Thread Dedicated to the Upcoming/Anticipated Integration of Vistana and Marriott Ownerships

[hcarman]

Some better and some worse. Westin Kierland is heads and shoulders above Canyon Villas. Ocean Watch is far superior to Sheraton Broadway Plantation. Some are almost similar and can go one way or the other - Desert Springs, Shadow Ridge vs. Westin Mission Hills and Desert Willow.

What do you like better about Kierland than Canyon Villas? We love Canyon Villas and it is pretty upscale sharing a property with JW. It is a great location. We drove by Kierland once but don't remember much about it. I do remember it is close to some good shopping areas.

 

[VacationForever]

What do you like better about Kierland than Canyon Villas? We love Canyon Villas and it is pretty upscale sharing a property with JW. It is a great location. We drove by Kierland once but don't remember much about it. I do remember it is close to some good shopping areas.

For us long time Vistana and Marriott owners, Canyon Villas is a dump. The check-in area is very small, very much like Worldmark check-in experience. The buildings look like old converted condo buildings. The room we had was dark and dingy. We didn't feel anything luxurious about it. We also had awful food and service at JW Marriott next door. The restaurant at the golf course was a little better. We just never want to go back to Canyon Villas.

Westin Kierland is one of the crown jewels in the Vistana system. The rooms are very nice and is one of the best Westin properties. It is next door to the hotel which has great food too. It is also very close to Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter. One more thing, it is a couple of minutes walk to the golf course and practice facility.

 

[GregT]

What do you like better about Kierland than Canyon Villas? We love Canyon Villas and it is pretty upscale sharing a property with JW. It is a great location. We drove by Kierland once but don't remember much about it. I do remember it is close to some good shopping areas.

I think Canyon Villas and Sheraton Desert Oasis are very comparable properties. They are good, basic timeshare units that are serviced by a good, basic pool amenity. I like both and have stayed at both as a base camp for Spring Training, and bought an SDO for cheap because of the spring training access.

I've not stayed at Kierland, but I get the impression from the Vistana board that Kierland is a destination in its own right, in addition to having great access to golf and the adjacent hotel amenity. I don't view SDO or Canyon Villas as a destination in their own right. I do hope to stay at Kierland when I'm going out to Phoenix area and looking to stay on property most of the time.

Best,

Greg

 

[dioxide45]

To call Canyon Villas a "dump" seems a little bombastic. My definition of a dump would be more akin to some of the motels along 192 with prostitutes and drug deals going down on a regular basis. I beleive Canyon Villas has renovated their villas, so they aren't old or tired. I don't find them anymore dark than the small 1BR at Westin Kierland Villas where the only window is in the bedroom. That said, Canyon Villas has some big drawbacks that make it less desirable than Kierland. It is located in North Phoenix. It is close to the Desert Ridge Mall which has a lot to do, but it seems there are better shopping and dining options in the Scottsdale area where Kierland is located.

Canyon Villas also has only one, effective, pool area. The Lizard Lagoon and Spa Pool are good concepts, but everyone gravitates to the only real pool area at the Canyon Pool. Lizard Lagoon is only 1' deep and outside of some kids playing for a short time, most people want to be in a regular pool. Spa Pool is probably okay in the winter when it is cooler, but the times we have been, no one else was there. The Canyon Pool is far too busy for our taste. Canyon Villas and Westin Kierland do have some great common seating areas, but the lobby at Kierland is much better, though we usually don't hang out in the lobby. Both have access to their respective hotels and I would give an edge to the JW at Desert Ridge over the Westin Kierland Hotel. Though the JW Desert Ridge often limits Canyon Villas guests from using their facilities. I don't think that happens at Kierland. Parking at Canyon Villas is also setup very poorly. It isn't as bad at Kierland.

