Hoping to do II trade (Key West) soon, some questions

[dznyacct]

We are VWL DVC members who have only used our points at WDW (VWL,BWV, BCV and OKW - first stay there next month) and VB. After doing some research and thanks to the advice of some wise DIS members on this board, we are hoping to soon initiate a trade to Key West for next summer. We first visited Key West this summer on our DCL cruise. My DH absolutely fell in love with the place. When we sailed away that night he told me how he wanted to come back and stay for a week sometime. At first it was going to be just me and DH going back to Key West. I have been helping a very good friend of ours plan a surprise trip to WDW for her, DH and DDs for next month. They will be at WDW when my DS and I will be there, so I can't wait to play "tour guide". They are a great family that we get along with really well and enjoy spending time with. While e-mailing her several times in the last few days, a lightbulb went off..... why not ask her and her DH to join us in Key West next summer?!?!?!? We would take care of the lodging cost using our DVC points, so it could be a pretty reasonable trip $$$ wise.

I called DVC today to ask a few questions, but I'm sure some DIS members here know waaaay more than member services! I have our resort choice narrowed down to The Galleon Resort and the Hyatt Sunset Harbor Resort (thanks Dean for the recommendation). We love the Old Town location. I know that the II search initiation fee is $75. I was told that the difference between private and non-private in regards to sleeping capacity had to do with whether or not the master bedroom has a private bath too. MS told me that a 1 BR at The Galleon slept 4 (a king sized bed in the MBR and a sleeper sofa in the LR) in a non-private room. Now my questions:

* MS told me I won't know how many points an exchange will require because they won't know the season (low, mid or high) until a match is found. From what I have read, summer (either late June or late July is when we would go) is the off season in Key West. Does anyone have any experience with a trade around that time and if so, what season was it considered to be?

* Has anyone ever had 4 adults in a 1 BR at either The Galleon or the Hyatt Sunset Harbor? Was it too crowded? How was it (size wise) compared to a 1 BR DVC room at WDW?

* Has anyone done an II trade to Key West in the summer before? Was it difficult to get a match? When did you put in your request and when was a match found? Did you have to give multiple alternatives (resorts, room type/size)?

* Has anyone ever traded/tried to find a trade for a non-private 1BR at either The Galleon or Hyatt Sunset Harbor? How difficult was it to find a match?

As I said we get along GREAT with our friends. I'm smiling just thinking about how much fun we would have spending a week with them in Key West. I'm really hoping that a 1 BR would work out for us so I can save some of our DVC points for another get away next year. I really don't think our friends would have any problem with not having their own private bedroom (i.e. sleeping on the sleeper sofa).

I'm having a tough time deciding which resort I would choose. I really like that there is a beach and an exercise room on-site at The Galleon, but the Hyatt looks really nice too. Any personal experiences/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!!

 

[JimMIA]

Two comments: One -- FWIW, I have seen a number of posts on various threads by other wise DVC owners saying that they felt they got much better value paying cash for non-DVC properties (including the cruises) and then renting the requisite number of points to cover the cash outlay. If you look carefully here, on the DVC Community forum, and on the Rent Points forum, you'll see some of those posts. Just a suggestion.

We live in Miami and we visit the Keys often (last week, as a matter of fact). The Keys are extraordinarily seasonal, and you can get huge bargains in the summer, both in Key West and also a few miles outside of Key West. There are many empty hotel rooms, and empty bed & breakfast rooms in July. www.fla-keys.com is the official Chamber of Commerce sight and they have a great reservations service, so I'd start your search there.

If you want to be in the middle of the action in Old Town, the Crown Plaza La Concha Hotel is right on Duval Street. It's a lovely historic hotel, which is a cool, Conch thing to do. Some of the rooms are quite small, but at summer rates, you could undoubtedly get two rooms for less than you are going to spend in points. Even if you don't stay there, go to the top floor bar for sunset one day. Great views!

Two -- if you need any other Key West info, like dining, snorkling, etc, PM or email me and I'll give you a list of our must-do's in Key West.

 

[Dean]

It looks like what DVC (and II) shows as a 1 BR is little more than a glorified studio. Both Galleon and SH show 1 BR sleeping 2 privately and 4 non privately. That may mean that there really isn't a separation between the LR and sleeping area but more likely that the Bath is through the BR. It shouldn't be hard to find out, go to TUG where you can register for the BBS for free. It should be MID season and they should absolutely be able to tell you up front for any week. IF you gave them a range that covers multiple weeks, that might create the problem but they should still be able to tell you which weeks are which season. And it may be possible it could change year to year so if you're looking 2006 as it sounds like, it could change slightly.

Summer should be a fairly easy trade. If I were you, I'd see if DVC will let you start a search for a 1 BR sleep 4 and list it as 4 adults. IF you do this, they can't match you to a 1 BR sleep 2 privately. So you are likely to get a 2 BR for the price of a 1 BR. Don't tell DVC this up front as they likely won't take your request if you do.

A private exchange may be your best option though if you can swing the above coup, that may be even better. It should be hard to find the info you need on the 1 BR from TUG. I did look at the reviews, II site, Galleon's home page and was not able to tell for sure about the 1 BR layout.

 

[cymomtx]

Both of those resorts are in the "Red" booking zone, which means it will cost you lots of points.

The Hyatt Sunset is a Sunday check-in only, and the Galleon is a Saturday Check-in only if you book through II.

 

[JimMIA]

Both of those resorts are in the "Red" booking zone, which means it will cost you lots of points.

The Hyatt Sunset is a Sunday check-in only, and the Galleon is a Saturday Check-in only if you book through II.

