of Issue #85 - Timesharing Today

Transcription

TimeSharing
Today
$4.
®
The Trusted Independent Voice of Vacation Ownership since 1991
Issue #85
Jan/Feb, 2006
Resorts in Cancun Survive
Tourists evacuated from hotel zone during hurricane
By Rosalie E. Leposky
As Hurricane Wilma approached Cancún, Mexico, in late October, 2005, government officials ordered an evacuation of the city’s beachfront hotel zone and began requiring hotels and
resorts to transport their occupants to shelters downtown on the mainland. This edict frustrated the management of Royal Resorts, who had sought without success to have their five
resort complexes in the hotel zone – Club Internacional de Cancún, The Royal Caribbean, The
Royal Islander, The Royal Mayan, and The Royal Sands – designated as hurricane shelters.
Together, the five resorts contain 1,127 two-bedroom villas.
“We designed and built our resorts
to a stricter standard than the South Florida
Building Code enacted following Hurricane Andrew in 1992,” says Richard Anthony Corso, Royal Resorts’ chief operating officer. Royal Resorts is convinced
that their resorts will withstand whatever
Mother Nature deals to them.
Corso and his staff tried for 12 hours
to negotiate the shelter designation with
officials of the Quintana Roo state government and with Mexian federal officials.
When their request was denied, owners
and guests in residence at the resorts were
evacuated, along with the resorts’ security and front-desk staff, to 14 downtown
shelters in one- and two-story school
buildings, a church, and the building housing the Sindicato de Taxistas de Andrés
Quintana Roo (taxi drivers’ union headquarters). All resorts in the Cancún hotel
zone were evacuated.
The evacuation order came about 6
PM on Thursday, October 20th. Owners
and guests were sent to their villas to get
their passports, airline tickets, a change
of clothes, and the pillows and bedding
from their beds. They were instructed to
Palapa under reconstruction
(Continued on page 11)
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TimeSharing Today
Page 3
TIMESHARING
TODAY
(ISSN 0000-1069) is published bimonthly at $24 for 12 issues by
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TODAY, 26 Franklin St., Tenafly,
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Distribution is primarily by mail to
subscribers, with limited distribution at
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are copyrighted by TimeSharing Today,
Inc. Contact us for reprint permission.
DISCLAIMER
TimeSharing Today makes no independent investigation of the properties, products or services advertised or
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that are submitted with the appropriate fee. Accordingly, we cannot accept
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ARTICLES AND LETTERS
All published articles and letters become the property of TimeSharing Today and may be republished by it in any
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Contributors of articles and letters published in TimeSharing Today will be
compensated as follows:
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HOW TO CONTACT US
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871-4304, by fax at 201/871-4305 or
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Access to Online Edition, Resort
Ratings, Resale Value Tracker, etc. is
through the Subscriber Only section.
Current username: timeshare
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Jan/Feb, 2006
Hurricane stories
We have a lot of information in this issue about the hurricanes that hit New
Orleans, Florida and Mexico because thousands of vacation plans have been
thrown into disarray. While these storms hit months ago, the effects of the
hurricanes continue to be felt as the resorts and communities work to restore
buildings, infrastructure and recreational facilities. A tremendous number of timeshare owners have been impacted by the storms and their aftermath.
In the short term, many owners found themselves with plane reservations
to visit a resort that was not open. Some of their stories will be found in the
articles in this issue. Other owners were unable to bank their weeks because
their home resort suffered damage. The good news is that most resorts are
already restored, being repaired, rebuilding or making plans to do so.
Notwithstanding the inconveniences, if we do not live in Florida or along the
Gulf Coast, most of us realize that the hurricanes were exactly that: incoveniences.
When one considers the plight of the many thousands whose homes and businesses were wiped out, having to change our vacation plans was not such a
terrible problem.
Renewals
Here we go again. Every year in November and December, we get overwhelmed with subscription renewals. We love it! However, we are never able
to record all those renewals before the labels for the Jan/Feb issue must be
printed. As a result, many readers who have renewed may still find their old
expiration number on their labels. Please bear with us and be assured that your
renewals will all be entered before our next issue comes out.
Pet Friendly
We are now in the process of establishing a list of pet friendly timeshare
resorts. If subscribers write to us or email [email protected] with the names
of resorts they know to be pet-friendly, we will add them to the list to be published in TSToday magazine and maintained online.
Suggestions
This is your magazine. We publish articles that we believe will be of interest
to timeshare owners or reflect the views of timeshare owners that should be
shared with other owners and the supply side of the timeshare industry. Longtime subscribers will recognize this plea that we make from time to time. How
can we make this magazine better for you? What other types of articles or
features should we include in TSToday magazine? What should we discontinue?
Most of our readers have access to the Internet and know about our Website
at www.tstoday.com. We believe the Website provides an important supplement to the magazine by enabling us to archive and update material previously
published in the magazine. Again, we need your suggestions. How can we
make the Website more useful to you? What ought we discontinue?
We are pleased with the response we are getting to our monthly email
newsletter, TimeSharing Today Express. What additonal features would you
like to see in this newsletter? If you aren’t yet getting this valuable benefit from
your subscription, send an email with your name, address and email address to
[email protected], subject: Express.
www.tstoday.com for back issues, message boards, Resale Value Tracker and much more
TimeSharing Today
Page 4
Jan/Feb, 2006
Letters to the Editor
Where the directories
have gone
I read with interest a letter in your
Sep/Oct issue on “Missing Directory”.
One RCI member is having difficulty getting one Directory and I received seven
(7). Early September, I received a heavy
parcel from RCI containing 5 RCI Directories, 5 RCI Points Partners Program Catalogues and 5 2005/2006 Disclosure Guides.
I phoned RCI Customer Service and told
them of their expensive error (mailing them
all to me in Canada). I was told not to send
them back because of the expense but to
give the extras to my friends and family.
Then a couple of days later, September 7th, I received yet another package
consisting of one RCI Directory, Points
Partners Catalogue and Disclosure Guide.
This time I faxed RCI giving the details of
their error and stated I was appalled to see
such a waste of money.
ONE DAY LATER, on September 8th
I received the 7th copy so I sent the same
fax again adding their computers must be
out of order - I had now received the 7th
copy and to please advise what was happening. I finally got a phone call telling
me that 7 requests had been submitted and
they were looking into the error.
What
a costly mistake! To date, I have not received an explanation.
Lorna Oswald, Kelowna BC
Different choices
on points
For what it’s worth, we paid the $2,500
fee to RCI Points precisely BECAUSE we
were told that points system has certain
priority over weeks owners when it comes
to fulfilling requests. That was a selling
“point” ...so we would be unhappy if that
system were changed.
What do you think about that?
Gary Birchler
****
I have always felt that buying into
points, after having bought the timeshare
week once, is a very bad investment. I
didn’t let them talk me into it, even though
I went to a number of presentations. I am
now glad that I didn’t. At least I know I
have the weeks in my home resorts, and I
am a little richer for it. I own 4 timeshares.
Leslie Ellery, Massachusetts
Dummies book
Editors note: In the last issue, we
printed a letter Robert Wayland had written to Wiley Publishing about the proposed Timeshare Vacations for Dummies.
Among other things, Mr. Wayland stated
that the author, Lisa Ann Schreier has
“strong ties to the timeshare industry”
and had requested that our subscribers
should provide input to her only if it was
not negative.
Although I attempt to adhere to my
policy of not answering each and every
positive or negative comment on either of
my books, “Surviving A Timeshare
Presentation...Confessions From The
Sales Table” or “Timeshare Vacations For
Dummies,” I will when I am so grossly misquoted and misrepresented.
When the publisher and editor of
TimeSharing Today graciously allowed to
solicit comments from timeshare owners
in a recent issue, I was anticipating more
than enough material to fill the “Tips, Hints
and Helpful Information From Owners”
section of the book. Much to my surprise,
I received less than five (5) responses.
Consequently, that section of the book
was dropped, although the comments that
I did receive did make it into the book.
If Mr. Wayland would care to review
the TimeSharing Today piece in question,
I asked for CONSTRUCTIVE comments,
and I did not, in any way, shape or form
say I “did not want to hear from anyone
who had negative things to say,” as he
alleges. If Mr. Wayland or anyone else
wants to know the difference between
CONSTRUCTIVE and NEGATIVE, I’ll be
happy to explain.
While I am not certain of Mr.
Wayland’s editing qualifications, if he
wanted to either review the manuscript or
submit any or all of his 14 pertinent and
very well-thought out questions, he
should have contacted me as I requested,
not the publisher.
Finally, in response to my so-called
“strong ties to the developers of the timeshare industry,” I encourage Mr. Wayland
and any other nay-sayers to read my first
book, attend any of my many lectures
around the country or read any of the almost 75 columns I wrote for The Time
www.tstoday.com for back issues, Resort Report Cards, articles on resorts and much more
TimeSharing Today
Page 5
share Beat. “Strong ties to the developers?” Be serious. I am decidedly against
their marketing and sales tactics, their financing, their strong-arm techniques and
their miserable attempts to change 30 years
of well deserved, poor reputation. The
product can be good for some people,
despite the industry.
Lisa Ann Schreier
Kudos to us
We enjoy your magazine a lot and we
read each issue twice to make sure we
didn’t miss anything. We have been receiving your magazine for about four
years.
We own ten timeshares and couldn’t
think of living without Timesharing Today and the wealth of information you
bring to your readers. It covers such a
myriad of subjects all of great interest. We
have learned so much from your magazine
and readers’ experiences, which have
helped us, navigate through the timeshare
jungle.
Your magazine is well organized and
written. Our compliments go to you and
to your staff. We thank you for this.
We recommend your magazine to everyone we meet who owns a timeshare in
our travels and carry the latest two issues
with us wherever we go. Keep up the great
work. Have you ever considered publishing your magazine monthly?
Alexander and Caroline Steiner,
Ramsey, NJ
Pet-friendly resorts
I would like to add to the letter that
George Walling wrote to the editor in the
Nov/Dec issue. I too would probably buy
more timeshares if more of them would allow pets. Since we do not travel without
our dog it is almost impossible to get a
reservation at the limited number of resorts
that are pet friendly.
I have had my request into RCI since
last May for a pet friendly resort in February. Nothing and as a result I will probably
loose my week.
Since more and more hotels are becoming pet friendly we will just do our traveling using hotels and sell our timeshare.
With the increase in maintenance fees each
year this probably would be a beneficial
thing to do. $600.00 per year maintenance,
$100.00 property taxes and very limited
places to go, if any; it is beneficial to sell
and travel using hotels that you can always get into.
Timeshare industry wake up.
Marilyn Jackson
I read with interest George Walling’s
letter to the editor. I agree with Mr. Walling - we often do not use our timeshare
weeks due to the cost of boarding our
Shih-Tzu. Do you know of any publication that might list pet friendly resorts?
Lucille Schiller
Editors reply: If you google pet
friendly resorts on the Internet, you will
find numerous sites that provide information on lodgings that accept pets, but no
designation for timeshares. Take a look
at www.PetFriendlyTimeshares.com.
We are now in the process of establishing a list of pet friendly timeshare resorts. If subscribers write to us or email
[email protected] with the names of resorts they know to be pet-friendly, we will
add them to the list to be published in the
magazine and maintained online.
Wonderful Cancun
I would like to concur in the wonderful article by Frances Davies titled “In defense of Cancun” which was published in
your Nov/Dec issue. Our first week in
Cancun in 1995 was not memorable. We
exchanged into a substandard resort (Sun
Club at Continental Villas Plaza). However,
we did enjoy the beach, pool, dinning and
many other activities. While there I learned
about the Royal Mayan and was fortunate enough to obtain an exchange there
for 1996. We had a fabulous time and
bought a week while we were there.
Then the next year we bought a beach
front unit at the Royal Mayan, which we
really enjoy. Finally, in 1999 we purchased
a penthouse in the new Royal Sands which
opened in 2000 on schedule. Our vacations there have always been totally en-
Jan/Feb, 2006
joyable. The employees seem like our extended family and they treat all their guests
like royalty. The name Royal Resorts is
not just an empty phrase. Cancun is a
wonderful resort area and offers something for people of all ages.
Like most owners, we never exchange
our weeks there and look forward to returning year after year. We have visited
many other resorts but nothing really compares to the amenities, service, and dining
experience afforded to guests of the Royal
Resorts in Cancun. They were closed for
only three weeks after hurricane Wilma and
reopened on November 5, 2005 to welcome
their returning members.
Maury M. Tepper, Hilton Head, SC
Value of vacation
insurance
My wife and I never bank one of our
home resorts, the Surf Club on Marco Island, Florida. We always stay the second
week of November and never have had
bad weather in the past 16 seasons. Well,
Mother Nature finally caught up to our
perfect record and a hurricane hit Marco
Island very hard. One week before our
November departure, the resort called and
we were told they could not honor our
week and they are closed until further notice.
Not only did we lose our week, we
also lost our maintenance fee and firstever $400 assessment to repair all the balconies. TimeSharing Today came to the
rescue again.
We read about VacationGuard Insurance in TimeSharing Today and called to
inquire about coverage due to weather
related interruption. We will now be covered and should never lose our money
again, thanks to TimeSharing Today . We
learned another lesson of why every timeshare owner should subscribe to your
magazine.
We had one week left in the bank and,
on short notice, we were able to trade a
week at Celebrity World Resort in
Kissimmee, Florida for the same week.
Thanks again to you, since we had banked
the week with one of your advertisers, Dial
an Exchange.
The information found in your magazine is without question worth many times
over the price we pay to subscribe.
Eileen & Jack Anderson, Palmyra, VA
TimeSharing Today
Page 6
How I resolved Club
Sunterra issues
In March, 2004, I received a statement
from Club Sunterra which indicated that l
owed an additional $900.30 in fees. Immediately, I contacted the Las Vegas office
via the phone number (1-877- ClubSun)
listed for such inquiries and reached a representative who, after reviewing my account, could not give me an explanation
for the billing, but she promised to “research the matter.”
I gave Sunterra what I considered a
reasonable amount of time to respond to
my inquiry before I called again. This time
the Sunterra representative concluded that
I had not been credited with the original
payments I had made in 2003 and I was
asked to fax my check and Visa statement
relative to the payment I had remitted. I
did as instructed and waited in vain for a
response back from Club Sunterra.
To complicate things, I discovered
that Sunterra had made two charges of $634
on my Visa. One of these I had authorized
to cover my 2004 dues, but the other
charge was a mystery. I now contacted
my home resort and was informed I would
have to contact Sunterra. I was reluctant
to go this route again, so wrote a letter to
the corporate office in Florida, but didn’t
get a reply.
I finally concluded that the only way
I could effectively put some pressure on
Club Sunterra was to file a complaint with
the Las Vegas Better Business Bureau,
which I filed on April 2005. In May 2005, I
received a letter, forwarded to me by the
BBB that was written by Sunterra representative Linda Watts, who identified herself as the Executive Resolution Service
Specialist. In this letter she thanked them
for the opportunity to respond to my compliant and she gave them a justification
for the charges and indicted that at the
present time my account had a zero balance. In addition, her letter stated that if I
had any further questions I was urged to
call 1-877- ClubSun. Yeh, sure!!
Fortunately, at the bottom of Linda’s
letter to the BBB, she listed her fax and
phone number. After two attempts to contact her and after making it known that I
attended to write this letter to
TimeSharing Today, I received a call from
Jan/Feb, 2006
Linda. I went through the scenario and
the lack of any response by Sunterra reps
and at this time she informed me that she
was in a position to resolve the issue. Sure
enough, I received a response back from
her that indeed, Club Sunterra did owe me
money for over charges and that a check
was in the mail.
