Updated Flex FAQ

[CPNY]

This may be true in some cases. I am pretty sure Lagunamar would be one of the favorite MVC resorts for those that live on the East Coast once it becomes part of the combined system. The pools, the locations, the views, the color of the ocean are all very hard to beat. It also offers more bang for the buck because there are many high end restaurants in proximity that are significantly cheaper than in the US. The day trips to Chichen Itza, Tulum etc are also very interesting and I think other Caribbean destinations do not necessarily offer such an interesting mix of culture, food and beach vacations. Given all that, I am not too interested in going to the other MVC Carribean resorts. We would like to visit Aruba but every time I read about how busy the two resorts are, my enthusiasm pales especially knowing the great experiences I have had at Lagunamar.

Since I am concerned about the availability once the integration is complete (especially on SO), I am happy if MVC would see more Westin Cancun inventory rather than Lagunamar. I am not sure that would satisfy the Marriott owners, Westin Cancun has small pools, a so so location, smaller units, less ocean view condos and they still costs as many StarOptions as Lagunamar. This is the reason why I thought Marriott may want to sell Westin Cancun, I would be counter productive IMO to brag about their newly acquired Mexican resorts and not offer their owners the best possible experience in Mexico.

Westin resort may be inferior and may not satisfy the “Marriott snob” but having it will offer more availability in Mexico. The demand is going to be high in Mexico since it’s a location MVC owners never had. I can also see Marriott putting more inventory into a combined program to dilute the VSN and offer more to DC owners.

 

[CPNY]

Hey, just change the name on the outside of the building, change some of the decor and a bit of furniture, jack up the price by 30% and everyone is happy.

Don’t even have to change the name. Just Turn the W upside down and you have your M lol.

 

[jabberwocky]

For example, a Westin Flex ownership that was purchased from the developer can book at the eight resorts within the trust starting at 12 months. If made within eight months, the reservation would be a StarOptions reservation and could be made at any of the 24 Vistana resorts.

In contrast, the Westin Flex owner who purchased resale could only book at the eight resorts within the Westin Flex trust and would not be able to book at the 16 resorts outside of Westin Flex with StarOptions.

Shouldn't the first paragraph read Sheraton Flex??

I was just using Westin Flex as an example. Sheraton Flex has 9 resorts vs. the 8 in Westin Flex.

 

[jabberwocky]

This may be true in some cases. I am pretty sure Lagunamar would be one of the favorite MVC resorts for those that live on the East Coast once it becomes part of the combined system. The pools, the locations, the views, the color of the ocean are all very hard to beat. It also offers more bang for the buck because there are many high end restaurants in proximity that are significantly cheaper than in the US. The day trips to Chichen Itza, Tulum etc are also very interesting and I think other Caribbean destinations do not necessarily offer such an interesting mix of culture, food and beach vacations. Given all that, I am not too interested in going to the other MVC Carribean resorts. We would like to visit Aruba but every time I read about how busy the two resorts are, my enthusiasm pales especially knowing the great experiences I have had at Lagunamar.

Since I am concerned about the availability once the integration is complete (especially on SO), I am happy if MVC would see more Westin Cancun inventory rather than Lagunamar. I am not sure that would satisfy the Marriott owners, Westin Cancun has small pools, a so so location, smaller units, less ocean view condos and they still costs as many StarOptions as Lagunamar. This is the reason why I thought Marriott may want to sell Westin Cancun, I would be counter productive IMO to brag about their newly acquired Mexican resorts and not offer their owners the best possible experience in Mexico.

I agree that Lagunamar would be a fantastic addition to the MVC lineup. We haven't been yet, but will be going towards the end of March for nine days and we're excited to go (just booked our Aeroplan tickets).

Availability should still be good for Lagunamar owners and those with SO. Complete integration will take a long time to implement. Marriott doesn't seem to like to buy on the open market and there is no ROFR. The only way to get more deeds into the MVC system would be to get them via deedbacks, or those turning in deeds to buy Flex or MVC.

