Westin St John [Master Thread] - Part 2 (June 2014 and forward)

[czar]

Lots of options on VRBO. If you want to stay on St. John, I'd pick a villa near Coral Bay since you'll be closer to Cruz Bay when stay at WSJ. Lots of more affordable options on STT. Personally, if I stayed on STT, I'd opt to stay there at the beginning of my trip so that I ended the trip on STJ. STT has beautiful bays but the island itself is more crowded and dirtier.

Another option if y'all have valid passports is to venture over to one of the British Virgin Islands, such as Virgin Gorda. Villas in the BVI tend to be pricier, but they are just gorgeous. Definitely hit The Baths if you can, whether you stay here or not.

Another option might be to fly to San Juan or Miami and take a 4 or 5 night Caribbean cruise, then fly to STT when you return. Or look into chartering a sailboat yacht for a few nights.

Thanks those are great suggestions. I'd be up for the sailboat if the kids were a little oder, but they range from 0-7, so it limited us somewhat.

I'm debating between two options - booking fights through SJU and staying 2-3 days on PR; or, booking flights +2 days out of STT, booking a cancellable res on STT and keep looking each day for the improbable sighting of 2 nights we need in April at WSJ!

 

[jschmeling]

15 days to go! Cannot wait to be back on the island. Still hoping for any vegetarian/vegan restaurant recommendations if there are any!

Have to finalize the reservations for the car and the excursions, amused by the fact I can't do it all online. lol.

6 days 5 nights again this time, which has been OK for us so far each time. Hoping no bad weather.

James

 

[LisaH]

I tried to call Sheraton Vacation Ownership to verify there isn't a lien on a resale I am considering. I was told they could not give out any information on an ownership that wasn't mine. Can someone tell me how to verify this information. The seller appears open and honest, but I don't want to make a big mistake. The property is the Westin St. John.

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot, first time I have tried posting.

Welcome! Yes that's correct. For privacy reason, Starwood would not give out any info related to an owner to a third party unless the owner is present. You can make a three way call and let the owner ask for info and you verify that way. Another way is to request an Estopel letter from SVO. Again, OWNER has to make the request.

 

[SandyPGravel]

Nervous about first time resale purchase

Welcome! Yes that's correct. For privacy reason, Starwood would not give out any info related to an owner to a third party unless the owner is present. You can make a three way call and let the owner ask for info and you verify that way. Another way is to request an Estopel letter from SVO. Again, OWNER has to make the request.

Thanx for the reply. Do you know if it is customary to not involve an attorney in a resale? Seller mentioned just using a title company. I am nervous about this process since I've never done this before.(Not new to timeshares, just buying on resale market.) Seller is a first time seller too. So, two newbies to the process. If this was through EBay I would have some protection by using PayPal, but I'm not even sure how the money transfer works. I had seen some discussion about an Estopel letter in other posts, asked the seller about that, but he didn't seem to be aware of what one was. I appreciate any info you can provide.

 

[LisaRex]

SandyPGravel, I'd use a reputable closing firm that offers an escrow service. Wouldn't do a transaction without escrow. Title protection is up to the buyer.

 

[czar]

215 days, 19 hours and 13 minutes. Not that I'm counting or anything

 

[kathyg]

Problems printing newest WSJ tax bill?

Hi Everyone,

I went to print the 2015 tax bill so I could get the discount and have been unsuccessful getting it to print. The website has changed so now it's popping up a window with the tax bill. When I go to print it, I'm getting that window with the other windows behind it. It also doesn't have my name/address or any important info that I think would be necessary to credit my account.

Have you been able to get it to work? I guess I can wait for WSJ to mail it to me, but I really like getting the discount.

Thanks!
Kathy
4215 week 50

 

[tlpnet]

Hi Everyone,

I went to print the 2015 tax bill so I could get the discount and have been unsuccessful getting it to print. The website has changed so now it's popping up a window with the tax bill. When I go to print it, I'm getting that window with the other windows behind it. It also doesn't have my name/address or any important info that I think would be necessary to credit my account.