I have since learned that when you
call the “number,” the representative you
reach can call up your account record
which is no more than a statement of your
charges and payments. Their response is
to write a synopsis of your problem on
the screen, which is then forwarded to
someone in the Florida office.
Since one of my primary objectives is
to prevent other Sunterra members, with
similar matters to resolve, from going
through the same gauntlet I was subjected
to, I would suggest they call Linda Watts,
Executive Resolution Services Specialist,
at Ph. 702.304.7209 or Fax: 702.304.7136.
This will have to suffice until Club Sunterra
provides its membership with an alternate
and more effective method for conflict
resolution.
Jerry Loynachan, Flagstaff, AZ
TimeSharing Today
Page 7
Report from New Orleans
Just wanted to let you know that Dial
An Exchange (my timeshare exchange
company in San Diego) has recently confirmed my reservations at the Hotel De
L’Eau Vive (House of Living Waters Hotel) in New Orleans. I spent last weekend
there and have had such a wonderful time
that I plan to stay for two more weeks.
The City of New Orleans is coming
alive once again. Cafe DuMonde at night
is wonderful and the spirit of New Orleans
is rising above the anguishes brought on
by Katrina. I feel very safe now that the
bad elements have escaped the City and
the NOPD is doing a fine job regardless of
what others might say, especially in the
media.
I want you to write an article to encourage more timeshare owners to come
back to the Crescent City and enjoy the
wonderful entertainment, food and style
that it has been known for several generations.
Donna Mahrous
Jan/Feb, 2006
TimeSharing Today
Page 8
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Jan/Feb, 2006
Book Review
“Timeshare Vacations
for Dummies” by Lisa Ann
Schreier is a book for your
friends who are thinking
about getting into timesharing. Most of our longtime
subscribers would find that
much of the content of this
book covers basic information they already know.
However, even the most sophisticated timeshare owners and exchangers are
likely to learn something.
At the outset, the author cautions that the book
is not designed to be read
straight through as a textbook, but is rather to be
used as a reference book. This approach explains why some
material is repeated at various places throughout the book. If
one were to disregard the author and read the book straight
through, this repetition would be annoying. However, it makes
perfect sense if the book is used as intended.
The book is divided into five sections. “Understanding Timeshare” provides a general definition of timeshares and their types,
the basic economics of timeshare and frequently asked questions. This section was well done, except that the economic analysis was so simplistic as to be inaccurate; in calculating the cost of
timeshare ownership, no consideration was given to the amount
that an owner might recoup on a resale of the unit. On the other
hand, the author does repeatedly remind prospective owners
about the ongoing maintenance costs.
“Buying Timeshare” deals with timeshare presentations, financing, buying resale and questions to ask before committing
to a purchase.
“Discovering a World of Timeshare” addresses the locations of timeshare’s around the world and discusses exchanging.
“Using Your Timeshare” includes information about using
your home resort, how to sell or rent your timeshare and new
variations on timeshare ownership, such as condo hotels and
vacation clubs.
The last part of the book “The Part of Tens” discusses some
unusual time shares, important timeshare issues and sales pitches
to avoid.
The book includes a lot of statistical information compiled in
easy-to-read chart or table format. For example “Where the
Timeshares Are” shows the number of timeshare resorts in every
state and country throughout the world. The Comparison Chart
of Exchange Companies will look familiar to subscribers as the
one published in the Jul/Aug 2004 issue of TimeSharing Today.
Overall, the book presents, as one might expect, a positive
view of the benefits of timeshare ownership and provides solid
information for people considering a timeshare purchase. The
author’s enthusiasm for timesharing does not does not inhibit
her from criticizing developer marketing excesses and calling attention to resale bargains to be had.
TimeSharing Today
Page 9
Jan/Feb, 2006
FOCUS ON: Elite Island Yacht Club, BVI
By Sandra Jordan
In my opinion, there
is absolutely no way that
you can achieve this type
of relaxation on a landbased trip, because of the
intoxicating intersection
of water, sun and sand.
When you are on a catamaran such as this, you
are close to nature in a
way that is not possible
on a large cruise ship or a
land-based vacation. You
are close to yourself. If
you listen carefully, you can hear the spirits that are speaking. There is something
about sleeping under the stars with the
waves as your mattress, eating under the
sky with the ocean as your table. At any
point in time you can simply jump off the
boat and connect in a very real way with
the water and the sea creatures.
This is my kind of trip. In fact, it takes
a certain type of person to truly love this
type of trip, and you should be sure that
you are one before planning this adventure.
The boats and cruise club:
The Elite Island Yacht Club (EIY) is a
club of crewed, luxury 45 foot catamarans
available for rent or exchange. This resort
is part of the Festiva group of resorts. The
boat we took, the Abilexis, was docked at
the Nanny Cay Marina on the island of
Tortola. The ride from the airport on Beef
Island is about 30-40 minutes, over a hilly
and winding road.
Once on board, you leave the world
behind. We did not know what was going
on in the world, and neither did anyone
we passed along the way during the week.
Although not being “plugged in” seemed
important at first, it became irrelevant
within a matter of hours. What really mattered was the fact that, for one week, nothing mattered.
The catamaran was a Lagoon 440, a
44’8" sailboat currently being used by
the EIY. This boat was relatively new and
quite stable and comfortable. Each stateroom had two ceiling hatches, a queen
sized bed, and a marine head, shower, and
sink, combined within a
small “water closet” with
a door. A person must simply stand in front of the
sink and use the hand
shower, all water draining
through a bilge and pump
in the floor. It is challenging to even turn around in
the head, not to mention
taking care of personal hygiene matters while the
boat is in transit. There was
a small area for clothes,
two drawers and reading
lights over the beds.
A cruise on a four cabin (6 guests
and 2 crew) catamaran is something that
not everyone will adjust to. The trip requires a sense of adventure, a spirit of flexibility and a love of people and water.
On our boat, which had air conditioning, the crew did not turn the air on until
the evening. So little time is spent in the
cabins, this makes sense. The main deck
area is also enclosed and under air conditioning. The outside salon contains a reasonably sized open seating table. You can
go to the front (“the bow”) of the cat and
lay on one of two trampolines or sit in seat
wells also near the bow. Plus, when the
captain is motoring or sailing the boat, you
can sit next to the captain in the helm station, and catch the wind.
usually by the next morning. The weather
and scenery in the BVIs is awesome and
there is very little chance that you can remain tense in this environment.
Our crew was from South Africa, and
this seems to be quite common. The South
Africans are known for sailing and they
train people to captain and crew sailing
vessels in various parts of the world. The
two crew members were quite young
though, and this was surprising to me. Our
captain was only 23 and his assistant was
only 25. While they were generally kind
people, and seemed to be knowledgeable,
there were some areas where their youth
showed in comparison to the TradeWinds
Cruise Club, a similar program that I took
four years ago, also in the BVIs.
A typical day is soooooo taxing!
What to do? Where to begin? The
choices seem to multiply with each wave:
eat, swim, snorkel, dive, stroll on a deserted
beach, sunbathe, drink, read, sleep, sail
the boat, or look at the scenery and do
The daily “grind:”
This trip allows a traveler to totally
relax and let the crew do the work. Some
of the passengers insisted on “helping”
the crew, and this caused some humorous
tension. I, for one, did not mind at all that
I was not expected to clear the table, or to
set the table or to cook the meals.
All meals were prepared and quite
good. Prior to the trip, you fill out a passenger information form for any particular
allergies or food and drink requests. The
crew will make sure that these items are
supplied for your trip. There is an open
bar.
One thing is for sure: if you are at all
tense when you arrive (quite possible,
given the airlines’ connections and delays) you will chill out within a short time,
TRI WEST
Home of the
Timeshare
BLUEBOOK©
& Vacation Gallery
800-423-6377
triwest-timeshare.com
TimeSharing Today
Page 10
Here are the highlights
of the itinerary:
absolutely nothing. All week you will live
in your bathing suit, needing a sun dress
or shorts only occasionally. We were barefoot all the time on boat, and sometimes
on the islands too. I packed as light as I
could, but still there were things that I
brought but did not wear. I only took 3
sundresses, two shorts, two bathing suits
and one pair of white summer pants and
two tee shirts. Still too much. For most of
the time, I lived in my bathing suits.
The check-in is at 5pm on Saturday. I
understand that they serve cocktails and
then dinner, but my flight was very late.
The boat does not leave until the next
morning, so one need not worry about
missing the trip because of airline delays,
unless it is a very, very long delay.
The shipmates were nice people,
something that folks usually worry about
on a trip like this. If you exchange in
through RCI, you cannot control your
companions. But if you are an owner, you
can secure the entire boat and take your
family and friends. The crew told us that
strangers quickly become friends and that
most of the people who take these trips
are fun-loving folks who want to have a
great time. I found this to be true.
On a bright Sunday morning, our
boat began its cruise around the various islands of the BVIs. After we
ate breakfast and then left the dock
and motored over to the Caves at
Norman Island. Once there, we were
able to get into the water and snorkel through this area filled with fish.
After a bit of time, the boat left to go
to the “Willie T,” a floating bar/restaurant. Then off to Peter Island and Dead
Man’s Bay where we spent the night.
On Monday there was a morning dive
near Salt Island and the R.M.S. Rhone
wreck. The Rhone was a British packet ship
which was wrecked during a hurricane in
1867. Today, she is one of the Caribbean’s
most popular scuba diving sites and a park
has been created around the wreck.
After the RMS Rhone we sailed off to
Cooper Island where we had lunch on
board. We then sailed to North Sound and
snorkeled in caves while resting on water
noodles.
When we left North Sound, we traveled to the Bitter End Yacht Club and Saba
Rock, spending the night on a mooring at
the marina.
On Tuesday we hoisted the sails and
went to Anegada Island. The sailing was
fabulous and the captain allowed some of
the passengers who had sailing experience
to take the helm. This was a highlight of
the trip for those who wanted to feel the
wind under their control. The helm is located on the top deck, center, which allows a panoramic view of the entire sailing experience.
While moored at Anegada, we took a
ride to the other side of the island to visit
Jan/Feb, 2006
Cow Wreck beach. After a relaxing day at
the beach, we motored back to the other
side, took the dinghy to our catamaran,
and refreshed for dinner. Tonight was the
first dinner ashore and it was a fabulous
lobster dinner on Anegada beach under
the moon light with sand in your toes. In
the morning, we sailed to Virgin Gorda.
Wednesday: On Virgin Gorda the main
attraction is The Baths. This is a section
of huge boulders on the beach and our
task was to make it through the boulders
to the other side to Devil’s Beach. We
spent the night at Marina Cay.
Thursday: This morning we dove in a
shallow (30 foot) coral reef before breakfast. This relaxing dive allowed a close view
of fabulous coral reefs and a drift dive in
the easy currents to carry the divers back
towards the boat. After breakfast, we sailed
to Sandy Cay. This is a deserted island –
the stuff of fantasies. It has some foliage
but is made only for walking, swimming,
photographing and relaxing. In the early
afternoon we left to sail to the beach on
Jost Van Dyke Island. Here there was a
small bar and some chairs, hammocks, and
lots of soft white sand. I grabbed a book the afternoon was all mine!
Friday: This morning was spent on
water noodles, swimming to the beach;
lying on a hammock under two palm trees;
lunching on cheeseburgers; afternoon
shopping in Soper Hole marina; then return to Nanny Cay for the last night.
The cruise provides all meals, except
two dinners ashore, including the dinner
on the last evening at the Nanny Cay
Marina. The travelers were so sorry to see
the week come to an end, but for me, at
least, the memories will remain vivid in my
mind.
All in all, this was one fabulous trip! I
have learned not to sweat the little things
in life, and I believe that this attitude allows me to enjoy that much more. With
that said, when can I go back??
TimeSharing Today
Page 11
Cancun Resorts Survive
(Continued from front page.)
return to their resort’s reception area
to await bus transportation downtown.
First Evacuation Ever
“This was our first evacuation order in our 28-year history,” says
Armando Millet Vales, Royal Resorts’
operations coordinator. The son of
Armando Millet Molina, one of the Royal
Resorts’ directors, Millet Vales oversees
housekeeping, guest services, villa maintenance, and security. “In September of
1988, we did not evacuate Club
Internacional de Cancún or the newly
opened The Royal Mayan for Hurricane
Gilbert. Guests stayed in their villas, shut
their windows and curtains, and stayed
away from their windows. They filled bathtubs with water and took advantage of our
floor plans, which include windowless
bathrooms.”
Royal Resorts also did not evacuate
for Hurricane Ivan in September of 2004 or
Hurricane Emily in July of 2005.
“For Wilma, it took about three hours
to bus about 2,900 guests and 300 employees from all five of our properties,” Millet
Vales says.
Some Royal Resorts owners made
private arrangements and rode out the
storm at other locations. “On Tuesday,
October 18th, we went to bed expecting a
tropical depression, and got up to a category 5 storm,” says Janet Grommet of
Spokane, Washington, a customer-service
representative for an international insurance company. “We followed the storm
on The Weather Channel and by telephone conversations with friends in
Florida. Evacuation was sudden and chaotic. Mexican police took us to a fellow
American’s private home on the edge of
the hotel zone.”
A few Royal Resorts owners stockpiled supplies and hid out in their villas,
avoiding detection during the evacuation.
They fared better than those in the official
shelters.
“Twenty to 30 adults were assigned
to each classroom. The accommodations
were very rough,” Millet Vales says.
service failed, Millet Vales and Javier Vales,
operations coordinator, organized the staff
members by phone. Both men were in contact with Royal Resorts’ office in Mérida,
about 200 miles west of Cancún, to discuss and resolve shelter problems. Pay
phones worked for a few more hours, enabling collect calls to be made to the
Mérida office.
“We canvassed our guests and found
out special needs,” Millet Vales says. Employees and family members in Mérida
purchased and packed food, supplies, and
medicines into six big trucks for transport
to Cancún as soon as the storm abated.
Jan/Feb, 2006
Downtown Cancún’s electrical power failed gradually
from late Thursday night to the
early hours of Friday morning.
As the storm raged on
Friday, two courageous employees – van drivers William
Jiménez and Andy Pech –
made one last trip to the warehouse at The Royal Mayan
Resort to collect additional
supplies needed in the shelters. “It was a scary 20-kilometer [28-mile] drive,” says Millet Vales.
“Storm flooding already had washed away
parts of the road near the airport. It took
the men several hours to drive to The Royal
Mayan, load the van, and drive back.”
On Saturday, they and two other van
drivers, Hector Jara and Efrain Ake, distributed provisions and water to the shelters.
“Friday morning and part of the afternoon we distributed food and water to the
people in our shelters, including small children and seniors, until it was no longer
safe to go outside,” says Millet Vales.
“Also, Mexicans living near the shelters
Braving the Storm
Thursday night through Friday morning, until their Mexican Telcel cell-phone
TimeSharing Today
Page 12
cooked for us from their own food supplies and brought warm
food to us.
“At the height of the storm, one of the glass doors of the
Sindicato de Taxistas de Andrés Quintana Roo blew away. We
blocked the space with a classroom blackboard. The other door
held. A drain pipe in the ceiling leaked as the outside gutters filled
with debris. Guests and staff worked together to fill bags with
trash, which we used to barricade where water was coming into
the building. Cristobal Gutiérrez, an ironworker from Chicago who
was an exchange guest at The Royal Sands, connected two taxicab batteries to a lamp to give us light in the shelter. He also
explained to the other guests what to do if the windows started to
break, and helped organize the mopping up and cleaning.”