June-July is the S...L...O...W...season in the Keys! About the only time that may be slower would be late August-September, after the kids have returned to school. If you are going to pay a bunch of points for the absolute rock-bottom part of the summer doldrums, I'd sure look at cash options.

 

[Dean]

Both of those resorts are in the "Red" booking zone, which means it will cost you lots of points.

The Hyatt Sunset is a Sunday check-in only, and the Galleon is a Saturday Check-in only if you book through II.

Red does not mean high season for DVC necessarily. ONLY truly peak season us usually high. The rest of the red time is usually Mid season and at times may even be low season.

 

[Major.Nelson]

I dont get why people like Key West so much to me mainly all there is to see are street performers at Mallary Square or maybe i dont like it much down there because im a Conch lol anyway just to suggest a resturant i would suggest PT's and i cant tell you any Hotel suggestions because i never stayed at a hotel there before, and if you ever go to neighboring islands i wouldnt suggest the Big Pine House Of Music Food And Drink as a resturant, locally its know as the house of stench.

 

[underdesea]

dsnyaccnt, good luck trying to get your trade to Key West. We were successful once several years ago, but we could only get the Hyatt Beach Club. It's a nice resort, but it's in New Town, and since we didn't rent a car, we had to use public shuttles for traveling, which was time-consuming for us. We really missed the ambience of Old Town. Also, we went in June, and it rained every day we were there--yes, I know, summer is Florida's rainy season. But these rains were torrential and nonstop and really made getting around difficult. We only had one day of our our week-plus stay where we saw a sunset rather than rain clouds.

Still, we dearly love Key West, so two years ago, I put in another II trade request, this time exempting the Beach Club. We asked for January or February (admittedly a long shot because that is prime season in Key West), and then when I was able, I expanded the search to May. In two years, we have not received a match.

That said, there are many lovely guest houses in Old Town; before our Beach Club reservation, we stayed two nights at the Artist's House in Old Town and fell in love with it. We have also stayed at the Dewey House/La Mer, at the east end of Duvall Street; those were very nice as well, and some units include a kitchen.

Perhaps you will be luckier than we were on a trade, but if not, you will find other fairly economical choices and truly welcoming accommodations elsewhere in Old Town...

 

[gppnj]

Great questions. My first II trade will probably be at Key West (love it!), so I have just about every one of those questions myself. I'm sure the answers you get will be valuable.

 

[dznyacct]

Well, I put in for a Key West trade over two months ago for 4 different weeks (2 in June and 2 in July) at Hyatt Sunset Harbor or The Galleon. So far, no match . This is my first attempt at a trade and REALLY hoped that a match would be found soon so I could start looking at airfare, planning time off from work, etc. I've already started researching other Key West places "just in case". Then I would have to rent our points to cover the $$ outlay (let alone the $75 II fee ~ I hate to throw money away ). Oh well, I guess it's a live and learn experience if nothing else.

 

[Dean]

Well, I put in for a Key West trade over two months ago for 4 different weeks (2 in June and 2 in July) at Hyatt Sunset Harbor or The Galleon. So far, no match . This is my first attempt at a trade and REALLY hoped that a match would be found soon so I could start looking at airfare, planning time off from work, etc. I've already started researching other Key West places "just in case". Then I would have to rent our points to cover the $$ outlay (let alone the $75 II fee ~ I hate to throw money away ). Oh well, I guess it's a live and learn experience if nothing else.

You were a little late putting in those requests at 8-9 months out. Still, your best chance of success will likely be Dec-Feb so I wouldn't give up yet.

 

[PBader]

You could also check out www.vrbo.com. Vacation Rentals by Owner, these are privately owned houses and condos that you can rent. I have been searching these for a Kauai stay. Even when you figure in the cleaning fees and taxes we are able to save. Most of the 2/3 bedrooms we have looked at have been in the $1200-$2000 range, so we could in essence rent out our 270 points for $10 and have money left over. Just another thought for you. Good luck.
Paula

 

[dvc_john]

Hyatt owners don't have to decide what to do with their unit week until 6 months out. Therefore, most availability will start to pop up at that time. For mid-June/early July, that will be mid December/January. So, Sunset Harbor may still come thru.
FWIW, I just confirmed an internal Hyatt exchange into Hyatt Windward Pointe this week for the first week of June. (don't know why that resort is not on the DVC list - it's Hyatt's newest resort in KW, but still a couple of years old). The subsequent weeks in June/July are not yet available.

Edit: just checked II's website for KW for mid-May thru mid-July (using another 5-star resort I own as test for trading) - nothing came up.

 

[Dean]

(don't know why that resort is not on the DVC list - it's Hyatt's newest resort in KW, but still a couple of years old).

DVC tends to delay adding new resorts, even those by Westin, Marriott and Hyatt. Based on my experience in discussing many of these issues with DVC, I'd assume it's availability as the determining factor. It usually takes between 2 & 4 years depending on the build out of the resort and availability. Expect it to be added in the next year or so, but I would be surprised if the Banyan isn't dropped at the same time. The new HH Marriott resort will likely take a couple of more years but will also likely result in Harbour club being dropped.

 

[problemchild718]

I have stayed at both and IMHO the Hyatt is nicer than the Galleon. Last time we stayed, we were at Pier House in Old Town. The Southern Most is nice too although cash-no trade. The price is right, it may be worth it to pay cash and keep the points if possible.

 

[dznyacct]

I'm hoping a match comes up before I have to make a banking decision at the end of January. I really am hoping for the Hyatt. We really want to be in Old Town and near all the action. Maybe Santa will bring me a match for Christmas !

 

[disneydiz]

dznyacct --

I just send you a pm.