Thoughts on Shell Vacation Club?

[Ty1on]

It was suggested to me by a very wise and experienced TUGger to look into picking up a SVC contract based on my geographics and vacationing preference.

I've been looking at SVC points listings on ebay and a reseller with a keen eye since then, and the MFs seem to be extraordinarily high compared to Club Wyndham Plus contracts or CWA, for example, for comparable usefulness of those points around the respective system.

Can any owners of SVC AND alternative club systems fill me in on any bang I'd get for the MF buck with Shell that I am not seeing myself?

 

[vacationhopeful]

Shell allows you to book ANY checkin day of the week and to book up to 14 days on one reservation.

"Plug and Play" gives up to 20% discounts for booking stuff within the 15 day checkin window.

Shell does a full midweek (stay 7 nights or longer) cleaning ... new sheets, towels and unit reset.

All Shell units include a washer/dryer plus balcony in their 'designed' new build projects (not the city stuff) and that includes the studios. Studio do have a partial kitchen (no over, 2 burner stove) plus they have that magical KING SIZE bed and a sofabed. I like the Shell beds better.

Shell resorts seem to have onsite real dining. And a gift/resort store bigger than a closet. And nicer Front Desk staffs.

Shell is mostly FREE (as in being given away) including closing costs .... and trades in both RCI and II.

 

[Ty1on]

Shell allows you to book ANY checkin day of the week and to book up to 14 days on one reservation.

"Plug and Play" gives up to 20% discounts for booking stuff within the 15 day checkin window.

Shell does a full midweek (stay 7 nights or longer) cleaning ... new sheets, towels and unit reset.

All Shell units include a washer/dryer plus balcony in their 'designed' new build projects (not the city stuff) and that includes the studios. Studio do have a partial kitchen (no over, 2 burner stove) plus they have that magical KING SIZE bed and a sofabed. I like the Shell beds better.

Shell resorts seem to have onsite real dining. And a gift/resort store bigger than a closet. And nicer Front Desk staffs.

Shell is mostly FREE (as in being given away) including closing costs .... and trades in both RCI and II.

This is good information. What about banking/pooling points?

 

[vacationhopeful]

This is good information. What about banking/pooling points?

Yes ... can bank and borrow points ... which I have done. Several of my free contracts came with banked points... don't remember the rules exactly .. but the VCs are very nice to us owners.

Additionally, to use Wyndham points to book Shell resorts, your Wyndham points have to be developer brought ONLY. And there is a $99 "fee" which is more like an exchange fee (and non-refundable).

Shell has housekeeping (per unit booked) and reservation transactions (per day) .. very similar to Wyndham's function (and with a cost when you run out of your allotment).

 

[Bigrob]

I defer to Linda as she has much more experience with Shell than I do. However, I think it's important to know that there are many Shell Owners who are unhappy since the takeover by Wyndham, in that some of the benefits they had been receiving that were associated to the high maintenance fees you refer to have been stripped away... but the fees have not been reduced.

In essence, besides the very nice furnishings and finishes that Linda referred to, Shell used to provide more services including, I believe, free breakfast and (light) daily housekeeping that made it almost a cross between a timeshare (nice unit) and hotel (nice service) which compensated in part for the higher maintenance fees.

Now, not so much.

Also, I see even more complaints about Shell's online system than Wyndham's, fwiw.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Yes, the online system is "hincky" ... I usually try the online and then plead for call in help.

Yes, I got in after the "Free Breakfast" and daily housekeeping; did not expect those services. But the units are in great West Coast locations - esp for where my family has moved to.

And I still think the beds are better ....

 

[mistalong]

There's no additional fees to book shell resorts with Wyndham from what I've seen. I booked Vino Bello twice using just Wyndham points. I do believe that Wyndham just gets a limited number of rooms at non-peak times.

Thanks to Linda I took the plunge for 10K points off of ebay for $61. For me it was worth it. Normally when we go to Hawaii we like to lay over in the L.A. area for a couple of days before taking that long flight, so Peacock should come in handy.

 

[Ty1on]

There's no additional fees to book shell resorts with Wyndham from what I've seen. I booked Vino Bello twice using just Wyndham points. I do believe that Wyndham just gets a limited number of rooms at non-peak times.

Thanks to Linda I took the plunge for 10K points off of ebay for $61. For me it was worth it. Normally when we go to Hawaii we like to lay over in the L.A. area for a couple of days before taking that long flight, so Peacock should come in handy.

Too bad Shell doesn't have any properties in Santa Monica or Marina Del Rey! That would be an outstanding layover, and close to LAX!

And MF on that 10K points are $2,500-ish?

 

[presley]

Overall, I like Shell for trading in II. I've traded it for Marriott's newport Coast and Four Seasons Aviara a couple times. In those instances, the high MFs of Shell are still lower than owning the exchanged into resorts.

Here's my pros and cons that I can think of off the top of my head.