The Aftermath
About 6 AM Saturday, Hurricane Wilma’s eye stalled over
Cancún. It remained undiminished all day Saturday, and finally
Jan/Feb, 2006
moved away on Sunday. The trucks from Mérida arrived Sunday morning. Some owners and guests left the shelters Sunday night.
Monday dawned clear and gloriously cool. Most of the
Royal Resorts owners and guests returned on Monday and
started trying to deal with the Cancún managers of their airlines and travel agencies. All flights had been canceled and
the airlines did not respect previous reservations. “For two
days we lined up in a park in downtown Cancún with our
travel documents, waiting to make flight reservations,” Grommet says. “Aeromexico’s computers were down, so employees could not check reservations. They sat in the shade under big umbrellas, filling out boarding passes with pencils.”
Securing flights out of Cancún took most of the week. During that time, The Royal Sands acted as the base of operations
for British Embassy staff who coordinated the evacuation of more
than 7,500 British citizens vacationing in Cancún and the Riviera
Maya during the storm. Royal Resorts’ sales and marketing director, Mark Carney, O.B.E., is the honorary British consul for the
states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán. His office is located at The
Royal Sands.
Feeding the Hungry
Meanwhile, Royal Resorts fed two free hot meals a day to its
owners and guests, and one free hot meal per shift to employees.
“In an average week, we feed about 4,500 meals,” says Peter
Houben, Royal Resorts’ executive chef. “Our food-and-beverage
service employees operate five resort-owned restaurants, five
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TimeSharing Today
Page 13
staff dining rooms for Royal Resorts
1,800 employees, and a central production
kitchen. In the days before Hurricane
Wilma, we were about 85 percent occupied. As Wilma approached, we started
stockpiling non-perishable foods to hold
us until food shipments could resume, and
we set all of our large food coolers in their
coldest position, to help food last longer.
Only security staff were allowed to
stay on the Royal properties. Houben set
food for them in the resorts’ dining rooms,
and additional supplies in their offices.
They also had access to the resorts’ convenience stores and food-and-beverage
stocks.
Monday after the storm passed,
Houben came back to work. “Our kitchens were in good shape,” he says. “As
our owners and guests started coming
back, some sous-chefs and cooks prepared
breakfast.
“The first couple of days we used our
food stocks to produce inventive meals.
Warm cooked food softened the guests’
and employees’ pain. Some guests offered
to help. Most owners and staff understood
the problem and worked to make what
could have been a trying experience pleasant for everyone.
“Unfortunately, we had to close down
food service at 3:30 PM because of the
curfew to allow staff to get home safely.
There was no electricity at our resorts or
in town, no street lights or public transportation. We didn’t want anyone walking around in the dark.”
“Taxi drivers started to transport our
owners and guests to airline offices,” says
Millet Vales. “At first, the airport was
closed except for inbound aid workers and
military help. The frustration level rose,
but by Friday most owners and guests
had arranged flights and left.”
“By Friday afternoon,” Richard Corso
says, “we knew that Club Internacional
de Cancún could stay open. We closed
the other four Royal Resorts on Saturday
for cleanup and maintenance. We systematically checked everything.” A week later,
the other Royal Resorts opened for new
guests.
The Royal Sands had the biggest
beach-erosion problem, Corso adds, but
the seawalls there, anchored with pilings,
functioned perfectly. “They were not broken or washed out,” he reports.
Jan/Feb, 2006
Email from Carol Kemp
We received an email and photos from
subscriber Carol Kemp after she had visited Cancun during Thanksgiving week.
Here are excerpts from that email.
Seventy-five percent of Cancun will
be business as normal by December 15th.
The cruise lines have already returned to
Cozumel. In fact, the first cruise arrived in
Mid-November and the tourists on board
were welcomed by Marichis thanking them
for visiting Cozumel..
Some Statistics
Tourists at the Royal Resorts had
their welcome party at the Royal Islander
on November 20th and we all sang and
danced to “Stayin Alive” while an Associated Press Helicopter videotaped the
affair. We danced in the rain long after the
helicopter left since we were happy to be
in Cancun and wanting to support the
Mexican restoration.
Yes, my friends and I were saddened
when we first arrived in Cancun on November 18 to see the brown foliage, lots
of “broken” palm trees, storm debris
and damaged hotels. However, we were
soon cheered up as we daily watched thousands of nationals gardening and rebuilding walls that Hurricane Wilma destroyed.
Many restaurants are not open but more
than enough great places are open.
I arrived in Mexico on November 18th
and as I walked around, I was impressed
by the signs I saw showing how many
things were open and, in addition, how
the Mexican government and Fonatur was
going to rebuild, etc. There is a several
billion dollar beach Mexican government
restoration program that will start in the
next 30 days or so, plus a private beach
restoration program.
I enjoyed the beach at the Royal Islander. Since all of our beach palapas were
destroyed, our management team went to
WalMart and purchased dozens of portable beach umbrellas similar to those used
in the USA on beaches.
According to the Cancún Hotel
Association, Cancún before Hurricane Wilma had 27,379 hotel rooms.
As of November 20 – a month after
Wilma blew through – 6,765 rooms
were available for guests. Additional
rooms and restaurants re-opened for
guests each week, with many expected to accept guests by mid-December and others in January or February.
After Wilma, local public-health
officials in Cancún and Cozumel ordered restaurants and hotels to discard about 675 tons of food to avoid
potential health issues.
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TimeSharing Today
Page 15
RESORT REPORT CARDS ®
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the
Jan/Feb, 2006
Report Card ratings for each resort are
averages based on a significant number
of reports received from readers.
SEA GARDENS BEACH & TENNIS RESORT
Pompano Beach, FL
8.1
VARSITY CLUBS OF AMERICA
Tucson, AZ
8.7
Amenities and activities at resort: Four pools, whirlpool,
exercise equipment, shuffleboard, handicapped unit, tennis,
game room, spa, ping pong, entertainment, bingo, gardens,
daily activities, tiki bar, indoor parking with security patrol.
Amenities and activities at resort: Pool, hot tub, exercise
room, planned activities, tours, billiards, sports bar, Internet
access, miniature golf, grills, laundry facilities.
Amenities and activities nearby: Beach, tennis, boating,
restaurants, shopping, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling,
Butterfly World, Flamingo Gardens, race track, light house.
Amenities and activities nearby: Museums, hiking, parks,
horseback riding, Mexico, theaters, planetarium, golf, tennis, shopping, biking, casino, restaurants, saguaro desert,
biosphere, art galleries, bowling.
Unit: Furnishings: 8.1
Cleanliness: 8.3
Kitchen inventory/appliances: 8.0
Maintenance: 8.1
Construction quality: 8.0
Amenities and activities: At resort: 8.4
Nearby: 8.9
Suitable for: Young children: 7.4
Pre-teens: 7.4
Seniors: 8.6
Teenagers: 7.7
Handicapped: 7.3
Resort: Restaurant facilities: NA
Convenience store: 6.0
Grounds and maintenance: 8.5
Security: 8.6
Staff: 8.3
General hospitality: 8.6
Exchange affiliation: RCI, II
Cleanliness: 8.7
Maintenance: 8.5
Nearby: 9.3
Pre-teens: 8.1
Seniors: 8.8
Teenagers: 8.4
Handicapped: 8.3
Resort: Restaurant facilities: 8.4
Security: 9.2
Staff: 9.5
Exchange affiliation: II
Comments: Furnishings recently updated. Several on-site
pools and lots of activities. Enthusiastic staff.
Comments: Staff friendly and housekeeping is excellent.
Small units in an adult oriented resort with a homey feel.
VILLA DEL MAR
Puerto Vallarta, MX
9.0
VILLA ROMA
Callicoon, NY
7.8
Amenities and activities at resort: Tennis, water aerobics,
Spanish lessons, pools, hot tubs, gym, spa, activities, tours,
entertainment, shuffleboard, basketball, parasailing, beach.
Amenities and activities at resort: Horseback riding, rock
wall, golf, gym, tennis, pools, game room, bowling, bocce,
shuffleboard, night club, skiing, movies, bumper boats, go
carts, racquetball, snowmobile trails, bingo, daily activities.
Amenities and activities nearby: Galleries, beaches, restaurants, fishing, boating, snorkeling, scuba diving,
parasailing, excursions, horseback riding, wave runners.
Cleanliness: 7.5
Maintenance: 7.3
Nearby: 9.5
Pre-teens: 8.8
Seniors: 9.0
Teenagers: 8.8
Handicapped: 5.7
Security: 8.8
Staff: 8.3
Comments: Multi-story building but no elevators. Use of
the amenities of sister resort next door. Some units have
nice private balconies.
Amenities and activities nearby: Hiking, antiques, golf,
restaurants, racetrack, Delaware River, rafting, fishing, canoeing, casino, outlet shopping, historic buildings.
Cleanliness: 7.8
Maintenance: 7.8
Nearby: 6.4
Pre-teens: 8.5
Seniors: 8.1
Teenagers: 9.1
Handicapped: 6.7
Security: 7.1
Staff: 7.8
Comments: Much to offer all day long. Units in need of
some upgrading. Shuttle bus around resort grounds.
TimeSharing Today
Page 16
Jan/Feb, 2006
RESORT REPORT CARDS ®
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best.
Report Card ratings for each resort are
averages based on a significant number
of reports received from readers.
FAIRFIELD SAPPHIRE VALLEY
Sapphire, NC
9.1
KONA HAWAIIAN VILLAGE BY THE SEA
Kona, HI
9.1
Amenities and activities at resort: Miniature golf, pools,
exercise room, skiing, hiking, golf, playground, tennis, game
room, horseback riding, fishing, gem mining, tours, boating.
Amenities and activities at resort: Pool, Jacuzzi, tennis,
bikes, music shows, daily activities, BBQs, exercise room.
Amenities and activities nearby: Golf, shopping, hiking,
Biltmore Estate, skiing, rafting, stables, Great Smokies
National Park, Cherokee museum and casino, waterfalls.
Amenities and activities nearby: Fishing, snorkeling,
scuba diving, beach, air tours, restaurants, shopping, coffee plantations, volcanoes, hiking, whale watching, golf,
horseback riding, boating, parasailing.
Cleanliness: 9.0
Maintenance: 8.6
Nearby: 8.5
Pre-teens: 8.5
Seniors: 7.6
Teenagers: 8.1
Handicapped: 6.4
Security: 7.6
Staff: 8.8
Exchange affiliation: RCI
Cleanliness: 9.6
Maintenance: 9.5
Nearby: 9.1
Pre-teens: 7.2
Seniors: 8.9
Teenagers: 7.9
Handicapped: 6.4
Resort: Restaurant facilities: NA
Convenience store: NA
Security: 8
Staff: 9.4
Exchange affiliation: RCI
Comments: Scenic area with many quaint small towns,
winding narrow roads. Units have fireplaces, decks, washier/
dryer. Good orientation, guest socials. Hospitable staff.
Comments: Resorts within walking distance to town. Staff
is friendly and helpful. Architecture, quality of materials and
furnishings are excellent. Lush grounds.
LONDON BRIDGE RESORT
Lake Havasu, AZ
7.8
MARRIOTT’S SHADOW RIDGE
Palm Desert, CA
9.5
Amenities and activities at resort: Pools, hot tub, marina,
boat rentals, golf, tennis, activities, 24-hour desk, jogging,
video rentals, bike trails, lake, computer room, exercise room.
Amenities and activities at resort: Tennis, golf course and
school, movie theater, swimming pools, activities center,
crafts, BBQ, bocce ball, walking/jogging path.
Amenities and activities nearby: Shopping, boating, restaurants, golf, tennis fishing desert tours, gambling, jeep
desert tours, Parker Dam, flea market, picnic areas, The
London Bridge, English Village.
Amenities and activities nearby: Golf, casinos, shopping,
restaurants, museums, live theater, tours, hot air balloons,
off-road desert tours, hiking, zoo, parks, fishing, bowling.
Cleanliness: 8.4
Maintenance: 8.2
Nearby: 8.4
Pre-teens: 7.9
Seniors: 7.2
Teenagers: 7.9
Handicapped: 7.3
Security: 7.1
Staff: 8.8
Comments: Many organized activities at the resort. Excellent staff. Beautiful location next to the Colorado River.
Cleanliness: 9.2
Maintenance: 9.4
Nearby: 9.3
Pre-teens: 8.9
Seniors: 9.5
Teenagers: 8.2
Handicapped: 8.8
Security: 9.3
Staff: 9.5
Comments: Roomy units with washer/dryer. Resort will be
huge (972 units) when completed. Excellent golf course.
Nice mountain vistas.
TimeSharing Today
Page 17
Jan/Feb, 2006
EXCHANGE PLACE
Lost affiliation
In early October, my wife called Interval International to bank our February
week (#6) for 2006 at Club Cala de Palmas,
Puerto Rico. She was told by the Interval
agent that they are longer accepting weeks
from Club Cala since they are no longer
associated in any way. When she tried to
find out what happened, she was advised
to contact the resort directly for information.
keep our membership active until such time
as Club Cala’s villas are renovated and
ready for exchange. We do not know when
this will occur.
As owners of a 3-bedroom, week six,
we now find ourselves in a predicament.
Due to circumstance beyond our control,
we cannot go to Club Cala in February
and we cannot trade. We feel we should
be compensated by Club Cala’s new management for our lost week. Perhaps then
will provide us with another week once
Club Cala is renovated.
Please share this information with
your readers.
Phil and Kathy Bazicki
Happy Fairfield owner
The next morning I called the resort
and was told that the new manager of Club
Cala did not renew the contract with Interval and all affiliation ended effective October 1, 2005.
We have been corresponding with
ResortCom International, the new manager
of Club Cala, on a regular basis.
ResortCom International has been talking
to II trying to bring back the affiliation.
Basically, they told us that we should be
able to bank our week.
Unfortunately, that is not the whole
story. I called II today and spoke to Customer Services and they informed me that
we cannot bank our week and yes, they
are working with the new management.
However it will be a while before any owner
of Club Cala will be able to trade their week.
They told me that this past year people
that exchanged for Club Cala were turned
away by Club Cala and II had to relocate
the exchange. Many people were very
unhappy with the conditions at Club Cala.
We just renewed our II membership
for 5 years and now we cannot trade. II
gracefully refunded our money and will
We were very surprised at the negative reports on Fairfield Resorts in your
last issue and feel the need to counter
these negatives. Our experiences with
Fairfield have been fantastic, particularly
our stay at Royal Sea Cliff (where we own)
in Kona, Hawaii last June-July. We wanted
3 two-bedroom units, as our five children,
their spouses, and two of our grandchildren were joining us for a week on the Big
Island of Hawaii and going on to Kauai
for another week. It was imperative that
we go between June 15 and Aug. 5, as one
daughter is a school teacher, and the
grandchildren were in school.
As an owner, I called Fairfield a full
year ahead of time and set up two of the
needed units, and they very accommodatingly set up two adjacent units and told
me a third unit’s number that I could call at
10 months ahead (using points from another Fairfield source). I was able to confirm the third unit when I called 10 months
ahead time. The units were all adjacent,
and very nicely furnished.
Unfortunately, one of the units had
somewhat of a water beetle infestation and
the management promptly found another
unit just around the corner, and immediately moved our daughter and her family.
To make the story even better, when I
could get only two units on Kauaii for our
second week with another company, I was
able to book a week through Fairfield at
Outrigger’s Kiahuna Plantation.
