Trip Report - II trade to Aruba

[JoEllen]

DH and I are just back from our II trade to Marriott Surf Club in Aruba. We had made our trade about a year ago before the switch to RCI. The resort was opened in 2006 and really beautiful. We had a 1 bedroom ocean view with everything new and modern in the room. Staff was friendly and the beach was pristine. The pool had a lazy river that was great to float on.

We noted an RCI resort- Costa Linda just down the road and decided to take a tour there our last day. The resort is very nice on a nice beach. We asked to see a one bedroom and were disappointed that the rooms have not been updated. Nothing like the level of the Marriott room we had.

I'm hoping this is an exception to the comps between II and RCI. I hope we haven't taken a downgrade in the quality of resorts available to DVCers. We're empty nesters and just don't see that many trips to WDW anymore. We've used II to trade to Maui, AZ and Aruba and always liked our II resort.

If anyone has any questions about Aruba, I'd be happy to share.

JoEllen

 

[Dean]

Resorts like the top Marriott's are few and far between. I think CL, Playa Linda, La Cabana type resorts are more the norm for most timeshares, esp outside the Orlando area. I don't think it's necessarily an II/RCI thing as both the CL & PL are dually affiliated and LCB is II only. Simply one of the reasons to investigate the resort thoroughly before you accept one but it's not necessarily an II vs RCI thing. When you get away from the top systems, DVC, Marriott, Westin, Hilton and Hyatt; things tend to get pretty average quickly withe a few exceptions. Even those systems have their less than top options.