Have you been able to get it to work? I guess I can wait for WSJ to mail it to me, but I really like getting the discount.

Thanks!
Kathy
4215 week 50

Hi Kathy,

I couldn't get it to print the way I wanted either. But the "pay online" feature pulled in both of my units and calculated the discount for me. It worked surprisingly well and was easy to use.

-tim

 

[DeniseM]

I had seen some discussion about an Estopel letter in other posts, asked the seller about that, but he didn't seem to be aware of what one was. I appreciate any info you can provide.

Tell the timeshare title company that you want an estoppel from Starwood - don't make the final payment until you receive it. I don't think Starwood provides estoppels to owners or buyers - only to the title company.

 

[kathyg]

control #

Thanks Tim, I don't have the control number, but once I get the invoice I'll give the online payment a try. It beats a few months of wondering if the check hasn't been cashed because they didn't get it or if they just haven't opened the envelope yet. My town charges us a surcharge if we pay our tax bills online so I am in the habit of writing checks for taxes.

Kathy

 

[tlpnet]

Thanks Tim, I don't have the control number, but once I get the invoice I'll give the online payment a try. It beats a few months of wondering if the check hasn't been cashed because they didn't get it or if they just haven't opened the envelope yet. My town charges us a surcharge if we pay our tax bills online so I am in the habit of writing checks for taxes.

Kathy

The control number is the same control number that is on your last tax bill, so if you have your 2014 bill (from a few months ago), you can use it to login. I've always filled out the credit card form and faxed it to them, and they don't even process those quickly. At least this way, you see the immediate application of the payment online and know that the taxes are paid.

-tim

 

[bobpark56]

No control number, no invoice number on 2014 tax bill

Our 2014 tax bill shows neither a control number nor an invoice number....only a parcel number. How are you folks handling this?

 

[tlpnet]

Our 2014 tax bill shows neither a control number nor an invoice number....only a parcel number. How are you folks handling this?

Hi Bob,

The control number is on the payment coupon on the bottom of the back side of the two-sided 2014 tax bill. Does that help? If not, PM me and I can scan you a copy of what mine looks like.

-tim

 

[SandyPGravel]

Tell the timeshare title company that you want an estoppel from Starwood - don't make the final payment until you receive it. I don't think Starwood provides estoppels to owners or buyers - only to the title company.

Thanx DeniseM. I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable with the process of buying this way!!

 

[bobpark56]

Payment coupon was sent with 2014 payamnt

Hi Bob,

The control number is on the payment coupon on the bottom of the back side of the two-sided 2014 tax bill. Does that help? If not, PM me and I can scan you a copy of what mine looks like.

-tim

Thanks. Unfortunately, I sent that payment coupon in with my 2014 payment.

 

[czar]

I'm looking on one of the sites that offers TS rentals, and I am seeing exorbitant pricing for WSJ 2 and 3 br units - and all the avail rentals are almost the same or more than the cost of renting via spg.com. Am I missing something? We were quoted a rate of $675/night to add on via SVN, and the cost on spg is $757.

Some of the winter weeks are $9k-$10k. Wow.

 

[Helios]

Hi Bob,

The control number is on the payment coupon on the bottom of the back side of the two-sided 2014 tax bill. Does that help? If not, PM me and I can scan you a copy of what mine looks like.

-tim

Just paid mine. I used the info in the 2014 tax bill and it pulled the correct 2015 amounts. The balance shows zero now.

 

[LisaRex]

I'm looking on one of the sites that offers TS rentals, and I am seeing exorbitant pricing for WSJ 2 and 3 br units - and all the avail rentals are almost the same or more than the cost of renting via spg.com. Am I missing something? We were quoted a rate of $675/night to add on via SVN, and the cost on spg is $757.

Some of the winter weeks are $9k-$10k. Wow.

