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Upgrade to Nanea Ocean View on the After-market?

eatbat3

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I'm one of those suckers who fell victim to buying a Nanea timeshare from the developer back in 2016, not having found TUG until a year or so later. Despite the exorbitant cost, we're actually using the SPG Gold membership to our advantage and have taken more vacations in the past two years than we had in the ten years prior. So, all-in-all, we're not completely turned off by the experience.

Anyway, we're staying at Nanea for the first time this week and, as you probably know, there are only two view categories here; Resort & Ocean. Having purchased a Resort view, with no way to reserve your room in advance, leaves us open to whatever they have available when we arrive. This trip, we ended up with room 1510, which has a view of the park next door to Nanea (Kekaa Open Space Park), and a bit further off in the distance the KORV North development. It's not all that bad, because in addition to the park, we can also see the boardwalk and even some of the ocean through the trees. We asked for a room with a better view, but were advised that they really didn't have anything. They showed us a couple more options which had a view of the "plunge pools" and the "swamp" that they should have used for a swimming pool in the north part of the property, but we decided to come back to 1510, which has grown on us since we've been here.

That said, I was wondering if there is any way to upgrade to an Ocean View at Nanea on the after-market? I was going to contact Nanea about this possibility, but am afraid they might pull the wool over my eyes, yet again.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Jamie T.
TUG Newbie
 
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dss

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Hi Jamie, If you haven't already, I would suggest taking some time to do a deep read on the Vistana/SVN FAQ Stickie posts at the top of this forum. They are enormously helpful and will give you the fundamentals you need to in order to answer your question.

Short answer however is that you cannot "upgrade" your view in the traditional sense on the resale market. You do have (at least) 3 options however to secure a better view at Nanea/WKORV(N).

1) Vistana will be happy to "upgrade" you into a higher view category at full retail pricing (and apply your original purchase price towards the new unit). This requires significant new money and generally not a good idea.

2) You can sell your Nanea Resort View unit on the resale market, and purchase an OceanFront unit. Since Nanea is voluntary (read the FAQ if that term is unfamiliar), you will be taking a giant haircut on resale value, but so will your seller (if there is even much OF inventory available). Syed from Advantage Vacations (and TUGger) is an expert resource to help with this path and can give you real world pricing models, etc... I believe he has a storefront at the Cannery mall if you are still in Maui. A huge downside here is that since Nanea is voluntary, you lose the ability to convert your unit into StarOptions for internal trading. that being said, given the extreme MF's at Nanea, it's generally a poor idea to trade in most circumstances anyway.

3) Sell your Nanea unit and purchase WKORV (or WKORV-N) on the resale market. Similar to above, but the key difference being that the original sections are Mandatory units and will generally hold their resale value and come with full SVN/Staroption privileges. This would be the path I would most strongly consider, especially if you can afford WKORV (south) Ocean Front as those are our favorite units. Again, a broker like Syed would be a helpful person to hold your hand through these options.
 

eatbat3

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Thanks, so much, DSS! We stayed at WKORV-N just last week and enjoyed it tremendously. I sincerely appreciate the advice and will follow up with a broker. Much appreciated! Mahalo and aloha! - Jamie
 

DavidnRobin

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Agree with dss...

I am sure VSE would be happy to upgrade your view at Nanea to OF. Not sure if that is the wisest thing to do.
You cannot exchange RV for OF on the aftermarket- you can probably find OF Nanea on the resale market (and more as time goes by), but there is no exchange. Again, not sure if that is best approach.
You want true OF? WKORV Resale... not inexpensive, but likely less than going thru VSE.
Both WKORV and WKORVN offer excellent resale entrance to Maui.
Besides... the reef is much nicer outside WKORV/N

Not sure if selling Nanea is best approach - it is already money lost - might as well make the best of it. Importantly, do not to throw good money after bad.
IMO
 
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darius

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I'm one of those suckers who fell victim to buying a Nanea timeshare from the developer back in 2016, not having found TUG until a year or so later. Despite the exorbitant cost, we're actually using the SPG Gold membership to our advantage and have taken more vacations in the past two years than we had in the ten years prior. So, all-in-all, we're not completely turned off by the experience.

