Vidanta NV - GM or GB or GL? (children)

[woj027]

Hey all, For some reason we can use the same amount of points (RCI) to get into Vidanta Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss or Grand Luxxe. I think the rooms are pretty much the same size, maybe better furniture/fabric etc but if I'm traveling with children 10-12 years of age, and an older parent who walks slow and tires on hills, should I go with Luxxe because it is the most luxurious, or should I just stick with Grand Mayan because it's closer to the lazy river and shorter walks to other parts of the site?

Any reason to choose one of these resorts over the others? My wife would really like to see the sunset over the ocean too.

We have stayed at GM previously, and it was truly a nice stay. So do we go up in class or stay at GM for the proximity?

 

[Eric B]

If you stay at the Grand Luxxe in NV, you can use the Spatium hydrotherapy pools, etc., at no charge. Not sure if that's such a big draw right now or even if it's open given the COVID adjustments to how things operate there. The rooms at Grand Luxxe are also larger that Grand Bliss, which are larger than Grand Mayan and the kitchen facilities are better in that order. Finally, I find it easier to get my 10,000 steps a day in at GL.

 

[woj027]

Eric thanks for the info. We plan on going in December, so we may have better luck with fewer COViD rules. I didn't realize the rooms were bigger, but that's good news, especially when looking at the 2BR setup.

Are there Family pools up at the Luxxe buildings? Are they typically crowded? I know the Lazy River will call to us, but wondering about the upper levels of the resort

Also, do you think we will have any sway in determining which floor, building we are in if we stay at Luxxe? If so, which any suggestions?

We also hope to avoid the Sales Pitch gauntlet, we are Wyndam owners with top tier status with them, and trading into RCI and paying $240 (and sometimes resort fees) is well within our means and expectations for vacationing.

 

[Eric B]

There are several pools near the Luxxe buildings, though the Lazy River is a bit far away. They can be a bit crowded. If they put you in Tower 5, there's a pool on the roof that you can use. You won't have any sway in determining what floor or building you'll be on.

With a Wyndham ownership, trading through RCI will get you into Grand Luxxe using resort id RB71, which is for the Grand Luxxe suites. The higher level Grand Luxxe units can be exchanged into through RCI Platinum, which I don't think you can get through the Wyndham RCI portal, but I access through independent resorts I have. If you are Presidential Reserve with Wyndham and have access to the Registry Collection, you can exchange into Grand Luxxe NV at the 2 BR Spa and Loft levels, which would give you some control over where you wind up; the spa units are all in the upper floors of Tower 4 and the Loft units are either on the 3rd floors of Towers 3 & 4 or the 8th floor of Tower 5. You would also be able to get in at the Villa level, which is larger than the Suites, but doesn't give you any control over location. Going through Registry has somewhat higher exchange fees than RCI, but the resort fees are the same.

You could also make a Wyndham reservation for a week and deposit it in one of the independent exchanges. SFX has a very close relationship with Vidanta and would get you easy access to the Grand Luxxe Suite level in NV for an exchange fee of ~$449 (IIRC) and a resort fee of $75 for the week, which compares favorably to the total cost of a week with RCI as the resort fee there is $950 for the week. ThirdHome has been getting the majority of the upper level Grand Luxxe bulk deposits and seems to be the exclusive place Vidanta is making bulk deposits of 3 BR Spa and Loft units as well as the 4 BR Residence units. The exchange fees are higher going through ThirdHome depending on when you are interested in going, but the resort fees are $42/day ($294/week). Since I started using ThirdHome, there have been 2 or 3 occasions when they've run specials on exchanging into either Vidanta or any Mexican resort without using an underlying deposit, which can make using them a more efficient way to go there, particularly if you want to get the higher level units, which will include the Estates in the future. Happy to help you out with how to get an account set up with either of those; both take deposits from resort systems that aren't affiliated with them by having you use a guest certificate for whoever books your deposited week.

 

[woj027]

Eric, Again thanks for all the insight. We were just on the phone with Registry and sounds like we can get into I assume 2BR (Suites, Spa, 6[??], villa). Any idea what they meant by 6? I went back to the registry page and it shows it as DL31 but that doesn't help me much.
We would do the Suites through RCI since it's cheaper.
So through Registry it would be Spa, Villa or 6 (what ever that is), and based on your description of Spa vs Villa, we would go with spa because it would be easier for kids and older adults to get around

Another side question, trying to figure out the buildings, what do Punta and Tower 1 have for accommodations?

