Fairfield comparison, DVC question.

[tvwalsh]

I toured the Bonnet Creek, Fairfield timeshare resort and was told that the more points you buy, the more rights and privileges you get. For example, an owner can reserve specific rooms if they have at least 300,000 points (about $44,500 worth).
Are there any extra privileges that DVC members who have purchased lots of points get?

 

[RoutemanDan]

No.
150 or 2000,we are all entitled to the same thing.

 

[tvwalsh]

No.
150 or 2000,we are all entitled to the same thing.

Are you sure?

 

[snappy]

TVWWALSH,

May I ask what you thought of the Fairfield Bonnet Creek resort? What are the room configurations?

 

[RobDoc]

Are you sure?

Yes, all DVC members get the same benefits regardless how many points they own. More points gives us access to more nights in DVC resorts, but no additional benefits.

 

[tvwalsh]

TVWWALSH,

May I ask what you thought of the Fairfield Bonnet Creek resort? What are the room configurations?

I think the resort is very up to date and wonderfully designed using quality materials. The smallest room available is an approximately 1000 square foot one bedroom. The four bedroom Presidential suites were very impressive.

I think, for anyone who is not a Disney Nut, like I am, I think it is a better deal than DVC. Fairfield has lots of its own resorts all over the US into which owners can book directly without that irritating fee. I also think the prices and fees are better.

I checked the resale prices and points can be bought for about 60-70% of retail. DVC seems to do a little better than that on resale.

 

[tamu91]

For example, an owner can reserve specific rooms if they have at least 300,000 points (about $44,500 worth).

I did not know that about Fairfield but why would you spend $44,500 at Bonnet Creek if you can buy other Fairfield properties at a much deeper discount and trade into here as you mentioned.
BTW, you don't need to be a Disney nut to enjoy DVC You can buy DVC for less than $13,000 from Disney and for another $100, you can trade into hundreds of properties all over the world. Much much better deal IMO.
DVC properties consistently rate much higher than most Fairfield properties and it's one of very few 'timeshares' that rise in value each year. Just to talk to those that bought DVC back in the early 90's.
You can't go wrong with DVC if you're in a market to buy a timeshare

 

[Cruelladeville]

Those of us who bought in the late 90's have seen our DVC value increase, too. I bought in 1997 at $54, and it's up to $76 or so now. Fairfield cannot make that claim--check out the resales for yourself, and you will see. Also, as has already been stated, we are all treated the same here, regardless of the amount of points you own. I own 700 pts, and I am treated just like someone who owns 150 pts. That's the way it should be, since that 150 pt owner will eventually own more pts if he/she is treated appropriately.

Don't forget to check out the fees associated with most timeshares. It's a shock! As a Marriott owner, I have to pay to stay at other Marriott's besides my home resort; changes to the ressie cost substantially; and you must belong to II at $79 per year just to be able to stay at your own resort during other times of year. DVC is essentially free once you buy your points.

 

[simpilotswife]

One other item to note is that it is not wise to buy in Orlando unless you plan to vacation there exclusively. Orlando timeshares do not have very good trading power since Orlando is not hard to trade into.

 

[Dean]

A number of timeshares systems have gone to a tiered system where you get more if you own more. FF does, Bluegreen does and Marriott does in a different way. With BG if you own 20K points (Silver) or 35K(gold), you get a certain level of privileges including free upgrades, wait list priorities and even the ability to use points for fees. You get a little more for a little less if you're gold compared to silver. With Marriott, if you own multiple floating weeks you can reserve at 13 months out instead of the usual 12 months if you do so for concurrent or consecutive weeks. I doubt DVC would ever head this direction as it would be difficult to do so under the legal set up.

 

[betslinc]

The "VIP" benefits you get for owning more points are only available if you buy direct from the developer. Resales lose their VIP benefits. Resales can be bought for many of the resorts fairly easily at about 25% of the developers price, and otherwise have all the same benefits. A few of the Fairfield properties are hard to get into, in which case having them as your home resort is important. Their customer service is notoriously poor, and there are a lot of transaction fees which DVC does not charge. It is a completely different kind of timeshare than DVC, definitely not for Disney fanatics. But it can complement DVC very nicely if you want to travel to other places in addition to Disney. Maintenance fees include your RCI membership, and you can get some really good trades. It is not a substitute for Disney, but Fairfield has some very nice resorts.

 

[vanstoj]

Before buying fairfield I would definitely checkout TUG (Timeshares user group) and get some opinions from Fairfield owners. It costs $15 to join but is well worth it. I have some friends who did buy at Bonnet Creek and have since traded out to two other Fairfield's - one in the mountains of Tenn. and one at Myrtle Beach. They were very disappointed with the Tenn. Fairfield but did like the Myrtle Beach, however, they were promised a week in St. Thomas but it never materialized. Also, Fairfield in usually high pressure sales. I would be careful and make sure that is what you want before committing extreme sums.

