Marriott Vacation Club

[Turbine Kiwi]

Hi guys

Went to one of the Marriott Vacation Club's meetings last night. Kind of like the old Timeshare system but way more flexible. