Worst timeshare resort you've stayed in?

[JesTheFacts]

Maritime Beach Club in N Myrtle Beach is the worst

Talk about a facility operated by several generations of intermarried cousins, brothers, sisters. Defender Resorts epitomizes the worst in timeshare. Charged for using more than one roll of toilet paper. Towels about as thick and absorbent. Furniture the Salvation Army Thrift Store wouldn't resell. What do these people do with the maintenance fees they collect? Not to mention the double billing they impose on owners for tracking points. RCI already provides this service in your membership, but these unethical, dishonest shysters impose it again!!!!!!!!!!

This place is the worst, as are all other properties managed by Defender Resorts. Check the management firm before you stay. They operate in Lenox and Falmouth, MA; Ocean City, MD; Jensen Beach, FL; and Dewey Beach, DE.

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

There is only one place we have been I would hesitate to go back to and that is the Mauna Loa Wyndham side on the Big Island. The biggest problem is the AC is outside the patio door on the ground floor and very, very, very loud. They assigned us a ground floor unit and I couldn't even open the door it was so bad. They were able to change us to a top floor unit which was much better. The bottom floor unit was also looking out into a tiny patio that was very claustrophobic. Upstairs the outside of the refrigerator was so dirty that I tried to wash it myself. Oh, and did I mention that the AC is for the top and bottom units so that even if you wanted to turn off your AC to avoid the noise it wouldn't help. I would go back there only if I could be assured of not being on the bottom floor.

 

[Tommart]

Skiers Edge in Breckenridge

Since I used a bonus week that cost me $169, I was pleased with my stay. I probably would go back. It has a nice indoor pool, large modern community hot tub, and above average beds. It is within 30 minutes of many ski resorts and less than 90 minutes from Denver.

The staff was helpful and furniture was comfortable.

However, it's an old unit that's shabby here and there, the bathroom is very small, and it's located about 4 miles south of town in the middle of nowhere. It's also a small resort -- maybe 40-50 units in a single building. Had to go near the office to reach the WI-Fi signal, but there was many comfortable chairs and tables near the office. There were three coin operated washing machines and dryers for the entire facility--and one washing machine was broke. The hallways were cold, dark, and narrow, and had plywood floors that flexed as you walked.

The unit was also a little small. I would not want to stay with more than two people.

I went in early December. The ski resorts were open, but each had only 5-8 trails. Only about 4-5 of Skier Edge's units were occupied.

I suspect with their high maintenance fee (around $1K), they're having difficulty collecting from those who own units during non-ski season.

If you don't need a brand new modern resort with a lot of space, this unit is OK. My wife does not ski and she thought Skier's Edge was OK. But it is the worst timeshare that I've stayed.

 

[MichaelColey]

I'm sure there are much worse timeshares, but out of our first five timeshares, the worst has been Silverleaf's Holiday Hills. I booked it during an Extra Vacation sale, so there was very minimal cost. Still, it was disappointing.

It was a 2BR lodge unit, which is around 800-850 sqft. The kitchen was frustrating. It was very well stocked, but there was NO storage space or counter space. The dishwasher didn't clean. The icemaker (or something) in the fridge was leaky, causing the drawers to fill up with water. The master bathroom had almost no counter space and no shower (just a jacuzzi tub with a leaky sprayer). The charcoal grill had no utensils and no place to lay stuff down. There was no washer & dryer or DVD player.

 

[Passepartout]

Not REALLY a timeshare, but a penthouse apartment in a residential highrise owned by MROP/VRI in Puerto Vallarta (Playas Gamelas). 2 story unit- bedroom up a spiral staircase that you can crack your head on getting by it. Small window A/C at floor level downstairs. 95 degrees daily and 100% humidity. This poor A/C didn't have a prayer of making it comfortable for us temperate desert dwellers. On the plus side, a 5 gallon drinking water dispenser was provided, they did have on-site wired internet- not in unit, and a staff that went out of their way to make us welcome.

I think it would be acceptable in Nov-March, but not in Aug/Sept.

Jim Ricks

 

[laura1957]

Just last week - Silverleaf "The Villages" in Flint, Tx.