 

[mickeysgal]

One other item to note is that it is not wise to buy in Orlando unless you plan to vacation there exclusively. Orlando timeshares do not have very good trading power since Orlando is not hard to trade into.

Is this true? (Dean, please chime in!) We recently took a Marriott tour of their Horizons property and was told that Orlando is in big demand. The guide said that if we buy into the Marriott Vacation Club to make sure that we buy an Orlando property since it is in so much demand and therefore would carry a strong trading power. We've been thinking of adding to our DVC timeshare by expanding into Marriott (via resale, of course).

 

[bongo59]

they may have told you that but it is not true............go on tug and find out.............DVC in orlando is red hot but not many others

 

[SusanU]

I am a DVC owner & FF owner. Just stayed at Bonnett Creek in January (got a cheap trade through RCI with FF points since it is so new so took an extra vacation). While it is beautiful we all agreed that it doesn't compare with DVC. My family likes BWV where you can walk into Epcot or MGM and the continuous bus transportation. Bonnett Creek doesn't have that DVC feel with shops, restaurants, etc. It might somewhat compare to the laid back OKW when everything is done (golf course, etc) but not to the BW where activities abound at all hours. That said, the most annoying thing to me about FF is the high pressure sales and outright lies. Every FF stay has been accompanied by the "sales calls" where they will give you a coupon book, free Disney Dollars, etc. This was shocking my first FF stay as I had barely closed on my points. Another time the sales person came in to find only my sister & I there. As he couldn't sell anything without our spouses, he quickly had another appt in 5 minutes so he couldn't answer questions, but told us to come back the next day just to check our member numbers & be sure to bring our husbands. Now I just don't answer the phone when in the room, as important calls come through my cell. Too bad FF doesn't take lessons from DVC in this area. FF also charges $25 for each reservation over your allotment (I only have 1 allotment per yr), housekeeping fees over your limit (such as if you break up your stays into several shorter ones). I have been to 4 resorts in the past 1 1/2 yrs and all were RCI Gold Crown rated. However in talking to their reservation services probably a total of 8-10 times I have only had one of those be a good experience. The others were time consuming (1 lasted 1 1/2 hrs) and incorrect! While I love their facilities, resale is the only way to go as it is less than 25% than through the developer. I also use it to trade back into my home resort and many others by placing cheap deposits through RCI and searching online myself.

 

[Dean]

Is this true? (Dean, please chime in!) We recently took a Marriott tour of their Horizons property and was told that Orlando is in big demand. The guide said that if we buy into the Marriott Vacation Club to make sure that we buy an Orlando property since it is in so much demand and therefore would carry a strong trading power. We've been thinking of adding to our DVC timeshare by expanding into Marriott (via resale, of course).

Other than DVC and maybe Marriott for internal trading it is indeed true. A timeshare person lie? NO! While Orlando has high demand it also has higher availability. Orlando trades OK but unless you plan to use it most years, I'd never buy there.

 

[JLS]

I would agree - you should generally not buy in Orlando unless you are buying to go to that specific time share almost every year, the reason being because although demand is high for Orlando, the area is saturated with timeshare properties and there is almost always availability for any trade people want through RCI or Interval International into Orlando. DVC is an exception to that rule.

I am a fan of Fairfield and I own FF points to compliment by DVC membership. With very few exceptions, you should NEVER buy Fairfield points from the developer. You can get them dirt cheap on Ebay or through many other resale means. Check out the Fairfield Yahoo group if you are interested - tons of good information there. Also Tug is a great source, as previously mentioned. Fairfield has a ton of properties. The ones that FF has recently built tend to be very nice, including Bonnet Creek, Grand Desert in Las Vegas, and Royal Vista in Pompano Beach, the Daytona Beach property, etc. etc. But, other properties that FF has taken over management of definitely vary in quality. You can research the reviews of each resort through Tug.

If you use your FF points correctly and make strategic deposits of points into RCI for exchange, you can get some very cheap exchanges. We are getting a week in late June of this year at the Sheraton Mountain Vista in Avon, Colorado. That exchange would have cost 160 DVC points, but I got it for a low points deposit into RCI, plus the exchange fee. I would much prefer to use Fairfield points for exchanges because it is a better deal than using the expensive DVC points to exchange. DVC points are usually best used at DVC properties, unless a really premium exchange can be obtained to make it worth it.

 

[JLS]

I will add that Fairfield's sales tactics are VERY annoying. We stay at Grand Desert in Las Vegas a lot, and their MO is to tell you upon check in that you have to go to another desk in order to get your parking pass and "welcome kit" - that is just a ploy to get you to a sales agent who will pressure you to attend a "informational meeting" about the resort (sometimes they will call it something else, but it is all a disguised way to pressure you into buying more points or buying points if you are there renting). Even if you say no, they will sometimes call you in the unit several times to harass you. They will say that they need just a few minutes of your time to take a "survey" about the resort quality. Anything to get you suckered in! Not answering the phone in the unit is an excellent way of avoiding this.