Traded but construction going on at resort - help!!!

[Cinderella]

I traded to Marriott Aruba Surf Club for my honeymoon. At first, I was concerned that I would need to change my exchange, but eventually managed to find a flight that fitted in with our plans.

But - now I have searched the internet and found that construction has been going on since April 2006 - particularly on the hotels beach, right in front of the resort, and it will continue through April 2007. DVC did not tell me about the construction. Apparently the hotel beach will not be useable - and that was the main thing we wanted for our honeymoon, to be in front of a beach.

The construction wasn't mentioned on the marriott website when we first looked either, but it is now.

If I call DVC, will they be able to switch us to somewhere else? What will happen if they have nothing else in the Caribbean? Will i be able to switch the week until next year?

 

[schwenksvillemouse]

When did you put in the request and what use years points are you using?

 

[Cinderella]

I'm not certain of the dates but I think I requested it earlier this year - Jan or Feb using a combination of August 06 and August 07 points.

 

[Dean]

I traded to Marriott Aruba Surf Club for my honeymoon. At first, I was concerned that I would need to change my exchange, but eventually managed to find a flight that fitted in with our plans.

But - now I have searched the internet and found that construction has been going on since April 2006 - particularly on the hotels beach, right in front of the resort, and it will continue through April 2007. DVC did not tell me about the construction. Apparently the hotel beach will not be useable - and that was the main thing we wanted for our honeymoon, to be in front of a beach.

The construction wasn't mentioned on the marriott website when we first looked either, but it is now.

If I call DVC, will they be able to switch us to somewhere else? What will happen if they have nothing else in the Caribbean? Will i be able to switch the week until next year?

This is just one of the reasons I tell people to research on their own. It's likely DVC didn't know and II doesn't keep up with this a lot unless it's pretty major stuff. You might be able to retrade to another resort if available and they might even waive an extra exchange fee though I doubt it. Other than to complain to DVC, you really have no recourse. And given II's rules, which technically govern this transaction, they have no obligation to inform you or to accommodate you at this point. I hope it works out. Knowing what I know about the resort there, I'd keep the exchange and hope for the best.

 

[Cinderella]

Thanks Dean - I spoke to MS and they said they didn't know about the construction when I booked, but I can't imagine II didn't - it's a pretty big amount of construction. And unfortunately, there was no mention of the construction on any forums when I booked either, as it hadn't started then. Even on TUG, reviews were great until recently.

I called MS, and they said I could only do an exchange for what is available when I call, but all they had was a resort in St Martin, and the hotel next door is undergoing construction!

Do you honestly think the resort will be ok? I thought it sounded great until I heard about the beach construction. And, I've always wanted to do Aruba.

If I did change to another resort, would I have to stick to the same date, or would they late me change to something like Easter, so I could use it for a different vacation?

 

[Dean]

Thanks Dean - I spoke to MS and they said they didn't know about the construction when I booked, but I can't imagine II didn't - it's a pretty big amount of construction. And unfortunately, there was no mention of the construction on any forums when I booked either, as it hadn't started then. Even on TUG, reviews were great until recently.

I called MS, and they said I could only do an exchange for what is available when I call, but all they had was a resort in St Martin, and the hotel next door is undergoing construction!

Do you honestly think the resort will be ok? I thought it sounded great until I heard about the beach construction. And, I've always wanted to do Aruba.

If I did change to another resort, would I have to stick to the same date, or would they late me change to something like Easter, so I could use it for a different vacation?

For the Marriott I'd keep it,hard to imagine you'd be disappointed. What MS told you about what's currently available is what I referred to as a retrade.