2 BR/2 Bath sleep 6. SMALL, no washer or dryer - ok, we knew that when we booked it so our fault. No dvd/vcr - we wouldnt have used it anyway, so that was ok.

Small kitchen, only enough DR chairs for 4. Jacuzzi tub, toilet and sink in master bath - no shower. Would have been ok except it was IN the master BR. Not a separate room at all. We constantly were waking the other every time we turned the light on or flushed. Could have just used the 2nd bathroom - except that was IN the 2nd BR Since my daughter (his stepdaughter) was sleeping in that room my husband did not feel comfortable walking thru her BR to get to the bathroom. At least her bathroom did have a door I cant understand how SIX people could possibly use this unit at all since with 4 of us it was extremely uncomfortable.

I know there are other types of unit available at this resort, and we were probably just unlucky in what we were assigned. Still - this is the only timeshare that I would NEVER return to - unless possibly it was just my husband and myself.

 

[MichaelColey]

I'm wondering if all of the Silverleaf units are like that. It sounds exactly like Holiday Hills (Branson), where we had a similar experience. We're booked in Silverleaf's Seaside Resort in Galveston (cheap Extra Vacation sale again), and from the reviews it sounds very similar as well.

I think the most annoying part to me was the kitchen. Almost no storage space or counter space. We had two 6" wide drawers that weren't stuffed full. We stored stuff on top of the fridge, on the window sill, on top of the plates, on the floor, etc. I ended up putting the broiler pan across the sink and using that for "counter space" in the kitchen.

 

[abbekit]

I'm wondering if all of the Silverleaf units are like that. It sounds exactly like Holiday Hills (Branson), where we had a similar experience. We're booked in Silverleaf's Seaside Resort in Galveston (cheap Extra Vacation sale again), and from the reviews it sounds very similar as well.

I think the most annoying part to me was the kitchen. Almost no storage space or counter space. We had two 6" wide drawers that weren't stuffed full. We stored stuff on top of the fridge, on the window sill, on top of the plates, on the floor, etc. I ended up putting the broiler pan across the sink and using that for "counter space" in the kitchen.

Silverleaf has several levels of types of units. If you look at my photos (in the link below) you can see some of the different types. We've been pleased with all of our Silverleaf trades but by far the nicest are the Presidential units (you have to be sure and get a 6/6 unit to get one of those). The Presidentials are some of the nicest timeshares I've ever stayed in.

 

[MichaelColey]

Sorry, I didn't say quite what I meant. I meant to ask if the standard "lodge" and "cabin" units at all Silverleaf resorts are all like that. I've read fabulous reviews of the presidental units, but awful reviews of the standard ones.

 

[tombo]

Worst timeshare I ever stayed in: Someone else's.

Best timeshare I ever stayed in: One I own

Tongue in cheek response based on some truth because most owners love the places where they own weeks and give them top reviews and 5 star ratings. Often the same owners are overly critical of the places they exchange for.

It kills me on trip adviser, TUG, or RCI/II when I read reviews where people give a place poor reviews because the front desk wasn't overly friendly, a handle on a drawer came off (even though it was fixed quickly), the next door neighbors were up all night, they didn't get the view they wanted,and other things that really don't apply to the resort in most other instances. They will often say things like the resort was really nice, in a great location, roomy, etc.and give it a 2 overall out of 5 because of some minor thing that they personally didn't like. Worst of all are the reviews that say the place was horrible and gives it a 1 with no explanation. Some of those places I have stayed at were very nice and I can't imagine what happened to make them rate it so low.

Most reviews on this thread are details of things that really would give me doubts about whether I want to stay at some of these resorts or not, but many negative reviews on TUG, Tripadviser,II, and RCI are of rare occurrences which would not happen to the average traveler and really would not be taken into account when I was choosing a resort. If you are reviewing a place please give details so others can decide if the resort you just ranked a 2 because of something that happened to you would be important to others at all. If you give a resort a 2 because it doesn't have granite countertops even though you loved everything else about the resort, I could care less about granite counters. If you are upset because they don't have an onsite restaurant explain that because many could care less. If you got a studio lock-off and it is cramped making your stay bad, but the one bed rooms and 2 bed rooms of the lock-offs are roomy, let people know. Rather than giving the whole resort a 1 out of 5 explain that it would get a 4 out of 5 if you had sayed in a 2 bed unit. If the sales force was pshy and rude but the resort itself was great, don't downgrade the resort, warn people to not go to the sales presentation. I think it is unfair to give a nice resort a low rating like a 1 or 2 for something minor or for being mad you were in a studio when you knew it was a studio before you went.

