marriott vacation club

[kwnancy]

i'm seeing some pretty wonderful rate for a 2 bed/2 condo at some of the marriot palms resorts...$149 per night aaa rate in june.

anybody previously stayed there? which is the best location for disney parks, probably not going to universal or seaworld this trip.

thanks for any input! nancy

 

[tootsiemolly]

I haven't stayed their. However, If you go to Marriott.com, and you have a Marriott Rewards number, you can get a 2bed room at cypress harbour for 145. a night. Just use the code M11 in the promotion area of the reservation form. I was checking out the timeshares last night, and I think Cypress Harbour looks like a nicer property.

 

[Steve P]

Cypress Harbour a very nice vacation complex. Well equipped kitchens, GREAT pool area, onsite conveneince store and pizza hut (at least there was in '96). IIRC a food court but no full svc
restaurant on site.

 

[nezy]

What do you know about Marriott"s Grande Vista in Orlando?
I just got an offer to tour a very good rate. Of course I am obligated to "90 minutes of my time".

 

[tootsiemolly]

I haven't stayed their, however I booked the rate for October for a 1bed/1bath. It is suppose to be a five star. If any one has stayed their recently let me know. The guy from Marriott said they are redoing the 2bed/ba because they are 6 years old and have not been refurbished. So I was wondering are all the units in need of refurbishment. Do they all look worn? any help would be appreciated. If so, I think I will book at Cypress Harbour. I guess they were all redone last year.

 

[RobinLyn]

If you have little ones who love water parks and slides, check out Marriott's Horizons. There is a thread here with links: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=334479

 

[crazyme5kids]

We did not stay at Grand Vista, but did go see it and it is a beautiful place. We stayed at Horizons, and everyone loved it there, including my daughter, 16 at the time and my older son who was 13. We stayed last April.

 

[kwnancy]

thanks for the info - all the vacation clubs look great! which would be the closest and/or easiest commute to WDW?

 

[crazyme5kids]

We drove from Horizon and if memory serves it was only about a 15 minute or so drive. I do know it was very easy to find any of the parks, the highway is well marked.

 

[TiggerInNY]

Friends of ours recommended us for Grande Vista (they own at Cypress Harbour) for October but was told that 2bdrm/2bath units were being refurbished at Grande Vista. So, we are booked at Cypress Harbour in October. Those were just redone, so I'm told. Grande Vista looks awesome. Cypress Harbour is still very, very nice. I can't wait to get there. So, either one I'm sure will be a great vacation.

Does anyone know how long it takes to get to MK from Cypress Harbour? Would you recommend any good restaurants in the area? Any suggestions for requesting a specific area in the resort?

Thanks.

TTFN,
Maria

 

[Lorix2]

We are staying at the MGV next month and was told by owners that certain buildings are being done at a time, not all 2BR/2 bath villas are being done at once.

We are still going and looking forward to it - we are staying in a 2BR unit.

 

[TiggerInNY]

Lorix2,

I'll be looking forward to hearing what your report. Maybe I should call again a couple of months before we go and see if there are any units at MGV. If you have a chance, e-mail me with your report.....TiggerInNY@aol.com. Thanks.

I'm sure you're going to have a great time. Enjoy.

TTFN,
Maria

 

[Lorix2]

TiggerInNY - I'd be happy to!

I'll post a report on the boards as well. We'll be there from April 19-26th and driving down, so I'll post around the 28th or so.

Lori

 

[uksaint]

We were at the Grande Vista last week in a 2BR unit. It is due for refurbishment later this year - but it was in great condition anyway - the one exception was the sofa bed mattresses which were terrible.

It is a truly wonderful resort to use as a base (or if you intend to spend all day on the golf course), but it does not have the plethora of onsite activities that some other resorts have. The indoor toddler play area is superb and a definite plus for our little guy. 15 mins drive to both Disney and Universal, and an I-ride trolley stop right outside. We would definitely stay here again.

