Availabilty of Member Getaway Resorts

[usrgfra]

My wife and I are seriously considering purchasing a timeshare at SSR. Although I really enjoyed our vacation at WDW this last week, I don't see us going there every year. I would like to hear from DVC members who have used some of the resorts listed in the Member Getaways brochure.

I am curious if members who used these non-Disney resorts had any problems with availabilty during the summer months. I would love to hear both positive and negative experiences members encounterd trying to get to these resorts. I am also interested how many points it cost to use these getaway resorts ( we were told 160 points is the max).

I am a complete novice when it comes to timeshares and the exchange programs. Any help or advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I am very impressed with DVC and SSR. It's just that I would like to see more than just WDW on a yearly basis.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I'm surprised I am the first to have the opportunity to say this but...if you don't plan to routinely use your points at a DVC resort you shouldn't buy DVC. You may be better off buying a Marriott somewhere other than Orlando.

To learn more about timesharing in general you should visit www.tug2.net otherwise known as the timeshare users group.

Using DVC points to stay anywhere winds up being more expensive than buying a 3, 4 or 5,000 resale timeshare elsewhere to trade for weeks in Interval International. Moreover your selection via DVC is much more limited than it would be directly working with Interval International.

 

[caven553]

We have traded out twice now in 5 years and never had any problems getting what we wanted.

 

[spiceycat]

Using DVC points to stay anywhere winds up being more expensive than buying a 3, 4 or 5,000 resale timeshare elsewhere to trade for weeks in Interval International. Moreover your selection via DVC is much more limited than it would be directly working with Interval International.

I agreed completely.

there is also the getaways that II offers it members that because DVC members aren't II members - they don't get access too.

examples
Horizons by Marriott at Orlando • MHZ
Orlando , FL , USA
Resort Details & Photos
Member Average Nightly
Rate From
Sep 15 2006 - Sep 22 2006 0 2 4 $229.00 $29.14
Sep 15 2006 - Sep 22 2006 1 4 4 $299.00 $39.14
Sep 15 2006 - Sep 22 2006 2 6 8 $584.00 $79.86

hawaii
Imperial Hawaii Resort Club II • IHR
Honolulu , HI , USA
mber Average Nightly
Rate From
Sep 24 2006 - Oct 01 2006 0 2 4 $469.00 $63.43
Nightly rates are based on per week basis.
All prices are shown in US DOLLARS.
Kahana Villa Vacation Club • KVV
Lahaina , HI , USA
Resort Details & Photos
Member Interval
Member Average Nightly
Rate From
Sep 24 2006 - Oct 01 2006 1 4 4 $669.00 $92.00
Nightly rates are based on per week basis.
All prices are shown in US DOLLARS.
The Gardens at West Maui • TGW
Lahaina , HI , USA
Resort Details & Photos
Member Interval
Member Average Nightly
Rate From
Sep 29 2006 - Oct 06 2006 1 4 4 $529.00 $72.00
Nightly rates are based

northwest
Marriott's MountainSide at Park City • MOU
Park City , UT , USA
Resort Details & Photos

Gold
Member Interval
Member Average Nightly
Rate From
Sep 01 2006 - Sep 08 2006 0 2 4 $274.00 $299.00 $39.14
Sep 02 2006 - Sep 09 2006 0 2 4 $649.00 $674.00 $92.71
Sep 02 2006 - Sep 09 2006 1 4 4 $829.00 $854.00 $118.43
- SEE MORE Nightly rates are based on per week basis.
All prices are shown in US DOLLARS.
Marriott's Summit Watch • MSW
Park City , UT , USA
Resort Details & Photos

Gold
Member Interval
Member Average Nightly
Rate From

since DVC is the corporate member not individual membership - we don't get these. (yes it cost more to be a member of II - but if you can use the getaways - it is worth it to be member)

 

[littlestar]

Those Interval Getaways when you're a full member of II are great, aren't they Spiceycat? I love that you can book them without giving up your week. When we bought our Marriott EOY (every other year) week, we bought a gold membership with II, something we couldn't do when we only owned our DVC points.

USRGFRA, we bought enough DVC points for our onsite trips and bought our Marriott week to take care of our exchanging and having access to II (Interval's) cash Getaway weeks. If you want to read more about all the systems out there (Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Fairfield, Bluegreen, etc.), take a look at the tug boards. Here's a link:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/

We love our DVC points, but also enjoy our Marriott week for its great family of resorts.

On a side note, I will say that I have heard that it's easier getting studios and one bedrooms through DVC trades than it is 2 bedrooms for say a place like Hawaii. Holidays would be tough for a trade. Most people that own Marriott, etc., that own platinum (high season weeks) are tied to school schedules, etc., and own those high demand weeks to use. I guess if you planned on using DVC 3/4's of the time and trading it about 1/4 of the time, that might be reasonable. Hopefully you'll get some more thoughts from people that actually trade out with their DVC to see what their thoughts are.

 

[JudyS]

Summer availability of resorts through Interval International will depend greatly on where you want to go. Some places, such as Colorado, Park City Utah, and Palm Spring have tons of Marriotts and other nice resort available in summer, while some other places have very limited availability. It also depends on the level of resort that you want to stay at. If you want to stay only at Marriotts, it helps to own a Marriott, because Marriott gives an "internal trade priority" -- that is, Marriott owners get first crack at any Marriott weeks deposited into II.

I second the comments here that owning a DVC contract to trade through Interval International isn't cost effective. What I would suggest is that you buy a small DVC contract that will give you enough points to go to Disneyworld every two or three years. Then, you could buy a less expensive resort to use for trading in II.