Everyone please give details of the good and bad so we can make more informed decisions and don't penalize a resort for months or years to come by posting bad ratings for some trivial inconvenience. Your resort too could always be picked apart for some reason by some impossible to please guests no matter how nice the resort is and no matter how professional your management staff is.

 

[abbekit]

We were happy with the standard (lodge and cabin) too.

Sorry, I didn't say quite what I meant. I meant to ask if the standard "lodge" and "cabin" units at all Silverleaf resorts are all like that. I've read fabulous reviews of the presidental units, but awful reviews of the standard ones.

Some of our Silverleaf stays were in the non-Presidentials. Not the fanciest timeshares we've stayed in but perfectly nice (at least the units we were in).

http://picasaweb.google.com/vinolover78/TexasFlintEastTexasSilverleafVillagesFeb2003#

http://picasaweb.google.com/vinolover78/TexasCanyonLakeSilverleafHillCountryUnit325May2003#

I'm not a Silverleaf owner but they are convenient to where I live in North Texas and I wouldn't hesitate to stay in any of them again.

Luckily we've been happy with all of our timeshare trades all over the world so I don't have one to add to this tread. Some not as fancy as others but all have been clean and comfortable.

Thanks to info and reviews on TUG I'm pretty good now at picking out the gems and not trading into something awful.

 

[MichaelColey]

Your kitchens in Flint and Canyon Lake look FAR better than the one at Holiday Hills. Here's a picture:

That bar area (about 18" x 36") is the ONLY counter space "in" the kitchen. There's about an inch on each side of the sink and maybe 8" by the wall, where the coffee maker is.

Also, the dishwasher is UNDER the sink. The sink is really shallow and the top rack of the dishwasher is only about 1/3rd of a rack. And of course there's no space for a garbage disposal.

 

[rapmarks]

we were very unhappy in the lodge at Holiday Hills, mostly because of the bedroom situation.
But the Waterbury Inn in Door county was the smallest two bedroom ever. The kitchen was smaller than the Holiday Hlls one and the bedroom was exactly 15 inches bigger than the bed on all sides. There was a loft bedroom upstairs, but no place to change without being in view of the living room, kitchen and only the one bathroom. Then I found out I could have rented with daily maid service for half my fees.

 

[abbekit]

This is what makes TUG such a great help in trip planning. Makes a big difference which unit you get for the enjoyment of your vacation. At least for us, we spend a fair amount of time in our condo (even in Hawaii!) and also cook a number of our meals so we want a nice unit, a nice kitchen and a nice view!

 

[DaveNV]

Tongue in cheek response based on some truth because most owners love the places where they own weeks and give them top reviews and 5 star ratings. Often the same owners are overly critical of the places they exchange for.

I agree, when a review is written, a mention should be made whether the reviewer is staying at the resort as an owner or as an exchanger. In my (admittedly limited) experience, owners tend to receive assignments to better units than exchangers generally get. I think the unit you receive can make a huge difference in the quality of your stay. So an owner might give the place five stars because they get great units, where an exchanger may get a lousy unit only worth two stars. Fair is fair.

Case in point: Michael Coley complained in his review about the exchange unit he got at Kauai Beach Villas. He was probably justified to think he deserved better. I own there, and always get a GREAT unit. KBV makes no bones about trying to assign the best units to owners. Yes, all guests should be treated equally, but it's a fact that some units will be in better repair than others.

Similar case in point: Villas at Southgate in St. George, Utah. We stayed there a year ago on an exchange. The unit was a wreck, furniture worn and inappropriate to the space. (The sofa was too long for the wall it was on, so it blocked a large part of the hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom. We had to climb around it to get to the hallway. The only table lamp in the living room was across the room from the only chair. TV was placed on a stand where it couldn't be viewed when sitting in the room. We ended up bringing in patio furniture and rearranging everything to provide us with a suitable place to sit. It was all very "cheap motel" like. Quite disappointing.)