For existing owners who want to stay at WLR, other than having a broader set of resorts to visit, I can't see why you would switch over to MVC. If we use Aruba as an example comparator, a 2BR OV spring break week would be around $2800 in MF. That compares with the current WLR MF of $1400 or even $2200 to book via Aventuras.

 

[remowidget]

From what we were told at our update at WLR in February is that they were in the process of adding the Westin Cancun in the Aventuras Trust. This was a few weeks before the world went crazy. Since I told them that I preferred Lagunamar WAY over the hotel seconds prior, I don’t see a reason why they would lie about that.

Sometimes I'm amazed at what they lie about.

 

[remowidget]

It would be good to convert it over to a Marriott then Marriott will have access to Cancun and they won't be itching to stay at Lagunamar...

Maybe, but I doubt the demand will ever be as high as Lagunamar. Lagunamar is in an awesome location. The Westin Cancun is way away from everything. That isn't always a bad thing, but if you want to go shopping, to restaurants, or grocery stores it is remote in comparison.

 

[CPNY]

I agree that Lagunamar would be a fantastic addition to the MVC lineup. We haven't been yet, but will be going towards the end of March for nine days and we're excited to go (just booked our Aeroplan tickets).

Availability should still be good for Lagunamar owners and those with SO. Complete integration will take a long time to implement. Marriott doesn't seem to like to buy on the open market and there is no ROFR. The only way to get more deeds into the MVC system would be to get them via deedbacks, or those turning in deeds to buy Flex or MVC.

For existing owners who want to stay at WLR, other than having a broader set of resorts to visit, I can't see why you would switch over to MVC. If we use Aruba as an example comparator, a 2BR OV spring break week would be around $2800 in MF. That compares with the current WLR MF of $1400 or even $2200 to book via Aventuras.

Spring break in Aruba.... I can only imagine how packed that beach and pool is.

 

[daviator]

Maybe, but I doubt the demand will ever be as high as Lagunamar. Lagunamar is in an awesome location. The Westin Cancun is way away from everything. That isn't always a bad thing, but if you want to go shopping, to restaurants, or grocery stores it is remote in comparison.

Agree completely. The only thing that the Westin is closer to is the airport and the far-off theme park and historical sites. But if you like to get off the tourist island and go into Cancun for decent restaurants that are less tourist-trappy, the Lagunamar is something like 20 minutes closer, each way.

I was happy to see Westin Cancun come into the Vistana network, just because more choices are always nice, but I don’t think I’d ever choose to stay there, I’ve never had trouble booking into Lagunamar with StarOptions.

 

[DTD1990]

I didn't think the Avon, Colorado Sheraton's (Lakeside or Mountain Villas) were part of Sheraton Flex? At least they weren't when I purchased Sheraton Flex - was this changed?

 

[jabberwocky]

I didn't think the Avon, Colorado Sheraton's (Lakeside or Mountain Villas) were part of Sheraton Flex? At least they weren't when I purchased Sheraton Flex - was this changed?

None of the Colorado resorts were originally included. Steamboat was added in in 2016 or 2017. The Avon resorts have been part of it since 2018 or 2019 - my memory is a little fuzzy so maybe someone can chime in on the dates.

 

[controller1]

None of the Colorado resorts were originally included. Steamboat was added in in 2016 or 2017. The Avon resorts have been part of it since 2018 or 2019 - my memory is a little fuzzy so maybe someone can chime in on the dates.

The Avon resorts were added in 2018 with Home Resort reservations beginning in 2019. Two Resorts added to Sheraton Flex

 

[jabberwocky]

So I'm hoping an Aventuras owner can help us out (PM me if you don't want to post publicly). From the marketing materials sent our, WRS Cancun is supposed to be in Aventuras; however, the official Vistana website does not list it as being included in the Aventuras Flex collection.

