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Vistana Village Gardens mandatory?

A

abdibile

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Hi,

I was offered a Vistana Village Gardens section and the seller told me that Staroptions do transfer.

He is asking $ 3.000 for 1 BR platinum.

Is that true that it is mandatory?

I alwys tought that only Bella Florida and Key West where mandatory at Vistana Villages?!?

Does anybody know for sure about Gardens section?

How many Staroptions is 1 BR platinum worth?

Thanks!
 
I believe the Gardens section are buildings that are part of the bella section you can verify this by calling Starwood and giving the buildiing and unit #.A 1 bed premium in the highest season would be 51700 SO's .The smaller 1 bed in the highest season would be 44000 SO's.
 
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abdibile said:
How many Staroptions is 1 BR platinum worth?
Click to expand...

Bella 1 bedroom platinum has 44,000 SOs. Key West & Amelia have only 37,000. You may want 67,000 at minimum...
 
Transit said:
Ken check the charts they have been updated.
Click to expand...

You're right, I was looking at an older list. The updated chart shows all of VV at 37,000 SOs for a 1 bd and 44,000 for a 1 bd premium.
 
Never heard of SVV Gardens. :shrug: Is that a brand new section (in which case it is Volunatary no matter what they tell you) or just some wierd subsection of one of the older ones. I would have that clarified since the M vs V issue is a big one. Katherine
 
Transit said:
I believe the Gardens section are buildings that are part of the bella section you can verify this by calling Starwood and giving the buildiing and unit #.
Click to expand...
SDKath said:
Never heard of SVV Gardens. :shrug: Is that a brand new section (in which case it is Volunatary no matter what they tell you) or just some wierd subsection of one of the older ones. I would have that clarified since the M vs V issue is a big one. Katherine
Click to expand...

There is no phase of VV called "the gardens". But as several people have said there may be a portion of one of the phases called "the garden". What has been posted here is that the next phase at VV is "St Augustine".
 
I own in the Bella Section of Vistana Villages. And I have never heard of Gardens either.

Is this a nickname for Bella? Or just a shorthand way of referring to the buildings closest to the pool?

But one cannot guarantee placement in a section within a section, right?

Bward
 
If your at the main pool in the Bella section facing toward the Key West section the waterfall will be to your left .There is a small briidge that goes across the lake where the waterfalls are. The buildings there were refered to as the Garden section.
 
Transit said:
If your at the main pool in the Bella section facing toward the Key West section the waterfall will be to your left .There is a small briidge that goes across the lake where the waterfalls are. The buildings there were refered to as the Garden section.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for all your info!

So it looks like this is mandatory, right?

What would be a fair price for it? $3000 feels a little high for 37000 Staroptions....

Thanks!
 
81000 SOs is going for about $6000-$6500 right now on eBay. That gives you a 1BR in the Starwood system anywhere for a week. Anything less than that is useless unless you want to stay in a studio or travel in Silver season, which typically not the time you want to be somewhere (cold at SBP, HOT in desert...).

Remember you can't combine SOs on resales either! Katherine
 
Here is one currently at $ 0.99. It is only a 1 bedroom so the staroptions are really low.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180266473649

Make sure this is accurate and what it is before bidding as there have been errors in these type of ads in the past. Make sure it is the correct unit/season etc...
 
Before I clicked on the link, I closed my eyes and bet that it was listed by Wanted Weeks! :hysterical:

Huge errors in ad=WW listing. I would personally stay away. K
 
BradC said:
Interesting that the address listed in the eBay ad is for SVR, not SVV. But the pictures all show SVV.

I'll echo capjak's comments -- you'll want to do some serious due diligence on this one to make sure you know what you're buying.
Click to expand...

Response from Wanted Weeks:

Hello and thank you for your question!
This is located in the Villages, I called and verified it with the resort. Thank you for letting me know this.
Have a great day!
 
SDKath said:
81000 SOs is going for about $6000-$6500 right now on eBay. That gives you a 1BR in the Starwood system anywhere for a week. Anything less than that is useless unless you want to stay in a studio or travel in Silver season, which typically not the time you want to be somewhere (cold at SBP, HOT in desert...).