If I owned at this resort I'd be seriously angry. As an exchanger, I don't think I'd want to go back if the unit we got was typical of what we'd receive.

Dave

 

[Happytravels]

Your kitchens in Flint and Canyon Lake look FAR better than the one at Holiday Hills. Here's a picture:

That bar area (about 18" x 36") is the ONLY counter space "in" the kitchen. There's about an inch on each side of the sink and maybe 8" by the wall, where the coffee maker is.

Also, the dishwasher is UNDER the sink. The sink is really shallow and the top rack of the dishwasher is only about 1/3rd of a rack. And of course there's no space for a garbage disposal.

Michael, they are starting to remodel the older units and giving more counter space and cabinet space. But still none of them have garbage disposals even if there was enough room. I have noticed on several trips other resorts.......that there is no garbage disposal..........maybe less things to break..When you go to Seaside ask for one of the newer units. I will try and find out what building that is

 

[Happytravels]

remodel or newer units

This is one of the newer kitchens. Still the units don't have w/d but most of the resorts have a laundry room.....Piney shores doesn't and neither does Seaside.

 

[lotus5]

On the other hand we have the Carriage House in Las Vegas. This is supposed to be a decent resort and we found it almost unbearable. The room design was poor, the kitchen was dated and rather dirty, the bathroom was barely a closet. It was really bad and yet somehow holds an RID rating.

So much about any resort depends on the unit you get and the way it is maintained overall. On any given checkin two different groups may have completely different experiences depending on where they are assigned.

Your stay was in 2005. Units at The Carriage House in LV have totally been renovated. Big improvement. Everything is fresh. The place is well manged. Friendly, helpful staff. GREAT location. Easy in-out parking. Free internet. nice pool, hottub, tennis courts. Short block to the strip (City Center, Planet Hollywood, etc.) No argument - the units are small but when in LV, how much time do you spend in your room. I'm happy with it being squeeky cleen and the important nuts and bolts. Works well for many but not very well for the 5-star crowd.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Silverleaf used to allow pets. Is that still the case? If so, I would put up with a lot to take mine.

 

[MichaelColey]

Silverleaf used to allow pets. Is that still the case? If so, I would put up with a lot to take mine.

I think officially they only allow pets now for owners (not exchangers), for a fee. The reason I say "officially" is that we're staying at Seaside right now and when I checked in they asked how many adults, children and pets would be staying in the room. I'm not sure why they would ask if it isn't allowed.

FWIW, I'm staying in a Presidential unit this time, and it's quite a bit better. Not on par with a regular Marriott timeshare, but much more spacious than the Lodge units.

 

[Happytravels]

I think officially they only allow pets now for owners (not exchangers), for a fee. The reason I say "officially" is that we're staying at Seaside right now and when I checked in they asked how many adults, children and pets would be staying in the room. I'm not sure why they would ask if it isn't allowed.

FWIW, I'm staying in a Presidential unit this time, and it's quite a bit better. Not on par with a regular Marriott timeshare, but much more spacious than the Lodge units.

Michael,

When you bought this vacation what was the configuration of the unit you confirmed was it 6/4 or 6/6 and you checked in on Friday or Saturday??? Just asking cause I might want to do that someday............

 

[Happytravels]

Michael, they are starting to remodel the older units and giving more counter space and cabinet space. But still none of them have garbage disposals even if there was enough room. I have noticed on several trips other resorts.......that there is no garbage disposal..........maybe less things to break..When you go to Seaside ask for one of the newer units. I will try and find out what building that is

In this picture it says the counter is 6 INCHES LONG...........WHAT I MEANT WAS 6 FEET LONG!!!!!

 

[lolibeachgirl]

The worst TS I've ever stayed in was Peppertree Atlantic Beach (old octagonal building). We arrived about a week after Hurricane Isabel had gone through- I had called a couple days before just to make sure the resort was still in condition to accept guests, they told me everything was fine).

