Disney or Marriott?

[neiman5]

OK...I realize threads take on there own life......but this is a bit much. Entertaining...but a bit much.

 

[CarolA]

The one Marriott consideration that made me decide against was one that someone else had as a plus. I felt the full week stay was too restrictive for me. Now I am a single female and often just go for the weekend. (My next stay is a Sat/Sun/Mon in October!) For me, committting to a WEEK was just too stressful. It just goes to show you that one person's half full glass is the other person's half empty!

Bottlejet, personally I would not rent my points for $5.75 so you did good. I think that it would be better to bank or even sell if I had to go to that level.

However, I wish that some of the people who think that buying DVC points as an income producer by renting out the points would look at what you paid.

I am firmly convinced that on the timeshares are NOT normally good investments. Yes, DVC and the upper tier Marriotts have held up very well, but I probably could make more than the return I would get if I sold.

 

[neiman5]

The Marriott Waiohai) we are looking at as a split week option. .. 3 nights and 4 nights. Of course, not as flexible as DVC points, but still a nice option.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
The Marriott Waiohai) we are looking at as a split week option. .. 3 nights and 4 nights. Of course, not as flexible as DVC points, but still a nice option.

I have seen the property in construction and it will be very nice when all is completed. Like DVC, it doesn't make sense to buy there unless you plan to use it or exchange to other very top resorts. Fees may not be that high now but after the developer subsidy is done expect the 2 BR to be $1000-1200 or even more. I think the 1 BR at the older Marriott on Kauai just topped $1000. If you want for exchanging, you might look at Newport Coast or one of the desert CA Marriott's.

 

[neiman5]

Thanks for all your help Dean and everyone else. Overwelmed with all the info. Maintenance fee is starting at $928 which we feel is worh it when we go there and a great deal when we exchabge outside of Hawaii for 2 weeks. We know we are paying a premium buying from Marriott, but it seems Marriott's top resorts are holding their value fairly well. Of course, that is not really why we are doing this. Hard to put a price on the memories my family has already made and the committment we are making to have years of more. (maybe I should sell these things!) We are already keeping our eyes open for a second. Is it best to stay with one developer? We really like the Disney program we just felt that for our first we wanted something that could had great trading power. We are going to look at Newport, but it is not priced much less than Waiohai. We are just simply not into desert properties. Go figure? Anyway, we will slowing move forward and keep learning from DISBoards and TUG. Thanks to all again. We so appreciate you all.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
Thanks for all your help Dean and everyone else. Overwelmed with all the info. Maintenance fee is starting at $928 which we feel is worh it when we go there and a great deal when we exchabge outside of Hawaii for 2 weeks. We know we are paying a premium buying from Marriott, but it seems Marriott's top resorts are holding their value fairly well. Of course, that is not really why we are doing this. Hard to put a price on the memories my family has already made and the committment we are making to have years of more. (maybe I should sell these things!) We are already keeping our eyes open for a second. Is it best to stay with one developer? We really like the Disney program we just felt that for our first we wanted something that could had great trading power. We are going to look at Newport, but it is not priced much less than Waiohai. We are just simply not into desert properties. Go figure? Anyway, we will slowing move forward and keep learning from DISBoards and TUG. Thanks to all again. We so appreciate you all.

Glad to help but for some reason I have the impression that you're buying the wrong thing for the wrong reason. If you want a Marriott to trade, there are far better and cheaaper choices than HI that will trade just as well with far lower fees. The two weeks for one is a misnomer as the second week is worth little to most people. If you'll use it most of the time and trade occasionally, I can support you 100%, if not, I'm afraid you're making a mistake.

 

[neiman5]

Our plan is to trade it maybe one out of every three years. Does that make sense?

 

[mickeyc]

Since there has been a lot of great information mentioned above and you are already familiar with TUG I will make my comments brief.

We own both DVC and Marriot and we purchased resales for both. You will save thousands over retail. Since I purchased Marriot via a resale we did not receive points; however, in our case it was not an issue. You can receive additional information concerning points vs. no points on the Tug boards.

Both are great and there are reasons for buying one over the other; however, we love to stay on Disney property and we don't use it to trade. We may consider using DVC for a one bedroom in Hawaii at some point in the future. In my opinion both are quality companies and you will enjoy both. Good luck!!

P.S. The tug classified add section has some good deals once you know what to look for.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
Our plan is to trade it maybe one out of every three years. Does that make sense?

That seems reasonable to me, especially if you need a 2 BR.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by neiman5
Our plan is to trade it maybe one out of every three years. Does that make sense?

Yes, it makes sense — as long as you go in knowing that you're paying a high purchase price and a high annual fee for the privilege of being able to stay at one of the world's top timeshare resorts.

