5 star resort for $40.90 a night!!

[Isabelle]

I just booked 4 nights at the Star Island Resort & Country Club through hotelkingdom.com http://www.discounthotelsorlando.com/orstarisland.htm. They are offering an incredible rate of $40.90 for the first four nights and $60.90 for the next three (max. stay is seven nights) with the condition that you attend a 90 minute sales tour and presentation. You have to qualify (read more about it at the link above). They do charge a deposit of $32.70 to your credit card (which is applied to the total amount) and a $10.90 cancellation fee with at least 72 hour notice).

Has anyone stayed there? I visited their web site www.starislandresort.com and it certainly looks astonishing! Could it be too good to be true? They just have suite accommodations (one of them is a mini suite) so I guess nothing bad could happen about that.

My other choice is Dixie Landings for $104.00 a night with the AP discount. What should I do? do I take the risk? Is it worth it to waste two hours to attend the presentation? I really wanted to stay on site but the incredible rate at the Star Island is impossible to beat.

 

[lawgs]

if you can resist the sales pitch.....

and being handed off to a series of "managers" intent on "making" you purchase.....

then this is a deal....

just make sure that you both are "ready" to say no to the offer no matter what it is ....

and do not feel you are obligated just because they gave you such a good rate....

they play the averages......JUST make sure you are not one of their "averages"......

and star island is a nice resort...we have toured it before....but did not buy

what do you get to stay in....

 

[Ecdubfan]

We toured the Star Island 2 years ago, and bought the discovery package. When we visited again, we ended up buying at their other property down the road Fairfield Cypress Palms. They had talked about selling out soon, though I think they decided to build some more units. The place was fantastic, but seemed too nice for us parents of toddlers. Thats why we chose the more family oriented Fairfield Cypress Palms. I did not find Fairfield's sales presentations to be very pushy. In fact, they seemed mild when compared with Tempus Palms. You will enjoy Star Island.

Christmas 1979 offsite
July 1989 offsite (Marriott World Center)
July 1996 Offsite (Daytona Adam's Mark)
August 1999 Offsite (Fairfield Star Island)
March 2000 Offsite (Fairfield Cypress Palms - new owners)
2001 - TBD

 

[tinaluis]

As stated in the previous responses, be ready to say NO "no matter what". We went for a timeshare presentation (not the one that you'll be attending, by the way) on our honeymoon many years ago because they were offering free Universal tix and without the free offer we wouldn't have been able to go. They made their hardline sales pitch to which I said a firm "NO". They said we had to just complete one more step before getting our tix and a "Manager" approached us and was willing to give us "foreclosures" in the same property at less than 50% of the price that they'd just offered. It was a little tempting for my Hubby who was giving me a confused look but I said "NO" again and we got our tickets. We loved Universal so much that we never miss it when we visit Orlando.

 

[ReneeA]

It's a great deal if you can resist the sales pitch. Even if you are interested, don't buy directly from the salesperson there. Wait until you get home, and check timeshares resale sites on the web...you will find amazing deals!!

ReneeA

 

[chris1gill]

I have to agree, the resort DOES look very nice, we looked into doing this exact package before we added on DVC points.... I checked out the resort, I figured the savings was definitely worth it for giving 2 hours of my time.... Now as to whether you should stay there or DxL... Obviously, you'll be off site, but you will have a kitchen, washer/dryer, whirlpool tub in the unit... those things are very very important to us even when we are on vacation... and also, you'll be saving 100 dollars a night... that's hard money to pass up!!! Good luck with your decision!!

 

[robinb]

One piece of advise for doing timeshare presentations. Find out in advance how long it will be. Most are 90 miniutes, but they can and will keep you for hours. We once spent over 3 hours saying 'No' to a Westgate Villas salesperson and his 3 managers.

Tell the salesperson in advance that that the presentation is supposed to take 90 minutes and that's as long as you will stay. The salespeople are entitled to the amount of time that you agree to spend with them in return for your stay, but no more. Once you are at the presentation, they will need to explain the set up to you and maybe show you a model. Since you'll be staying in one of their units, you can probably skip the tour. Keep a sharp eye on your watch and remind them 45 minutes into the presentation that they've used half their time. I also tell them that they should wrap things up with only 15 minutes left. If they object that they have not explained everything, too bad. They were warned that your presentation was on a timeclock. I know this really sounds hard-hearted, but it's really the best method for not spending half of a day with the timeshare salespeople.


-- Robin