Kierland however does have a few drawbacks. They close the Recreation Pool far too early and it drives families to the Relaxation Pool. We were going to go down to the Relaxation Pool last night but heard a lot of screaming, looked out and it was full of kids. That isn't my idea of Relaxation. We passed. They need to keep the Recreation Pool open until at least 10pm. These things are swim at your own risk, so I don't understand why they close it so early. Last night we also could hear a dog barking (yapping) for over two hours in our building. I walk down a floor and knew it was from the room below ours. I called the front desk to look into it. They called back to tell me that no one was registered in that room nor the one beside it. Odd, since there were do not disturb signs on the door. Not sure what was up with that, perhaps some staff using the room for the night? Certainly resorts can't stop all guests from sneaking pets on property, but the barking lasted for a long time after I called, which means they didn't simply just send someone to the room to knock and enter.

 

[Red elephant]

To call Canyon Villas a "dump" seems a little bombastic. My definition of a dump would be more akin to some of the motels along 192 with prostitutes and drug deals going down on a regular basis. I beleive Canyon Villas has renovated their villas, so they aren't old or tired. I don't find them anymore dark than the small 1BR at Westin Kierland Villas where the only window is in the bedroom. That said, Canyon Villas has some big drawbacks that make it less desirable than Kierland. It is located in North Phoenix. It is close to the Desert Ridge Mall which has a lot to do, but it seems there are better shopping and dining options in the Scottsdale area where Kierland is located.

Canyon Villas also has only one, effective, pool area. The Lizard Lagoon and Spa Pool are good concepts, but everyone gravitates to the only real pool area at the Canyon Pool. Lizard Lagoon is only 1' deep and outside of some kids playing for a short time, most people want to be in a regular pool. Spa Pool is probably okay in the winter when it is cooler, but the times we have been, no one else was there. The Canyon Pool is far too busy for our taste. Canyon Villas and Westin Kierland do have some great common seating areas, but the lobby at Kierland is much better, though we usually don't hang out in the lobby. Both have access to their respective hotels and I would give an edge to the JW at Desert Ridge over the Westin Kierland Hotel. Though the JW Desert Ridge often limits Canyon Villas guests from using their facilities. I don't think that happens at Kierland. Parking at Canyon Villas is also setup very poorly. It isn't as bad at Kierland.

Kierland however does have a few drawbacks. They close the Recreation Pool far too early and it drives families to the Relaxation Pool. We were going to go down to the Relaxation Pool last night but heard a lot of screaming, looked out and it was full of kids. That isn't my idea of Relaxation. We passed. They need to keep the Recreation Pool open until at least 10pm. These things are swim at your own risk, so I don't understand why they close it so early. Last night we also could hear a dog barking (yapping) for over two hours in our building. I walk down a floor and knew it was from the room below ours. I called the front desk to look into it. They called back to tell me that no one was registered in that room nor the one beside it. Odd, since there were do not disturb signs on the door. Not sure what was up with that, perhaps some staff using the room for the night? Certainly resorts can't stop all guests from sneaking pets on property, but the barking lasted for a long time after I called, which means they didn't simply just send someone to the room to knock and enter.

Aren’t the windows in the bedrooms at most of these resorts anyway? So dark is subjective. I own at SDO which is like canyon villas and given an option I would stay at Kierland. I use SDO as a trader and book Kierland with staroptions. But that’s just my preference .

 

[dioxide45]

Aren’t the windows in the bedrooms at most of these resorts anyway? So dark is subjective. I own at SDO which is like canyon villas and given an option I would stay at Kierland. I use SDO as a trader and book Kierland with staroptions. But that’s just my preference .

There are windows in the bedrooms at most resorts, but most also have windows in the living room. There is no window in the livingroom of the 1BR standard at WKV. I think SDO might be the same, but not sure. Given the choice, I would also pick WKV over SDO every time.

 

[hcarman]

For us long time Vistana and Marriott owners, Canyon Villas is a dump. The check-in area is very small, very much like Worldmark check-in experience. The buildings look like old converted condo buildings. The room we had was dark and dingy. We didn't feel anything luxurious about it. We also had awful food and service at JW Marriott next door. The restaurant at the golf course was a little better. We just never want to go back to Canyon Villas.

