Tour of Westin Desert Willows in Palm Desert

[mjm1]

We will be in Palm Desert in a few weeks (at Marriott Desert Springs) and are curious to see the Westin Desert Willows. How often will Starwood allow you to go through a presentation and what do they usually provide as an incentive? We haven't been through one, but will be staying at Kaanapali North in April. We recently bought a Westin and want to continue to learn about the system, both from current owners in TUG and from Starwood. Thanks

 

[zinger1457]

Not sure there is an official written policy on how often one can do an owners update, I was told at my home resort (WKV) that I could only do one update per year. I've also gone through owners updates at Westin Lagunamar and Westin Riverfront (twice) and they were not concerned that I had recently been through an owners update at my home resort. I received a $100 Amex gift card during my last update in September. I would not depend on the Starwood owner updates to get educated on how the system works, you'll get much better and accurate information from TUG. If a salesperson provided accurate and complete information no one would ever buy from them.

 

[DeniseM]

I would not depend on the Starwood owner updates to get educated on how the system works, you'll get much better and accurate information from TUG. If a salesperson provided accurate and complete information no one would ever buy from them.

BINGO! And lock your credit cards and check-book in the room safe before you go to the presentation!

 

[jarta]

mjm1, ... There is no need to go to a sales presentation (masquerading as an "owners update") to find out more about using your Starwood timeshare. All you need to do is go to mystarcentral, login and go to the section called "Using Your Owership."

The information you find on mystarcentral and the tips provided by TUG members and the Starwood stickys are about all the Starwood information you need to know.

Unless you are very seriously considering retroing a 148,100 StarOption after-market purchase, why would you even want to sit through 2 hours of a sales presentation? However, if you show up and want to do a sales presentation, I'm sure Starwood will accommodate you. lol!

The most you would get out of going and not buying is an Explorer package which means you will pay to have the opportunity to sit through the same presentation again. Ugh! The sale price of the recent Starpoints offer to owners is (until December 20) as low or lower than the cost of any Explorer package. You have better things to do on your upcoming vacation at WKORV-N than staying inside while wishing you were outside. ... eom

 

[mjm1]

Thanks for the insights. I will definitely spend more time on mystarcentral and TUG.

 

[YYJMSP]

Not sure there is an official written policy on how often one can do an owners update, I was told at my home resort (WKV) that I could only do one update per year.

Hmm, we've never run in to that "limit". They usually go out of their way to try to sell you another unit...

 

[crisby]

Last month we stayed at the Marriott Desert Springs and because we own at Starwood Vistana, we wanted to see what Desert Willow looked like in case we want to trade in sometime.

We called over and set up an appointment for a quick visual tour. They still offered us some Starpoints so we agreed. A young lady, knowing that we were just viewing, drove us over to the model suite and waited impatiently as we looked through the room, then rushed us back to the reception area, offering to drop us at our car. We asked to go back to the main area so we could look around the pools etc. and then went back inside to pick up our points. The entire visit was about 20 minutes total.

They gave us 2500 Starpoints for this.

By the way, the resort is gorgeous, with lots of emphasis on nature. There are only about 4 buildings completed, with one more under construction. We would definitely like to trade in sometime in the future.

Chris

 

[mjm1]

Thanks for sharing your recent experience. We did a quick visit years ago when the resort was first started, but I don't remember anything about it other than the real desert feel of the grounds. We will definitely at least stop by for at least a quick viewing.

 

[OKPACIFIC]

We will be in Palm Desert in a few weeks (at Marriott Desert Springs) and are curious to see the Westin Desert Willows. How often will Starwood allow you to go through a presentation and what do they usually provide as an incentive? We haven't been through one, but will be staying at Kaanapali North in April. We recently bought a Westin and want to continue to learn about the system, both from current owners in TUG and from Starwood. Thanks

We went through the sales presentation on December 11, 2011. They will give you 2,500 SPG points for a 20 min presentation and 6,500 SPG points for the longer presentation. We went to the longer one which took about an hour and a half. It would have been longer if we had elected to buy. At that time they offered no SPG incentive points for platinum weeks. They did offer 6 (or 8?) of those promotionals where you can buy SPG points for a discount price.

The resort itself is very cool, peaceful and nicely landscaped with a beautiful golf course and mountain views. We stayed in building 5. The larger 1BR was very attractive, however my wife wished that the smaller 1BR side had a nicer tub, which was just hotel grade with no separate shower.The pool area was beautiful and had a nice water slide for the kids. At night, we really enjoyed visiting with other guests by the outdoor fireplace next to the bar during happy hour.

The Palm Desert area is just great. Highly recommend going to the street fair at the College of the Desert on Saturdays and Sundays. The booths were full of fun stuff and they had covered seating and a live band in the food area. For breakfast try Don and Sweet Sue's in Cathedral City. We also had lunch at the Elephant Bar which is just down the road from the Desert Willow.

Hope you have a great time!
John

 

[mjm1]

Thanks John. Yes, we have gone to the Street Fair before and enjoyed it. Like you, we enjoy the area and look forward to it. Cheers.

 

[trinkschiz]

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