I've stayed at a number of places on the island. IMO, GO is the nicest timeshare in the best location. Monarch actually has the best location but certainly is not as nice as GO. The other two beach front Marriott's, Surfwatch and Barony Beach, are also very nice though I don't feel their locations is as good as GO nor do I think their resort layout is as good, especially if one exchanges in. All are 2 BR NON lockoff units ALL Marriott's on HH with two exceptions. Monarch has an owners 3 BR unit which they have sold (I almost bought it for Xmas resale) and Surfwatch has 3 BR units. Given the exchange is significantly less points than a 2 or 3 BR at DVC HH and barely more than a 1 BR for SUMMER, I'm surprised we don't see more people trying to do just that. It is interesting that DVC does not allow other HH resorts to trade in to the resort there but Marriott will.
Why not do the tour at SW and ask for a day pass in addition to your dining dollars or reward points. As a Marriott owner, one only has day pass privileges into the home resort but often they will allow it anyway for slower times. Call GO and ask if you can come by and look around and spend a couple of hours at the pool.
SW is the only resort in active sales and that is where the sales center is. Last I knew, the resale center was still at GO though. I think doing a sales tour is a personal thing, I think it would be helpful and educational but some find it stressful. If you do decide to tour at SW, they can give you info & prices on any resort in active sales as well as developer resales. But I would never direct you to buy retail, I don't think it's a wise move to throw away that type of money. They will try to convince you of the benefits of the reward points but the numbers just don't add up IMO. So if you do tour, promise me you won't buy until you've looked at resale for what you're interested in.
I love to do the tours to get any tidbits and learn about things/resorts/systems I might not know as much about, my wife, not so much. While I'd never do the tour just for the perks, I likely wouldn't get my wife to do it without them.
GO is several miles, SW is actually closer It's been a while but I'm guessing about 5-6 miles, SW maybe 2 miles. Have them list you in the unit as well so you can get a parking pass and have access to the pools, etc. For requests, I'd ask for OF and highest floor possible and hope for the best. Given the time of year and order of preference GO gives to Marriott exchangers, they likely will not be disappointed. It'd be hard to pass up the 3 BR though.