 

[Eric B]

What they are talking about is Resort ID DL31, Grand Luxxe VI, which is in Tower 6 or 5C at NV. The units they are referring to are what Vidanta calls Suite Royal 2 BR suites, which you can find details about at https://www.vidanta.com/en/web/nuevo-vallarta/grand-luxxe-two-bedroom-suite-royal. Those are smaller than the normal Grand Luxxe suites in a less than optimal location, but have the same resort fees as the normal Grand Luxxe suites. Personally, I would prefer the regular Grand Luxxe 2 BR through RCI Resort ID RB71 for the cost overall, though with the 2 BR spa units (Resort ID D986) you would definitely have the upper floor location and they do appear to have availability in December for the non-Christmas weeks. Between those two, if the points necessary for the exchange are the same, the exchange fee difference is only $100, IIRC what Registry costs, and the resort fee is the same ($950), so I would go for the spa unit, assuming those dates would work. If they both go for 77,000 Wyndham points in December for a 2 BR, using my costs at Bali Hai that would be ~ $350 for the points, $250 for the exchange fee, and $950 for the resort fee for a total of ~$1,550, which isn't bad (~$1,650 for the Spa); the location difference (and certainty) for the Spa units might be worth it for just the extra $100 or so. If they really have Villa availability through Registry, I would probably go for that. The Villa units are about half again as large as either the 2 BR Suite or Spa units, which are both on the same footprint - there are tradeoffs you'd be making, of course. With the Villa, you'd have an extra sitting room with a pull out couch that could be used for another private sleeping as well as the pull out couch in the living room area, so the extra private accommodations might be worth the extra cost depending on your situation with the children and the parent.

As an alternative for comparison, ThirdHome has availability in Grand Luxxe Villa 2 BRs in December for the non-Christmas weeks for an exchange fee of $995, a resort fee of $294, and an underlying deposit value of 6 keys (the ThirdHome exchange currency), which I would value at ~ $900 based on the average cost/key I got this year depositing stays with them. That would put the total cost closer to $2,200, so in my book, RB71 through Wyndham RCI (or D986 through Registry) wins out. Earlier in the year, there are more higher-end unit types available in ThirdHome that I'd go for if it were me rather than going for the RCI or Registry exchange; if you had been able to catch one of the keyless exchanges (i.e., exchange and resort fee only without an underlying deposit), I'd go for the Villa through ThirdHome instead (and did for an earlier December week in RM on the way to Belize for a couple of weeks elsewhere this year).

SFX shows availability in mostly studios in December, though there system for displaying available inventory anywhere isn't great. There are a couple of days that show both 1 BR and studio availability, which would equate to 2 BR availability, but it's a bit quirky.

Another side question, trying to figure out the buildings, what do Punta and Tower 1 have for accommodations?

Tower 1 has Grand Luxxe Suite and Villa units. Punta has the Presidential units that come in 1 BR, 2 BR and 3 BR sizes and sometimes trade in Interval International, but not in RCI or Registry. The major appeal to Punta is the location, not the underlying quality of the set up of the units, which have some design/furnishings issues. I haven't actually stayed in one of those, but have visited folks staying there. You would be quite unlikely to get into Tower 1 through an exchange as it's a fairly popular location for owners to use when they go there.

 

[bnoble]

Do you happen to know the difference (if any) between #DI52 and #D986?

 

[Eric B]

I don’t believe there’s any substantive difference, other than the exchange system used. That piece is used by Vidanta in their room assignment process.