In a way, all of us who are DVC members made a similar decision when we paid the premium price and agreed to the premium annual fees for our DVC memberships. For example, I knew I could have bought a Vistana resale week for a fraction of the price of DVC, but that's not what my wife and I wanted.

Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club Resort at Poipu Beach on Kauai will be one of the most difficult timeshares to trade into. But as an owner, you'll have no trouble reserving there, as long as you book a year in advance — every year if you like.

All they have there are 2BR/2BA villas. At just 1,003 square feet, they're small as far as 2BR villas go. The location on the beach is outstanding. When I was last at Poipu, construction had not yet begun.

When it comes to trading power, you'll be at the top of the food chain. So in those years when you want to trade through II, you'll outtrade most other timeshare owners.

The units at the Waiohai Beach Club are not lock-offs, so you can't split them and deposit the 1BR and the studio as two separate weeks to II. But it's almost certain that you'll get a bonus week whenever you do a "deposit first" exchange with II. A bonus week can be wonderful or worthless, depending upon your flexibility and where you want to use it. (It's a wonderful way to stay at a gorgeous Orlando-area Marriott Vacation Club resort for a full week for $199 to $299.)

As a California resident, you have great Marriott Vacation Clubs in your state. I recently returned from a week in a 2BR at Marriott's Desert Springs Villas I. It's an outstanding resort, with huge villas and great views of the golf course and mountains, and easy access to the amazing J.W. Marriott Desert Springs resort. Newport Coast Villas, where I own, is spectacular. I haven't been to the new Marriott resorts at Lake Tahoe yet, but they look very promising. As an owner at Waiohai Beach Club, you'll enjoy the Marriott-to-Marriott priority and the top trading power when exchanging to resorts such as these. With proper advance planning, you should be able to exchange into peak seasons, such as July and August at Newport Coast.

Aloha!

 

[neiman5]

Yes, with 3 kids we need the two bedroom. We considered the new Marriott in Oahu, but we just liked the feel of Waiohai so much better...even though the new Oahu resort has lockoffs there is going to be over 700 units there compared to 230 at Waiohai. We are thinking we will have an easier time trading out of Waoiha (when we do) than trading into it. We are anxious to see the Newport resort. Interesting to see how many people own both DVC and Marriott.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
Yes, with 3 kids we need the two bedroom. We considered the new Marriott in Oahu, but we just liked the feel of Waiohai so much better...even though the new Oahu resort has lockoffs there is going to be over 700 units there compared to 230 at Waiohai. We are thinking we will have an easier time trading out of Waoiha (when we do) than trading into it. We are anxious to see the Newport resort. Interesting to see how many people own both DVC and Marriott.

I'm not sure at all that Kauai will trade better. There is a relative glut of units on Kauai compared to Maui. Oahu has had no good timeshares in II until the new Marriott. No one will know for certain but my guess is that Oahu will have far better trade power than Kauai, though both will be very good.

 

[neiman5]

Great point, Dean, and very true that Oahu is in need of good timeshares. We also cannot get the lockoff feature at Waiohai. If we are almost always going to need the two bedrooms...how important is this?

 

[WolfpackFan]

I received a package regarding the Marriott Vacation Club and I guess what struck me about the biggest benefit of the DVC over Marriott was DVC's simplicity and flexibility. Basically you can book when, where and for as long as you wish as long as you have points. Even the concepts of banking and borrowing points is easy to understand. With Marriott, it spoke all about Silver, Gold, etc. seasons and was very confusing. Maybe I'm simpleminded, but it just seems to me that the simplicity of DVC is a major benefit. Maybe I would be more interested in Marriott if it just wasn't so complicated.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by WolfpackFan
I received a package regarding the Marriott Vacation Club and I guess what struck me about the biggest benefit of the DVC over Marriott was DVC's simplicity and flexibility. Basically you can book when, where and for as long as you wish as long as you have points. Even the concepts of banking and borrowing points is easy to understand. With Marriott, it spoke all about Silver, Gold, etc. seasons and was very confusing. Maybe I'm simpleminded, but it just seems to me that the simplicity of DVC is a major benefit. Maybe I would be more interested in Marriott if it just wasn't so complicated.

I don't think Marriott is even as complicated as DVC unless you get into the trading issue. It's just a different world and one who wants to expore that direction and DVC must learn both systems with little overlap to help you.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
Great point, Dean, and very true that Oahu is in need of good timeshares. We also cannot get the lockoff feature at Waiohai. If we are almost always going to need the two bedrooms...how important is this?

It depends. You will always be able to search for a 2 BR if you deposit a 2 BR. Whether you will match that searcch may be another matter. For resorts that have 2 BR units only, you should be pretty successful with just a HI 1 BR unit. For Oahu you could always deposit as a 2 BR unit or use it as a 2 BR unit if you wanted but you'd have the lockout option as well.