Anyway, we're staying at Nanea for the first time this week and, as you probably know, there are only two view categories here; Resort & Ocean. Having purchased a Resort view, with no way to reserve your room in advance, leaves us open to whatever they have available when we arrive. This trip, we ended up with room 1510, which has a view of the park next door to Nanea (Kekaa Open Space Park), and a bit further off in the distance the KORV North development. It's not all that bad, because in addition to the park, we can also see the boardwalk and even some of the ocean through the trees. We asked for a room with a better view, but were advised that they really didn't have anything. They showed us a couple more options which had a view of the "plunge pools" and the "swamp" that they should have used for a swimming pool in the north part of the property, but we decided to come back to 1510, which has grown on us since we've been here.

That said, I was wondering if there is any way to upgrade to an Ocean View at Nanea on the after-market? I was going to contact Nanea about this possibility, but am afraid they might pull the wool over my eyes, yet again.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Jamie T.
TUG Newbie

Jamie,

For what it's worth --

We stayed in the same exact room on a SO exchange. That prompted us to sell our WKORVN OF (which sold, by the way for $30,000 in one day) and purchase a resale week Nanea (3 bedroom OF, annual). Then we requalified the week, with a trade in, explorer package and purchase. Happy to share details if you are interested.

We feel the energy of the Nanea resort is superior to that of the other two Maui resorts. My wife did not want to stay in WKORV-N ever again so it was worth it to us.

I'd recommend going to the owner update and seeing how much they want to go to OF. Let us all know and perhaps we can coach you from there.

Don't be afraid to talk to the sale staff - you have a period of recession and can cancel at anytime - within the cancellation period.

Thanks,
Darius
 

MOXJO7282

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Definitely a little step down in luxury but a big step up in oceanfront value, if you were to consider selling yours and buying another then I'd check the Marriott OF units in the new towers. I think you can get a nice floating OF unit for $28k give or take a $1k.
 

GregT

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Jamie,

For what it's worth --

We stayed in the same exact room on a SO exchange. That prompted us to sell our WKORVN OF (which sold, by the way for $30,000 in one day) and purchase a resale week Nanea (3 bedroom OF, annual). Then we requalified the week, with a trade in, explorer package and purchase. Happy to share details if you are interested.

We feel the energy of the Nanea resort is superior to that of the other two Maui resorts. My wife did not want to stay in WKORV-N ever again so it was worth it to us.

I'd recommend going to the owner update and seeing how much they want to go to OF. Let us all know and perhaps we can coach you from there.

Don't be afraid to talk to the sale staff - you have a period of recession and can cancel at anytime - within the cancellation period.

Thanks,
Darius

Darius,

I'm intrigued by this -- I've stayed at WKORVN but not yet Nanea. I hope to stay in Nanea this September in an II trade (room 1307, if they honor what's on the confirmation) and will have a better perspective.

But we have been impressed by WKORVN both times we have stayed. Why did your wife lose interest in that property, in favor of Nanea?

Please advise and thank you -- and congrats on your 3BR purchase!

Best,

Greg
 

capjak

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I own WKORV-North Oceanfront purchased for 20K 2 years ago and it provides lock off so you can stay 2 weeks (1 week studio and 1 bedroom both oceanfront booked at 12 months out priority) definitely better than a voluntary at Nanea. However the trade in and upgrade that darius did sound interesting. WKORV South Oceanfront are better Ocean front than WKORV North but you need close to $40K for those.
 

darius

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Darius,

I'm intrigued by this -- I've stayed at WKORVN but not yet Nanea. I hope to stay in Nanea this September in an II trade (room 1307, if they honor what's on the confirmation) and will have a better perspective.

But we have been impressed by WKORVN both times we have stayed. Why did your wife lose interest in that property, in favor of Nanea?

Please advise and thank you -- and congrats on your 3BR purchase!

