any dvc marriott owners?

[dbertola]

We own at Marriott's Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach and love it. It is a beautiful resort and a difficult location to get into during the summer months. We own plat plus.

 

[Dean]

We own at Marriott's Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach and love it. It is a beautiful resort and a difficult location to get into during the summer months. We own plat plus.

Maybe you can add info about how the platinum plus reservations work. My understanding is you can reserve your week during the platinum plus time OR during the regular platinum time. If you do reserve a regular platinum week, what happens to the unused platinum plus week?

 

[Dean]

real quick, about the 13month window. if i wanted two eoy resorts then i would have to buy both for the same yrs (either both odd or both even) to qualify for the 13mos.? if its not too much trouble can u give an example using nc (2bd eoy) and moc (1bd eoy). as u know, neither one a lock off. THANKS!!!!!!!!

The only question is whether you can and are booking concurrent or consecutive weeks. Generally two EOY in the same year would do this other than the last week of one year and the first of the next.

one more ? about the eoy. if i own two same eoy resorts, lets use nc and a really cheap resort but platinum week, can i try to reserve two consecutive weeks at nc during the 13month window?

NO, you must reserve what you own. You would reserve one week at each resort you owned. The exception is Marriott will sometimes sell off the week 53 in one way or another.

Obviously you must do what you feel is best however if you only need a 1 BR, I can't believe it'd be worth buying a fixed week 2 BR even EOY, esp retail, unless they are lockoff's and I don't think they are. Given your reluctance I think you'd be far better off getting a platinum NC week resale and trying to trade request first for Maui over time. That way if you didn't get it this year you could try again next year. But I still think that you might consider a fixed week non Marriott and try to trade up to the Westin or Marriott when you wanted to go. There are several places worth considering for this purpose.

Here's some pricing information.

I have a price sheet from when we went in Feb, and the new tower prices are based on floor and week being purchased. For instance, 2 BDRM 7th Fl OF is $74,200 wk 8, $63.2k wk 16, $58.9k wk 48. Same unit 12th floor is $95k, $76k, 63K, respectively.

Pricing for the New Lahaina Villas Per Week as of 4/18/2007 (and you always know "it is going up in the next 28 day sales period"):

Two Bedroom Lahaina Villas which includes lockoff (there are no one bedroom)
Ocean Front $67,200 plus 135,000 points
Ocean View $61,000 plus 120,000 points
Mountain/Garden View $49,3000 plus 100,000 points

Maui Ocean Club Suites Per Week( I used to own a "villa" too!)
One Bedroom Suites:
Ocean Front $38,700 ten left from trade ins
Ocean View $33,400 fifty left from trade ins
Mountain View $25,400 none available
Island View $22,000 never heard of this one at Maui
Maint Fee for all of the above $1,337
Two Bedroom Suites:
Ocean Front $59,300 number avail not stated but "few"
Ocean View was $51,00 none avail
Mountain/Garden $42,000 number avail not stated
Maint Fee for all of the above $1,470

 

[3pirates]

Hi...

We have been with DVC since 1993. About five years ago we bought one week with Marriott, hoping to have more trade options. While we would NEVER trade our DVC we are considering selling the Marriott. We have found it a hassle that all trades have to be done through Interval. We love our resort, but if we want to trade with one week it is difficult, especially since we have school age children and have to travel peak times.

I think things get better if you have travel flexibility or own multiple weeks.

 

[dbertola]

Maybe you can add info about how the platinum plus reservations work. My understanding is you can reserve your week during the platinum plus time OR during the regular platinum time. If you do reserve a regular platinum week, what happens to the unused platinum plus week?

I'm not sure what happens to the unused plat plus week. They must make it avail to someone. Because like you said we can reserve our 4th of July week or any other time during the summer.

 

[Terpy]

I bought a 3 bdr EOY at Marriott's Grand Chateau. I picked up on eBay a Cypress Harbour Sport and a Cypress Harbour Summer. Every other year this allows me to book Cypress Harbour Summer for July 4 almost 14 months out!

How do I do this? I book the Sport at 13 months out for Week 23. I lock off the Grand Chateau and book weeks 24 and 25. In the same phone call I book Cypress Harbour Summer for week 26. This allows me to book the July 4th week (week 26 most years) at 13 months and three weeks.

I usually deposit the weeks that I'm not certain to use, so that I can get Marriott's internal priority at other Marriott's that I like. For example, I toured Marriott's Horizon's Orlando. I prefer Cypress Harbour for me, but my little one and cousins will probably like the shipwreck in the pool more. For this summer I traded into Horizon's for $89.

This works for me as I like to timeshare 3-5x per year. I use my DVC points for shorter stays.

I hope this helps.

Terpy

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure what happens to the unused plat plus week. They must make it avail to someone. Because like you said we can reserve our 4th of July week or any other time during the summer.

They have to do something to balance the system obviously, I was just not sure how they do so.

 

[Dean]

Hi...

