Timeshare tours in St. Maarten?

[JudyS]

DH & I are going on our first Caribbean trip soon. I often like to look at timeshares when I'm traveling. I often just stop by and ask to see the place, but I sometimes go on the "90 minute promotional tour," especially if I'm interested in hearing how that particular timeshare system works. Anyone know if there are any timeshares in St. Maarten currently offering incentives for doing a tour? I'm particularly interested in Sunterra or in one of the cruise clubs there (I believe there are two -- Trade Winds and one other.)

I have found two places on the web that offer "free gifts" for doing a timeshare tour in St. Maarten, but they don't say what timeshare they are affiliated with. One of these sites is Free Gifts St. Martin (www.freegiftsstmaarten.com) and the other is Free St. Maarten (www.freestmaarten.com). Anyone have any experience with these companies?

 

[Kal]

Caravanserai is conducting a 90-minute timeshare presentation and offers a nice incentive.

 

[Carolinian]

There are always a number of them doing it. You can get day trips to St. Barths or Saba that way, among other things.

 

[Larry]

Caravanserai is conducting a 90-minute timeshare presentation and offers a nice incentive.

They are the absolute worst that I have ever attended and no way would I ever go there. I have been to the Mayan resorts presentation and several others in Mexico and all were more reputable than this bunch. They refused to show me a unit and just kept asking why I wasn't buying sight unseen. I finally said the presentation was over and they said they wouldn't honor the gift since I didn't tour the resort. I indicated that I wanted to see the units but they said none were available and I needed to sit and wait till they could show me the units after check out and the rooms were cleaned. After two hours of waiting around we left without the gift. Save yourself the grief and just don't go there.

 

[JudyS]

Thanks Kal, Steve, and Larry for the advice (and in the case of Caravanserai, warning!)

Anyone else have any experiences with timeshares tours in St. Maarten?

 

[Kal]

They are the absolute worst that I have ever attended and no way would I ever go there. I have been to the Mayan resorts presentation and several others in Mexico and all were more reputable than this bunch. They refused to show me a unit and just kept asking why I wasn't buying sight unseen. I finally said the presentation was over and they said they wouldn't honor the gift since I didn't tour the resort. I indicated that I wanted to see the units but they said none were available and I needed to sit and wait till they could show me the units after check out and the rooms were cleaned. After two hours of waiting around we left without the gift. Save yourself the grief and just don't go there.

Larry - I agree the presentation is bad. I went thru it 3 years ago and it was a real challenge. HOWEVER, I absolutely was not interested in the property, I just wanted the goodies. In that case it was a trip to St. Barths, so I just let them lie and jabber for the 90 minutes. Now and then I would throw a stick in their spokes just for sport, but it just didn't matter.

I have another presentation scheduled for April, all in advance on-line scheduling. Everyone is playing "happy talk", HOWEVER this time I get 1-week's free car rental. The place is run by a pack of some very "honorable" creatures, so the presentation is consistent. Hopefully they will cut it short once they fully understand I'm not buying and they're wasting there own time. But hey, for sport it will be fun to twist their tails for 90-minutes. Start at 9:00am and to the beach at 10:30am.

 

[JudyS]

...I have another presentation scheduled for April, all in advance on-line scheduling. Everyone is playing "happy talk", HOWEVER this time I get 1-week's free car rental. ....

Kal, can you tell me who arranged this tour, or what online site this is? I'm wondering if this is something I can qualify for....

 

[johnmfaeth]

Hi Judy,

Since you're there, you can do the timeshare tour at the Divi and they give you some goodies. I haven't taken it, I figure my Caribbean trip time is far too valuable to deal with super annoying people, have plenty of them in my normal life.

If you only have a few days on St. Maarten, I would recommend skipping the tours. The beaches are the place to be. If you had three days I would do one day each at the Divi Beach and Pools, One at Mullet Bay and one at Orient Bay beaches.

Lunch at the Divi is pretty good, I would take the car into Simpson Bay each night for dinner, better value and selection. 20 or so great restaurants to choose from if you search some past threads.

Have fun and don't forget to relax a little, in a few blinks of the eye it will all be over.

 

[Aldo]

I've toured Divi, Oyster Bay, Pelican, Flamingo Beach, Atrium, and Caravanseri. Just walk down Front Street in Philipsburg and you will be repeatedly accosted to take these tours. I actually tried to buy at Divi but they wouldn't accept what I considered a reasonable offer.

Three of the most interesting timeshares, IMO, on St. Maarten are small and cozy, very nice. These are Belair, Lonvilliers, and Mary's Boon. All three will be happy to give you a tour at any time, very nice and straightforward, no BS, but on the other hand, no incentives or gifts. If you are serious about buying on St. Maarten, don't let that stop you from touring these properties, which are all outstanding in their own modest ways.

Ditto the comments above to avoid the Caravanerseri. Their entire tour scheme is a ripoff from the very beginning. They refuse to give you the gifts. If French kids come up to you with scratch off cards, tell them non. And leave off the merci.

All the others, just fine. They actually do keep it under 2 hours, I've gotten $75 off a rental car, trips to Saba and St. Barth's, what not.

 

[Kal]

Kal, can you tell me who arranged this tour, or what online site this is? I'm wondering if this is something I can qualify for....

Send me an email message thru TUG and I will give you the details. Typically, they require that you have a credit card and both husband and wife attend the presentation. In the case of a "significant other", I believe they just require a credit card, but both parties have to attend.

 

[tashamen]

Just walk down Front Street in Philipsburg and you will be repeatedly accosted to take these tours.

How true! We couldn't believe how aggressive some of these folks were. The one time we actually stopped so we could say something to the person it turns out she was touting Royal Islander Club La Terrasse, and when she found out we were staying at RIC La Plage (the adjacent resort - part of the same complex) she started swearing in French because we wouldn't be eligible for the tour since we had exchanged into La Plage. Little did she know that I understood her French swear words!

 

[johnmfaeth]

The "steerers' that they have at cruise shop docks and shoppong areas are all commissioned only. They get as much as $100 per couple they get onto a timeshare tour. As a result, they can get way over the line.

One starts to see why sales and marketing make up 50% of the price of a unit.

 

[Aldo]

How true! We couldn't believe how aggressive some of these folks were. The one time we actually stopped so we could say something to the person it turns out she was touting Royal Islander Club La Terrasse, and when she found out we were staying at RIC La Plage (the adjacent resort - part of the same complex) she started swearing in French because we wouldn't be eligible for the tour since we had exchanged into La Plage. Little did she know that I understood her French swear words!

I can read and understand spoken French quite well, even if I do not speak it very well myself. My accent is poor, and I garble stuff up. But the last dopey French kid who tried to lay those stupid scratch off cards on me got an earful, and understood every last word.

This summer, I noticed that scam being played in Philipsburg, whereas in previous years they were all over Marigot. This summer, I didn't see a single kid doing that scam in Marigot. Did the gendarmes run them across onto the Dutch side?