Do any DVC members also own other Timeshares....

[sdamico71]

Just curious.....
Do any of you DVC members own Timeshares elsewhere?
If so, where.
Did you purchase before or after DVC.
How do you feel it stacks up to DVC.

 

[RobDoc]

We own 8 weeks at four other timeshares besides DVC. Two are in the DVC World Passport Collection. IMO, none offer the same standards as DVC, but all are nice resorts in great locations.

We purchased these primarily to use for exchange and have had great success with that purpose. We use RCI for our exchanges, but the resorts are also included in II .

We have purchased all of these since 1993- when we first joined DVC. All were purchased thru resale- the most expensive was $2500 and the least was $500 (for a week). Maintenance fees range from $325 to $475 per week for these resorts.

One is in Door County, WI- on Lake Michigan. One is in southern Indiana. One is in Gatlinburg, TN. One is an hour north of Atlanta in the GA mountains. We've found that they all compliment our DVC ownership nicely. At this time, we can't use all of the weeks ourselves- so we've enjoyed giving weeks to family and friends to enjoy. We can deposit our Gatlinburg week in Amber Vacations in exchange for a point system that can be used in their program at locations like Daytona and Kissimmee.

There are many others on this forum who also own other timeshares. Hopefully they will share their experiences too.

Enjoy!

 

[MiaSRN62]

We own a prime, floating week (resale) (7 nights) at Vistana and can use the facilities both in the WDW area, as well as Hutchinson Island in southeast FL. That Vistana resort is right on the beach----as with Vero. We purchased with another family member in '94 (prior to DVC). We only traded out once with Vistana (RCI) to Williamsburg, VA. I have many relatives in FL---both 90 min north of WDW and 90 min south. We wanted a place to vacation with the kids and also visit family who we so rarely get a chance to see. Vistana worked perfectly for us. As the years went on, we found that we were setting a pattern of adding extra nights on to our already owned 7 nights. These added nights were booked at various WDW resorts. Sometimes we'd only add 2 or 3 nights, but many other times we added 5+ nights. One year we added 7 nights. My husband and I got to thinking about buying more timeshare time---we obviously needed it. We pondered on more Vistana time, as the resort was growing and expanding in services but also gave thought to the DVC. It was a good almost 2 years of mulling the choices over. DVC eventually won out 3 years ago and we've been very happy with our decision.
Vistana is a terrific resort & we still enjoy our stays there, but we've become spoiled by the DVC. The added bonus of being on-site and the Disney touch is the key. We know we will be adding more points on in the future with DVC.

 

[Lisa P.]

Our first timeshare purchase was DVC, followed quickly by an offseason week at a Hilton Head Island Marriott resort, resale. Then we bought Fairfield points, then a week at each of two South African resorts, for trading through RCI - all resale. We've since sold all but the Fairfield points.

The DVC was best suited for DVC resort vacations, definitely the most costly of these timeshares for our family of 5+ who always need a 2BR. $8K/150 points, MF=$450/yr for every other year vacation. We sold it, though we still appreciate the quality of the DVC resorts and the flexibility of the DVC points program.

Marriott offered excellent resorts in other top locations but we owned more than we needed at one point. $2K/week, MF=$550+ II membership & fees ($140). The 2BR fixed week could not be divided in any way. As we realized that our desired destinations were also available through Fairfield, the Marriott went up for sale.

Fairfield points suit our needs best:
Many destination resorts where our family wants to travel in the next 5 years.
Several resorts within a day's drive of our home.
Significant expansion, increasing resort options.
Points flexibility (somewhat more restricted than DVC but good).
Lots of variety in family-friendly activities.
Good quality with upgrading in progress at older resorts.
Excellent inroom amenities and extensive resort amenities at most locations.
Easy to upgrade room size by trading thru RCI, saving points.
Affordable for what we get. $3K, MF=$500 (incl RCI membership) and we usually get about 12-17 nights per year in a 2BR. Worth about $4K now.

Most Fairfield resorts are not as fancy as DVC or Marriott, but a few of them are, IMHO. It's definitely nicer than DH or our teenage kids care about and I still feel pampered by the nice surroundings and amenities of all the ones we've visited so far.

The South Africa weeks were great for cheap trades into overbuilt areas, like Orlando and Williamsburg. $1K each, MF=$140+ each. With effort, we were able to trade them into some tougher locations as well. However, dealing with overseas maint fee payments and uncertainty of the economy and political situation there, we sold them after learning to get approximately the same kind of trades using very few Fairfield points.

We got our money back on ALL of our sold timeshares and ALL of them have increased in resale prices since we bought. Generally, resale is the way to go with other timeshares! Visit TUG - Timeshare Users Group to learn more about timeshare BEFORE you buy.

We sure do enjoy our timeshare vacations! They all seem to work best for those who are able to plan over a year ahead, though. HTH!

 

[spiceycat]

DVC was my first that I brought - then I made a very costly mistake - brought Westgate - then several years later I brought one in PCB and then in the same year a SA - been very happy with both - brought PCB for our use (myself and my brother's family) - brought the SA to trade - been very, very happy with the trades - I don't like to fly - so I only want something in the area that I can drive you - the South - and this is a very easy trade with the SA.

I have probably been the happiest with my DVC - it is so flexibility -

I also made a costly mistake - when I first brought DVC I was also thinking about buying a condo on the beach - then this condo was around $50,000 - several thousand more than DVC - but I could get bank financing (my bank will not finance a timeshare) - so it's payment would not be that worst - well I went with DVC - now that same condo is on the market for $350,000.....

but my family, friends, co-workers are probably all very happy with my DVC purchase - it has been great for everyone.

