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Wyndham California

V

Vacationsarefun

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I am considering buying Wyndham points. Some timeshares I am especially interested in are Dolphin's Cove, Oceanside, and Harbortown Point. How difficult is it to get a reservation there (for Aug. to early Sep.) if it is not my home resort? Thanks for any info.
 
bnoble said:
I have not checked those areas specifically. But, if I were interested mostly in the west coast, I'd be more inclined to look at WorldMark than Wyndham.
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

To answer your query about summer availability, Harbortown ALWAYS has very limited availability, especially in the summer. Many summer weeks at Oceanside and Dolphin's Cove will be booked during the ARP period (home resort reservations only). The remainder will go FAST once the general reservation period opens. Late August and early September (except Labor Day) will be easier to get than July and early August.
 
Thanks, I see that Worldmark has more properties in California/the West. But as Wyndham points are at the moment quite a bit cheaper I would be tempted to go with Wyndham as long as I can find there what I am looking for. Actually, Dolphin's Cove seems to be the best location for us. I am a bit confused though: Is Dolphin's Cove a Wyndham timeshare or Worldmark (it seems to be both??)?

I am locked into the school schedule. My kids don't get out until early August so July really doesn't matter. Mid- to End August would probably be best. Still, it seems that it would be best to have Dolphin's Cove as home resort if that is our favorite of the Wyndham properties, correct?
 
OP

The other thing you need to look into is whether Dolphins Cove was originally sold exclusively as fiixed / floating weeks or UDI points. I belive it was originally sold as either fixed or floating weeks, some of whcih have been converted to points - but I'm not sure.

The above will affect the way ARP is handled at the resort.
 
Think so

massvacationer,

Yes, looking at resale websites it seems that Dolphin's Cove was originally sold as weeks. Can you tell me how this would impact ARP? Would this also mean that owning Wyndham points at another timeshare wouldn't be much use for me if I wanted to stay at Dolphin's Cove?
 
OP:
Dolphin's Cove (DC) is dual-affiliated with both Wyndham AND WorldMark. Basically that means that WYN has a leg in from both sides of the two-legged-umbrella. Inventory CAN be gotten at the 10-month window with points through the WYN reservation system (you don't have to have ARP) but you really have to be fast. Especially if you are a slave to school schedules because those are prime holiday dates. Off season is a little easier but it still books out at least 10-months so advanced planning is important.

Also, be aware that since WorldMark recently opened the WM Anaheim location, WM owners will seek that inventory first because it's a newer, larger property.

As Mass pointed out DC was originally sold as Fixed / Floating weeks and some of that ownership is still out there which has not yet been converted to points. It's an older property so the good news is that if you are pulling point inventory through the reservation system, the points chart is VERY reasonable compared to other, newer products in the WYN / WM systems.

Compare credits in the WM system between WM Anaheim vs WM Dolphins Cove for a 3BR unit for a week:

WM Anaheim: 20K credits
WM Dolphin's Cove: 12K credits

If you are going to purchase, be aware of what the MF's are for the property you buy and how that translates to using the same points / credit in the internal reservations system.

Good luck!:hi:

--
Caite
 
OP

with a fixed or floating week that was converted to Fairshare (AKA Club Wyndham) points, you can only ARP the underlying week, at 13 months

with UDI points, you can ARP anything available at 13 months

The Club Wyndham resort in Oceanside is only 3 years old and is all UDI.....the points requirement for a summer week are rather high at Oceanside
 
Vacationsarefun said:
Thanks, I see that Worldmark has more properties in California/the West. But as Wyndham points are at the moment quite a bit cheaper I would be tempted to go with Wyndham as long as I can find there what I am looking for. Actually, Dolphin's Cove seems to be the best location for us. I am a bit confused though: Is Dolphin's Cove a Wyndham timeshare or Worldmark (it seems to be both??)?

I am locked into the school schedule. My kids don't get out until early August so July really doesn't matter. Mid- to End August would probably be best. Still, it seems that it would be best to have Dolphin's Cove as home resort if that is our favorite of the Wyndham properties, correct?
Click to expand...


Yes, Dolphin's Cove (DC) is both Wyndham and WM. WM Anaheim is much newer and nicer, but DC is much cheaper pointwise. So the WM inventory in DC is going to book out first every year, before Anaheim. It means the competition for Anaheim is going to be easier than DC. WM Anaheim is as close to Disney as DC, and much nicer.