Pros:
Lots of San Francisco locations, so not hard to get a short or long stay there.
Trades nicely in II and comes with gold II membership.
Able to book as short as one night, but that can be costly if you use a housekeeping token for just one night.
Reduced cash rates for checking in within 2 weeks of making reservation.
Ability to bank/borrow points once per year - which can be a con if you want to borrow points more than once, you won't be able to.

Cons:
High MFs
If you do more than 2 transactions per year, you have to pay transaction fees.
Website wonky and it could work great or be a disaster for days/weeks at a time.
Overall, there aren't a lot of locations. It's worth owning if you know you'll regularly visit at least one location, but since I own WM, I have really high expectations on having many locations in many states.
You cannot do a Shell to Shell exchange in II. When people post about bulk Vino Bello deposits, you can't book one through your Shell II account. You have to spend a lot more points to book directly through Shell.

I have only stayed in Peacock Suites. You own Dolphin's Cove and I prefer that over Peacock Suites. I've read good reviews about some properties and horrendous reviews of others. If you are thinking of certain locations, be sure to read the reviews on Tug and on Tripadvisor for those locations.

 

[Bigrob]

There's no additional fees to book shell resorts with Wyndham from what I've seen. I booked Vino Bello twice using just Wyndham points. I do believe that Wyndham just gets a limited number of rooms at non-peak times.

Thanks to Linda I took the plunge for 10K points off of ebay for $61. For me it was worth it. Normally when we go to Hawaii we like to lay over in the L.A. area for a couple of days before taking that long flight, so Peacock should come in handy.

They get a limited number of rooms, and only at a limited number of Shell resorts, not all of them.

 

[kpeiper]

I have found SVC to provide excellent trade value through II. There are some great discounts for late booking and good availability when planning ahead. Yes, more costly MF, but also some great locations in CA. We purchased for the ability to easily drive throughout CA.

Yes, more costly MF and older style website. Big concern that it won't grow now that Wyndham has gobbled it up.


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[Beefnot]

Shell allows you to book ANY checkin day of the week and to book up to 14 days on one reservation.

"Plug and Play" gives up to 20% discounts for booking stuff within the 15 day checkin window.

Shell does a full midweek (stay 7 nights or longer) cleaning ... new sheets, towels and unit reset.

All Shell units include a washer/dryer plus balcony in their 'designed' new build projects (not the city stuff) and that includes the studios. Studio do have a partial kitchen (no over, 2 burner stove) plus they have that magical KING SIZE bed and a sofabed. I like the Shell beds better.

Shell resorts seem to have onsite real dining. And a gift/resort store bigger than a closet. And nicer Front Desk staffs.

Shell is mostly FREE (as in being given away) including closing costs .... and trades in both RCI and II.

A few corrections:

SVC points do not trade in RCI, only II.

There is no such thing as Plug and Play. There can be discounted points deals for some resorts within 45 days of check-in, and there are the Dash Away Deals which provide cash discounts of 40% less than if one was to rent of points from Shell, $0.15 vs. $0.25, although if a discounted point deal is being offered, Dash Away is not available.

Housekeeping is performed every 4th day irrespective of length the reservation.

 

[Beefnot]

I have found SVC to provide excellent trade value through II. There are some great discounts for late booking and good availability when planning ahead. Yes, more costly MF, but also some great locations in CA. We purchased for the ability to easily drive throughout CA.

Yes, more costly MF and older style website. Big concern that it won't grow now that Wyndham has gobbled it up.


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SVC points for exchanging in II have quite phenomenal value. Many Worldmark owners tout the power of WM points in II, but given the currently zero (actually negative) buy-in cost of Shell points, there is no better value than SVC in all of timesharing for points ownership to exchange via II.

SVC's website is garbage, though functionally it is gradually becoming less and less putrid. It is still ugly, but at least it is becoming more consistently usable to perform searches and do transactions.

 

[Beefnot]

Ability to bank/borrow points once per year - which can be a con if you want to borrow points more than once, you won't be able to.

Well, not quite. There are ways around that...:ignore:

 

[Ty1on]

A few corrections:

SVC points do not trade in RCI, only II.

There is no such thing as Plug and Play. There can be discounted points deals for some resorts within 45 days of check-in, and there are the Dash Away Deals which provide cash discounts of 40% less than if one was to rent of points from Shell, $0.15 vs. $0.25, although if a discounted point deal is being offered, Dash Away is not available.

Housekeeping is performed every 4th day irrespective of length the reservation.

I just read through an excellent SVC knowledge thread I hadn't seen before, and there were several mentions of Point And Play on the website. Could that be what she means?

 

[Beefnot]

I just read through an excellent SVC knowledge thread I hadn't seen before, and there were several mentions of Point And Play on the website. Could that be what she means?

Point and Play is the branded term for their online search and booking engine.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Dash Away deals is that they are available for check-ins 14 days or less away, unless there is not also a Discounted Points promotion already in place for the dates, which is happening more and more frequently.

 

[Ty1on]

Point and Play is the branded term for their online search and booking engine.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Dash Away deals is that they are available for check-ins 14 days or less away, unless there is not also a Discounted Points promotion already in place for the dates, which is happening more and more frequently.

