Vidanta Resales

[jssquared]

Thank you so much for your reply. It all makes sense to me.
Just a question, why does everyone assume that a Vidanta contract is a ten year contract? A 1+2 contract allows you to have the benefit of two vacation weeks for up to 100 years. Now granted, there is a renewal fee, but those two weeks gives one access to their unit type for 100 years that can be assigned to family beneficiaries. There is a potential downgrade in some elements for these contracts for the non registered weeks, but you can certainly still enjoy the resort essentially in perpetuity.

 

[TravelTime]

Yes they are 100 year contracts but, as you mentions, the non-registered weeks have a lot less value. That was all I meant. If you divide by 100, and never upgrade, then it would bring down the annual cost. The contract renewal fees are not too bad.

 

[bizaro86]

T Dot - your post leads me to ask a question, which probably deserves its own thread or has already been wrrtten about quite a bit. Specifically, how does price of ownership compare from resort to resort and system to system. I know there are a million variables that include type of unit, maintenance fees, amenities, renewal fees, flexibility of use weeks, booking windows, possible resales, flxiebility to use weeks at multiple resorts and on and on and onl.
BUT - how does the price to purchase a contract at Vidanta compare to Hyatt or Marriot or Disney or others? If you are looking at the highest end Grand Luxxe rooms, I am not sure you can even find many comparable anywhere. I have relatives that have a Westin in St Johns or Ritz in Aspen. I have seen three bed Hyatt in Maui. I have read about some of the larger Disney resorts. I don’t think any would compare to the four bedroom residence in terms of unit size.
So, let’s compare something like a 3 bedroom spa tower unit, which is probably a rough equivalent to some of the highest end other resort options. With Vidanta we can use a base 1+2 contract which essentially means three weeks for ten years and then two weeks in perpetuity. I would guess you can get a three bed spa for 100k or so from Vidanta. That is most likely less than other options.
Has anyone done this type of analysis and can you point me in the right direction. It is my assertion that Vidanta is actually a very good value as compared to other options.
Even to the poster above who scoffed at almost 400,000. I would not be so quick to rush to judgment. The four bedroom estates will become one of the premier, if not THE premier resort/timeshare destination in the world connected to a full service resort. 2.4 million is a different story, but if Vidanta can get anything approaching that number good for them.

I'm in a 4 bedroom GL NV right now, and if I was looking to drop 6 figures on a Mexican property it would be at the Four Seasons Punta Mita. This place is great and huge, but so is the Four Seasons. However, the 4 seasons has "perfect" in a way that Vidanta doesn't. Not that anything has been bad, but the service/execution here is not as good as the Four Seasons. It's a much larger resort which is probably part of it. Those small things would bother me a lot more if I had paid a six figure buy in...

 

[TravelTime]

The other thing is it is easy to exchange into Grand Luxxe cheaply for the basic 1 and 2 bedrooms through ICE Rewards, SFX, II and other places for less the usage fee. For the 3 and 4 bedrooms, it is easy to exchange in through The Registry for about what the usage fee is. Then you do not need to pay upwards of $100,000 plus the usage fee to stay at GL once a year or so. I guess if they were ever sold out, that would change, of course. However, I do not think they will be sold out in my lifetime. If you like to stay at GL more frequently, travel in high season from Christmas through Easter, stay in the best units and be guarateed a better view, being a member makes a lot of sense for the extra perks.

 

[jssquared]

Bizaro - The Four Seasons Punta Mita is my comp for the highest level at Grand Luxxe. I just checked on the Four Seasons website for a four bedroom ocean view residence for one week in February (NOT President's Week). The cost to book through Four Seasons is $28,000 BEFORE taxes (and about 35,000 all in with taxes and resort fees). I looked online at Luxury Home Away and some of the listings for the same residences are for even more, perhaps based on location at the resort. I think this might give some sense of a value proposition for the Grand Luxxe 4 bed residence and the 4 bed Estates.