We have been with DVC since 1993. About five years ago we bought one week with Marriott, hoping to have more trade options. While we would NEVER trade our DVC we are considering selling the Marriott. We have found it a hassle that all trades have to be done through Interval. We love our resort, but if we want to trade with one week it is difficult, especially since we have school age children and have to travel peak times.

I think things get better if you have travel flexibility or own multiple weeks.

I don't want to get too far off DVC on this BBS. If you want to email me directly I'll be happy to try to get you up to speed to figure out how to use the Marriott and II system. In addition you should be aware of the Timeshare Users Group (www.tug2.net) where there are adds and BBS including one specific to Marriott.

 

[Dean]

I bought a 3 bdr EOY at Marriott's Grand Chateau. I picked up on eBay a Cypress Harbour Sport and a Cypress Harbour Summer. Every other year this allows me to book Cypress Harbour Summer for July 4 almost 14 months out!

How do I do this? I book the Sport at 13 months out for Week 23. I lock off the Grand Chateau and book weeks 24 and 25. In the same phone call I book Cypress Harbour Summer for week 26. This allows me to book the July 4th week (week 26 most years) at 13 months and three weeks.

I usually deposit the weeks that I'm not certain to use, so that I can get Marriott's internal priority at other Marriott's that I like. For example, I toured Marriott's Horizon's Orlando. I prefer Cypress Harbour for me, but my little one and cousins will probably like the shipwreck in the pool more. For this summer I traded into Horizon's for $89.

This works for me as I like to timeshare 3-5x per year. I use my DVC points for shorter stays.

I hope this helps.

Terpy

That's c/w how I resereve my weeks. The one thing I'd have a different take on is that for trading it's actually not that difficult for one week owners. It's renting on your own or using where you have major issues as one week owner. Even many multiple week owners can't take advantage of the 13 month reservations because they're not reserving concurrently or consecutively.

 

[theOCdisney]

Just stumbled onto this thread. To the OP: Go to Timeshare Users Group before you do ANYTHING!! (tug2.net) There is so much to be educated on before you buy. I would not buy MOC from the developer when there are so many resales at substantially lower prices. IMHO the maintenance fees are too high to trade for points anyway. We own three Marriotts in addition to DVC. We own at MOC, Desert Springs Villas II and the new Frenchman's Cove in St. Thomas. Up until this year we owned two weeks at MOC. (Sold the 1 bdrm to buy DVC!) I have heard about owners having trouble reserving weeks at MOC. We have never had trouble, even when reserving at the 12 month window.

From reading the tug bbs, I know that there have been issues at NCV with reserving summer weeks at the 12 month window. Perhaps even more difficult than MOC. Keep in mind that good beach weather in So. Cal usually begins in July and lasts through Sept. (I live near NCV.) Thus limiting the prime summer weeks to approximately 8. (Nice weather weeks + school vacation weeks = July and August.) The Platinum season goes from the second week of June to the end of December, which makes for lots of competition for the prime weeks.

There is so much to digest before you make the move to buy. I know you talked about purchasing a 1 bedroom. We sold our one bedroom and kept our two bedroom. So many more options with a two bedroom.

We have traded into NCV and it is a very nice place. Since we live in Orange Co. (CA) it doesn't WOW me. I get more excited about MOC. I love the warm tropical breezes, the island smells, the balmy nights and the laid back feel. I think with any timeshare the motto is: "Buy where you want to stay." If you really want to go to Maui, then buy in Maui. If you want Newport Beach, buy in Newport Beach.

Good luck with which ever one you choose. We love our Marriotts and the flexibility they afford. When our kids finish college we will buy a Waiohai EOY and then our timeshare portfolio will be complete.

 

[ccigliano]

I own DVC at the WLV, Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club (2Bed EY, OceanFront), and the Hanalei Bay Resort (2Bed, EY, OceanFront) in Princeville Kauai. I bought in Aruba since my sister already owned there and I got a really good resale price for a gold season oceanfront unit. The resort there is what they call a Mega resort, since the Marriott Stellaris Hotel, Marriott Ocean Club and Marriott Surf Club are side by side on a beautiful strand of Eagle Beach. I can tell you that I am trying to trade the Aruba Marriott for a Hawaii Marriott now and I did make a big mistake. I did not break up the unit into the one bedroom and the studio, I traded it as a two bedroom. I have found several trades for studios and 1 bedroom Marriotts in Maui, Kauai, and Oahu but not 2 bedrooms. Since I have a lockoff I should have traded it separately and got two weeks out of it, I guess I know for next time. I am actually trying to sell my Hanalei Bay Resort timeshare since I don't really go every year as I live in NY. Good Luck with your decision and go for a lockoff.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I have three weeks in addition to my DVC, 2 at Marriott Cypress Harbour in their sport season(fall), and 1 week at Barony. I always reserve my Cypress Harbour for Thanksgiving, then I can trade anywhere. I have gotten Easter and Christmas weeks every year for the past 4 years, and always have gotten my trades. I have also bought the getaway weeks on II for basically dues, so I can't see why you would need platinum at most resorts, with the exception of those resorts with a very short platinum season. While I initially hated having to buy a membership in II, I buy the longest membership so it's the cheapest, and I buy those Getaway weeks. What a deal! Last year, you could spend a week in Florida in the winter for $299 in a two bedroom villa.I wintered there for $1200 per month, and many Marriott's dues are nearly that much for a week.