Remember you can't combine SOs on resales either! Katherine
Click to expand...

Kath, The 81,000 SO's are starting to devalue with the new charts .I would recommend a new Stawood SO low of 95,700.:doh:
 
capjak said:
Response from Wanted Weeks:

Hello and thank you for your question!
This is located in the Villages, I called and verified it with the resort. Thank you for letting me know this.
Have a great day!
Click to expand...

so the item closed for $136, it was either a super deal or someone overpaid by $136 for the item haha.

Personally I have 81k s.o and am happy with what i can do with them, maybe i need to look at the new chart but as long as i can get a 1bd premium in season at harborside or a 2 bd offseason i am happy! I think if i had the extra staroptions i would be at risk of not being able to use them
 
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Transit said:
Kath, The 81,000 SO's are starting to devalue with the new charts .I would recommend a new Stawood SO low of 95,700.:doh:
Click to expand...

Why? 81,000 will still get you the 1 bed premium at all the resorts it could earlier in the year. The only thing that's changed - that I can see quickly - is Riverfront & Steamboat 2 bed units during Gold season.

And, resale purchases of 95,700 will be much harder since there aren't as many of those.
 
Ken555 said:
Why? 81,000 will still get you the 1 bed premium at all the resorts it could earlier in the year. The only thing that's changed - that I can see quickly - is Riverfront & Steamboat 2 bed units during Gold season.

And, resale purchases of 95,700 will be much harder since there aren't as many of those.
Click to expand...

Steamboat and a few minor adjustments in the Villages,WSJ,Cancun.If new resorts follow this direction we are seeing a devaluation in SO's
 
Transit said:
Steamboat and a few minor adjustments in the Villages,WSJ,Cancun.If new resorts follow this direction we are seeing a devaluation in SO's
Click to expand...

Cancun Platinum season is identical to the Hawaii SO costs. And, it has a Gold season (unlike Hawaii) where it's significantly less (2BD during Gold is only 81,000). Can't see how you think Cancun is devaluing the system. (You may not recall, but originally Cancun was going to be worth much less SOs...the 2BD Plat was going to be 95,700, but now it's 148,100).

Steamboat has only 2 and 3 bed units. The 2 bed unit, to compare with similar sized Hawaii unit, is 148,100 for Platinum. Identical. There's three seasons in Steamboat, unlike Hawaii, so you can get the same unit for less, and that's where you see 95,700 rather than 81,000 at other resorts. We all agreed a few months ago that the increase/devaluation, such as it is, is happening in the Gold/middle seasons. But, it's clear that SVN thinks this resort is worth more than the others in this season. And we all know that all resorts are not created equal...

Vistana Villages has 2 bed units (not lock-offs) during prime season for 81,000. Only if you want the lock-off would you need 95,700. And the same lock-off is only 81,000 during their less-than-prime season.

WSJ has 2 bed during Platinum (both Bay Vista and Virgin Grand) for 148,100, same as Hawaii. 95,700 doesn't really get you much here, either, unless you want to travel in the Gold season 2 bedroom, which incidentally is also the same cost in both sections.

While I understand the concern that SVN may be devaluing our weeks at NEW resorts, I don't see it happening at the existing locations in any substantial way. And, the new resorts don't seem to be more expensive...for similar sized units.

Take a look at the last time we discussed this topic for more info. I still haven't seen more than a couple of posts which, in my subjective view, directly responds to my comments there. In other words, I'm still waiting to be convinced by those of you think this is a massive change for the worse. Of course, this could be the writing on the wall of more changes down the line...and I'll be screaming along with you if I can no longer reserve a week at the same resort I go to this year with the same number of SOs, as I expect every single owner will do. However, it's just not in SVNs interest to alienate *everyone*.
 
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BTW, I haven't seen a resale ownership of 95,700 yet. Has anyone? And, if so, other than Harborside, is there an ownership at the 95,700 level that's from a mandatory resort?

So, I expect the recommended base purchase level will stay 81,000.
 
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