Thanks everyone for all the good info.

Can anyone kindly lookup the points charts at Inn at the Park and Harbor Club in SD, Platinum season?

Can resales even use their points with affiliates?

 

[presley]

Thanks everyone for all the good info.

Can anyone kindly lookup the points charts at Inn at the Park and Harbor Club in SD, Platinum season?

Can resales even use their points with affiliates?

Harbor Club is no longer in the booking engine.

Inn at the park ranges from 4400 in a studio during lowest season to 8850 for a 2 bedroom in the highest season.

A while ago (maybe over a year ago?) I posted the differences between the cost of staying at Inn at the Park with my Shell vs. with my WM. WM was cheaper for every room type in every season.

Resales cannot book affiliates. Shell has some rooms at Inn at the Park.

 

[Ty1on]

Harbor Club is no longer in the booking engine.

Inn at the park ranges from 4400 in a studio during lowest season to 8850 for a 2 bedroom in the highest season.

A while ago (maybe over a year ago?) I posted the differences between the cost of staying at Inn at the Park with my Shell vs. with my WM. WM was cheaper for every room type in every season.

Resales cannot book affiliates. Shell has some rooms at Inn at the Park.

Too bad, the Harbor Club looked like an adventurous night for my kid.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Harbor Club is no longer in the booking engine.

Inn at the park ranges from 4400 in a studio during lowest season to 8850 for a 2 bedroom in the highest season.

A while ago (maybe over a year ago?) I posted the differences between the cost of staying at Inn at the Park with my Shell vs. with my WM. WM was cheaper for every room type in every season.

Resales cannot book affiliates. Shell has some rooms at Inn at the Park.

I think this is the Tug thread Presley was referring to: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210282


Richard

 

[Ty1on]

I think this is the Tug thread Presley was referring to: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210282


Richard

Thanks for this link. lcml's linked articles on that thread saddened me. It seemed like retaining the Top of the Park could have been a moneymaker for Wyndham or the respective clubs.

 

[JohnPaul]

Inn at the Park - Shell has top 4 floors and WM has bottom 4. Rooms are supposed to be furnished equally and studios are quite large with a basic kitchen.

The biggest issue with Wyndham in the West Club is that they took away daily housekeeping and the sales presentations have become even a bit more high pressure.

Maintenance fees are steep but most of the locations are fairly pricey to operate in (San Francisco, Napa, Hawaii)

It also has a lot of rules like the borrow once. If you were 50 points short for a reservation and borrow it from next year that was all the borrowing you can do from that year.

Also, all reservation practices are in the developer's favor. For example, I have 7000 developer points that I can use for Lifestyles (hotels and other options outside Shell proper) that I can't get with my resale points. You'd thinks as long as I had points left and hadn't used up 7000 worth of Lifestyle or other developer only point options I could book them. However, the first points they use (even when just booking Shell Properties are the developer points.

As an example, say I used all but 7000 of my annual points on Shell properties and then wanted to book an Outrigger Hotel in Hawaii available with Developer purchased points through their Lifestyles option I would not be able to even though I own 7000 eligible points because they would have used the eligible points for my Shell reservations.

Shell is divided into a variety of clubs which charge different MF and give you a priority at 10 - 13 months booking the resorts in your home club.

We use our SVC points for San Francisco and Napa and are very happy with that.

 

[VacationForever]

Shell moving back to RCI in 2017/18

I am at Depoe Bay this week and attended an owners' update. Yeah, got suckered in attending since we had nothing to do this morning. Anyway, we were told that when Shell's contract runs out with II in 2017, Shell will go back to be affiliated with RCI (only).

Unrelated to Shell...

The update was stress-free and the sales rep was very professional and pleasant about our telling her that we were not going buy since we have too many timeshare weeks already.

We learned that Margaritaville vacation club will be joining the Wyndham umbrella. Chatted about Ovation and their "Step" program and their doing away with "OVP". We have no clue about their "OVP" program before this anyway.

 

[Ty1on]

I am at Depoe Bay this week and attended an owners' update. Yeah, got suckered in attending since we had nothing to do this morning. Anyway, we were told that when Shell's contract runs out with II in 2017, Shell will go back to be affiliated with RCI (only).

Unrelated to Shell...

The update was stress-free and the sales rep was very professional and pleasant about our telling her that we were not going buy since we have too many timeshare weeks already.

We learned that Margaritaville vacation club will be joining the Wyndham umbrella. Chatted about Ovation and their "Step" program and their doing away with "OVP". We have no clue about their "OVP" program before this anyway.

May I ask you to explain OVP?

 

[VacationForever]

May I ask you to explain OVP?

From my understanding through today's update, it was their program to buyback and sell foreclosed properties at a discount to existing owners. They started that program during the recent recession. It is now superseded by Ovation. Again, I knew/know nothing about OVP. I am familiar with Ovation. Wyndham group (Worldmark/Club Wyndham...) will take back fully paid timeshares from owners. Ovation is good for owners and great for Wyndham (generic name for all timeshare systems under Wyndham).