Marriott Vacations Club

Alan_M_2

We spent this years summer holiday in Orlando at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes.

It was great, we couldn't really fault it apart from getting a bit fed up with the enormous food portions......but that's America.

In the hotel grounds they were building vacation apartments (timeshares) which has never been of the slightest bit of interest to me, but we decided to take a look at the free tour as it was all no pressure and relaxed and we were free to wander around and come and go from the guided tours.

We were hooked, I really like the flexibility of what this company offers but would like some real world feedback.

So does anyone here have any experience of this timeshare club? Specifically this one and not any other company.....

http://www.marriott-vacations.com/travel/index.html

It's quite a large investment to make so before making the decision I'd like to know if there are any major pitfalls.

costapkt

I f it is Timeshare be very careful, apart from the large up front fee for joining there is usually a yearly maintenance fee to pay as well. Depending on what Club you join this can cost up to and over a thousand quid.

This is one of the reasons that many Timeshare owners are trying to escape. Another point to consider is getting your weeks when you want them. If you have children you might not be able to get dates in school holidays etc.

A lot of people cannot even give their Timeshare away, plenty for sale on Ebay etc.

Timeshare sales people can be economical with the truth , so beware.
For more info on Timeshare go to Timesharetalkforums on that site you will find plenty of info and all the latest scams.

Remember Timeshare like a pet is for life.

lily_the_pink

Alan_M wrote: »

We spent this years summer holiday in Orlando at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes.

It was great, we couldn't really fault it apart from getting a bit fed up with the enormous food portions......but that's America.

In the hotel grounds they were building vacation apartments (timeshares) which has never been of the slightest bit of interest to me, but we decided to take a look at the free tour as it was all no pressure and relaxed and we were free to wander around and come and go from the guided tours.

We were hooked, I really like the flexibility of what this company offers but would like some real world feedback.

So does anyone here have any experience of this timeshare club? Specifically this one and not any other company.....

http://www.marriott-vacations.com/travel/index.html

It's quite a large investment to make so before making the decision I'd like to know if there are any major pitfalls.

Why not just rent there or a similar resort every year instead - from what I have seen the service charges every year probably almost equate to the cost of getting a discounted deal in an equivalent resort (there might also be a cleaning charge every time you use the place as well as the annual charge).


This would offer far more flexibility....


Of all the timeshare places Marriott does seem to be the most appealing - we stayed in a Wyndham aparthotel that was very nice but the rent was $53 a night around Christmas so you can imagine, I would not be tempted to buy in when I can rent for so much less. (and gives me the ultimate flexibility).

Alan_M_2

costapkt wrote: »

I f it is Timeshare be very careful, apart from the large up front fee for joining there is usually a yearly maintenance fee to pay as well. Depending on what Club you join this can cost up to and over a thousand quid.

This is one of the reasons that many Timeshare owners are trying to escape. Another point to consider is getting your weeks when you want them. If you have children you might not be able to get dates in school holidays etc.

A lot of people cannot even give their Timeshare away, plenty for sale on Ebay etc.

Timeshare sales people can be economical with the truth , so beware.
For more info on Timeshare go to Timesharetalkforums on that site you will find plenty of info and all the latest scams.

Remember Timeshare like a pet is for life.

They were quite above board with the fees and charges (including cleaning fees which were included in the annual maintainance charge) so financially I'm quite aware of what I'm entering. Also I generally stay in Marriott or Ritz Carlton (owned by Marriott) whenever I travel - I'm a Marriott rewards member. I like the hotels, the service etc

My partner has MS, we don't go out a great deal in daily life so when we do go abroad we tend to splash out and enjoy where we go and make it a three week event to warrant the travelling.

What was interested in was the actualy operation of the scheme, is it difficult to capture the dates you want....are the points swapping worthwhile etc...

odowdchr

Alan_M wrote: »

They were quite above board with the fees and charges (including cleaning fees which were included in the annual maintainance charge) so financially I'm quite aware of what I'm entering. Also I generally stay in Marriott or Ritz Carlton (owned by Marriott) whenever I travel - I'm a Marriott rewards member. I like the hotels, the service etc

My partner has MS, we don't go out a great deal in daily life so when we do go abroad we tend to splash out and enjoy where we go and make it a three week event to warrant the travelling.

What was interested in was the actualy operation of the scheme, is it difficult to capture the dates you want....are the points swapping worthwhile etc...

A good idea would be to look at a resale site and see what they're being resold for...how much 3 weeks cost you......£60K?
We did the presentation at Son Antem, Majorca and at the amazing JW in Phuket (if you want jaw dropping luxury)
Ultimately, we couldn't see the need to buy when we could easily rent from Marriott or an owner, with no future obligation from us. Plus we could vary the dates if our situation changed.

Alan_M_2

3 weeks was going to be about £50K but at the Platinum grade, and the apartment we were choosing to take had the ability to be broken down into two units effectively giving us 6 weeks a year.

I did have a look at the resales and they are actually very close to current market value which was promising.

I take your point about renting though....we're still weighing up the pro's and con's

CAE

Try this timeshare users group forum - this link is to the Marriott part of the site

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=29

Alan_M_2

CAE wrote: »

Try this timeshare users group forum - this link is to the Marriott part of the site

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=29

Outstanding link, just what I was looking for. Feedback from owners.

Many thanks.

tharwood

My parents and I have been Marriott Vacation CLub Owners at Club Son Antem for 8 years now which is almost when it opened!

In terms of resale we bought our Gold week for around £13,000 back then and its now worht in the region of £27000.

We have also visited shadow ridge and palm springs in california. Its a very relaxing scheme and after a while it does feel like you are travelling from home to home.

As you will know Marriott hotels and the people they employ are of a high calibre. Out of the 8 years we have only had one bad year due to the villa not being clean enough.
We got back last week from this years trip and were delighted to see that the villas have been redecorated and kitted out with all new equipment.

My parents are retiring this year and the whole reason why they bought a timeshare is so that they could afford to have 5* holidays well into there 70s.
The maintainance is about £500 which if you want to go in a prime week is not even close to the price you would have to pay for a villa of this standard. If we do not wish to use the timeshare rental values are approx 300-400 per night for our villa, which is a pretty good return..

Yes it is a big commitment but Marriott are not some dodgy pyramid business operating out of a portacabin... This is a global brand who have a reputation to uphold, they are out to make a profit yes but not to scam people..

The reward and VIP scheme for marriott hotels is also very lucrative if you are a gold or above owner, we can rent other peoples villa around the world from around $25 a night... and get reasonable discounts for staying in other JWmarriott hotels.