Wyndham managing PAHIO--do you see ANY improvements at all in the older resorts?

[rickandcindy23]

We are going to Shearwater for the 3rd tiime since Wyndham took over. The first time we went was in July of 2006, practically at the same time that Wyndham moved into PAHIO. The unit was nice, but we were in the newest building, unit 110.

Then last year, we were in 208 and I thought the unit could use some major updates. I was pretty disappointed at the cleanliness of the unit, with the cobwebs and fility windows on the interiors. Our second week at Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk last year was an entirely different experience. Beach Walk has gorgeous interiors and decor, high-quality bedding, and the units are extremely clean.

The difference between Shearwater and Beach Walk was astounding.

Don't get me wrong, we love Shearwater! We love the views, the location and weather, and the grounds are gorgeous, too.

I just wonder how Wyndham can continue treating the PAHIO resorts they are not actively selling as if they are not important to maintain. I hope others notice and comment, too.

So we are heading to Shearwater in 2 1/2 weeks, looking really forward to our trip, even though we expect to see the same interiors. But there will still be some part of me that is going to be horribly disappointed to see the same old blue sofas, blue bedspreads and sparse decor on the walls (not even a silk plant). The drapes are pitiful, too, and are a plain off-white that look terrible when they are closed because they hang so poorly.

Anyone that would get a Shearwater and pay 500K Wyndham/ Fairfield points for a unit would probably wonder why it was so high in costs, particularly when the units don't have the quality they are expecting from Fairfield.

We will see very soon. If you have had a better experience, particularly with Shearwater, please post!

Remember that we love Shearwater, so I am not trying to say Shearwater is anything less than a 9. It gets that rating on the ocean views alone! But PAHIO let it go so long without interior upgrades, it is really showing wear.

What do you think?

 

[bigeyes1]

We've stayed at Shearwater two times thus far: Unit #210 in Nov. 2004 and Unit #212 in Sept. '06. We have not seen any proof of refurbishments during this timeframe whatsoever. I'm a bit worried because we will be staying in Building One (in Sept), which we all know is their oldest building. I can only imagine what the condition of these units will be like.

To be fair, I guess I can't really answer your question... yet. After all, Wyndham acquired PAHIO in July '06 and we were there only two months after their takeover. I'm sure I'll have more to say about this once we come back from our Sept. trip.

I would love to hear what you have to say about the units after you come back from your stay at Shearwater. What building/unit will you be staying in?

 

[tfalk]

What do you think?

KEK has gone downhill considerably since Wyndham took over, at least IMHO.

The condition of the units in general last summer were the worst I've seen in the
20+ years I've been an owner there. If you question anyone at Wyndham, all they
do is blame the board of directors, at least I got the same story from several people....

As I posted in another thread, I think all the cleaning people must be shorter than a
standard height refidgerator since they can't seem to see that they need to at
least wipe off the top of the fridge...

I'm hoping Shearwater is better when you get there, let us know what kind
of condition you think it's in...

 

[rickandcindy23]

I believe the cleaning crew are the same that PAHIO had, no changes, but the quality control is lacking, especially for the PEK owners and exchangers who have lost GC to Hospitality.

It was a ridiculous assumption on my part that Wyndham would want to take fastidious care of units that cost so many points. How can they even consider asking 400,000 points for a Shearwater lower-level unit? It's crazy! I wouldn't pay more than 200k points for one right now.

I am just bracing myself for the announcement of a special assessment, something Fairfield/ Wyndham is famous for.

I will let you know about Shearwater. Hopefully we will see improvements.

 

[Caius]

I just got back from KEK...I put a whole review on the Wyndham Resorts Forums site (the forums.atozed.com one).

KEK is looking really dingy, there appear (to my untrained eye) to be structural problems with some of the buildings as well. I asked some of the staff if there had been any word of improvements, and was told "Wyndham is focusing on the new construction at Bali Hai."

 

[rickandcindy23]

David Walters is still the developer of Bali Hai, not Wyndham, is my understanding.

We will be at Shearwater on Friday, so we will see ourselves very soon.

 

[linsj]

I just got back from KEK...I put a whole review on the Wyndham Resorts Forums site (the forums.atozed.com one).

Why don't you post it in the review section here too?

 

[Tia]

We own at a Equivest/Wyndam/FF resort where the older section is recieving less than needed maint imo. The board is controlled by Wyndham.

 

[Caius]

Why don't you post it in the review section here too?

I haven't gotten around to "joining" TUG yet...although I'm planning on it.

 

[timeos2]

Its every Wyndham it seems

I believe the cleaning crew are the same that PAHIO had, no changes, but the quality control is lacking, especially for the PEK owners and exchangers who have lost GC to Hospitality.

It was a ridiculous assumption on my part that Wyndham would want to take fastidious care of units that cost so many points. How can they even consider asking 400,000 points for a Shearwater lower-level unit? It's crazy! I wouldn't pay more than 200k points for one right now.

I am just bracing myself for the announcement of a special assessment, something Fairfield/ Wyndham is famous for.

I will let you know about Shearwater. Hopefully we will see improvements.