 

[TravelTime]

You can’t compare booking through Four Seasons retail. The way to book Four Seasons “affordably” is through Tri-West: http://www.triwest-timeshare.com/resort/rent/MXNAPUFO

I think Grand Luxxe is fantastic but it is not up to Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons level. The service is definitely not there. Even Disney has better service.

 

[Eric B]

Not sure that Tri-West super saver rentals are a fair apples-to-apples comparison to benchmark the price. There was only one February 2019 week available ($13,995), it’s non-refundable and it’s not completely clear to me whether there are additional fees/taxes involved.

My opinion is that the only good reason to buy Vidanta is to have greater flexibility in booking during the high season (e.g., ~February) with the ability to adjust a reservation if it becomes necessary.

I haven’t stayed at the Four Seasons Punta Mita, so I cant really compare the two myself, but I’ve quite enjoyed Grand Luxxe and the Estates are supposed to be a step above that. If I were comparing the costs, I would look to the much lower cost ways to get into both as well as the standard costs. It’s important not to compare apples to oranges. By the way, service at Grand Luxxe is much better if you’re an owner using an ownership week than it is on an exchange and they vary the treatment with your level of ownership. They might not do that at Four Seasons, but it’s a reality I accept when I exchange back into Vidanta to stay at a lower cost.

 

[TravelTime]

I agree with you Eric. At this level, it is not really about price anymore. Except who wants to pay $100,000 for something if you can get it for $5000. I am not referring to anything specifically, just making a broad generalization about the benefits of buying resale.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Bizaro - The Four Seasons Punta Mita is my comp ..... I just checked on the Four Seasons website for a four bedroom ocean view residence for one week in February (NOT President's Week). The cost to book through Four Seasons is $28,000 BEFORE taxes (and about 35,000 all in with taxes and resort fees). .

That is $ 3.50 per minute / including sleep time .

 

[Eric B]

That is $ 3.50 per minute / including sleep time .

Yes, but it sleeps 10, so it works out to just 35 cents per person per minute....

 

[PigsDad]

Yes, but it sleeps 10, so it works out to just 35 cents per person per minute....

Maybe, but I highly doubt that someone who would pay $35,000 for a week's vacation would "rack 'em, pack 'em, and stack 'em" to stuff the unit to maximum capacity. Just a hunch...

Kurt

 

[TravelTime]

Well, I won the Four Season lottery. So I have the opportunity to book at Four Seasons Punta Mita next week. I will let you know what I get!

I promise if we can get a reservation, we will not pack them in.

 

[bizaro86]

Well, I won the Four Season lottery. So I have the opportunity to book at Four Seasons Punta Mita next week. I will let you know what I get!

I promise if we can get a reservation, we will not pack them in.

Congratulations! I'd be very interested in hearing what the upcharge/availability is like.

 

[TravelTime]

Congratulations! I'd be very interested in hearing what the upcharge/availability is like.

The upcharge is very reasonable. The exchange fee is a flat fee of $225 for everyone. Then the nightly upcharge varies by what you own and what you are exchanging for. It varies from $75 per night for a Platinum season 2 bedroom to Gold season 2 bedroom to $250 per night for a Gold season 2 bedroom to a Platinum season 4 bedroom. We are also paying the MF of $2600 for the Four Seasons Aviara. So all in, the week will be under $4000. Given the real rental prices, this is a bargain. We only need a 2 bedroom but I may reserve a 3 bedroom. We are interested in July 4th week and since that starts next year in June, it is still Gold season. July and August are Platinum Season in Punta Mita. It is interesting that while low season at Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta is May-Nov, at Four Seasons Punta Mita, only 4 months are low season (May, June, Sept, Oct). Right now, availability looks good at Punta Mita but I will let you know if I get what I want. Let me add again, I am super excited. Even the selling agent told me how unlikely it would be to win the lottery exchange. This is our first year owning. I am so thrilled!