 

[woj027]

What they are talking about is Resort ID DL31, Grand Luxxe VI, which is in Tower 6 or 5C at NV. The units they are referring to are what Vidanta calls Suite Royal 2 BR suites, which you can find details about at https://www.vidanta.com/en/web/nuevo-vallarta/grand-luxxe-two-bedroom-suite-royal. Those are smaller than the normal Grand Luxxe suites in a less than optimal location, but have the same resort fees as the normal Grand Luxxe suites. Personally, I would prefer the regular Grand Luxxe 2 BR through RCI Resort ID RB71 for the cost overall, though with the 2 BR spa units (Resort ID D986) you would definitely have the upper floor location and they do appear to have availability in December for the non-Christmas weeks. Between those two, if the points necessary for the exchange are the same, the exchange fee difference is only $100, IIRC what Registry costs, and the resort fee is the same ($950), so I would go for the spa unit, assuming those dates would work. If they both go for 77,000 Wyndham points in December for a 2 BR, using my costs at Bali Hai that would be ~ $350 for the points, $250 for the exchange fee, and $950 for the resort fee for a total of ~$1,550, which isn't bad (~$1,650 for the Spa); the location difference (and certainty) for the Spa units might be worth it for just the extra $100 or so. If they really have Villa availability through Registry, I would probably go for that. The Villa units are about half again as large as either the 2 BR Suite or Spa units, which are both on the same footprint - there are tradeoffs you'd be making, of course. With the Villa, you'd have an extra sitting room with a pull out couch that could be used for another private sleeping as well as the pull out couch in the living room area, so the extra private accommodations might be worth the extra cost depending on your situation with the children and the parent.

As an alternative for comparison, ThirdHome has availability in Grand Luxxe Villa 2 BRs in December for the non-Christmas weeks for an exchange fee of $995, a resort fee of $294, and an underlying deposit value of 6 keys (the ThirdHome exchange currency), which I would value at ~ $900 based on the average cost/key I got this year depositing stays with them. That would put the total cost closer to $2,200, so in my book, RB71 through Wyndham RCI (or D986 through Registry) wins out. Earlier in the year, there are more higher-end unit types available in ThirdHome that I'd go for if it were me rather than going for the RCI or Registry exchange; if you had been able to catch one of the keyless exchanges (i.e., exchange and resort fee only without an underlying deposit), I'd go for the Villa through ThirdHome instead (and did for an earlier December week in RM on the way to Belize for a couple of weeks elsewhere this year).

SFX shows availability in mostly studios in December, though there system for displaying available inventory anywhere isn't great. There are a couple of days that show both 1 BR and studio availability, which would equate to 2 BR availability, but it's a bit quirky.



Tower 1 has Grand Luxxe Suite and Villa units. Punta has the Presidential units that come in 1 BR, 2 BR and 3 BR sizes and sometimes trade in Interval International, but not in RCI or Registry. The major appeal to Punta is the location, not the underlying quality of the set up of the units, which have some design/furnishings issues. I haven't actually stayed in one of those, but have visited folks staying there. You would be quite unlikely to get into Tower 1 through an exchange as it's a fairly popular location for owners to use when they go there.

Thank you. If we successfully secure a Villa unit, what tower are they in other than Tower 1, which you say may be hard to get into due to direct owner demand?

 

[Eric B]

Those are in all but the Residence building

 

[pittle]

The lazy river, wave pools and water slide are by the Grand Mayan. That is where the kids like to go. The GL units are larger than the GM, but depending on the ages of the kids and how much stuff you take with you to the pool, the GM is not a bad choice. They have a pool area for smaller kids at the GM near the wave pools too. When our grandson was 9, we spent all of our time by the wave pool and water slide or lazy river.

 

[ecassidy6]

The lazy river, wave pools and water slide are by the Grand Mayan. That is where the kids like to go. The GL units are larger than the GM, but depending on the ages of the kids and how much stuff you take with you to the pool, the GM is not a bad choice. They have a pool area for smaller kids at the GM near the wave pools too. When our grandson was 9, we spent all of our time by the wave pool and water slide or lazy river.

 

[ecassidy6]

I have traded in through II to stay at GL two bedroom villa arriving on April 9 - this upcoming Friday. Any suggestions as to how I can be assured a decent location?

 

[Eric B]

I have traded in through II to stay at GL two bedroom villa arriving on April 9 - this upcoming Friday. Any suggestions as to how I can be assured a decent location?