As I said, our Fairfield experiences
have been very satisfactory since we first
bought in Branson in 2000. Unfortunately,
our experiences with RCI are another story
entirely.
Joanne & Frank Breuning
Underrated resort, gone
Just prior to traveling to our vacation
at Chateau Charmant in Gulfport, Mississippi, I received the Jul/Aug issue of Timesharing Today. To my surprise there was a
Resort Report Card featuring the resort we
were heading to. After reading it, I knew
we must have made a mistake. The overall
rating was a 6.8 with the lowest ratings
TimeSharing Today
given to cleanliness, maintenance and
furnishings.
As we pulled in to the resort, I was
amazed at how beautiful it was. The
grounds were wonderful, the pools clean,
and the unit buildings were very nice. We
checked in with a terrific woman Mary, who
gives the term Southern Hospitality its
meaning. When we entered our unit, knowing it wasn’t going to be the best, I found
a spacious, clean and tastefully decorated
unit. The furniture was new, the kitchen
was totally furnished with everything you
could want and the washer and dryer were
full size, which is unusual. It was one of
the best units we have ever stayed in.
The resort included two pools with a
hot tub, shuffleboard, tennis courts, and
full security. There was a welcome meeting in which Mary indicated all the tours
and places to go in the area as well as a
wine and cheese party. The Gulf is across
the street from the resort with beautiful
fine white sand.
I am disappointed in the Report Card
featured in TimeSharing Today regarding
Chateau Charmant. What were these
people thinking? I would appreciate in all
Page 18
Jan/Feb, 2006
fairness to Chateau Charmant that you
print my evaluation of this resort. I have
been timesharing over 15 years. We own
three weeks of timeshare and have stayed
in at least thirty different locations. This
resort was one of the better ones we have
stayed in.
Dianne Moll
Editors note: Unfortunately, this resort was completely leveled by Hurricane
Katrina. There are plans to rebuild, but
the resort will probably not reopen until
2009. Part of the delay is development of
new building codes for buildings facing
the gulf. At the right are before and after
photos of one of the buildings; all buildings suffered a similar fate.
No room at the Inn
I have made over 50 trades with RCI
and have never had a problem when
checking in to a resort…not until October
2, 2005. In July, 2005 I made an RCI points
reservation for two nights at the Carlsbad
Seapointe Resort in Carlsbad, California.
At 4 p.m. on the day I was to check in, I
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called the resort and told them that I may
not be able to check in until about 10 p.m.
that evening. The young man I talked with
at the desk told me that was not a problem, since they are open 24 hours and that
at least 10% of their guests do not check
in until after 10 p.m.
I arrived at the resort at 9:30 p.m. and
waited for the nice young lady to give me
my room key. However, she could not seem
to stop scrolling her computer. I finally
asked her if there was a problem, and she
told me that they were “overbooked.” Very
interesting! I explained to her that since I
paid for an exchange fee, and paid the required number of RCI points, I had essentially paid for the room twice, so how could
my room be overbooked?”
She explained that they were having
a problem and there were simply too many
people attempting to check into too few
rooms. In fact, the man that walked in after
me was having the same problem. She told
me that she would make arrangements for
me to stay at another one of their properties a couple of miles away, and would give
me a certificate for two free nights at
Carlsbad Seapointe Resort at a later time.
Although this worked out fine for the
couple of days we were in the area, it could
have caused some real problems in any
number of circumstances. Another question that I raised was, “why wasn’t I told
there may be a problem when I called at 4
p.m?” I was in San Diego when I called,
TimeSharing Today
and I could have driven there and
checked in at that time.
I wrote a letter to RCI regarding this
situation, and received a telephone call
from them almost immediately. They explained to me that once someone gives up
their room by banking it, the room no
longer belongs to the resort and that this
situation should never happen. The RCI
representative also told me that she was
very happy that I wrote the letter, or they
would never have known that this situation took place. I would be interesting to
see if this has ever happened to anyone
else.
Jerry Nisker
Make your bed!
My wife and I stayed at Worldmark in
Windsor, CA in mid June, 2005 for two
nights in a studio unit. When we arrived,
everything was neat and orderly, except
there were no blankets on the bed and no
covers on the pillows. I called the front
desk to tell them, and was told that it was
a new policy not to make the beds. Everything we needed was right there and we
could do it ourselves. The next morning I
went to the front desk to see if I might get
a different answer. I was told again it was
“policy.”
When we got home I e-mailed
Trendwest and told them our disappointment with this new policy. I told them I
didn’t think there was a hotel or resort in
the USA that would have customers make
their own beds. The next day I received a
phone call from Trendwest saying there
was a mix-up, and we wouldn’t be charged
for our two nights in Windsor. The refund
totaled about $80.00.
Needless to say, we were thrilled! We
have used our timeshare a lot and we were
so surprised and pleased that they would
do this. I’m really pleased with this timeshare company.
Dixie & Bartley Porter, Riverside, CA
20 years of exchanging
Having been a member of II for 25
years, I have been exchanging one or two
weeks a year for about 20 years. We have
always deposited weeks early, usually at
least six months before the use date.
Page 19
When making a request, we do so six to
nine months ahead and try to be flexible.
My family votes on where we want to vacation and gives II at least one or two dates
and as many as six or seven resorts. Part
of the fun is finding out where we will be,
and we have never had a disappointing
vacation.
As my children became adults and
started their own families, I have made exchanges for them, getting a gift certificate
from II. Sharing many adventures with my
husband, children and grandchildren has
given me priceless memories. Now that I
am a widow, I vacation with at least one of
my children each year.
For 2005, three exchanges were confirmed by II within a three month period:
June 19 at Marriott Newport Coast in California, July 4th week at a Royal resort in
Cancun, and the third week of September
at Williamsburg Plantation in Virginia. It
was easy to arrange these exchanges for
my family and myself. All these are 5-star
resorts, in spite of one trade not being a 5star.
Over the years, we have exchanged
to ten different mainland States, twice to
Jan/Feb, 2006
Hawaii, Canada, twice to Mexico, five different Caribbean islands, and twice to
Marriott’s Beach Resort in Marbella,
Spain. Two of my daughters have used
exchanges for their honeymoons: one to
Spain and one to Margarita Island, Venezuela.
Exchanging has enabled us to see
many different areas and meet many different people. We have had wonderful adventures: walking on a glacier with grandchildren, hearing family history from a native Hawaiian, buying maple syrup from
the people who tap the trees in Vermont,
crossing London Bridge in Arizona, watching beautiful sunsets over the ocean in
Aruba, and many more.
Not every resort has been perfect, although the Marriott properties come close.
We have tried to plan ahead, stay flexible,
and enjoy the differences in resorts and
locations. II has never let us down - all
their resorts seem to be of very good to
excellent quality.
Thanks for the opportunity to state
my opinion and sorry to be so longwinded.
Louise Craig
TimeSharing Today
Page 20
Jan/Feb, 2006
FOCUS ON: Sunterra Scottsdale Links Resort, AZ
By Alexis and Jeff Addicott,
Hermitage, PA
I really wasn’t looking forward to our
upcoming vacation to the hot desert. To
me, if I didn’t go to a white sandy beach it
wasn’t a vacation. But we had promised
our daughter a vacation when she graduated from school. The previous year we
had a “brush” with Hurricane Bonnie and
wanted to stay away from the southern
coast and the Carribean in August.
On the II website, I found a 3 bedroom condo in Scottsdale, Arizona at the
Sunterra Scottsdale Links Resort. The picture of the pool area enticed me. It wasn’t
a drab rectangular one like so many of the
resorts have. According to the picture, it
had a curved shape surrounded by lots of
palm trees. So I booked the Links with my
bonus certificate.
We arrived in Phoenix early on Saturday morning with no problems. We picked
up our rental car and off we went. We followed the directions to Scottsdale. What
a shock for us. The area was beautiful and
the temperatures were in the 90’ s. We were
in awe of the beautiful scenery carved in,
and painted on, the wall barriers along the
interstate. The sides of the roads were
trash-free. The scenery was majestic. We
spotted Camelback Mountain in the distance, just like we saw on the Travel channel. The city of Phoenix and the suburbs
sprawled on and on. My attitude about
this vacation had just changed. Now, I was
really excited about this new adventure.
We finally arrived at the “Links” 30
minutes later. Our concierge greeted us
and showed us to our condo. What, no
waiting until 3 pm.?? Wow-our home away
from home. The condo was super. It was
very clean, spacious, and tastefully decorated in the “southwestern theme.” We
even had a washer and dryer. Each bedroom had a walk-in closet. The kitchen had
everything I could possibly want -- if I
planned on cooking.
We unpacked and changed into our
bathing suits, and decided to explore the
resort on our way to the pool. We found a
small waterfall and a fountain with plenty
of beautiful shrubbery near the office that
housed a small gift shop. And there it was,
just like the picture showed, a beautiful
landscaped pool and hot-tub surrounded
by lots of palm trees and a flowering hedge.
The water was so inviting. Next to the pool
and BBQ area was a well-equiped gym and
sauna. Daily activities were posted. And
don’t forget the golf course on the resort
property. My husband and I both play
golf, but we didn’t bring our clubs, so
can’t comment about the course.
Over the next seven days, we put 600
miles on our rental car. We drove all over
Phoenix and Scottsdale, shopping and
stopping along the way to enjoy the
sights. We even hit the casinos once or
twice. The people we met were so friendly
and helpful. The city was so clean. You
can tell they are proud of their city.
We went up to Flagstaff and then on
the the Grand Canyon. It was our first
time there and we were quite impressed
with the grandeur of it. We toured the red
rock canyons of Sedona and found it to
be breath-taking. We went to a dormant
volcano and the Painted Desert. We drove
to Meteor Crater and walked along its
edge. We went down to Tuscan and then
onto Tombstone to visit the OK Corral.
We took a 4-hour tubing adventure on the
Salt River after visiting Apache Junction.
We visited Montezuma’s Castle, rode on
a camel in Rawhide, tour the Goldfield
Ghost Town, and panned for gold.
It was non-stop activities for 7 days;
(good thing we had that hot tub.) We
started each day at 6:30 am in the pool and
ended each day in the hot-tub at the Links.
Saturday morning came and we had
to say good-bye. We had an absolutely,
wonderful time in Arizona.
TimeSharing Today
Page 21
Jan/Feb, 2006
2005 Article Index
Compiled by David McClintock as
a service to fellow subscribers.
Mr. McClintock has prepared a
similar annual index for the last five
years and plans to continue
preparing them.
(Page number & month)
Abandon t/s, alternatives to . 29 Sep
American Resorts Int’l (ARI) .. 6 Mar
ARDA – developer oriented ... 3 Mar
Calendar(precedes ads – each issue)
Cendant, largest developer .... 6 May
Defender Resorts, MD fire .... 38 Sep
Developers, largest ................ 6 May
Donating timeshares ............... 14 Jul
“Dummies” t/s book ............... 5 Nov
Exchanging
Alternative exchange cos. 1, 12 Jul
Best exchanges .................... 1 Mar
HOA switch from RCI to II ..... 5 Jul
Last minute, successful ....... 1 Nov
Tips for ................................ 37 Sep
Fairfield
Bluebeard’s Castle suit ......... 1 Jan
Expansion in FL & LA ......... 6 May
Shawnee acquisition .......... 10 Nov
Suit re owner access .. 1, 3, 20 Nov
Fixed vs. floating weeks ....... 10 May
Fleetwood Vacation (RVs) .... 12 Mar
Floating vs. fixed weeks ....... 10 May
Free Timesharing Today issues
For articles ........ p. 3 of each issue
For subscriptions .......... back page
Homeowner Associations ................
Obtaining assistance ............. 3 Jul
Oversight of developer ......... 3 Jan
Hurricanes 2005 .................... 12 Nov
And Maintenance fees ........ 7 Mar
Florida, planning .................... 8 Jul
Tax treatment of loss ............ 4 Mar
Insurance, t/s vacation ........ 33 May
Interval International - Customer
Satisfaction Index .... 11 Jan, 9 Mar
Late check-in at resort ............ 5 Mar
Los Abrigados lawsuit .............. 1 Jul
Maintenance fees - responsibility &
collection .............................. 4 Sep
Marriott Aruba ....................... 24 Jan
Mecca/Medina timeshares ... 14 Mar
Pelican Resort legal ............... 26 Mar
Pets, timesharing with . 36 Jan, 5 Nov
Points, travel benefits .............. 4 Jan
RCI
Cruise exchanges ................. 5 Mar
Declining service .................. 5 Jan
Hurricanes 2005 .................... 5 Nov
Points vs. weeks ................ 19 Mar
Rentals ................................ 5 May
Website difficulties .............. 6 Mar
Rental income, taxability .......... 4 Jan
Rentals ..............................1, 3 May
Report card ratings
See “Resort report card(s)”
Resales - upfront fees ............... 4 Jul
Resort report card system
Form to complete ......... e.g., 22 Jan
Resort report cards
Berkshire by the Sea, FL ..... 11 Sep
Chateau Charmant, MS ........ 22 Jul
Club Cala de Palmas, PR .... 18 May
Cypress Pointe, FL ............. 18 Mar
Depuy Shawnee, PA ........... 35 Jan
Driftwood Inn, FL ................ 22 Jul
Embassy Vacation, HI ......... 34 Jan
Fairfield Bay, AR .................. 22 Jul
Fairfield Flagstaff, AZ ......... 11 Sep
Fairfield Pagosa Springs CO 34 Jan
DIALANEXCHANGE
TIMESHAREEXCHANGES)TSABOUTTHECONCEPT
)DONTKNOWHOWOTHERTIMESHAREOWNERSTHINKBUT)F)WASPAYING
MAINTENANCELEVIESEVERYYEARONTIMESHAREWEEKS)OWNEDANDKNEW
THEYWEREBEINGhONSOLDvTONONTIMESHAREOWNERS)WOULDDO
SOMETHINGABOUTITRIGHTNOW
)WOULDJOINhDIALANEXCHANGEv)MAGINE
.OJOININGFEESNOMEMBERSHIPFEESNOGUESTFEESNOUPGRADEFEESREQUEST
lRSTBANKLATEREACHWEEKINTHEBANKAYEARCREDITONLINEAVAILABILITY
NEEDONLYPAYTHEEXCHANGEFEEWHENWEDELIVER
0EACEOFMINDKNOWINGMYWEEKWILLSTAYINTHE
SYSTEMFOROTHERTIMESHAREOWNERSTOENJOY
WWWDAELIVECOM
0HONE&AX4OLL&REE%MAILINFOUSA DAELIVECOM
TimeSharing Today
Fairfield Sedona, AZ ......... 18 May
Fairfield Williamsburg, VA ... 9 Nov
Fantasy Island Resort, FL .. 18 Mar
Ferienclub Grundlsee, Austria ......