 

[littlestar]

. . .While I initially hated having to buy a membership in II, I buy the longest membership so it's the cheapest, and I buy those Getaway weeks. What a deal! Last year, you could spend a week in Florida in the winter for $299 in a two bedroom villa.I wintered there for $1200 per month, and many Marriott's dues are nearly that much for a week.

That's one of the things I like the best about our II membership, Getaway weeks. If you can travel off season, they are such a good deal. Of course, if you need holidays/platinum time, you are going to need to own something with good trade power to exchange (or if you own a low season week you can chance picking something up in flexchange - which is never guaranteed).

 

[JimC]

Sport Cypress Harbour in Orlando
Gold Ocean View Aruba Ocean Club
EEY Platinum Shadow Ridge in Palm Desert CA
EOY Platinum Canyon Villas in Phoenix AZ

We are very happy with the Marriott brand. MVCI is a less flexible than DVC and while it is less expensive than DVC, it is not inexpensive. MVCI does a consistently good job at delivering a quality product and service.

 

[Dean]

MVCI is a less flexible than DVC and while it is less expensive than DVC, it is not inexpensive. MVCI does a consistently good job at delivering a quality product and service.

Jim I would suggest that full week timeshares in general are less flexible in some ways and more so in others. For example, you get the internal trading preference with Marriott through II as well as the option of direct II services like reduced "cost" flexweeks, bonus weeks, getaways and the like.

 

[JimC]

Jim I would suggest that full week timeshares in general are less flexible in some ways and more so in others. For example, you get the internal trading preference with Marriott through II as well as the option of direct II services like reduced "cost" flexweeks, bonus weeks, getaways and the like.

True. I was thinking of only the MVCI portion. But my personal view on the Marriott internal trade preference with II is that DVC's internal trading system is much better. But on the other II benefits I agree with you

 

[littlestar]

One thing I think Marriott does a better job at than DVC is giving better views and priority to their owners when you check into a Marriott resort. We had friends that checked into Marriott Cypress Harbour last week (they just recently bought their first Marriott resale in the spring) and the manager at Cypress Harbour e-mailed them about a week before their trip and wanted to know about special requests or what the resort could do (as far as requests) to make their vacation special. Pretty neat. Our friends have thought about DVC, too, but so far they haven't bought any DVC points. I really wish DVC would give more priority to their owners on requests. Someone that supports their home resort through maintenance fees really should be given priority on requests for the better views/areas.

 

[JimC]

...We had friends that checked into Marriott Cypress Harbour last week (they just recently bought their first Marriott resale in the spring) and the manager at Cypress Harbour e-mailed them about a week before their trip and wanted to know about special requests or what the resort could do (as far as requests) to make their vacation special. Pretty neat. Our friends have thought about DVC, too, but so far they haven't bought any DVC points. I really wish DVC would give more priority to their owners on requests. Someone that supports their home resort through maintenance fees really should be given priority on requests for the better views/areas.

The pre-check-in email is standard MVCI (at least at the resorts I own). I agree that it would be nice if DVC did the same.

 

[Dean]

True. I was thinking of only the MVCI portion. But my personal view on the Marriott internal trade preference with II is that DVC's internal trading system is much better. But on the other II benefits I agree with you

Obviously being able to reserve for the unit size, exact numbers of days, any time of year and to reserve directly are major benefits and are very flexible compared to the industry. If DVC made II exchanges more beneficial such as bonus weeks and lower points in flexchange, DVC could be a major benefit from an exchange standpoint. Even better if they would expand the BVTC to include many of the big players for direct bookings such as MVCI, Hyatt, Hilton, Worldmark, etc.

One thing I think Marriott does a better job at than DVC is giving better views and priority to their owners when you check into a Marriott resort. We had friends that checked into Marriott Cypress Harbour last week (they just recently bought their first Marriott resale in the spring) and the manager at Cypress Harbour e-mailed them about a week before their trip and wanted to know about special requests or what the resort could do (as far as requests) to make their vacation special. Pretty neat. Our friends have thought about DVC, too, but so far they haven't bought any DVC points. I really wish DVC would give more priority to their owners on requests. Someone that supports their home resort through maintenance fees really should be given priority on requests for the better views/areas.

I recently posted the room assignment priority that most Marriott use which starts with multiple week owners and filters down through Marriott exchangers, cash guests then regular exchangers. Marriott also does a better job of partnering with local businesses than does DVC and that's true if one only compares to non WDW resorts. The one benefit I like about Marriott's that DVC does not do is when you are changing units or resorts in the same area. Marriott will allow you to stay in the old unit until the new one is ready regardless of when that is, at least all the ones I specifically know about.