The way that room assignment works there is that they initially prioritize owners first, based upon how much they've paid for their ownerships, then exchanges in a prestige order (if you will) running from ThirdHome/Elite Alliance, then Registry Collection, Interval, RCI, and SFX - my take is that this is based on the likelihood that someone using that exchange system will be able to afford and be likely to purchase an ownership. When you get there, they will not have your room ready, so you will wind up waiting in a lobby area near Santuario or the lobby of the building you've been booked into; once you're done checking in the sales recruiters will ask you if you want to sign up for a tour/sales presentation. The not very well kept secret is that sales will shift you to a less desirable room if you don't agree to a tour and can shift you to a nicer room if you do. As a result, if the room location really matters to you and you're willing to attend a hard sell presentation, agreeing to a tour is how you can do that. It couldn't hurt to make your desire known to the recruiter then and there, of course.

 

[woj027]

One more question, as an RCI guest into Grand Mayan we will be able to use the Lazy river and everything at the new Saluna (sp??)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pittle]

Yes - the only people who cannot use are the folks staying in the Mayan Palce. GM, GB, GL can use the lazy river, wave pools, and water slide.

 

[woj027]

Pittle, thanks for the info, I knew there was a limit on who could go into the lazy river.

Are there other limitations based on where you stay? is there something you can go to because you are staying at the Grand Bliss, or the Luxxe that you wouldn't get elsewhere?

Everyone can still go to Salum / Beachland?

I am just trying to figure out what "more" we get when staying at different hotels. The Grand Mayan rooms (2BR) are plenty big and knowing what we get by where we stay may drive our next choice of where we stay.

 

[woj027]

What they are talking about is Resort ID DL31, Grand Luxxe VI, which is in Tower 6 or 5C at NV. The units they are referring to are what Vidanta calls Suite Royal 2 BR suites, which you can find details about at https://www.vidanta.com/en/web/nuevo-vallarta/grand-luxxe-two-bedroom-suite-royal. Those are smaller than the normal Grand Luxxe suites in a less than optimal location, but have the same resort fees as the normal Grand Luxxe suites. Personally, I would prefer the regular Grand Luxxe 2 BR through RCI Resort ID RB71 for the cost overall, though with the 2 BR spa units (Resort ID D986) you would definitely have the upper floor location and they do appear to have availability in December for the non-Christmas weeks. Between those two, if the points necessary for the exchange are the same, the exchange fee difference is only $100, IIRC what Registry costs, and the resort fee is the same ($950), so I would go for the spa unit, assuming those dates would work. If they both go for 77,000 Wyndham points in December for a 2 BR, using my costs at Bali Hai that would be ~ $350 for the points, $250 for the exchange fee, and $950 for the resort fee for a total of ~$1,550, which isn't bad (~$1,650 for the Spa); the location difference (and certainty) for the Spa units might be worth it for just the extra $100 or so. If they really have Villa availability through Registry, I would probably go for that. The Villa units are about half again as large as either the 2 BR Suite or Spa units, which are both on the same footprint - there are tradeoffs you'd be making, of course. With the Villa, you'd have an extra sitting room with a pull out couch that could be used for another private sleeping as well as the pull out couch in the living room area, so the extra private accommodations might be worth the extra cost depending on your situation with the children and the parent.

Eric, I logged into Registry and I can see:

Grand Luxxe Spa - D986 2 BR - 875 Pts
Grand Luxxe Suite - D984 2BR - 850 Pts
Grand Luxxe VI - DL31 - 2BR - 1200 Pts
Grand Luxxe Villa - D985 2BR - 850 Pts

Grand Bliss D426 2BR 600 Pts

Grand Mayan 8980 2BR 600 Pts

Based on your comments you would take the Villa First?
Also, when we talked to someone at Registry they indicated the Registry points don't matter to us when trading/using our Presidential Reserve points, but that it costs us 271,000 for a 2 BR no matter what.
Would the RCI Grand Luxxe RB71 be one of the 4 options from Registry? 77,000 points for a Luxxe 2BR on RCI seem like a deal.
Both RCI and Registry charge a fee, but if we are saving 200,000 points RCI may be the way to go.

Looks like a $950 resort fee with $250 resort credit is through both, and all the extras (2-1 massage, 10% total bill) are the same.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Pittle, thanks for the info, I knew there was a limit on who could go into the lazy river.

Are there other limitations based on where you stay? is there something you can go to because you are staying at the Grand Bliss, or the Luxxe that you wouldn't get elsewhere?