Westin Kierland is one of the crown jewels in the Vistana system. The rooms are very nice and is one of the best Westin properties. It is next door to the hotel which has great food too. It is also very close to Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter. One more thing, it is a couple of minutes walk to the golf course and practice facility.

I would disagree on your assessment of Canyon Villas being a dump?! In fact, we enjoy the Desert Ridge area so much we bought a week there many years ago and still return. We certainly go out and do other things but there is plenty to keep us busy at the two properties. Front desk area isn’t large but we don’t spend much time sitting in the lobby unless we are visiting the pet bearded dragon. And never found our room to be dark - in fact when we go in the spring everything seems so bright. But we will certainly give Kierland a try and see what we think - we probably didn’t see too much just driving through.

 

[RC51Tofuman]

We just had our owner update YESTERDAY. I am trying to catch-up on this thread for the last 5 pages of this thread.

They told us Aug 8 is when the merger happens. We declined to take up on their offer that was given to us today. We kept the paper with all the chicken scratch of the Sales Pitch.

We are current owners of 1 bedroom Westin Flex at Nanea as 1 of the Home properties.

They made the pitch of us upgrading to 2 bedroom, purchasing all 6 certificates (never to be offered again), 13 month window booking, bump from executive (which means nothing in new program) to platinum, plus bonus options deposited in our bank.

I am at the pool right now with Wife and 5 year old and can't think of the further details ....but it's all on paper back at the hotel room.

Is purchasing a resale still the better way to go in this soon New environment????

Update from earlier Post
Upgrade to 163,000 (2bedroom)
Platinum for life
104,000 bonus options
58,000 options
1x offer to purchase 6 coupons
Cost to us would be
$24,325 + 895 escrow
New maintenance fee $3423

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[mjm1]

I made the above table from the disclosures provided with Westin Flex from a couple years ago. It does not have the seasons. It would be especially interesting to see the season distribution on WRF.

Also note that the unit count varies on how they sold the property, I.e., on some they count the large and small side of a unit separately, while in other locations the combined lockoff is counted as a single unit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We just had our owner update YESTERDAY. I am trying to catch-up on this thread for the last 5 pages of this thread.

They told us Aug 8 is when the merger happens. We declined to take up on their offer that was given to us today. We kept the paper with all the chicken scratch of the Sales Pitch.

We are current owners of 1 bedroom Westin Flex at Nanea as 1 of the Home properties.

They made the pitch of us upgrading to 2 bedroom, purchasing all 6 certificates (never to be offered again), 13 month window booking, bump from executive (which means nothing in new program) to platinum, plus bonus options deposited in our bank.

I am at the pool right now with Wife and 5 year old and can't think of the further details ....but it's all on paper back at the hotel room.

Is purchasing a resale still the better way to go in this soon New environment????

Update from earlier Post
Upgrade to 163,000 (2bedroom)
Platinum for life
104,000 bonus options
58,000 options
1x offer to purchase 6 coupons
Cost to us would be
$24,325 + 895 escrow
New maintenance fee $3423

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Thanks for sharing.

If I understand what you shared I think you inter-mixed the tiers of the Abound program and the Bonvoy program (ie going from Executive to Platinum). You would move to platinum in the Bonvoy program with Marriott Int’l. You would also move to Executive in the Abound program, which is equivalent to 3* Elite with Vistana. There actually is a nice and potentially valuable benefit at the Executive level. You can make reservations for one night or more at 13 months. At the lower level you have to wait until 10 months before checkin for one night or up to six nights, but you can make a seven night or more reservation at 10 months. So depending on your future needs that could be a benefit.

So, it is something to consider along with other options you mentioned.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[RC51Tofuman]

Thanks Mike
Appreciate the response.
We held off and declined the initial offer.
We weren't sure what was factual and just a sales pitch.
They gave us Encore package which would Lock-in on what pricing and extras were offered. We have up until our next visit to say Yes for this initial offering of the presentation. So we signed up on the Encore package and it will give us time to think about it

Since I discovered this forum, I figured to throw the information out there and see what type of responses I get.

