timeshare ratings

[Bill K]

I have seen in the past an organization that rates timeshares. Has anybody seen it lately?

 

[Dean]

There are two. First is Timeshares Users Group (TUG) . They actually do ratings and reviews, both helpful in their own way. Timesharing Today has a slightly more detailed and objective rating system but no reviews and a lot less ratings. You may also be able to find ratings and reviews from places like Apple vacations or tripadvisor.

Both TUG and TST require one to be a member to get the info. TUG is $15 for year one and $10 a year after that plus you get a free ad. TST is quite a bit more expensive but you get a bimonthly magazine as well as access to past issues online. Both have classifieds and a wealth of info. For most casual users, TUG alone is sufficient. I'd never direct one to go with TST and not do TUG.

 

[CVW]

Another thumbs-up for TUG. (www.tug2.net). They have a very useful "Timeshare 101" section with more info than you'll ever need, and it's free. (Just click on the "advice" link on the top red bar.) There's even a section about DVC.

The reviews (which require a membership...best ten bucks you'll spend in timesharing) are quite exhaustive, and are posted by subscribers.

When you read the reviews, beware of a few things. First, the average (on a scale of 1 to 10) is taken since the very first review. Some resorts are hurt by this if they've done huge upgrades in the past few years. (One timeshare I wanted to visit had a score of only 7, but all the low marks were given five or six years ago before a major renovation.)

The other thing to notice is WHO wrote the review. DVC resorts are among the highest rated on all of TUG. But others correctly point out that most of the reviews are written by DVC owners. Owners will always bias the ratings upwards.

It's best to read the reviews in full, notice the date, and see if it jibes with the RCI or II description rather than just looking at the number.

Timeshare Today offers much better, professional, objective reviews, but has far fewer of them.

 

[spiceycat]

read the reviews - don't just go by the rating -

it take a second to do the rating

to do the review this writing and thinking on the part of the person writing the review.

alot of times what is wrong with the resort will appear in the review.

I don't know why everyone seems to think that the DVC resorts are higher than there should be - there are far, far greater Marriott owners on tug (they have their own board) than DVC.....at least that has been my experience.

for the Marriott reading the reviews is a must - the Grande VIsta until lately was a great timeshare - beautiful, well care for and it great shape - lately the outside area have been allowed to be dirty and mean dirty....the reviews will show this - the rating will not.

 

[gjw007]

Hi;

I agree that the TUG board is very useful. There are many nice Timeshares in the Orlando area. I have one at Christmas time at Orange Lake (it is on Disney's Animal Kingdom border). I usually go down there 2 or 3 times a year. Once to visit Disney and the parks - the others mostly to get away from home. Disney's are rated extremely high in TUG although they do seem to get complaints from II members about having to pay an addition $95. I'm a little confused over that as I have RCI but when you bank your week and make a request for a new reservation at a different resort, there is a fee involved. I think this is the fee that they II members are paying II and I know that Disney charges II members the $95 when they arrive at Disney. If I understand the II complaints, they felt that they had to pay this fee twice but it looks like they only pay it once (does II collect an addition $95 on top of its normal transaction fee?) and it sets them off with a bad attitude. Even there, most of them give Disney a high rating but they do point out that it is an expensive timeshare. I believe the Disney resorts are all in the top 10 to 15 timeshares.

It is very useful to read the reviews because they present a variety of views depending on what different individuals were looking for. The value of TUG is not the ratings but the reviews and I always find it amazing at the difference in ratings based on these views. For example, Orange Lake has 1250 acres. It is a big resort. Some people like it because of its spaciousness (I do). Others find it to be their biggest disappointment. This becomes understandable if you understand that the reviewer may have small children who wish to go swimming in one of the multiple pools but if your condo is some distance away, it is a problem. It is much easier if you were located right next to the recreation areas. Other resorts such as Vistana has a pool in each cluster of neighborhoods so the walk is very short. Reading the reviews will provide this insight. Actually it was what prompted me to take another look at Disney property.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by gjw007
Hi;

Disney's are rated extremely high in TUG although they do seem to get complaints from II members about having to pay an addition $95. I'm a little confused over that as I have RCI but when you bank your week and make a request for a new reservation at a different resort, there is a fee involved. I think this is the fee that they II members are paying II and I know that Disney charges II members the $95 when they arrive at Disney. If I understand the II complaints, they felt that they had to pay this fee twice but it looks like they only pay it once (does II collect an addition $95 on top of its normal transaction fee?) and it sets them off with a bad attitude.

The issue is that DVC charges an EXTRA $95 "Resort Services Fee" of $95 on top of the exchange fee. Mostly because they can.

Some of the issues on this thread just goes to emphasize what I've tried to beat into DVC members thoughts. That is that one needs to evaluate a resort to see if it's right for them, not just assume it'll work well because it's on the DVC trade list.

 

[Lisa P.]

Another agreement here that it's important to read the firsthand reviews for yourself. The reviews reveal what the reviewer valued and give some insight into their ratings as well as showing trends in improvement or neglect.

A resort may be highly rated because it's clean, offers tons of activities for kids and it's close to lots of waterfall hikes but the local restaurants and shops all close by 8 pm and you like to get out in the evening (or vice versa). I've read reviews where someone slammed the resort with a ridiculously low rating (2-5) just because they got an unwanted daily voice mail message inviting them to tour with sales or an activities staff member seemed bored with their job or there were a couple minor maint issues (like light bulbs burnt out) which they failed to report. Some people seem to let the littlest disappointment ruin their vacation and their opinion of the resort. Others rated any resort that's clean with a few fun things to do as a 9 - they may be the kinds who find fun anywhere and the reviews reveal their viewpoint. There are guidelines for completing the ratings form online but some people rate them on an emotional level. See for yourself.