Can an owner please log in and try making a dummy reservation for this resort and let us know if it can be booked with Home Resort privileges (not SO)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ckhawaii]

We also need to come up with a cool acronym for the Westin Cancun. WCV is already in use...

 

[jmhpsu93]

From what we were told at our update at WLR in February is that they were in the process of adding the Westin Cancun in the Aventuras Trust. This was a few weeks before the world went crazy. Since I told them that I preferred Lagunamar WAY over the hotel seconds prior, I don’t see a reason why they would lie about that.

For what it's worth, the retofit at Westin Cancun is really well done, at least in the phase we saw on our tour there. None of the efficiency kitchen garbage you often see in hotel conversions - they had full stoves and refrigerators. This was two years ago, so none of what they were selling made any sense to us at the time as we had just bought into MVC.

 

[jabberwocky]

We also need to come up with a cool acronym for the Westin Cancun. WCV is already in use...

WCV? I’m not familiar with that one. Care to clear it up for me?

 

[dioxide45]

We also need to come up with a cool acronym for the Westin Cancun. WCV is already in use...

WCU is the resort code in the II directory.

 

[Ckhawaii]

WCV? I’m not familiar with that one. Care to clear it up for me?

westin coral vista?

 

[Eric B]

Wolf Creek Village in Utah

 

[cubigbird]

From what we were told at our update at WLR in February is that they were in the process of adding the Westin Cancun in the Aventuras Trust. This was a few weeks before the world went crazy. Since I told them that I preferred Lagunamar WAY over the hotel seconds prior, I don’t see a reason why they would lie about that.

FWIW I confirmed that Westin Cancun (not Lagunamar, but the other Westin) is currently NOT in the Aventuras trust. Westin Cancun is bookable at 8 months out with SO, but not currently available at 12 months out for Aventuras. It was stated it is still the goal to add it to the trust eventually but only when the remainder of the hotel conversion to villas is completed. Currently in 2020 only Westin Lagunamar and Westin Los Cabos are in Aventuras. There is also no ETA for PV.

 

[controller1]

FWIW I confirmed that Westin Cancun (not Lagunamar, but the other Westin) is currently NOT in the Aventuras trust. Westin Cancun is bookable at 8 months out with SO, but not currently available at 12 months out for Aventuras. It was stated it is still the goal to add it to the trust eventually but only when the remainder of the hotel conversion to villas is completed. Currently in 2020 only Westin Lagunamar and Westin Los Cabos are in Aventuras. There is also no ETA for PV.

It appears there may be some risk to ever getting Puerto Vallarta into the Vistana portfolio. The Marriott Vacations Worldwide CFO recently made a presentation indicating they were looking to divest themselves of hotels acquired during the ILG acquisition and PV was mentioned. See beginning with Post #7 of this thread: NEW Info on Marriott/Westin/Sheraton Consolidated Product

 

[jabberwocky]

Thank you, jabberwocky! Well done! Let's leave it hear for a few days for discussion/input, and then I will move it to the sticky.

Hi @DeniseM ,

I think this has percolated long enough and the outstanding questions seem to have been resolved. Any chance we can add this as a sticky?

 

[DeniseM]

It should already be a sticky. - 2nd pink box from the bottom, at the top of the page.

 

[jabberwocky]

It should already be a sticky. - 2nd pink box from the bottom, at the top of the page.

There is a sticky there, but it goes to the older original FAQ (unless I am looking in the wrong location).

 

[DeniseM]

Should be updated now

 

[itkwon]

It may be plausible that they may want to convert the Resort and Spa Cancun to a MVC resort rather than have it go into Westin Flex. IIRC, MVC doesn't have much (if any) Mexico exposure. Whether this is through a common currency or placing the resort directly into the DP program, I'm not sure.

Edited to add: The thing to remember about the Flex resorts is that the trustees can add and remove inventory from the trust at will.

What does the DP stand for? Is it Deeded Points?