Travlers:
Two middle aged parents in need of a vacation
Two pre-teens 1-girl, 1-boy
We picked-up an internet deal through
the Hilton http://hgvc.com on a Universal Studio package. The package included; 3 nights, 4 days in a 1 bedroom, free breakfast each morning and free happy hour daily, from 5:30-7:00.
In return, we agreed to attend a 90 minute timeshare presentation.
Stayed at Hawthorn Suites, Canada Drive, approximately 10 minutes from Universal.
We were greeted by a trainee (I'm sure she's been fired by now) and a very pleasent manager. Overall, check-in went smooth.
The room was very spacious but the floor plan was "klunky."
The room included:
Kitchen-refrig, microwave, dish washer, sink, stove (no oven), coffee maker, toaster, small kitchen table.
Bathroom-vanity separate, shower, etc...nothing special.
Bedroom-two queen size beds, TV, large closet
Living Room-sofa sleeper, TV, VCR and CD Player
Food/Happy Hour
Breakfast each morning was free and wonderful!
Bagels, muffins, toast, cereal, hot waffels, fruit, french toast, sausage, girts, juice, coffee. All the food was fresh, hot and all you could eat.
One day, fresh cookies were put of for anyone that passed by.
Happy Hour-free drinks, as promised. One night, baked ziti was available. The rest of the nights, veges and dip.
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Presentation
We decided not to mention we were DVC members unless we felt really trapped.
We requested transportation to the 90 HGVC timeshare presentation and were promptly picked-up at 7:45 for an 8:00 meeting at the Hilton resort.
Our Hilton guide was pleasant. Breakfast was available but we'd already eaten. We made small talk with the guide for 1/2 hr then a short movie which explained how the Hilton points work, etc...We were escorted on a tour of the property and were shown various accommodations. Like DVC, they have studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms. All the rooms were beautifully decorated, clean and had ample space.
As our 90 minutes drew to an end, the discussion turned to cost, points and incentives.
The "suggested" number of points to fit our vacationing profile was 5,000 (I think? they would not allow us to take the paper work home with us. Although we requested copies, they were not provided either)Total cost $15,000, 10% down today, our guide suggested. They would finance at 14.6%. Well, that didn't go far. So, in came "The Manager" with intrest rate slashing, down payment slashing and the incentive-trip for two to Hawaii, including airfare, but only if we signed today-Nope!
One last chance, in comes the cute blonde marketing girl with a final offer-Nope! Our 90 minutes had been up for 15 minutes and the sun was shinning.
We redeemed our coupon for the free Universal Studio tickets (2-adult) for 2 days. Although on the phone the marketing folks lead me to believe we could have one day at US and one at IOA.
We waited at least 20 minutes for transporation back to the Hawthorn.
My husband and I vowed never to get caught up in a time share presentation again.
Two middle aged parents in need of a vacation
Two pre-teens 1-girl, 1-boy
We picked-up an internet deal through
the Hilton http://hgvc.com on a Universal Studio package. The package included; 3 nights, 4 days in a 1 bedroom, free breakfast each morning and free happy hour daily, from 5:30-7:00.
In return, we agreed to attend a 90 minute timeshare presentation.
Stayed at Hawthorn Suites, Canada Drive, approximately 10 minutes from Universal.
We were greeted by a trainee (I'm sure she's been fired by now) and a very pleasent manager. Overall, check-in went smooth.
The room was very spacious but the floor plan was "klunky."
The room included:
Kitchen-refrig, microwave, dish washer, sink, stove (no oven), coffee maker, toaster, small kitchen table.
Bathroom-vanity separate, shower, etc...nothing special.
Bedroom-two queen size beds, TV, large closet
Living Room-sofa sleeper, TV, VCR and CD Player
Food/Happy Hour
Breakfast each morning was free and wonderful!
Bagels, muffins, toast, cereal, hot waffels, fruit, french toast, sausage, girts, juice, coffee. All the food was fresh, hot and all you could eat.
One day, fresh cookies were put of for anyone that passed by.
Happy Hour-free drinks, as promised. One night, baked ziti was available. The rest of the nights, veges and dip.
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Presentation
We decided not to mention we were DVC members unless we felt really trapped.
We requested transportation to the 90 HGVC timeshare presentation and were promptly picked-up at 7:45 for an 8:00 meeting at the Hilton resort.
Our Hilton guide was pleasant. Breakfast was available but we'd already eaten. We made small talk with the guide for 1/2 hr then a short movie which explained how the Hilton points work, etc...We were escorted on a tour of the property and were shown various accommodations. Like DVC, they have studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms. All the rooms were beautifully decorated, clean and had ample space.
As our 90 minutes drew to an end, the discussion turned to cost, points and incentives.
The "suggested" number of points to fit our vacationing profile was 5,000 (I think? they would not allow us to take the paper work home with us. Although we requested copies, they were not provided either)Total cost $15,000, 10% down today, our guide suggested. They would finance at 14.6%. Well, that didn't go far. So, in came "The Manager" with intrest rate slashing, down payment slashing and the incentive-trip for two to Hawaii, including airfare, but only if we signed today-Nope!
One last chance, in comes the cute blonde marketing girl with a final offer-Nope! Our 90 minutes had been up for 15 minutes and the sun was shinning.
We redeemed our coupon for the free Universal Studio tickets (2-adult) for 2 days. Although on the phone the marketing folks lead me to believe we could have one day at US and one at IOA.
We waited at least 20 minutes for transporation back to the Hawthorn.
My husband and I vowed never to get caught up in a time share presentation again.