................................. 11 Sep
Flagship Resort, NJ ........... 18 May
French Quarter, MO ............ 11 Sep
Grand Timber Lodge, CO ... 18 Mar
Havasu Dunes, AZ .............. 22 Jul
Highlands at Sugar, NC ....... 34 Jan
Horizons by Marriott, FL .. 18 May
Hyatt Hacienda, PR ............. 34 Jan
Imperial Fiesta, MX ............ 18 Mar
Island Links, SC ................... 23 Jul
Kahana Falls, HI ................... 9 Nov
Lawai Beach, HI ................... 23 Jul
Masanutten ShenandoahVA10 Sep
Maui Schooner, HI ............. 17 Mar
Mayan Palace Nuevo Vallarta, MX
............................... 19 May
Oakmont Resort, TN ......... 19 May
Oyster Bay Beach St.Maart 17 Mar
Pacifica Sands, MX .............. 9 Nov
Pahio at Ka’ Eo Kai, HI ........ 10 Sep
Plantation Fall Creek, MO . 19 May
Resort on Cocoa Beach, FL19 May
Royal Holiday Beach, MS .... 9 Nov
Royal Suites/Atlantic, NJ ... 35 Jan
Sand Pebbles, CA ................ 8 Nov
Schooner Landing, OR ....... 17 Mar
Silverleaf Hill Country, TX ... 23 Jul
Southwind Villas, SC ............ 8 Nov
Sunbay Resort, AR .............. 8 Nov
Tanglewood Vacation, TX .... 8 Nov
Thunderbird Resort, NV ...... 10 Sep
Trapp Family Lodge, VT ..... 10 Sep
Waterside Spinnaker, SC .... 17 Mar
Whispering Woods, OR ...... 35 Jan
Worldmark Bass Lake, CA .. 35 Jan
Worldmark Park, WA ........... 23 Jul
Retirement t/s traveling ........... 26 Jul
Reviews
Acapulco Mayan Pal, MX ... 1 Mar
Alpen Club, Germany ......... 38 Nov
Arroyo Roble, AZ .............. 25 Nov
Bay Club at Waikoloa, HI .. 29 May
Cape Cod Holiday Est., MA 38 Jan
Carriage Hills, Canada ....... 14 May
Casa Maya Cancun, MX .....8 May,
................................. 33 Sep
Cathedral Ledge, NH .......... 32 Nov
Cedar Breaks Lodge, UT .... 33 Mar
Celebrity Resorts, FL ........... 34 Jul
Chateau Orleans, LA .............. 7 Jul
Cliffs Club, HI .................... 17 Nov
Club Abbazia, Hungary ...... 38 Mar
Club Intrawest, BC Canada 35 Nov
Club Marbella, Spain ......... 35 May
Page 22
Condovac, Costa Rica ......... 17 Jan
Costa Vida/Costa Sur MX . 27 May
Creole Beach, Guadeloupe . 35 Mar
Eagle Crest, OR ................... 20 Sep
El Cid, MX ............................ 1 Mar
Fairfield Star Island, FL ........ 6 Nov
Fisherman’s Village (Sunset) MX
.................................. 1 Mar
Fisherman’s Wharf, MX ...... 8 May
Golden Coast, Greece ........... 18 Jul
Govina Bay, Greece .............. 18 Jul
Gurney’s Inn Resort, NY ..... 7 May
Harbor at Depoe Bay, OR ..... 1 Mar
Harbor Land. MA 10 Jan, 9, 10 Mar
Harbour Lights Resort, SC 37 May
Highland Estates, NV ............ 8 Sep
Holua on Kona, HI ............... 1 Mar
Island Seas, Bahamas ........ 31 Nov
Ka’ Eo Kai (Pahio), HI .......... 1 Mar
Kingston Cove Resort, SC 37 May
Kona Hawaiian Village, HI 29 May
Lake Tahoe area .................. 32 Sep
Land of Canaan, WV ............. 7 Sep
Lapinniemi, Finland ............. 14 Sep
Lawai Beach, HI ................... 1 Mar
Lawrence Welk Resort, CA 13 May
Leoniki Residence, Greece ... 18 Jul
Les Cottages de Lonvilliers France
................................ 30 Mar
Liki Tiki Village, FL ............... 6 Nov
Loreley Condos, GA ......... 15 May
Los Abrigados, AZ ............ 24 Nov
Maggie Valley Resort, NC ..... 6 Jan
Marriott Custom Hse, MA . 29 Mar
Marriott Grand Res., CA ... 22 May
Marriott Horizons MO 24 Jul, 8 Sep
Marriott Waiohai Beach, HI . 32 Jul
Massanutten Mt./Side VA 25 May
Massanutten Shenandoah VA7 Jan
Melia Cabo Real, MX ........ 26 May
Nacazcol, Costa Rica .......... 32 Nov
Ocean Club, Malta .............. 14 Jan
Ocean Palms, SC .................. 1 Mar
Oceancliff, RI ...................... 34 Sep
Oyster Bay Beach St. Maart 21 Sep
Oyster Pointe and Bay, FL .. 33 Jan
Paradise Canyon, Canada .. 21 Mar
Parkway International, FL .... 7 Nov
Porto Rio, Greece ................. 18 Jul
Ptarmigan Village, MT ........ 34 Mar
Quarter House, LA .............. 26 Jan
Rancho Bandares, MX ....... 36 Nov
Ridge at Tahoe, CA ............... 6 Sep
Riverside Suites, TX ........... 28 Jan
Roundhouse Resort, AZ ... 27 May
Sheraton Vistana, FL .......... 33 Mar
Snow Lake Lodge, CA ....... 34 Nov
Sunterra Flamingo, St. Maart. 6 Jul
Jan/Feb, 2006
Sweetwater at Waikiki, HI .. 24 Mar
Tarranova, Costa Rica ......... 19 Jan
Tradewinds Cruise Club ........ 8 Jan
Vacation Village Weston FL . 28 Jul
Villa del Palmar, MX ........... 36 Nov
Villa Roma, NY .................... 29 Nov
Village Holiday, Greece ......... 20 Jul
Waterside Spinnaker, SC .... 23 Mar,
...................... 28 May, 5 Jul
Westgate Lakes, FL ........... 18 Nov
Westgate Smokey Mt, TN .. 36 Mar,
.................................... 4 Jul
Worldmark Trendwest, OR ... 1 Mar
Wyndham Palms, FL ............ 6 Nov
RV timesharing (Fleetwood) . 12 Mar
Scams/schemes, the latest
Counterfeit cashiers’ checks 16 Jan
Global Resort Marketing ...... 4 Nov
Industry shortcomings ......... 3 Jan
Reporting ............................ 3 May
Time No More ..................... 28 Sep
Time-Out ............................ 35 Mar
Timeshare Express .............. 27 Sep
Timeshares Unlimited, Arrests ......
................................. 1 May
Upfront fees ........................... 4 Jul
Shell expands . 6 May, 31 Jul, 10 Nov
Starwood, expansion ............. 36 Sep
Tax losses, hurricane damage . 4 Mar
Taxation of rental income ......... 4 Jan
Telemarketers ...................................
Do-not-call injunctions ..... 20 May
Termination of ownership ...... 16 Sep
Time Share Collectors 23 Jan,35 Mar
Timeshare owners groups
Listed in most issues – e.g.,. 25 Jan
Timesharing
One person’s history ......... 22 Nov
Tips for success ............ 12, 37 Sep
Timesharing Today
Articles, submitting . p. 3 all issues
Bulletin Board ...................... 3 Mar
Classified ad users, form all issues
Consumer show presence .. 15 Mar
E-mail alerts ............................ 3 Jul
Index, 2004 articles .............. 30 Jan
Resale Value Tracker, e.g., . 12 May
Reviews online .................. 20 May
Subscriptions .... inside back cover
Survey ......... 3 May, 1 Sep, 30 Nov
www.tstoday.com .................. 3 Sep
Trendwest expansion . 24 Jan, 36 Sep
TUG
................................. 4 May
Westgate expansion .. 24 Jan, 36 Sep
Yarmouth Condos, MA failure 36 Jul
TimeSharing Today
Page 23
Jan/Feb, 2006
More Hurricane Dispatches
Rebooked
We had reservations for Chateau
Charmant, Gulfport, MS on 2/17—2/24/06
with flights to New Orleans on the same
dates on United Airlines.
United Airlines gave full refunds for
our party of 3 adults approximately 2 to 3
weeks following Hurricane Katrina, even
though our flight to New Orleans was 6
months away. We were very surprised and
appreciative! RCI also rebanked our week
as Chateau Charmant was completely demolished. We are still waiting for reimbursement from the vacation insurance
company which was recommended by RCI.
Berkeley Care indicates they are working
on our claim. (We decided to take out insurance the day before the hurricane hit
New Orleans).
We have made alternate vacation
plans for 2/18—2/25/06 for the Inn at the
Opera in San Francisco (using a bonus
week at Trading Places) with new flights
on United Airlines.
Our RCI week has also been traded
for April 8—15, 2006 at the French Quarter
in Branson.
We feel very fortunate with the courtesy and professional treatment we received from both United Airlines and RCI.
(We routinely fly American Airlines using
AAdvantage Miles!)
Arline Vitale, Toms River, New Jersey
****
We were scheduled to fly to Cancun
October 22, from Phoenix, on America
West. I called them Wednesday night and
they said the flight would be cancelled,
and we could get a full refund or they
would waive the $100.00 per person
change fee and let us use our tickets to
anywhere else and we wouldn’t have to
pay a higher fare. My friends that were
flying from Phoenix On American Airlines
didn’t have the same experience. They
were told the flight was NOT cancelled
and that they would have to be the $100.00
change fee, and a possible higher fare. We
ended up going to Puerto Vallarta on
America West and it didn’t cost us 1
penny!! Our friends didn’t go as American told them they would have to pay another $500.00 per person. YIKES!! I was
on the phone with America West from 2
am till 5am Thursday morning booking
new flights and had RCI on my cell phone
at 4am when they opened to find a place
to stay. It all worked out for four of us, and
we flew off Sunday morning. Thank-you
America West!!
Betty Fader
****
We have just returned from an “alternate vacation” courtesy of American Airlines.
Initially we had booked a flight to Ft.
Lauderdale for Oct. 27, with a stop over in
Dallas. The day before departure we received a call from AA stating the DallasFt. Lauderdale segment was cancelled due
to closure of the Ft. Lauderdale airport.
We had been trying unsuccessfully
to contact Radisson in Ft. Lauderdale, our
destination resort, but with the airport information we became more persistent, finally learning from the Orlando site that
our resort hade been “mostly destroyed;”
therefore trip cancelled!
Timeshare resale closing specialists
with 19 years of experience
JRA Services, Inc.
American Airlines gave us multiple
options. Cancel with a cash refund, reschedule or reroute.
We also had a family function in Iowa
that weekend, something that we REALLY
wanted to attend, but with the late scheduling, we felt committed to the Florida trip.
On the one day’s notice, American
substituted a DFT -Minneapolis flight for
the DFW - Ft. Lauderdale leg.
They went back to the date of our
ticket purchase, calculated what the flight
to Minneapolis would have been then, and
charged us only the difference in costs,
about $130 per ticket, round trip.
We felt they could have simply made
the exchange at no additional cost, but
considering the conditions, we were
pleased with their accommodations. The
decision/transaction had to be made
quickly, and we were slow to conceptualize the possibility of taking an alternate
trip, but the AA agent was MOST helpful
in looking at alternatives.
Dave & Muriel Olsen
CondoWorld®
Specializing in
Timeshare Resales
& Rentals
Prime Locations Worldwide
Licensed Professional Agents
1-800-510-3405
Professional
Timeshare closings
at reasonable rates
(954) 718-7076
Fax: (954) 718-2464
www.timeshareresaleclosings.com
www.condoworldonline.com
email: [email protected]
TimeSharing Today
Page 24
****
We had a week reservation for Jan.,
2006 on an exchange through RCI. It did
not seem feasible to be on vacation in New
Orleans at that time and we called RCI to
substitute another location. RCI charged
$109 of the $149 fee we had paid on the
New Orleans booking. The allowed $40
credit on the new booking charge of $149.
This did not seem fair, but RCI was
adamant.
Boatright Peter
Staff heroics
Our family came from Arizona, North
Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland and
Pennsylvania last month to celebrate my
mother’s 90th birthday at the Newport
Beachside Hotel & Resort in Sunny Isles
Beach, FL. Thanks to the help of hotel staffers Viviana Sarno, Holly Poff, Douglas Lee
and Judy, the party was a success.
Then along came Wilma. The hotel
staff, managed by Dwight Goldstein, made
sure that all the guests were safe. As generators hummed, we were fed breakfast,
lunch and dinner at no additional cost.
Jan/Feb, 2006
Goldstein was there every day to make
sure that everyone was taken care of and
that the hotel continued to operate as
smoothly as possible.
I will long remember how well we were
treated. Whenever I return to Miami and
need a place to stay it will be at the Newport.
Linda Tarash, Havertown, PA
Hobson’s choice
I really appreciated your November/
December 2005 article report on Hurricane
Dispatches. But more so the McLaughlins’
letter on their RCI experience with the
Katrina cancellation.
I had traded my Marriott Maui week
for Marriott’s Ocean Pointe in Florida
through Interval International. Just prior
to my scheduled arrival, due to damage
from Hurricane Wilma, II called to let me
know that the resort will be closed and
offered another exchange for that same
week. Since they only had four resorts
available and none of them were of interest to me, I chose their only other option redeposit my exchange week.
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II informed me that I have one year to
exchange the redeposited week and I will
be responsible for paying the full exchange price AGAIN. When I insisted this
is not fair, the II representative told me I
should have taken out insurance. To add
insult to injury, my deposited week would
have been valid for exchange until August
2008 but since I had deposited it, then
‘withdrew’ it, the week will now expire in
October 2006. So not only am I penalized
money wise but also two years of potential exchange time.
Jay Dubner, Scarsdale, NY
Mayan Palace
We just returned from the Mayan Palace – Riviera Maya. We spent 2 great
weeks there. They did receive a lot of damage, but were working diligently to get
things back to normal. The first week only
about 100 units were occupied and for
Thanksgiving week, they were expecting
400 guests.
We watched them build and re-thatch
palapas, plant trees and shrubs, and work
continuously cleaning and repairing other
units. They opened several new areas
while we were there. Tumtah – the seafood restaurant on the beach is in pretty
bad shape and it will be a while before it
opens. The pool restaurant is open as is
the buffet restaurant. The Italian restaurant will most likely open this week. The
gift shop is minimal right now, but will be
open soon.
The staff is very cheerful and are
working hard to please their guests. Service was great.
Phyliss Hartwick
Cancun visitor
Just returned from The Royal Islander.
The damage in Cancun is extensive but
the Mexican spirit lives on. Our resort
(Royal Resorts) led us to believe that more
was open than actually was. None of the
eco-parks were open as of week 47
Thanksgiving week). Very few restaurants
were open. Most hotels are dark except
for the workers who seem to be working
24 hours a day. It truly is sad. The beach
has been washed away in most parts of
Cancun; it was small but making a remarkable recovery during the week we were
there.
TimeSharing Today
Page 25
We were however treated like royalty
at our resort with a staff that truly appreciated our business (more than the usual
great service we receive). I just wish their
website had not felt it necessary to embellish the truth, we would have come anyway.
Arlene Osmon, Munster, IN
Report from broker
In Mexico the Mayan Riviera is back
in business and the hotel zone in Cancun
and Cozumel should be well prepared to
welcome vacationers starting in late January/early February. Demand is growing
and air/land package opportunities should
be available and attractive. Those consumers wishing to use frequent flyer miles
or flying on an independent basis this winter need to plan as soon as possible to
lock in good fares.
The Florida Keys and East and West
coast beach markets are in good shape
and receiving strong bookings for the
travel period January through mid April .
New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf
Coast areas are starting to come back as
Jan/Feb, 2006
well. Best time to take advantage of low
air, lodging, and packages is during the
four to five week vacation timeframe between January and President’s Week.
Leisure destinations in general are
seeing steady advance reservations and
are anticipating a strong winter travel season.