Housekeeping in general at all Wyndham resorts - even the new ones they built - leaves far too much to be desired. In order in 2006-2007 we had a stay at the Grand Desert. LV Presidential suite 2 BR. The refrigerator was 7-10" "out" of it's designated position within the cabinets (why hadn't someone pushed it back?). So I decide to push it back where it belongs. The filth under the front edge, it had obviously been in that position for some time, could gag a maggot! I didn't even want to go after it with a paper towel or cleaner and simply called housekeeping to come clean it up. Gross.

In late 2006 we were at Palm Aire in one of the new buildings. Nice enough but I saw an ant in the bathroom. And another. And another. Went to the front desk and complained. They gave me a can of ant spray! After using it a few times we realized it wasn't just the bath but the kitchen was crawling with ants as well. Based on the trash in the hallways and the unknown "sticky stuff" in the stairwells it's no surprise the ants were having a field day.
They also came up and supposedly cleaned/sprayed but all it seemed to be was more of the canned spray that didn't really help.

Finally we were at Governors Green in Williamsburg summer 2007. Nice resort, seems to be trying to equal Marriott Manor House but in a far better location relative to the Williamsburg attractions, but again housekeeping was wanting. The bath had dust bunnies in every corner, behind the toilet looked a bit "rough", the range in the kitchen had a stained/dirty oven (we didn't use it) and the refrigerator had the seemingly standard dusty/sticky top. It just doesn't seem to be cleaned right and thats the obvious stuff.

Wyndham has a long way to go to get maintenance at OUR resorts right. We already pay them the big bucks for fees it is a shame they don't think they have to perform to any reasonable standard.

 

[Hawaiibarb]

I'll be there in August

My hunch is that they are treating the Pahio owners as step-children as a way to push us to convert to Fairfield points. I agree that all they talk about is how nice Bali Hai is....but Ka Eo'kai and Shearwater deserve equal attention. I notice the maintenance fees keep going up.

 

[linsj]

I haven't gotten around to "joining" TUG yet...although I'm planning on it.

Sorry. I didn't think to look at the designation and notice you're not a member.

 

[rifleman69]

David Walters is still the developer of Bali Hai, not Wyndham, is my understanding.

We will be at Shearwater on Friday, so we will see ourselves very soon.

I don't think David is involved anymore besides in name only...he's not doing too well healthwise so everything is being run by his brother.

 

[ajsmithtx]

Wyndham is our management company. We as owners have to step up, and get involved in the decision making of our timeshares at KEK, Shearwater, KBV, and Bali Hai.

 

[Mary W]

Ballot for Board of Directors

Has anyone received a ballot yet for the election of the Shearwater Board of Directors? I'm hoping there will be some new active owners running for seats.

 

[tfalk]

Just got the ballot yesterday for KEK.

 

[jzirker]

Bali Hai

We're heading to Bali Hai in a few weeks, it seems like that resort should be pretty nice since the unit is one of the new construction 3 BR units?

Jeff

 

[rickandcindy23]

The three bedrooms at Bali Hai are FABULOUS. You will love it for sure. Unit quality, those are just as nice as any on Hawaii. I am thinking of trying one of those sometime, but Shearwater is still the best resort on the island, in my opinion. I am just talking ocean views, though. The units' interiors at Shearwater leave a lot to be desired. I like the bedroom furniture just fine, but they need new linens, quarry tile in the kitchen/ bath areas, new furniture in the living/ dining rooms, and new cabinets in some of the units. I would also add granite, if I could design it. They need better and more artwork, too.

Of course, we don't own a Marriott, so we cannot trade into Waiohai. Perhaps it is much nicer, but I cannot imagine anything being nicer than the 3 bedroom Bali Hai units. Those are a 10 for sure. We own a 3 bedroom in unit 1026. I wonder if they added stainless to those?

 

[rifleman69]

They are slowly but surely updating stuff in the older BHV units. Back in late April/early May, any time they had a unit unfilled for a week it seemed like they were redoing the whole unit all together at one time. Who knows how many units are like that now in the summer season though?

 

[tfalk]

Just got an owner update flyer, they mentioned that they were upgrading the carpet and linoleum in a number of the phase III units along with a number of other things. I certainly hope unit 24A was the first one they started with...

I'm hoping they may finally be getting their heads out of their posteriors and getting the place back to what it *should* be...

 

[ecemarti]

Pahio Bali Hai owner of 3BR,3BA
I just called resort to book a 3BR,3BA unit for 2009 and was told that certain buildings were solely reserved for Fairshare Plus,that my choice was limited to buildings #1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10,11.From the resort map I have there are only 3 of those buildings that even have 3BR,3BA suites.This is all contrary to any understanding I had at time of purchase in 2006 just when Wyndham had taken over.Has anyone had similar experience or suggestions for resolution other than being sucked into buying FS Plus points? I'm going to have to read my contract again and maybe see a lawyer as a final resort.
Ellen

 

[rickandcindy23]

None of those earlier buildings have 3 bedroom units, so of course you will get a nice unit because they are all very nice. I was wondering if they put stainless appliances in the older ones, but none of the 3 bedrooms are old. What buildilng do you own?

By the way, no way are they filling all of those 3 bedrooms because the points are too high for them at 400,000 for a lower level 3 bed (maybe it's 450,000).