Wyndham's upfront cost is a lot cheaper, but WM's MF is a lot lower. With WM, you can buy a small 5K or 6K account at around $2000, then rent points at around MF as needed. This gives you access to 20 - 50 Western resorts as home resort, instead of just the one home resort if you buy Wyndham, and a handful for non-home resort booking (ARP?). Besides the West Coast resorts, WM also has Yellowstone, Banff and other resorts that might be of interest to you as a parent. Here's WM's Resort directory:
https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/
 
as Wyndham points are at the moment quite a bit cheaper
Click to expand...
Only to purchase. As LLW points out, the ongoing fees with WM are typically lower. There are exceptions---some very good fee ratios in the Wyndham system---but they are few and far between, and you will pay more to buy them.

But, even if it costs a few dollars more, wouldn't you rather have the broader variety of choice, with the bigger portfolio of resorts of interest? I'm a Wyndham owner (purchased resale), and I love the system, but I live east of the Mississippi. If I lived west of the continental divide, I would much rather own WorldMark.

The other thing you need to look into is whether Dolphins Cove was originally sold exclusively as fiixed / floating weeks or UDI points.
Click to expand...
I believe most of Dolphin's Cove was sold as weeks---the summer weeks (low 20s to mid-30s) are fixed, everything else is in a single floating season.
 
Thanks for all the great info! I didn't realize WM fees are lower than Wyndhams. I will definitely look into this.

Still, I think Wyndham has a better variety for us. While I am planning on mainly visiting California (maybe 2 out of 3 vacations), I also want to take the kids to other places (specifically Florida, Washington DC area, New England/New York) and for these it seems Wyndham has more to offer.

The procedure for Dolphin's Cove is a bit complicated though. Do I understand this correct: As the resort was originally sold as weeks, I would get ARP for the underlying week if I bought one that was sold that way (e.g. if I bought points that were originally week 35 I could book week 35 at 13 months). If I however bought Dolphin's Cove points that were originally for a different time of year (floating or e.g. week 25) and wanted to book week 35 I couldn't do ARP and it would be the same as having a different home resort?

If that is the case, it would probably be best to choose a different home resort (either based on low MFs or because it is also difficult to book and I anticipate going there sometime) unless I can get Dolphin's Cove points that are based on a week I need (i.e. 32 to 36). Is this correct?

Thank you all so much! I do appreciate all the info as this can be quite confusing and I don't want to make a mistake and be stuck with something that doesn't really fit our needs.
 
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Thanks a lot! I did join TUG by the way (just hadn't added it to my profile yet). I still think Dolphin's Cove would be a pretty good choice for us based on location. We would like to see some things in the area (not just Disneyland) and Anaheim seems the most convenient. The new WM Anaheim does look very nice but it is also quite a bit more expensive (point wise).

Anyway, Wyndham might be the best choice for us but not sure whether it would be worth it to choose Dolphin's Cove as home resort. So that leaves two questions:

Does anyone have more information on how likely I would be able to get a late August to early September week at Dolphin's Cove (i.e. at 10 months out)?

And which Wyndham would make a good home resort? I guess it would make sense to choose a resort that is harder to book so that ARP will be an advantage. Other than California I am looking at the East Coast (mostly beach places) during school holidays for vacations. Any recommendations on nice places that are somewhat hard to get (making ARP worthwhile)?
 
Dolphin Cove et al

Vacationsarefun said:
Does anyone have more information on how likely I would be able to get a late August to early September week at Dolphin's Cove (i.e. at 10 months out)?(making ARP worthwhile)?
Click to expand...

Within the 10 month window I got a week in Harbortown Point and have found available inventory at Dolphin's Cove when we look early. Right now you could get into Oceanside Pier in September, August is often hard but possible if you start looking early. Dolphin's Cove has no openings in September or August as of now. Worldmark Anaheim has a couple of three day openings in late August with nothing the first week in September and fair availability after that.

Don't Forget Worldmark Indio in September. It would be hot for sure but there are many neat pools and a tubing river. Nights would be hot and dry but not too uncomfortable.
 
Hot in Indio

It would be hot for sure. I live in Riverside and it can get to 110+ out there. No the nights are not comfortable because it doesn't cool down. Believe me it's less than 50 miles from me and I don't go out there in the Summer.
 
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