Best,

Greg

Hi Greg,

My wife and I really prefer the dead on ocean front units vs. the ones that WKORV-N (which were built on an angle) that also might not be the closest to the ocean. I know it's minor to some, but the pools at WKORV-N when we were there the last two times had a film in corners (large film like matter) of them which was pretty disgusting - like they weren't cleaned properly. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice resort and it does have the benefit of the lock off units - but didn't feel excited to return to the resort any longer.

My wife originally wanted to look into purchasing a oceanfront unit at WKORV since they are dead on oceanfront, and we both felt the energy and vibe of the original resort to be superior to that of the WKORV-N. Then, when Nanea opened we felt that it would be great for our family. With the benefit of "new", a resort, pool, views and room layout we truly appreciate and enjoy - we wanted to own at Nanea. Even though we lost the ability to lockoff (which is something we do not use at this time in our lives anyway), we now have the ability for a 3 bedroom true ocean front unit - and the pool and overall vibe of the resort has (to us) a very positive feel (the way it's all laid out - inside the unit with the island and the pool directly in front of the ocean, etc..). As I am sure you are aware, Nanea also has 2 bedroom ocean front units (with the direct ocean facing views like WKORV) however I have not seen much of any (really poor availability on those) and I would be disappointed if I had only enough Homeresort options for a 2 bedroom as I'm sure those owners are having a very difficult time for booking success. Vistana stated once the resort is fully open there will be more availability of those units.

One negative to point out with Nanea is the beach directly in front of the resort is not as nice as the area in front of WKORV-N and WKORV. I am unsure if this will change over time, but as of right now we'd prefer to just walk next to the sister properties and enjoy those beaches instead.

When we stay at Nanea, we will still continue to hop over to the other two resorts (as long as they continue to allow) to check out the restaurants, etc - but are really happy to have our Nanea priority access. I should note, the "resort view" which we had we found to be disappointing as it was facing the comfort station with a small view of the own far out in the distance - so we definitely wanted to make sure we got the Oceanfront home options so we'd never have to wonder how our view would be in the future.

All in all, they are all gorgeous resorts - it's just personal preference and usage patterns that I think apply to everyone slightly differently. I hope this post makes sense as I'm posting it from the last leg of our vacation here in Oahu!

Aloha,
Darius
 

GregT

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Darius,

Thank you for the notes and I appreciate your comments on WKORVN. Nanea does sound like an excellent resort and I look forward to visiting. Thanks again and travel safely home!

Best,

Greg
 

DavidnRobin

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Another negative for Nanea OF is that the balconies are exposed to one another - and to those walking by. We really like the privacy of the WKORV OF balconies.

And just more than the beach - the reef outside WKORV/N is great. This reef type does not exist in front of Nanea (if that matters), and will not for 100s of years given that coral grows about the thinness of a dime per year... (beyond the climate change argument on whether there will be many coral reefs left if the ocean temps continue to climb (based on the real fact the ocean temps are increasing at an unprecedented rate in modern history - at least since homo sapiens arose as a species...)
 

darius

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Darius,

Thank you for the notes and I appreciate your comments on WKORVN. Nanea does sound like an excellent resort and I look forward to visiting. Thanks again and travel safely home!

Best,

Greg
Anytime Greg!

We just got back - and miss the islands already. The other negative to note for resale is Nanea is voluntary - but what the heck, the property works for us and we love the property. My wife shared that she absolutely feels hands down Nanea is superior to the other Westin properties, for the kitchen, the rooms - pools, etc. I think we should all stay at all of them as (to me) each one is unique and wonderful in their own way! For what it's worth, we also did Kauai Lagoons (Marriott), and we loved using the Lanai every night (with the full sliding doors) - I believe you mentioned you've stayed there and have added that to another of our favorites list!
 

rog2867

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I just got back also and some of the nanea resort view units have great ocean views all depends on what unit you get. As for the reef at Wkorvn its only a five minute walk away from Nanea so you can access all that reef while snorkeling so that really makes no difference.
 