When we checked in at the desk, their "calendar" of arrivals had us listed in pencil, with a unit # also in pencil, written over an erased entry. I had hoped they didn't change us to a lower floor since I'd requested an upper floor (I'm a light sleeper). I asked why they had changed our unit#, they didn't know. Hiked our luggage from the car, up the steps, opened the door-and the ceiling fan in the unit was running on high. Strange....since I thought this place had A/C.

(Ex)hubby drove to pick up the pizza we'd ordered, and I started checking out the unit. The bathroom was extremely small, claustrophobic even. The bedroom size was okay, but there was a roach that scurried by when I entered. Everything in the unit seemed dingy and worn. I went back into the kitchen, and noticed that one of the ceiling tiles was BRIGHT white compared to the others. I climbed up on one of the chairs (hoping it wouldn't break) and found the ceiling tile was wet from white paint. I had thought I smelled a slight odor when we came in, and I'd found the source. Now I was really concerned, as I get migraines easily, and the fumes from the paint were certainly going to give me one if I spent much more time in this unit.

When my ex got back with the pizza, I showed him the ceiling tile, told him much the fumes were bothering me, how small the bathroom was, and the roach that I'd killed. We agreed not to unpack, but to go to the office and get a different unit. After explaining all the issues we had with the unit, they finally gave us a 2br unit in another part of the resort. This was in a rectagular building, must be a phase 2, everything was new, tile floor, lots of space. We were very happy that we had not unpacked in the other unit. I guess people who arrived before us had gotten the other unit, complained, were given a different unit, and that's when they assigned us the crappy unit.

All in all, our stay on the Bogue Banks was a great trip, after getting a better unit. It was a beautiful area, and I loved travelling to the lighthouse we got to see by taking a ferry. We wanted to also go to Ocrakoke, but the road to that barrier island had been cut off by the hurricane, and only residents and emergency workers were being allowed onto the ferry to get there.

I hate to think of how awful the vacation would have been if they'd made us stay in that unit though...I really believe that resorts with several phases of units that are so different should have different resort #'s with RCI (like my home resort Plantation in MB). Especially with RCI's new system of deposit and exchange credits, it really wouldn't be fair to have the same value applied to units that have so much disparity. Plus the pictures usually the interiors of the nice units, even if they show the outside of the older building-which is sooo misleading.

 

[timeos2]

May not be your fathers resort

Your stay was in 2005. Units at The Carriage House in LV have totally been renovated. Big improvement. Everything is fresh. The place is well manged. Friendly, helpful staff. GREAT location. Easy in-out parking. Free internet. nice pool, hottub, tennis courts. Short block to the strip (City Center, Planet Hollywood, etc.) No argument - the units are small but when in LV, how much time do you spend in your room. I'm happy with it being squeeky cleen and the important nuts and bolts. Works well for many but not very well for the 5-star crowd.

We saw the renovated units and, while MUCH better, they can't address the basic flaws in the structure such as the low ceilings, poor floor plan (it wasn't designed as a timeshare from the start) and more. But at least it is fresh, has updated appliances & furnishings so it is a great improvement.

What it really shows is what was "horrible" last trip may not be so now and the reverse can unfortunately also (and actually more likely) be true. It is up to the Association/Management to make the needed repairs & upgrades and that costs big money. Not all of them are willing to do (pay) what is needed. Those that are get better ratings - those that don't deservedly get dinged on scores.

Don't depend on ratings/reviews that are more than a year or two at most old as things can change dramatically in relatively short time. Look for trends and recent reports to get the best picture of an unfamiliar resort.

 

[theo]

My $0.02 worth...

My own submission for this dubious distinction would be Marco Resort & Club in Marco Island, FL.

A (barely) converted motel, with very small units. Ours was found to be considerably less than clean upon check-in. The interior was quite popular with the insects-in-residence, however, who apparently had a different, very favorable view about staying there. We left a few days early and headed for the Keys.

In all fairness, that was about 8 years ago now. Pehaps they have "cleaned up their act" (..and I mean that quite literally) in the intervening years since then. I never bothered to write a review on the place, but I saw that our experience there was also similarly reflected in some TUG reviews.