Cynthia Lee-Ryden,
Director of Marketing- Vacation Rentals,
Vacationspot.com
House damaged, but
resort re-opened
I have been a subscriber for many
years. I live in SE Florida and came through
Hurricane Wilma with about $80K worth
of damage to our home. Supposedly, it was
a category 3 when it got here, but our damage resulted from the roof of a neighbor’s
deck, about 3 tons, which became airborne,
traveled across the street and three houses
up, and came barreling through our roof
in several places. It sounded like a bomb
had gone off. The ceiling then collapsed
and we were open to the elements, looking at the hurricane. A minute or so after-
ward, our garage ceiling collapsed on our
cars (additional $3K of damage) and our
patio ceiling collapsed, as well.
We took a spin down to Pompano
Beach to check out our favorite timeshare
there, the Native Sun. Although the damage to the outside didn’t look to be particularly severe (sign was blown apart,
some landscape casualties, probably damage more severe than could be seen from
the outside, no doubt), the resort was
closed up 3 weeks after the hurricane. We
couldn’t get there earlier because all traffic lights were out here, and getting
through main intersections was hazardous,
at best.
Carol A. Thompson
TimeSharing Today
Page 26
Jan/Feb, 2006
Brief Report: Hyatt Hacienda
del Mar, Dorado, Puerto Rico
By Pamela Winkworth, Staten Island, NY
We spent Easter 2002 at the Hyatt Hacienda
del Mar in Dorado, Puerto Rico, and it was a most
enjoying experience. My husband and I traveled
with our 7- year old grandson Justin who, incidentally, had never been to the tropics before. He was
in total awe the entire vacation.
Dorado is approximately 25 miles from San
Juan International Airport and the highway was
heavily traveled, very congested.
The trip, however, was well worth it. We were able to check
in early, and the staff was most courteous. The accommodations
were among the best we have every stayed in. There was a large
bedroom with a king size bed, 1 1/2 baths, a Jacuzzi facing the
bedroom (very open and airy), full size kitchen, dishwasher and
refrigerator and a large dining room and living room. Both living
room and bedroom opened onto the terrace overlooking the ocean
and pools.
There was also a washer and dryer outside our unit which
we shared with the studio next door.
We had three pools to choose from, a river pool, rapids,
waterfalls, swim-up bar and two slides - one for younger children
and the other for teenagers and adults. Most guests purchased
tubes, floats or “swimmies” for the younger children. We always
bring our own (inasmuch I have never been aware of these items
being sold at poolside) and the staff was only too willing to
inflate ours. There were also two or three hot tubs on the premises — one was set up near the rapids. The restaurants were
good. Our favorite was “Su Casa,” a totally refurbished one-time
medical doctor’s residence.
We attended a timeshare presentation conveniently arranged
at the end of our afternoon and that, too, was a pleasant experience. No high pressure salesmanship, etc. It was more or less
“what you see is what you got.” If we did not already own a
timeshare, we would definitely purchase here.
Justin is still talking about the Hacienda del Mar, and we
cannot wait to go back.
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68
$
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99
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night
131
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115
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per
night
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night
Fairfield Las Vegas at Grand Desert
Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge
Embassy Grand Beach Resort
Scottsdale Villa Mirage
Las Vegas, NV
One Bedroom Condo, Sleeps Four
Lake Tahoe, CA
Orlando, FL
Three Bedroom Condo, Sleeps Eight
Scottsdale, AZ
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*Living rooms, full kitchens and balconies are available at most resorts. Rates quoted are affiliated timeshare owner rates.
TimeSharing Today
Antigua
Page 29
cluding change of sheets and turn-down service each night! Really felt like royalty. English TV channels were CNN, ABC, NBC
and ESPN. Orientation on Sunday was limited in information and
confusing. The leader tells you one thing and someone else says
something different!
Things to do on island: (1) Go to Shirley Heights at 4 PM
Sunday for the bar-be-que and steel drum show. You experience
lots of local flavors. You can call a taxi and then make arrangements for what time you want him to return. It seems to be the
custom there to do this. (2) Take the Fig Tree tour. It is through
the Rain forest. They call bananas “figs;” avocados are “pears.”
This tour also allows two hour shopping in the only city, St.
John’s. (3) Snorkel and eat at
Harmony House. It is an art gallery, beach house rental and
wonderful restaurant. You can
take their boat free to Green Island to snorkel, come back and
change clothes and have a gourmet meal. The view from the
restaurant is beautiful. Advise taking a taxi here because the roads
are REALLY bad to this area. (4) Fly to St. Kitts for the day, or
some other close island.
The resort has lots of activities too. They have every water
sport you can think of, a full exercise room, a massage parlor, four
restaurants, two pools, hot tub, casino, concierge, water aerobic
classes, etc. The downside is that the resort is very isolated. The
nearest grocery store takes a cab drive and doesn’t have frozen
dinners, etc. ‘We heard there is a big supermarket on the other
Three Exchanges
in the Caribbean
It was a very long trip from
San Diego - drive to LA, American Airlines to Ft. Lauderdale,
then to San Juan and finally
Antigua - about 20 hours, but it was worth it!!! You fly into VC
Bird International Airport. Immigration takes about 45 minutes.
Once cleared you pick up your luggage and proceed to a taxi
counter where you pay and are given a receipt for the driver. It
was very organized. Highly recommend you NOT drive the first
day. Antigua lacks street signs and has big potholes on the roads.
We traded our Carlsbad Inn through SFX for St. James Club
which is about 30 minutes from the airport and a $25 taxi ride for
4 people. It is also in the II book. Check-in went smoothly with a
cool rum drink to greet us. This beautiful resort is laid out along
the gorgeous Mamora Bay down near
English Harbor. Many golf cart drivers are
available (free) to take you to your unit/
restaurants at any time.
Our two-bedroom, two-bath, air conditioned 1000 square foot unit looked over
the Bay and the sailboats. We had panoramic views from most rooms. Bedrooms
and baths were downstairs. The master
had comfy super king bed: six-drawer
dresser, two night stands and a wall full of
closets including a free safe. A large tiled
deck overlooked the Bay. The master bath
had deep tub, shower, sink and toilet.
A second bedroom was small, had
twin beds, walk-in closet, one middle
nightstand, dresser with six drawers. Its
bathroom had a shower and toilet.
On the entry level was a good sized
kitchen with well stocked supplies, microwave, full-sized refrigerator. No dishwasher, garbage disposal or washer/dryer.
On the upper level was a large living/dining area with tiled floor and a huge patio
overlooking the Bay, complete with chaise
lounge, patio table and chairs.
Furnishings were upscale rattan and
included couch, two spring chairs with
hassocks, TV unit, glass dining table with
six chairs. Daily cleaning of the unit in-
Jan/Feb, 2006
TimeSharing Today
Page 30
side of the island. Our week went too
quickly. We arranged for a taxi driver to
pick us up at 5:45 AM and he was right
there. Now we were heading for St. John,
Virgin Islands.
Catherine Broker, Carlsbad, CA
St. John
We had to fly into St. Thomas where
we were met by a Westin St. John Resort
& Villas representative at the luggage
rack. We were put onto a van and our luggage was handled right through to our
units. Since there is no airport on St. John,
you get there by ferry. It takes about 35
minutes. Here we came right into the
resort’s dock and were greeted with a rum
drink. We had traded our Westin Mission
Hills one· bedroom for a studio at St. John
through an internal exchange system.
Our studio was about 600 square feet..
It had air conditioning and was divided
by a half wall and bar. A super king bed
with famous Westin Dream mattress and
two night stands was in one segment; full
size refrigerator, four burner stove, microwave, small dishwasher, Mr. Coffee,
blender, toaster and cabinets in compact
kitchen. A small bar separated kitchen from
living/dining room, which consisted of
three piece sectional, TV/VCR, sofabed,
glass rattan coffee table, dining table and
four chairs. In the closet is a stacked
washer and dryer, TV and free safe. The
bathroom has vanity, shower/tub and toilet. Snug but fine for two people.
Westin has about 65 timeshare villas
from studio to three-bedrooms, and all
hotel privileges are available to
you. Unfortunately, the villas are
quite far from the Bay and up a
steep hill. Some views are from
the patios, but only a few have
great views. The hotel has Kid’s
Club, 1/4 acre pool, fitness center and lots of water sports for a
fee. There are four restaurants food is pricey and just average
taste. The best supermarket is
Starfish. You need to take a 10
minute taxi ride or drive to it. After shopping, ask the checker to call a taxi
for the return trip back to Westin; it’s about
$6 each way. I highly recommend that, if
you plan to drive a car, you rent it before
you arrive; they run out.
The island tour is $25 but hardly worth
it. You do oversee the beautiful beaches,
but that’s about all. Concierges can reserve tours, restaurants, etc. We took the
Westin ferry to St. Thomas for a day, leaving at 10 AM. Once at St. Thomas, they
drove you to Charlotte Amalie. You have
to catch a $7 taxi back to the ferry area for
your ride back to Westin. We also went to
Cruz Bay and took a ferry to Tortola for
$35 per person.
Some tips: Bring lots of mosquito repellent and suntan lotion. Westin has $2
drinks during Happy Hour, but you won’t
see it advertised anywhere! Be sure to see
the iguana feedings at 4 PM. The highest
Jan/Feb, 2006
rated restaurant is Asolare, Euro-Asian
with views. Local favorites: Chilly Billy,
Lime Inn, Paradiso, Skinny Legs, Morgan’s
Mango. Miss Lucy’s was our favorite. It
is over on other side at Coral Bay. The
goats and roosters mingle through the outdoor, oceanside cafe and the food was
excellent.
The resort is on a learning curve with
timesharing. We are kind of the forgotten
souls as they don’t notify us of the activity changes and you cannot close your
bill on TV like the hotel guests can. However you feel like you are among the Rich
and Famous crowds. Our unit would have
rented for $3000 week (President’s week).
You receive a letter two days before checkout explaining when to put luggage out
on last day. It’s picked up and delivered to
the ferry. If you request, you can ride with
your luggage. This round trip ferry and
luggage handling costs $65 per person.
We felt it was worth it. Both the St. James
and Westin St. John were definitely a 9.0
plus.
Catherine Broker, Carlsbad, CA
St.Croix
Utilizing an “accelerated” week from
our contract at Divi Heritage on Barbados, we arrived on the island of St. Croix
in the US Virgin Islands on March 30, 2002
to spend a week at the two-year old Divi
Carina Bay resort. We had pre-arranged
to be picked up at the airport at 2PM by
Thrifty Car Rental in order to save the $20
cab fare to the resort at the far east end of
the island. We were driven to the rental
office west of Christiansted, the larger of
the two cities on St.Croix, where we were
assigned a mid-size, air conditioned sedan for our 3-day rental costing $126.
Knowing that Carina Bay was a 20 minute
drive from Christiansted, we stopped at
the Schooner super-market in order to
purchase groceries and wine for the week.
Carina Bay consists of 20 one-bedroom apartments in four two-story buildings on a hill over looking the new 130room hotel that Divi recently built fronting
on its 1,000 feet of beach. Each of the four
buildings has two large apartments with 2
bathrooms (one with Jacuzzi) on the first
floor and three smaller apartments with
one bathroom on the second floor. All
apartments have balconies looking out to
the ocean to the south. Our first floor
TimeSharing Today
Page 31
apartment was beautifully furnished with
a king size bed and TV in the bedroom, a
double pull-out couch and a single pullout couch and TV in the spacious living
room, and art works on all the walls. A small
swimming pool and an adjacent whirlpool
is set in a secluded, landscaped area in
front of the four timeshare buildings.
Across the road is the hotel, which
has a large swimming pool, a small pool
for children, two bars, two restaurants
(one 4-star), a long beach, water sports,
pool table, small health club and beautifully landscaped grounds. Two tennis
courts, lighted in the evening, are located
back across the road next to the timeshare
units. The resort maintains its own water
desalinization plant and sewerage plant.
Next door is the Divi Casino, the first on
the island.
The resort provides inexpensive
shuttle bus trips to various churches on
Sunday and to Christiansted every weekday. Since we had a rental car for three
days, we drove the middle of the island to
attend Easter Sunday service at St. Anne’s
Roman Catholic Church where we knew
the predominately African-American con-
gregation included Gospel Music in its services.
After Mass, we continued
driving to the west end of the island to Frederiksted where the
cruise ships dock, visited the old
Danish fort, the old Catholic
church with its new stained glass
Crucifix window, admired the
Danish architecture, and had
lunch at a ‘’local” bar (grilled
fresh snapper sandwich). We returned the 28 miles back to Carina Bay by
way of the Mahogony Road beginning just
outside of Frederiksted through the mountains and rain forest. The environment on
the east end of the island is flat, arid, and
treeless, but there is a beautiful vista a
short way along the coast near Carina Bay
looking over the shore and an ancient salt
pond teeming with a great variety of birds.
Monday was spent touring and visiting the Cruzan Rum factory; the restored
18th Century Whim sugar plantation and
museum; the Lawaetz museum, originally
a sugar plantation converted into a dairy
ranch in 1890 by a farmer from Denmark
whose heirs still help manage the museum;
and the St. George Botanical Gardens. On
Tuesday morning, we visited Salt River
National Park on the north and middle
coast where Christopher Columbus landed
in 1493 during his second voyage to the
“New World.” After returning the car at
2PM, we walked and shopped in
Christiansted before returning to Carina
Bay by taxi, stopping again on the way at
Schooner market.
On Wednesday and Friday, we re-
TST Anywhere
Ann Viarengo of
Phoenix, AZ is shown
with TimeSharing Today
on the balcony of her timeshare at Rocky Point in
Puerto Penasco, Mexico.
This sunrise photo shows
the Sea of Cortez and palm
trees in the background.
Jan/Feb, 2006
mained at the resort swimming in the
ocean, using the treadmill, playing pool,
walking the beach, and reading and relaxing on our balcony. On Thursday, we took
the 8:30AM shuttle into Christiansted and
joined a boat snorkeling trip ($35 each) to
Buck Island Reef National Monument &
Park which lies about one mile off the north
coast of St. Croix, returning to Carina Bay
by shuttle in the late afternoon.
On Friday evening, we “ate out” for
dinner at the beautifully appointed restaurant on the second floor of the hotel, looking out to the ocean. The entree of fresh
broiled fish cost $26. The offerings of
appertizers, desserts, and wines on the
menu were varied and of high quality.
On Wednesday, we packed a lunch,
took the noon hotel shuttle to the airport,
arriving two hours early, and flew back to
JFK Airport in New York City (by way of
San Juan), having enjoyed seven days of
near perfect weather, which we always find
in the Caribbean. We did not encounter
any unusual security delays coming or
going.
Jane and Joseph Vera,
Cambridge, Mass.
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TimeSharing Today
Page 32
A different perception
of Villa Roma
Jan/Feb, 2006
the vibrant pink-painted kitchen cabinets wouldn’t either open
or close. We were in an older building. Perhaps the new ones
being built had modern decor.
By Bonnie Simms, Palm Coast, FL
Don’t get us wrong. We are not usually complainers and
I read with interest the article “FOCUS ON: Villa Roma,
could
have put up with all of this and still enjoyed ourselves IF
Callicoon, NY,” published in the Nov/Dec, 2005 issue. It’s amazwe
could
have gotten some sleep! Beginning with our second
ing how people can experience the same thing, yet have conflictnight,
at
precisely
2 a.m. (the time the bar in the hotel closed) a
ing perceptions about it.
party
erupted
outside
our windows. Three of the downstairs units
We spent an exchange week at Villa Roma this past August.
were
involved.