No, you're not missing anything. St. John is a really expensive island and private villa rentals are all sky high. I noticed that when I was planning a couples trip to the Caribbean. Because other rentals are so expensive, I think folks think that they should inflate their price to match.

It appears to me that WSJ draws a lot of very wealthy East Coast professionals who have a skewed sense of reality because they live in NYC and Boston. I also think that they ask those prices and if they don't get a buyer, they're content to let it sit empty. They're not going to just cover their MFs.

BTW, there are only two reasons that I'm holding on to my sole SVV timeshare. First is because they're adding a few destinations that intrigue me (e.g. San Diego) and secondly because it's by far the cheapest way to get into WSJ because rental prices are so high. As more and more typical TS owners buy in St. John, I think we'll see rental prices come down.

 

[carpie99]

My tax payment process is to go into the tax office when I am there and pay my bill in person.

It is so easy ... they are located right off the rotary in Cruz Bay. Took 10 mins when I was on my way back from the beach to the Westin.

 

[okwiater]

My tax payment process is to go into the tax office when I am there and pay my bill in person.

It is so easy ... they are located right off the rotary in Cruz Bay. Took 10 mins when I was on my way back from the beach to the Westin.

:rofl: talk about things I don't want to think about doing on vacation!

 

[GrayFal]

https://propertytax.vi.gov/Lookup/TaxBillLookup.aspx

You can look up your tax bill here.

 

[czar]

It looks like we may try to move our WSJ BV week into Plat Plus season as my wife no longer wants to visit in the summer (too bad, because that's when I prefer to go!), so I inquired about an upgrade and trading in our unit since I think the cost would be about the same as purchasing resale given the cost for units in that season.

Anyway, they only have a couple of Gold Plus BV weeks, nothing in Plat Plus season, so they offered CV points equivalent for 2br in Diamond season is $3,610 MF and 3br is $5330 - YIKES. I just can't believe these new MF's for CV and Nanea. They're so high. I thought $2300/week was high for a 3br, and now it looks like a bargain at less than half the price.

 

[alexadeparis]

It looks like we may try to move our WSJ BV week into Plat Plus season as my wife no longer wants to visit in the summer (too bad, because that's when I prefer to go!), so I inquired about an upgrade and trading in our unit since I think the cost would be about the same as purchasing resale given the cost for units in that season.

Anyway, they only have a couple of Gold Plus BV weeks, nothing in Plat Plus season, so they offered CV points equivalent for 2br in Diamond season is $3,610 MF and 3br is $5330 - YIKES. I just can't believe these new MF's for CV and Nanea. They're so high. I thought $2300/week was high for a 3br, and now it looks like a bargain at less than half the price.

That is because they have "equalized" the MF by points. More points= more MF so platinum owners pay more than someone that can only book silver

 

[okwiater]

That is because they have "equalized" the MF by points. More points= more MF so platinum owners pay more than someone that can only book silver

Yeah, but high-season travelers now pay more to purchase AND more to maintain. It actually makes the new system very attractive for people who like to travel in low seasons, because high-season travelers are essentially subsidizing the operations and maintenance of their unit.

 

[czar]

That is because they have "equalized" the MF by points. More points= more MF so platinum owners pay more than someone that can only book silver

I agree with this concept, but I cannot see how the MF are so high. If my BV MF is $2300 for a 3 br, and they are charging $6,000 for high season in CV for a similarly (actually, smaller) sized unit with similar amenities, I would expect that low season MF would be much lower than $2300, but I do not believe that to be the case.

As OKI pointed out, it's a higher buy-in and higher MF, but we are also seeing *wood set the new MF's higher, overall, for these new units, and it seems like they're being artificially inflated from the beginning, especially when you compare them to the carrying costs of similar resorts in the same area. I forget what Nanea is, but I think I recall a 2br being around $4k/year in MF? Or, nearly $1200 more per unit with smaller kitchen, etc. These new amounts just seem off compared to what is already out there (and being maintained well, I might add!).