DavidnRobin

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The distance makes a difference for us - but perhaps you are a much faster walker than us carrying all of the beach gear we have (chairs, umbrellas, cooler...)
From our WKORV villa to beach spot right below - it takes 4 minutes (timed it...)
 

DavidnRobin

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The distance makes a difference for us - but perhaps you are a much faster walker than us carrying all of the beach gear we have (chairs, umbrellas, cooler...)
From our WKORV villa to beach spot right below - it takes 4 minutes (timed it...)

Speaking of OF views - 6 years ago
Mother and pup.
B3

659d1ce3ee8cd7d652827235c857fade.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GGMsfo

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We feel the energy of the Nanea resort is superior to that of the other two Maui resorts. My wife did not want to stay in WKORV-N ever again so it was worth it to us.

I agree on that point =)


I'd recommend going to the owner update and seeing how much they want to go to OF. Let us all know and perhaps we can coach you from there.

If I recall, a minimum amount is required in an upgrade transaction, and I believe that would be 67,100 options for $26,505 plus closing costs around $100.

I just came back from an update meeting, and every time I said no, a different offer came up. I think I heard 5 offers in 1 hour ranging from spending $26k to $76k, so excuse me if I miss a detail.

I got the numbers for trading in our 2 BR RV EY for an 2 BR or 3 BR OF EY.
The sales agent wrote down 285,000 points required (but didn't write down was # of BR that was for).
That number doesn't appear on the current home options chart for OF rooms (257,700 for a 3BR is what I've on vistana.com - maybe there was a different minimum required here?)
Associated with that 285,000 was a dollar amount of $132,525 (retail pricing).
Subtract the price you paid at retail from $132,525, then add closing costs just under $1k and you've got the amount due for the trade in.
They also offered ability to purchase 90,000 spg points x 4 at $1875 each.

That is what I could make out from the worksheet. Maybe the smart folks here can fill in any gaps.

Pricing is also set to increase $5,000 this month, March 2018, but as of today, the increase is not in effect.
 

okwiater

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In my experience -- having been to many dozens of these presentations -- pricing is always just about to increase. Somehow we always manage to be there at the perfect time to buy a once in a lifetime deal.
 

YYJMSP

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In my experience -- having been to many dozens of these presentations -- pricing is always just about to increase. Somehow we always manage to be there at the perfect time to buy a once in a lifetime deal.

Corporate says prices increase on Mar 15
 

farsighted99

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How hard sell are those owner updates? I'm be staying at Nanea in a couple of weeks for the first time since we bought in two years ago. There is no way in hell I'm buying another one ... Be curious to see what they offer for an upgrade though. Since I'm stuck with a RV one bedroom. Also, they told us so many lies about reselling the unit we bought I wouldn't believe much of what they actually say. And didn't explain the "voluntary" vs. "mandatory" bit.
 

vacationtime1

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How hard sell are those owner updates? I'm be staying at Nanea in a couple of weeks for the first time since we bought in two years ago. There is no way in hell I'm buying another one ... Be curious to see what they offer for an upgrade though. Since I'm stuck with a RV one bedroom. Also, they told us so many lies about reselling the unit we bought I wouldn't believe much of what they actually say. And didn't explain the "voluntary" vs. "mandatory" bit.

It's very simple; don't go to the update. Just say "no" when invited -- firmly and repeatedly.

Enjoy your vacation. You have waited a long time for this trip.
 

controller1

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How hard sell are those owner updates? I'm be staying at Nanea in a couple of weeks for the first time since we bought in two years ago. There is no way in hell I'm buying another one ... Be curious to see what they offer for an upgrade though. Since I'm stuck with a RV one bedroom. Also, they told us so many lies about reselling the unit we bought I wouldn't believe much of what they actually say. And didn't explain the "voluntary" vs. "mandatory" bit.

It's very simple; don't go to the update. Just say "no" when invited -- firmly and repeatedly.

Enjoy your vacation. You have waited a long time for this trip.

Of course they are offering current owners 15,000 Starpoints to attend the presentation at Nanea. :)
 
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