The
first
time, we called security after going out
My daughter and her friend from New Jersey were to have joined
on
our
deck
and
asking
for
quiet had no effect. The elderly secuus for the entire week but left early because of THEIR perception.
rity
guard
spoke
with
my
daughter’s
friend. He didn’t doubt that
We wished we had done the same.
noise
but
he
excused
it.
He
explained
that the city-folk (NYC)
Our first walk-around of Villa Roma Hotel and Resort revealed
came
up
for
their
week
in
the
country
and they all knew each
an aging queen, once beautiful and regal, but now showing signs
other
and
they
wanted
to
let
off
steam,
so
they partied all night.
of shabbiness, wear, abuse, and mismanagement. When we
Though
it
was
beautiful
weather
outside,
we closed our winchecked in we were given brightly-colored wrist bracelets and
dows,
pulled
the
drapes,
turned
on
the
air
conditioner
and tried
told we had to wear them to get into all amenities and activities.
to
ignore
the
noise.
But
the
shouting
of
four-letter
words
from an
Well, we experienced a senior moment when leaving our unit and
altercation
in
the
parking
lot
could
not
be
blocked
out,
nor
could
forgot to put them on. But we were admitted to all amenities in our
the
noise
below.
At
4
a.m.,
it
ended
and
we
slept.
walk-around - being waved through at each checkpoint. We
The second night my husband called management. The manthought perhaps it was because of our senior citizen appearance;
ager
came and all was quiet - until she left and the party moved to
however, when we went into a nearby town the next day, I reanother
unit’s porch. She returned; there was quiet til she left,
marked to a salesperson about this experience and she said, “Oh,
etc.
By
the
next day we were all grouchy from lack of sleep and
you don’t need them. The town kids go up there all the time to
the
following
night was no different. The fourth evening we
swim and fool around.” The four of us never put them on the
watched
as
party
preparations began early below us. We called
whole week and were not challenged once when we used the
security.
They
came
and warned that there would be evictions if
facilities.
there
was
noise.
The
eruption came just after midnight. In addiDuring our walk-around and throughout the week, we notion
to
the
party,
a
physical
fight broke out in the hallway and
ticed the lack of maintenance and control. Yes, there are a wealth
bodies
were
being
slammed
against
the doors. Two younger, large
of amenities that would do any resort proud; however, carpets
security
guards
and
the
night
manager
arrived. They apologized
were worn, the roof had a major leak in one of the passageways,
to
us,
quelled
the
revelers
for
the
time
being,
and left. The remainthe floors of the recreation center were dirty. Several times we
der
of
the
night
was
not
quiet.
went there to play bocce ball and there was no attendant. ChilThe next morning the hallway and stairway were filled with
dren were dueling with the pool sticks, paddling each other with
thrown
food and debris. My daughter and her friend had had
the table tennis paddles and throwing bocce balls from court to
enough.
They left for home. Unfortunately, We had a vacation
court.
plan
that
would not allow us to deviate. My husband visited the
Our second-floor unit was spacious but desperately needed
general
manager.
When he came back, he gave me the bottom
an overhaul, (as did the building’s entrance and hallways). The
line,
“It
seems
as
if
no one cares enough.”
pink and purple decor adorned furniture that was popular years
We
spent
the
next
couple of days trying not to snarl at each
ago. Mirrored walls and chrome completed the scene. Many of
other from lack of sleep. By day, we enjoyed driving around the
surrounding area, though there was little
to do except visit a few artist studios. But
the countryside was pretty. At night we
bundled up the condo as best we could
Some of the best prices ever offered
and, miraculously, on our last night all was
Save $$$$$$$$
quiet. We at least could leave refreshed
for our long drive the next day.
Buyers 800-832-7995
Sellers 800-489-4144
So, you see, it’s all about perspecWe have one of the largest inventories of
tive. I can only hope the authors of the
timeshares in the United States at the best prices.
FOCUS ON article do not get our building
when they return “in a year or two.” And
Visit us at www.resortmart.com
for those others who may be tempted to
trade in, take along heavy, heavy nighttime sedation medicine unless you are
party animals.
Timeshare Resales
Resort Mart Real Estate
TimeSharing Today
Page 33
Jan/Feb, 2006
AROUND THE INDUSTRY
Oceanside at Pier
A new 146-unit resort is now under
construction adjacent to the municipal pier
in Oceanside, CA. Fairfield’s Oceanside
at the Pier will feature villas ranging from
one to four bedrooms. Amenities at the
resort will include a children’s play area,
exercise facility, spa and outsoor pool. No
prices have been announced.
Cendant, Fairfield’s corporate parent,
already has a resort in Oceanside near the
Pier, Worldmark at Oceanside Harbor.
Oceanside’s pier has been around
since 1888. The present incarnation provides close to 2,000 feet for strolling, fishing and admiring the Pacific and the marina. Boating rentals are available.
Cendant reorganizes
Cendant has scheduled a split of its
various companies into four separate independent companies, to occur this summer. The four groups will be the Travel
Network Group, Real Estate Services, Hospitality and Vehicle Rental.
The Hospitality Group will be comprised of the various hotel brands and
the timeshare entities, Fairfield and
Trendwest.
RCI will be part of the Travel Network
Group, which also includes such brands
as Orbitz.com, CheapTickets.com and
Gullivers Travel Associates.
The principal reason for the move is
the enhancement of stock value by having each group of related businesses trade
its stock separately. The company’s press
release referred to the establishment of
four pure-play companies as being the
“best way to unlock the full value of
Cendant’s businesses.”
Union group adds
timeshare site
Union Privilege, the union member
buying service of the AFL-CIO has signed
an agreement with Trading Places to add
its “dynamic booking engine” to the union
group’s website at www.unionplus.org.
The booking engine, known as
icondovactions, allows timeshare owners,
homeowners associations and developers
to offer their rental weeks to special affin-
ity markets. Trading Places began the
online booking service in 2004. The membership base of its various affiliated
websites now totals over 20 million.
VacationGuard in
deal with Hilton
VacationGuard has announced that it
has struck a deal with Hilton Grand Vacations Company to offer customized vacation insurance plans to HGVC members.
The insurance covers financial losses incurred by timeshare owners when vacation plans are altered or cancelled by illness, weather, accidents or delays. Coverage includes lost exchange fees and annual maintenance payments to the resort.
Starwood in Mexico
Starwood Hotels and Resorts will
construct a 296-unit resort timeshare resort in Cancun, to be known as the Westin
Lagunamar Ocean Resort. Sales are now
underway for the 66-unit first phase, which
will open next year. The units are all twobedroom lock-off villas.
Trendwest in Utah
Construction on Worldmark at West
Yellowstone is expected to start within the
next few months. The 112-unit resort will
be built in three-story, mountain lodge
style buildings and feature an indoor pool,
recreation/fitness center and other amenities. All units will have decks with views
of the Yellowstone Park area.
New Las Vegas resort
Marriott Vacation Club has opened
its first Las Vegas resort. Marriott’s Grand
Chateau, located just off the Strip, will include 895 units in four 37-story towers
when completed. Units will include one-,
two- and three-bedroom units, with prices
starting at $16,500 per week. The first
phase now open has 126 units.
http//:www.redweek.com
Rent. Sell. Buy.
Read. Review.
A heavily visited Web site = lots of
exposure & connections.
How much is a week at your resort going for?
Connect with a community of owners and travelers in a fair
and honest marketplace. It takes a great working Web site
with plenty of traffic to help make your timeshare experience
the best it can be. Post your timeshare for rent or sale.
Make a RedWish. Connect today.
Connecting travelers and the timeshare community.
TimeSharing Today
Page 34
Jan/Feb, 2006
Red Wolf Lodge Squaw Valley: heaven for skiers,
a good alternative to Lake Tahoe resorts
By Cheryl Zuur
We just got back from spending New Year’s week at this lovely
resort. Even though most of our
group were not skiers, and we were
there for the huge storm that just
moved through, we really enjoyed
our stay.
This resort exchanges through
II, but we got ours through an internal exchange with Grand Pacific Resorts,
which manages a number of resorts in
California and other locations. The internal exchange is a benefit we get by being
owners at Riverpointe, also managed by
Grand Pacific Resorts.
The Red Wolf is located right across
from the new Village complex in Squaw
Valley, which is full of upscale restaurants
and shops in an alpine village type ambiance. It’s also a minute’s walk from all of
the Squaw Valley ski lifts and the cable car
which goes to High Camp at 8200 feet
where there are more ski lifts, an Olympic
size ice skating rink, a large heated outdoor pool (open spring through fall), and
places to eat.
For those not familiar with Squaw
Valley, it is right off of Hwy 89, about five
minutes from North Lake Tahoe. For more
information on Squaw Valley see
www.squaw.com.
The Red Wolf Squaw Valley is owned
by the same group as the Red Wolf
Lakeside and the rooms are decorated in
the same rustic style (we’ve stayed both
places) with knotty pine furniture, a style
we like and find very charming and
cozy. The Squaw location is a three
story building with about 25 units,
and a covered parking area. An elevator services all floors and some
handicapped units are available. Our
family group of 9 had a one bedroom
on the third floor and a studio on the
first floor. Both units were spacious
and well equipped, but the third floor
was a little quieter; I’d recommend it if requesting a preference. Each unit slept four
people, but the resort provided a roll away
bed for our ninth person.
Studios have a pull down Murphy bed
and pull out couch; one bedrooms have a
pull out couch in the living room.
They charge $2.50 a day for parking
in the winter, and there is a $5.00/day energy surcharge, a common practice now
in California resorts.
The only drawback to this location in
the winter is the intense snowplowing that
goes on at night (if it’s snowing constantly
TimeSharing Today Owners Groups
Baltimore, MD area - Ed and Mary Lou Hastry, 2003 Fernglen Way, Baltimore, MD 21228 Phone 410/719-0064 [email protected].
Northern California - Jess Centeno, 2257 Southwood Dr., Pittsburg, CA 94565. Telephone 925/709-1739. Email [email protected]
Southern California - Glenn Bailey, 5926 Hesperia Avenue, Encino, CA 91316. Telephone - 818/585-2212.
[email protected].
Cape Cod - W. R. Chandler, 790 Old Fall River Rd., North Dartmouth, MA 02747. Telephone - 508/676-0693.
Cayman Islands - Carol Blair - 6879 Mossvine Circle, Dallas, Texas 75254 972-661-9119 or 214-533-9945 email [email protected].
Chicago, IL - Joe Tragesser, 1057 Partridge lane, Lake Zurich, IL 60047. Phone 847/438-6795. Email [email protected].
Columbia, MO - Wayne Behymer, 3201 Rolling Hills Rd, Columbia, MO 65201. 573/442-6783.
Denver, CO - Melvin and Betty Adams, 71 S. Grandbay St., Aurora, CO 80018. Telephone 303/341-7147.
[email protected].
Georgia, North and South Carolina - Contact Jack English, P.O. Box 2121, Acworth, GA 30102-2121. Telephone - 678/445-6761.
[email protected].
Mid-Atlantic - DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV - Bill and Marty Giggard, 410/437-8377. Email [email protected]
Midwest - Nancy and Jake Seth, 28306 290th St, Henderson, MN 56044. Phone 507/665-6358. Email [email protected].
New York Metro Area - Amy Sien, 71-17 Manse St., Forest Hills, NY 11375, 718/261-7677, email [email protected] or Caroline
Lindholm, Scarsdale, NY 10533, 914/723-5657, email [email protected] or Ben and Dorothy Catanese, Hicksville, NY, 516/8225912, Email: Bencat@ optonline.net or Betsy Hurley, Hoboken, NJ email [email protected]
Philadelphia, Mongomery and Bucks Counties - Robert Fishback, 2031A Jason Dr., Huntington Valley, PA 19006. Telephone 215/3648978. Email [email protected]
Portland, ME - David and Alison Bjork, PO Box 499, Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064. Email [email protected].
San Diego - Bill Cranna, 10411 Oroxco Rd., San Diego CA 92124, Telephone 858/565-0500
Southern California - Glenn Bailey, 5926 Hesperia Avenue, Encino, CA 91316. Telephone 818/585-2212. Email
[email protected].
Tampa Bay/Sarasota/Ft. Meyers, FL Area - Frank Debar, 7339 Kensington Ct., University Park, FL 34201 941/351-1384.
[email protected].
TimeSharing Today
Page 35
as it was during our stay) in the
Squaw Valley parking lot, which is quite
large and right next door. This was a bit
noisy, but did not keep us awake at night
and was kind of fascinating to watch for a
while.
This resort is an II five-star and it deserves the rating. Units and the building
are clean, well maintained and up to date.
There was a nice, “welcome” basket in the
kitchen with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cider and a delicious “Red Wolf” chocolate
bar. The bathroom had a basket of lotion
and bathing gel. Plenty of fluffy bathroom
towels. Kitchens are spacious and are fully
stocked in all units with full oven and refrigerator, microwave, blender, toaster,
dishwasher (with a full supply of detergent), granite counters, everything you
would need to cook and dine, including a
pizza pan and a salt/pepper grinder.
The one bedroom had a TV/VCR in
the living room and bedroom. All units
have compact stereo CD/tape player in
them, a very nice amenity which we really
enjoyed. They also have large Jacuzzi
bathtubs, and gas fireplaces.
Housekeeping comes once in the
middle of the week, very friendly and efficient. Laundry rooms are on each floor, no
extra charge. The dryers came in very
handy for drying clothes damp from outdoor snow activities.
There is also a spacious and warmly
decorated clubhouse with a fooseball
game (table soccer) which was, very popular (loads of fun for kids and adults), a
kitchen area, big screen TV, a large’ table,
fireplace, small fitness center with aerobic
equipment, a sauna and bathrooms with a
shower. Outside is a nice sized hot tub,
open year round.
The clubhouse was decorated for the
holidays, including a tree. The front desk
has a good selection of board games, kids
stuff available, and a good selection of
videos to rent for $2.00 each. Sleds and
snow saucers were available.
Staff was very friendly and helpful.
Check in/out was smooth, no problems.
We arrived a day late and had made arrangements ahead of time. We had a
couple of minor maintenance issues and
they were attended to immediately. Staff
worked like dogs in challenging, conditions to shovel snow off the balconies and
walkways the whole week.
My nephew and I had spent hours
building a snowman, and just when we’d
gone inside to make up a sign for him, some
jerks working for the Squaw Valley Corp
intentionally crushed him with their cart.
One of the staff at the front desk went out
and read them the riot act, which made us
very happy as we wanted to do a lot more
than that to them.
For more details on the resort and to
see photos check out redwolfsquaw.com.
For anyone interested, there were resale units including winter inventory available through owner services at the resort.
There was no sales pressure, though information was available.
It was snowing so hard most of the
time we were there it was difficult to do
much outdoors, and many of the ski lifts
were shut down, but if we’d been able to,
there were sledding and snowplay areas
nearby, snowshoeing, and of course, tons
of both kinds of skiing. They have a snow
tubing area at High Camp which we wanted
to try, sounded like a lot of fun. Round trip
cable car tickets were $20.00 for adults,
$14.00 for kids. A package including the
round trip cable car and ice skating or snow
tubing saves a few dollars.
Squaw Valley lift tickets are not cheap,
but downhill skiing is not a cheap sport in
general. For downhill skiers/snowboarders
this place is ideal, being within walking
distance to the lifts. My sister and her
husband are avid cross country skiers and
they took a lift to the top and skied down;
they said it was fantastic. The half-day lift
tickets included night skiing as well.
