There are not a lot of resorts in the Caribbean I'd personally consider exchanging DVC for. A short list would be headed by resorts like the Westin St. John, Atlantis, the 4 Marriott's, Reef Resort, Grand Caymanian, Hyatt in PR. Maybe add second level resorts like Playa Linda, Costa Linda, Renaissance Aruba, St. James Antigua, Alexandra, Royal Sea Aquarium. I would not put any of the St. Marteen/Martin resorts on the list personally. II also includes Cancun in the Caribbean at times and I would list all the Royal resorts except VCI as top notch options. Aruba and Cancun would likely be better choices for the teens. If you insist on a 2 BR, Cancun would also increase your chances likely 10 times of getting a match.
270 points. Cancun, unlike most of the rest of the Caribbean, is HIGH season for mid summer. The starwood resorts (Westin, Atlantis) are HIGH season all year I believe. The rest are generally the same as I posted for Aruba, HIGH for 51-16 and MID the rest. However, if one could make do with a 1 BR in CANCUN, I'd recommend trying for that instead. In addition to being a lot less points (160 vs 270), Cancun is one of the places where you're just as likely to get a 2 BR when searching for a 1 BR. Of course it makes no sense if you can't make it with a 1 BR just in case, but it is an option for the right situation. Cancun is the only location I can think of right now where I could say that though there may be others I'm not aware or or thinking about.point wise about how much are we talking for a 2 BR - summer months? Thanks
Actually the reverse is more likely to be true. While DVC tends to not add newer resorts to the exchange list, if they do so such as the Westin North Maui or Ko'Olina, that can be the perfect time to get an exchange. That's true for 2 reasons. The first year after purchase many timeshare owners aren't prepared to go back again or can't get the week they want. Also, Marriott tends to do developer purchases thus there are a few extra deposits floating around. And finally, there are those that tend to shy away from resorts under development, often for good reason. And early the resorts may not be listed in the book. The end result is more exchange inventory and less competition. I don't think technically the 2 Aruba Marriott's have ever shared amenities.
Overall yes. I don't have the area of the 1 BR but the 2 BR is 1448 sq ft at the Royal Sands. The Villas sleep 8 with a King and two Muphy beds if I recall, I believe the other Royals have a pullout. I seem to recall they generally don't allow more than 6 in a 2 BR without permission. I have not seen the new Resort, Royal Hacienda. There is a laundry but not W/D in the units, there is a charge or was the last time were were there a few years ago. You can look for a lot of info yourself at www.royalresorts.com including layouts. While the units are not quite as fancy as the DVC resorts, they are very nice. The resorts have their own character and the service tends to be far above that of DVC. I'd caution about the "studio" because they are little more than a hotel room.
Glad to help when possible.very helpful Dean, thanks a bunch!
I exchanged for the Grand Caymanian Resort last year. We loved our stay there. We had a 1BR unit and it was beautifully appointed. It was a quiet resort, although they were expanding it and had plans to install a large new pool. I'd love to go back there sometime.
Technically the Surf Club and Ocean Club do not share amenities. They did early on when the SC was just getting going.GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your teenage sons will HAVE A BLAST!!!!!!!!
Beautiful properties!!!!!!!!!!!!Very well maintained!!!
Lazy river at Surf Club fabulous...I believe Marriott Ocean Club guests also have privledges at Surf Club..Right next door to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm subscribing also to read details later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We're going for our first trip to Aruba in a few months. We've never been in spite of owning fixed timeshare weeks there for more than 10 years. We're staying at the Surf Club for a week on an II exchange (Marriott to Marriott, not DVC) and at La Cabana for 4 nights total using Bluegreen points). One of my hobbies is to check out timeshare so I'll likely spend a couple of days just exploring and taking pictures while the wife reads by the pool.It's good to know that there are good exchanges possible in Aruba. We visited briefly during our DCL cruise this May - Aruba was one of the ports of call that I felt I could actually go to spend a whole vacation at!