Before all of this.....I was thinking of purchasing as Resale on Redweek or a recommended broker.
But ofcourse with this Merger of Vistana and Marriott throws another twist.

I appreciate all the replies

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[wballoni]

I apologize if this was covered somewhere back in the previous 27 pages of the thread. Has there been any discussion of the impact on current Marriott owners of adding Vistana owners? For instance, could it get significantly harder to book popular Marriott resorts with points?

 

[samcar1]

Is Ritz Carlton within the Marriott DC point system? I thought I saw it but maybe its just a pipe dream

 

[dioxide45]

Is Ritz Carlton within the Marriott DC point system? I thought I saw it but maybe its just a pipe dream

Yes, Ritz Carlton Residences properties can be book using Club Points. I beleive 1+ nights at 6 months for Owner and Select and 1+ night at 13 months for Executive and above.

 

[Dean]

I apologize if this was covered somewhere back in the previous 27 pages of the thread. Has there been any discussion of the impact on current Marriott owners of adding Vistana owners? For instance, could it get significantly harder to book popular Marriott resorts with points?

It has been discussed and non of us truly know. I suspect the highest demand options in both systems will become more difficult for the inventory in the DC. This will likely have more affect on the MVC side initially but that will likely even out over time. We shall see.

 

[samcar1]

Yes, Ritz Carlton Residences properties can be book using Club Points. I beleive 1+ nights at 6 months for Owner and Select and 1+ night at 13 months for Executive and above.

thank you for clarifying. I will be President on this plan. It's all very confusing. I hope it works out well for all.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Way past 15 hours and now new message that it will take longer and come back tomorrow.

 

[dioxide45]

Did we honestly think it would be done in 15 hours??? We were kidding ourselves.

 

[Pamplemousse]

No we didn’t. But it’s cute that they retain optimism!

 

[billymach4]

Personally I am a very outspoken critic of this website and affiliated processing. Whatever they are doing is a Massive Project. Been on the backend of many such projects myself.

Let's cut them some slack and let them get it right.

 

[Pamplemousse]

They set the expectations saying it would take “15 hours”.
Wrong to believe them?

 

[timsi]

Did we honestly think it would be done in 15 hours??? We were kidding ourselves.

Most companies set a lower bar that can be easily beaten. When they announced 15 hours I thought it would take them a lot less and that after few hours it would all be up and running . Marriott keeps on surprising me and not in a good way.

 

[kyaustin]

True, they should have said we expect this to take at least 15 hours but may take as many as 24 (or xx hours) to set expectations correct.
That is unless their 15 hour estimate was already them setting expectations low when they thought it would only be 4-5 hours, in which case this is a total FUBR

 

[dougp26364]

Is Ritz Carlton within the Marriott DC point system? I thought I saw it but maybe its just a pipe dream

They can, but availability is often as scarce as hens teeth, especially in high season. San Francisco seems to be the easiest to book. Vail in Spring, Summer and Fall has decent availability. I’ve read of others on TUG getting St Thomas Ritz units as well as Lake Tahoe. I’ve searched some for the Lake Tahoe Ritz but have been unsuccessful myself. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the Aspen property have availability and that’s the one I’d really love to visit. We are Chairman’s level as can book 13 months ahead, although that’s not always when I see openings for the Ritz properties. I’m hoping to get an October unit in Vail for our anniversary next year.

 

[samcar1]

I guess ski season is a pipe dream?

 

[dougp26364]

I guess ski season is a pipe dream?

For a Ritz property? Maybe, but I’m never looking for ski season as we’re not skiers.

Ritz was sold entirely differently than the typical timeshare to a rather exclusive, upscale, clientele. Because of the way it was sold and how Ritz owners usage rights work, it makes it a little more difficult for MVC owners to gain access to those properties.

This YouTube video gives a little insight into how they sold thenRitz properties and the differences in how their owners can book time within that club.