Any questions - feel free to ask.

Andy

 

[TiggerInNY]

Andy,

Do you own a timeshare or were you just staying there? Also, if you sat through the 90-minute sales pitch, how was it? Pushy?? Did they take you to Cypress Harbour? And, if they did, how was that?

Thanks. I know, I know, I ask a lot of questions. It's the only way to learn.

TaTa For Now,
Maria

 

[uksaint]

Maria

We were staying there on a timeshare exchange and did not have to endure the sales pitch.

That said - while we were in the toddlers play area - they were giving the pitch to a couple who had their kid playing nearby. We were there for about an hour and they were still going when we left. It was a lady in her 50's giving the pitch and did not seem very pushy at all. We did notice that she kept going over the same ground several times re: the benefits - although these mainly seemed to relate to the flexibility of joining the 'Marriott Family of Vacationners' rather than anything specific to the resort. If you are not interested in buying, you will probably be bored - personally, I have yet to attend a timeshare (sorry, vacation ownership) presentation whre 90 minutes did not mean 150 mins.

Another day, while we were by the main pool, there seemed to be four or five couples an hour getting shown around as part of the 'tour before the sales pitch'. So I guess they must have half a dozen sales guys on site.

We didn't go to Cypress Harbour so can't comment there.

Andy

 

[TiggerInNY]

Andy,

So, are you an owner then? What are your pros and cons about owning, if you do? Just curious. I'm really interested by my husband is not.

Thanks.

Maria

 

[uksaint]

We own weeks at a couple of resorts in Cancun - we love it there although it is currently a little far to travel with a two year old.

For us, the pros of owning are:

1. The quality of the exchange resorts available - usually 4 or 5 star resorts.

2. The price which we effectively can stay at them (i.e. our stay at the MGV effectively cost $98 per night which I calculate as follows - ownership annual maintenance fee $450, timeshare exchange fee $120, exchange company membership $120. Total $690 for 7 nights in a 2BR) Of course, if you bought at a resort and returned to the same place every year, you would not need to worry about the exchange company fees. I believe Marriott operates their own exchange program within the Marriott Vacation Club.

3. You know you are guaranteed your 'home week' each year. This can be a real help if you travel often to the same destination during peak times.

The cons of owning:-

1. The high initial cost of investment. You will note I have conveniently left out any of the initial cost in my calculations above. This is money I have written off, but if you are considering buying you will need to factor it in. The general advice is that there are plenty of good timeshare resale opportunities to be had at approximately 80% discount to retail, but it is a long time since I bought mine so things may have changed.

2. You need to plan well in advance to secure the best exchanges for peak times (NOTE: for many resorts peak times are 52 weeks a year). It is not unusual to have to plan 12 - 15 months in advance. Fortunately, Orlando is usually available at much shorter notice due to the huge number of resorts in the area.


10 years ago and living in the UK, holiday prices were high particularly for transatlantic vacations. Timeshare offered good value at the time. The advent of the internet has changed that and the benefits have diminished. We have stayed at some wonderful resorts through the exchange program - much better than we would have normally booked - but, I am not so sure I could justify the initial investment today with the availability of cheap deals for travel to the US. In Europe, many hotels still charge on a per person basis - if you are travelling with 4 or 5 people, timeshare generally yields bigger savings here.

Hopefully that gives you a small taste of what I get out of it. Ownership is a complicated and individual decision, just make sure you are not pressured into anything - I was once, and was kicking myself for years.

Andy

 

[CarolA]

I did the Marriott pitch in Hilton Head several years ago. The pitch was NOT high pressure and the units were beautiful. I have to admit I was tempted, but what I wanted would have cost around $18,000. I did eventually buy DVC (another low pressure pitch!)

 

[TiggerInNY]

If you don't mind me asking, about how much is DVC? Just curious. Just to compare and get an eyeball figure. Thanks.

TTFN,
Maria