Everyone can still go to Salum / Beachland?

I am just trying to figure out what "more" we get when staying at different hotels. The Grand Mayan rooms (2BR) are plenty big and knowing what we get by where we stay may drive our next choice of where we stay.

I think the pool hierarchy is the main limitation. Each brand has a different bracelet

 

[pittle]

Grand Mayan can use the MP pool GM pool and the lazy river, wave pools. If you stay at Grand Bliss, you can use those + the GB pool. Grand Luxxe can use any pool at the resort. I think there is an new pool for Estates owners only. Basically at the moment, additional pool use is the only limitation you would have at the NV location. In RM, you have to be Grand Bliss level or higher to use the Beach Club. Exchangers do not get to use the Beach Club without attending a presentation. When we stayed there using an SFX exchange, we were not allowed to use the Beach Club even though we were GL owners. We chose not to take an update tour, so did not get access to the Beach Club.

 

[Eric B]

Eric, I logged into Registry and I can see:

Grand Luxxe Spa - D986 2 BR - 875 Pts
Grand Luxxe Suite - D984 2BR - 850 Pts
Grand Luxxe VI - DL31 - 2BR - 1200 Pts
Grand Luxxe Villa - D985 2BR - 850 Pts

Grand Bliss D426 2BR 600 Pts

Grand Mayan 8980 2BR 600 Pts

Based on your comments you would take the Villa First?
Also, when we talked to someone at Registry they indicated the Registry points don't matter to us when trading/using our Presidential Reserve points, but that it costs us 271,000 for a 2 BR no matter what.
Would the RCI Grand Luxxe RB71 be one of the 4 options from Registry? 77,000 points for a Luxxe 2BR on RCI seem like a deal.
Both RCI and Registry charge a fee, but if we are saving 200,000 points RCI may be the way to go.

Looks like a $950 resort fee with $250 resort credit is through both, and all the extras (2-1 massage, 10% total bill) are the same.

RB71 would get you the same unit type as D984. The point cost difference and the fee difference between the two would tip me to go with RB71. Re: your question on the pools, in NV, GL gives you access to all the pools except for the one on the Residence tower roof, the one on the roof of Tower 5 (unless you’re in that tower), and the new Estates pool - the difference between GL and GB would wind up being the GL 1 pool, the GL 4 pool, and the Punta pools. There may be other parts of the beach club pool, as well.

 

[woj027]

RB71 would get you the same unit type as D984. The point cost difference and the fee difference between the two would tip me to go with RB71. Re: your question on the pools, in NV, GL gives you access to all the pools except for the one on the Residence tower roof, the one on the roof of Tower 5 (unless you’re in that tower), and the new Estates pool - the difference between GL and GB would wind up being the GL 1 pool, the GL 4 pool, and the Punta pools. There may be other parts of the beach club pool, as well.

Eric, again thanks so much for this

 

[woj027]

Edited. Saw all my answers

 

[Awatts11]

The way that room assignment works there is that they initially prioritize owners first, based upon how much they've paid for their ownerships, then exchanges in a prestige order (if you will) running from ThirdHome/Elite Alliance, then Registry Collection, Interval, RCI, and SFX - my take is that this is based on the likelihood that someone using that exchange system will be able to afford and be likely to purchase an ownership. When you get there, they will not have your room ready, so you will wind up waiting in a lobby area near Santuario or the lobby of the building you've been booked into; once you're done checking in the sales recruiters will ask you if you want to sign up for a tour/sales presentation. The not very well kept secret is that sales will shift you to a less desirable room if you don't agree to a tour and can shift you to a nicer room if you do. As a result, if the room location really matters to you and you're willing to attend a hard sell presentation, agreeing to a tour is how you can do that. It couldn't hurt to make your desire known to the recruiter then and there, of course.

On my last stay I was offered excursions in exchange for attending the presentation. Can I ask for a better location and excursions when offered the presentation? What is the likelihood of getting both?

 

[Eric B]

On my last stay I was offered excursions in exchange for attending the presentation. Can I ask for a better location and excursions when offered the presentation? What is the likelihood of getting both?

You are at your best bargaining position for updates if you have an offer already from the body snatchers at the airport. My understanding is that the sales recruiters at check in generally honor what you had from them.