 

[OKWKirt]

The first timeshare DW and I bought was OKW in 1997, and love it. We used the points to go to Big Cedar Lodge a couple times and loved the lodge and the area (Branson, MO). We wanted a timeshare that we could drive to (from KC) so we bought a timeshare in Branson in 1999 and also added on at OKW. This timeshare gives us II membership which always saves me on airfare to WDW and we hope to use it for trades (maybe Maui next March). In 2001 Big Cedar Wilderness Club (timeshare next to and part of Big Cedar Lodge) started and we knew we had to be a part of that so we are one of the founding members of that timeshare. This timeshare gives us membership in RCI and is part of the fast growing Bluegreen Vacation Club with many trading resorts. I will never give up my OKW and BCWC because they are great. The other Branson timeshare is nice and I love the accomodations but it is not on the same level as the other two. It is fairly new and still building and claims to have great trading value which I hope and time will tell.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Before we bought we owned a fixed week timeshare in St. Maarten, we now own 2 weeks there in a 3 bedroom penthouse, same unit, so we never have to move, I wouldn't trade it for the world and when my RCI membership finishes up, I won't renew it. You really can't compare it to DVC, but it is as clean if not cleaner, but in an entirely different ballpark. We also own at Vistana, a floating week, every other year, I tried to sell it, but couldn't get much for it, about a 3rd of what we paid. Right after we bought it, I seriously checked into DVC, love it for WDW and Vero, but this to I wouldn't trade through II, just seems to work best for WDW.

 

[kcashner]

I bought Fairfield before I bought Disney. IMHO, Disney is much better. I'm encouraged in reading some of the posts that I might be able to sell my Fairfield and get out what I paid for it. That, frankly, is the only reason I still have it--I figured that I couldn't get anything for it.

The Fairfield units we've stayed in have been nice. HOwever, they do not offer non-smoking units, and some of them have been disgusting in that way. Housekeeping has tried to deal with it, but you can't really remove the smoke odor from upholstered furniture. Ditto burns in the furniture. I've also found that Fairfield had a whole series of "rules" that werent' disclosed when I bought. I later learned about use years (that's ok), but then you get into the fact that you can only make one reservation per CALENDAR year per X points owned regardless of your use year (you can bet they only got my $25 extra fee on that once!). Also, they track housekeeping points separately from use points. I've never gotten burned on that one, but it is possible to do so. Also, every time you stay at a resort, they try to talk you into another sales pitch. These are called "member updates," or "we merged with another company and there is a lot of new information we need to review with you," etc. It ends up being a hard sell pitch. It took 2 of those to convince me not to go. I've also had trouble getting reservations with them, even 9 months ahead. I was furious to arrive at a resort where for 9 months, I'd been denied a larger unit (they were supposedly full) even though I had the points for it. At the check-in desk, I found that they had plenty of larger units available, but were saving them "in case any platinum members show up unannounced." Now get real...what is the chance that someone will show up unannounced and want a large unit for that day or week!!! Of course, If I wanted to plunk down another chunk of cash to upgrade to platinum membership, they would put me in the big unit right then!

In contrast, Disney thoroughly explained the program up front. Everything they said would happen, did. Every time I've called, I've gotten a reservation at my first choice resort or exchange (yes, I realize some of that is luck, but.... At Disney, a point is a point. It doesn't matter whether you own 150 or 15,000. Units are filled on a first call, first reservation basis. The "member updates" are just that. Ok, there is a mild sales pitch, but no strong arm tactics, and there really is good information presented.

You have to explore what is right for you....but if I'd bought Disney first, I never would have bought another timeshare.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I'd have to agree with the above poster. You really need to find a timeshare that fits your lifestyle and budget.

We own a couple Marriotts outside of DVC. We just recently bought DVC unseen because we are family with young children. We decided hotels don't work for us. However, we want to disney world every other year. So, we only bought enough for every other year. I like the flexibility of DVC.

However, many other timeshares offfer a lot a flexibility. We bought at Marriott Timberlodge because they offer split week stays where you can stay 3 days on your 1st visit and 4 days on your next visit. We live within 2 hours of Tahoe. Also, we bought in Kauai at the Marriott Waihoai (not sure of the spelling) every other year. We figured we'd go to disney every other year and Hawaii every other year.

Also, it was important that we bought the season we need because most of travel must be done during school vacations, etc... We also like the resort type resorts so that is why we bought into Marriott. And, yes we could easily trade our Marriott to one in Orlando but really wanted to stay onsite.

I did look into resale but it didn't work out for us. I knew, we'd want to stay at mainly Marriotts. With a Marriott you have a better chance of trading into another Marriott because in II you have 21 day window lead against other resorts. I'd definitely visit TUG and research it throughly before you make a decision.

One of the reasons we got timeshares because it forces us to take vacations. Sad I know but sometimes my dh gets caught up into work too much.

Good Luck!

 

[Cruelladeville]

I bought a Marriott resale after I bought into DVC, mainly for trading purposes and in case I needed more time in Florida when I retire. They are very nice units, but I found out that they are less flexible, have hidden costs, and can't be split. It's just too complicated for me, but I guess it's all about what you are used to. My sister bought Marriott first, and she still can't figure out how DVC works.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

and she still can't figure out how DVC works

this was us for years before we bought DVC, I had that fixed week/unit concept in my head and just couldn't comprehend "points"!!!

Wish I had comprehended it sooner!!!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Originally posted by ClarabelleCow
this was us for years before we bought DVC, I had that fixed week/unit concept in my head and just couldn't comprehend "points"!!!

Wish I had comprehended it sooner!!!

Actually, my Marriotts are not fixed weeks at all. My Kauai week I can reserve any week from week 1 to 50. My Lake Tahoe week is a summer season so, I can reserve from June through September. Also, the units aren't fixed either. I guess, all timeshares are different so, my point is to do a lot of research before you purchase.