I sense two pulls in your thinking. If you're truly going to use something 75% of the time and are looking at Marriott, buy Marriott where you want to stay. You keep talking about trade power though which is of little importance if you will use it as much as you state. You do have other options to include Maui (more expensive), the older Kauai Marriott (resale) or buy something else and try to trade in when you want to go to HI. So if you need a 2 BR to use most years, buy a 2 BR (lockoff or not). If you want Kauai, buy on Kauai (either property), both are very nice with advantages and disadvantes. I see the 2 locations as BWV vs OKW. Poipu is a ways out but nice and relaxed. Farther from most things but closer to some.

How old are the three kids, will you be able to downsize part of the trips in a few years. What if Air is $500 each every year for a family of 5, will owning HI be OK. I'm sure the new Kauai Marriott dues will go up as I'm sure there's a developer subsidy, expect $1200 per year easy by the time it sells out, maybe more.

Personally if I lived on the West coast I'd buy 2 weeks in HI. Probably at the Maui and Kaui locations. That way I could go every 2 years for 2 weeks and reserve at 13 months out instead of 12. I could then do an occasional exchange for Oahu for a change or third week. Of course you could substitute any combination of choices. A 2 BR L/O on Oahu, the older Kauai Marriott resale or another property like the Embassy on Kauai just down the road and just as nice but a lot cheaper resale.

 

[neiman5]

We stayed at the Embassy in April when we toured Waiohai. Let's just say we would never be satisfied with the quality there. We went to Kauai in April on an Embassy promo. Had done a great deal of research and was thinking we probably would buy there. We were so dissappointed! I can't believe Embassy puts there name on it. Of course, Embassy does not manage it which is another advantage to Marriott and Disney. They keep their hands in it knowing the quality reputation they need to protect. My kids are 8, 6 and 2. We are budgeting airfare at $500.00 each already, but counting on FF miles to help with that. Do you know anything about Fairfield's new program with Outrigger resorts? I know this web site is mainly for DVC, but I sure appreciate the wide range of wisdom I receive here.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by neiman5
We stayed at the Embassy in April when we toured Waiohai. Let's just say we would never be satisfied with the quality there. We went to Kauai in April on an Embassy promo. Had done a great deal of research and was thinking we probably would buy there. We were so dissappointed! I can't believe Embassy puts there name on it. Of course, Embassy does not manage it which is another advantage to Marriott and Disney. They keep their hands in it knowing the quality reputation they need to protect. My kids are 8, 6 and 2. We are budgeting airfare at $500.00 each already, but counting on FF miles to help with that. Do you know anything about Fairfield's new program with Outrigger resorts? I know this web site is mainly for DVC, but I sure appreciate the wide range of wisdom I receive here.

We loved the Embassy resorts when we stayed there. Though the AC set up was wierd, overall we though the resort and units were great. It's also a much better value from a trade standpoint due to the difference in cost but it's your dime, LOL. I don't know anything about the FF program, ask Lisa P. of this board.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by Dean
We loved the Embassy resorts when we stayed there.

It just shows how opinions differ. We stayed at the Embassy Vacation Resort at Poipu on Kauai in 2000, and we were very disappointed.

Check-in was slow and unpleasant — not leisurely in a friendly, "Aloha" sort of way, just slow. The desk agent seemed to find it necessary to scroll through every room on her computer screen in an effort to find a room for us even though we had the reservation for a half year or so, and we checked in around 6 p.m.

The sandy bottom pool was unpleasant with murky water (unlike the sandy bottom pool at Stormalong Bay at the YC/BC, which is wonderful).

Our kitchen floor was sticky. The furnishings and decor were nothing special. Our 2-bedroom condo was on the first floor, but the first floor was a full floor below the parking lot, so it felt like our room was in the basement. The kitchen had a view of a concrete retaining wall a few feet in front of the window.

You've heard of ocean views and garden views? Our living room had a dirt view. We faced a newly reseeded lawn that was little more than brown dirt.

In comparison, we had just checked out of Marriott's Kauai Beach Club, where we had a lovely 1-bedroom condo with spectacular view at this stunning resort. It really combines the best of features of a hotel and timeshare, much as at BWV.

We agreed that, even with two children, given the choice between a 1-bedrrom condo at the Marriott and a 2-bedroom at the Embassy, we would absolutely choose the Marriott.

The Embassy had a few good features. The living room had a CD player, so we could play our Hawaiian CDs. Although the Embassy is not on the beach, it's on a rocky coast where you can watch giant sea turtles. And the Embassy is walking distance to the excellent Hyatt Kauai Resort.

 

[neiman5]

I think we stayed in the same Embassy condo!