While I’m not a big shopper or great
fan of upscale shopping complexes, I have
to say the Village was nicely designed with
lots of outdoor spaces for just hanging
out. It was gorgeous in the snow, with incredible ice sculptures, (even an almost
life size one of Santa and Reindeer) and a
beautiful outdoor gas “bonfire made by a
local artist to look like logs burning. It’s
surrounded by chairs where you can sit
and warm yourself at night. There are sev-
Jan/Feb, 2006
eral cafes and a wonderful shop called
Waxen Moon where you can make your
own candles.
The Olympic Village complex is right
there also, with other shops and eating
establishments that were not quite so expensive.
Squaw Valley has numerous small
stores that carry almost anything you’d
need. There is an Albertsons and Long’s
drug store 8 miles away in Truckee and
similar stores even closer in North Lake
Tahoe.
I’d recommend this resort anytime of
the year and would like to go back in the
spring, summer or fall for hiking and biking.
We did not participate in any of the
resort activities though there were some.
I can’t speak about the summertime, but
there is so much to do in this area anytime
of the year that resort based activities
would be a low priority for us. While not
on Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley is close
enough to enjoy it but get away from its
hustle and bustle and weekend traffic jams.
I would guess that it might be an easier
trade in the non-winter months than Tahoe
TimeSharing Today
Page 36
Jan/Feb, 2006
FOCUS ON: Owners Club at the Homestead
By Barbara Nicklow, Pittsburgh, PA
Recently we had the pleasure of staying at the Owners Club
at the Homestead, in Hot Springs, Virginia. Although this resort
is listed in the latest RCI guide, ours was not an RCI exchange.
Our niece and her husband are owners. Unable to use their entire
July 4th week, but reluctant to forfeit all the activity (free concert
by 3- Dog Nite, fireworks, etc.) they opted to stay July 3-6 and
offered July 6-10 to us. We are timesharers ourselves, so three
“senior aunts” and their husbands, seasoned timesharers, experienced a different type of timeshare.
Driving the 5 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh, PA through the Blue
Ridge Mountains was an experience in itself (very beautiful but
harrowing) It is an easier four hour drive from Baltimore or the
South.
Rounding a bend into Hot Springs, we saw the breathtaking
sight of the Homestead rising majestically against the mountain
background. Situated on land originally owned by George Washington and visited by many Presidents, it is indeed an historic
site. The villas of the Owners Club are clustered on a hillside
adjacent to the Homestead Hotel and walkable by marked trails.
Each villa is a separate three-bedroom, three-bath luxury home
with a private lawn, driveway, and garage. Besides the usual amenities of full kitchen, laundry, great room with fireplace, and vaulted
ceiling, all the bedrooms had television and whirlpool baths. To
us, the most enjoyable amenity was the enormous screened porch
wrapped around the house to best accommodate the beautiful
mountain views.
On the porch was a large teak table and chairs (We ate most
of our meals outside.), several large, comfortable lounge chairs,
and a hot tub for six.
Greeting us was a bronze plaque with our niece and nephew’s
name engraved on it in a holder by the front door. On site was a
separate Club Room for registration, receptions, etc. The staff
was always available. A shuttle from the Homestead was also
available for transportation to various sites if you chose not to
drive. There were many activity sites surrounding the Homestead: a large equestrian center offering horseback lessons and
buggy rides, a lodge and shooting range, several golf
courses, and acres of conservatory land. The town of
Hot Springs envelopes the Homestead, and nearby is the
quaint town of Warm Springs.
The Homestead is a luxury hotel and spa. The magnificent grounds and buildings are also open to members
of the Owners Club, including the luxurious indoor and
outdoor pools. We especially enjoyed exploring the beautiful, historic complex. It was awesome having a drink in
the Presidents Lounge, beneath the portraits of all the
Presidents who have visited here, coffee on the porch,
and a complimentary wine tasting. We observed a wedding in the Crystal Room and attended a daily complimentary tea.
In addition to shops in the Homestead, there are
quaint shops on the grounds in Cottage Row.
Just across the street was the small town of Hot
Springs with nice shops, restaurants, a pharmacy, and several
churches.
Activities ranged in price from reasonable to expensive. Golf
was over $100, and at the nearby Cascades Course $250 with cart.
A one-hour equestrian lesson was $80, but a three-hour nature
hike with a naturalist in the adjacent conservatory lands with
beautiful, cascading waterfalls was $25. An hour’s soak in the
nearby Jefferson Baths was $15. This is obviously a retreat for
the wealthy. We felt privileged to be there and were treated with
utmost respect.
The Friday cocktail party at the Club Room featured a uniformed bartender mixing anything you desired, hors d’ouevres,
fresh shrimp and veggies, salsa and tortilla chips, hummus and
bread, cheeses, nuts, and chocolates. While grazing the goodies,
I also picked the brains of several owners and realtors. Despite a
membership that costs in excess of $100,000 (27 vacation days
per year) and a yearly maintenance fee of $5,000, it is difficult for
owners to trade through RCI. Several owners said they would
not bank weeks with RCI, even though they bought with that
intention. Apparently RCI treats all of us with equal indifference.
Nevertheless, if a week at the Owners Club at the Homestead
becomes available as an RCI trade, grab it!
TimeSharing Today
Page 37
Jan/Feb, 2006
Reflections after
20 Years of Timesharing
By Tina Brown, McKinney, TX
We have been owners of timeshares
since 1984, and until the new century, had
been very satisfied and happy with our
decisions and had used and enjoyed and
occasionally exchanged our timeshares to
the fullest.
We originally purchased a week at Hot
Springs Village in Hot Springs Arkansas
in 1984. The timeshares were sold and
managed by Cooper Communities, the
developer of Hot Springs Village. We had
a huge two-bedroom unit (3 of these to a
one-story building). It had a master bedroom, huge bathroom with 4-person (or
more) Jacuzzi tub and shower, living room
with fireplace and sofa bed and 2 chairs,
dining room, bar, kitchen with every
needed appliance and cookware and utensils, dishes, etc. for 8 people, another full
bathroom and the second bedroom with
twin beds.
This was all formed about a lovely
courtyard with a table and chairs, and had
a back patio with charcoal grill and chairs
that overlooked a lovely lake. Our week
was the same each year, but we could trade
it in house or through RCI. We enjoyed it
so much we seldom traded the first few
years. When we did trade, our accommodations at other places could not compare
to those at our home resort. Eventually
we bought an additional one at a distress
sale, which later we gave to our son.
In 1994 we had exchanged for a timeshare in Incline Village NV, and while visiting there, we liked the area so much that
we bought another timeshare at the Ridge
at Lake Tahoe. This was about 3 times the
price of the one in Arkansas, but it had
many added amenities on site such as a
clubhouse, restaurant, shops, ski lift, and
location, location, location.
We again got large, lovely and well
equipped rooms, although even the rooms
at the Ridge could not match our original
units at Hot Springs Village. We have never
traded or attempted to trade this week.
This is a float week, and we make our reservations up to two years in advance. We
have always been successful in getting
the weeks we want. However, the maintenance fees were much higher, and due to a
lawsuit, we had a couple of years of very
high fees. We did rent our unit a few years
ago and collected enough for the maintenance fees and a little extra.
Then last year, we put our week up
TST Anywhere
Judy Konz of Mesa, AZ is shown relaxing with TimeSharing Today
at the Royal Mayan in Cancun.
YOUR Vacation . . .
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There is a . . . WAY to Exchange your Week!
NO Membership Fees
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LUXURY RENTALS AND EXCHANGES SINCE 1986
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for rent a full year in advance, and they
only rented a couple of days. This was
very frustrating, as it was the first time we
had ever had a problem with rent or rental
services. The policy of the resort was first
in, first rented, and when we deposited it,
we were told we were number two for that
week. I have never received a satisfactory explanation as to why it was not more
fully rented. (It is a lock off unit and they
can rent both sides for different amounts
or the whole thing for a certain amount.)
Letters to the property managers and the
rental company were never personally
answered, which had not been the case in
previous years. I find this general decline
in customer/owner service to be another:
thing that has happened over the past few
years.
In the fall of 2001, we visited our resort in Hot Springs Village again. While
there, we attended a presentation by the
new management/sales company connected with the resorts, Escapes. They
showed us some lovely new units, a little
smaller than our present unit, but with the
lock off capabilities for use that we had at
Tahoe, plus the float option that had
TimeSharing Today
Page 38
worked so well for us at Tahoe. This
of course gives you the option of up to
four different vacations for the one ownership, although we generally only use a
full week. However, we did like the idea of
two private rooms because our children
are now adults and we could also have
friends to visit who would have their own
privacy as well.
Escapes also touted their resorts at
Gulf Shores Alabama, and Branson, Missouri, and talked about future resorts at
Galveston and Pensacola. Then there were
all the supposed perks offered by their
companion exchange company, ICE Resorts, and the cruise exchange ability;
cruising had by then become our favored
vacation.
So, we bit and the nightmares began.
We paid an additional $3000 for the upgrade, and our use fees went up some as
well.
During our first visit to the resort, we
took our son and his future wife, and they
decided to upgrade as well. They have
used the options very well but are also
frustrated by some of the ongoing problems.
[email protected]
Jan/Feb, 2006
TST Anywhere
Making a reservation at the home resort is fairly easy. These can be made 12
months ahead if your maintenance fees
are paid. Making reservations at a sister
resort is not quite so easy, especially at
the popular beach resorts. Sister resorts
can only be booked the same year that
you pay your dues, in other words you
cannot book them more than a few months
ahead. Well, if you pay your fees when
you get your bill, usually February, the
spring and summer are already filled. Maintenance fee bills are often late or, even as
in the case of the 2004 use year, errors and
late delivery, which causes future exchange problems.
We spent two years chasing our warranty deed around, as it was supposed to
be placed in a trust name rather than personal names. Customer service on this was
very poor. We eventually had to pay twice
again for this privilege.
We did exchange into the sister resort in Branson, MO and had a very nice
time there, but it was a small resort with
fewer amenities than even Hot Springs.
Of course, it did have all the attractions of
Branson.
Last year I called and had them deposit the week in RCI. They deposited a
fall week, and we had a very nice exchange
to Los Abrigados in Sedona AZ.
This year, I called shortly after the
maintenance fees were paid, and asked to
do the same (deposit with RCI). In May, I
went to the RCI website and tried to begin
to make an exchange, but they did not have
our week in their (internet) system. I called
Escapes, and they said that it had both
been deposited and used (it was not used
by us). I was concerned and called RCI
and found out that the week that was deposited was in April, one month after I
Sherry Hotham of
Phoenix, AZ is enjoying her TimeSharing
Today magazine on the
island of St. Vincent in
the Caribbean.
(Note sign for the
ocean in case she can’t
find it.)
called, and too short for a “good trade
value.” They (RCI) urged me to deposit
my 2006 week then for maximum value, but
that would again require an additional
maintenance fee. Needless to say, I am
very frustrated with both. Escapes and
RCI.
Then we received our Escapes newsletter and realize they are about to change
over to, or offer the option of, points. Of
course, you will pay a premium for good
points and less for ordinary points. (This
is the way I understand it from their article; I have not attended a presentation.)
As far as the ICE Company goes, and
the same for RCI or anyone else offering
you a cruise exchange, forget about it. You
can buy the cruise in a cabin you pick for
less from several Internet cruise brokers
and not have to give up your week.
I must say again we thoroughly enjoyed our first 15 years of timesharing, and
it is only as we have gotten older, and the
properties have deteriorated or changed
managements, that we have become discouraged and want to do other things. As
in anything else, let the buyer beware.
I am still hoping for federal regulation
of these sales, as I find that they are often
misleading and extremely pushy. We attend the presentations at other resorts
often, just to see what is new. I think the
pressure has really gotten intense in the
past few years.
I know the whole concept must be
very popular as I see more and more of the
hotel chains getting involved. However,
will they still be involved 10 years from
now, or will it even still be the same company? These are all questions that need
to be asked, and possibly will not have a
clear answer.
TimeSharing Today
Page 39
Jan/Feb, 2006
Guadalupe Revisited
By Bruce Stein, Brooklyn, New York
In the March/April, 2005 TimeSharing Today, there
was a report on the visit November, 2004 to The Creole
Beach Hotel in Gosiers, Guadeloupe. My wife and I
have visited the same hotel last year and would just
like to bring you up to date with the hotel.
The grounds were very nice; however the rooms
given to RCI exchangers were not the greatest. Our
room, a one bedroom duplex, was near a big tree, but
we could tolerate that. What was annoying, as the
previous report stated, was that you had to negotiate a
winding staircase from the lower level where the bedroom was located every time you wanted to go to the
bathroom.
Not wanting to hassle with the winding staircase,
I asked the front desk if they had a similar set up on the
same level. Fortunately they did; our new room was
okay but still had a view of the big tree.
The room was very nice for two people; it had a king sized
bed, full bathroom and mini-kitchen which included a microwave,
small refrigerator with freezer, sink and a two burner electric stove.
In the cabinets there were assorted pots and pans, utensils and
glassware. Unlike Ms. Neal, who had trouble with her door lock,
we got lucky; our door card worked every time. Most of the
attendants didn’t speak English and you had to go or call the
front desk for anything.
Either before you leave home or at the airport, it’s extremely
important that you exchange some
U.S. dollars for Euros, since US
money is not acceptable. One dollar is worth 80 cents euro, or about
a twenty percent loss. The taxi
from the airport to the resort cost
us 25 euros, it is better to ask the
price before you get into the cab.
It took about 15 - 20 minutes to
travel to the resort. Along the way,
we noticed a lot of graffiti and all
the signs were in French. As stated
before, public transportation is decent during the week but forget
about it on the weekend and holidays.
If you go to the city of Point-A-Pitre to walk around, it is
advisable not to wear any fancy jewelry and it is best to be out of
town by the time the stores close about 5:30 pm, and it starts
getting dark. The same could be said about Le Gosier, because in
the hotel room brochure it says town is relatively safe but beware
of thieves. I want to know how do you tell a non-thief from a thief,
so I guess to be aware of your surroundings.
We had a mini-kitchen we wanted to use; the nearest little
market for just the basics is about 10 minutes of a walk. Most of
the channels on the TV set were in French, but there were about
3 English speaking channels.
Since we were only two people, they only give towels for
two, a bath towel and a mid-sized one; if we wanted clean towels
each day, it would cost $5 US to do so. For them to do light
cleaning would cost about $9 US. They will provide cleaning
service two days per week, Wednesday and Saturday. Who needs
Saturday; that’s the day we’re leaving so they have to clean up
anyway for the next guest.
A security box by the front desk cost about $1.90 US and
this is recommended for safety reasons. When looking at the
brochure at the hotel for things to see and do, everything was in
French, so whether you went on
any adventure tours, water scooter
or any other tour, it would be conducted in French. To get around
to see the sights, you would have
to make contact with a native licensed taxi driver and guide who
speaks English.
One day we considered renting a car, so I went across the street
to the Hertz Car Rental office. The
attendant didn’t speak any English and I did not speak any
French, so that was the end of my
car rental idea.
Within a 5-minute walk, you
will find a casino but beware there is a dress code to enter.
Now for my favorite subject, food. For dinner, they have an
all you can eat buffet and dessert buffet which costs 22 euros or
about $26 U.S. and that includes the service charge. There is a
nice choice of main dishes and desserts to chose from. They
even have about six flavors of ice cream. They also had a breakfast buffet which we didn’t use, because we made breakfast in
the room.
For the final question, if anybody wants to know: would we
go back? Unfortunately, not knowing any French and even trying with a little travel dictionary, it was extremely difficult. If you
are fluent in understanding and speaking French, you could have
a nice time. For us the answer is no.

of Issue #85 - Timesharing Today

Transcription

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