there and visit the Marriott resorts you may be interested in purchasing. We knew we wanted to spend a week every summer with our kids on HHI and recently purchased resale at Surfwatch. We stayed at Surfwatch last summer and visited Grande Ocean and Barony. We did not consider Monarch, as it was not what we were looking for. We had previously stayed at Harbour Point/Sunset Point. All of the Marriott resorts are great on HHI, but each is a bit different. Fortunately, with so many options (resorts/view categories/room types) there is a resale to fit every budget.

We just recently stayed at OceanWatch in Myrtle Beach. AWESOME resort for all ages!

FYI - Surfwatch and OceanWatch were sold with ultimate occupancy, meaning the view sold might be different than what view was ultimately owned after the resort was completed. If you decide to purchase either of these resorts resale, verify view before purchasing.