Info on "free" stay perk from Diamond Resorts

[tkitty]

Wondering if anyone has info- DD just bought into Diamond Resorts last month (she already has Shell). One of the things that sold her was 2 weeks free in a 2 bdrm Villa, including Disney!
She just rcv'd her owner info in the mail, and called to see about booking at least 1 of those weeks, in Oct. in a Villa (Hopefully BCV). She was told that now she has to wait for a member number to come from Interval, to book through them.
Does this sound normal? Timeshares make me uneasy, although shes had no problems through Shell properties, and can usually get what she wants.
It seemed, from things that I've been reading that Interval was making some changes, and I was curious how that may effect us getting a spot in a WDW Villa.
I sure hope that we can swing this, I've always looked at the DVC properties, and thought "To bad I'll never be able to stay in those"

 

[Mattsmommy]

DVC is no longer affiliated with Interval International.

 

[tkitty]

DVC is no longer affiliated with Interval International.

Thanks. That is what I told my daughter, but she called to inquire about her deal through Diamond, and they told her she could go through II as soon as she had her member number.
She can also trade with RCI.
How depressing... We'll see what happens.

 

[SARATOGA ROB]

Wondering if anyone has info- DD just bought into Diamond Resorts last month (she already has Shell). One of the things that sold her was 2 weeks free in a 2 bdrm Villa, including Disney!
She just rcv'd her owner info in the mail, and called to see about booking at least 1 of those weeks, in Oct. in a Villa (Hopefully BCV). She was told that now she has to wait for a member number to come from Interval, to book through them.
Does this sound normal? Timeshares make me uneasy, although shes had no problems through Shell properties, and can usually get what she wants.
It seemed, from things that I've been reading that Interval was making some changes, and I was curious how that may effect us getting a spot in a WDW Villa.
I sure hope that we can swing this, I've always looked at the DVC properties, and thought "To bad I'll never be able to stay in those"

I am sorry to say that you have been given the wrong information dvc left ii in december and now use rci for there exchanges i am a diamond member and have now bought dvc because of this reason

 

[tkitty]

Thanks for the quick replies. Of course, not what I want to hear.

I see that II, still has DVC properties on their site... Glad I stayed away from that timeshare presentation...Even turned down their $100 Visa card.

 

[Dean]

You can use the two bonus weeks for other nice options, options that are likely to be more available to her than would DVC.

 

[tkitty]

You can use the two bonus weeks for other nice options, options that are likely to be more available to her than would DVC.

Thanks. I'm sure she'll be on the phone at the first possible moment to find out just what the offer is good for. I'm not too impressed with Diamond, too bad she didn't buy DVC instead.

 

[Dean]

Thanks. I'm sure she'll be on the phone at the first possible moment to find out just what the offer is good for. I'm not too impressed with Diamond, too bad she didn't buy DVC instead.

Buying anything retail you could get resale for pennies on the dollar is generally not a good thing but hopefully they will make it work for them. As a rule, these type of bonus weeks normally work best for high quality high availability areas like Orlando and short notice options for areas like HI. Hopefully they will show up online and they can do the search themselves. Often the good stuff is gone by the time systems option and you can call on the phone.

 

[tidefan]

Buying anything retail you could get resale for pennies on the dollar is generally not a good thing but hopefully they will make it work for them. As a rule, these type of bonus weeks normally work best for high quality high availability areas like Orlando and short notice options for areas like HI. Hopefully they will show up online and they can do the search themselves. Often the good stuff is gone by the time systems option and you can call on the phone.

Well, I bought a Diamond Managed Resort (well, it was Sunterra at the time) on the resale market a few years back. Love the resort, was OK with Sunterra, but I am not too impressed with Diamond. They raised our MF's 35% this year. I am glad I still have my deeded week and haven't wasted any $$ in their "Club".

 

[Dean]

Well, I bought a Diamond Managed Resort (well, it was Sunterra at the time) on the resale market a few years back. Love the resort, was OK with Sunterra, but I am not too impressed with Diamond. They raised our MF's 35% this year. I am glad I still have my deeded week and haven't wasted any $$ in their "Club".

I think their club is OK enough based on the number and type of choices. Paying a significant conversions fee would likely not be a good move. If you wanted their points system you likely chould buy something cheaper than you could convert your fixed week.

 

[Brian Noble]

Diamond is set up as a club, into which the individual resort deed is placed. On resale, the deed is kicked out of the club, and you have to re-enroll (for big bucks.)

There are some exceptions---some subset of the original Sunterra resorts were sold directly as UDIs, and rights to those 19 resorts carry over on resale.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67221

 

[tkitty]

Still waiting to see if Diamond pulled one over on my DD. They gave her a list including all DVC properties, that she could chose from, (the Disney would be offered through II), now we hear that this can't be right.
She said she would not have bought, but they were including DVC villas, so she bought. This was in Jan, so II was already out of the picture, from what I hear.
Some of these companies are so unscrupulous!

 

[Dean]

Still waiting to see if Diamond pulled one over on my DD. They gave her a list including all DVC properties, that she could chose from, (the Disney would be offered through II), now we hear that this can't be right.
She said she would not have bought, but they were including DVC villas, so she bought. This was in Jan, so II was already out of the picture, from what I hear.
Some of these companies are so unscrupulous!

DVC was still available for units that had already been deposited but there is no ongoing deposits. It sounds like they likely did con her if she bought with the idea of using those 2 bonus weeks at DVC. This is pretty small potatoes compared to what many of these companies pull though. If Diamond made sense with 2 trades to DVC, it likely makes sense without DVC. Make sure she learns how to use their system better than most so she doesn't get shut out.

Brian, while there are limitations on buying Diamond, it's still possible to buy in resale for a much reduced fee.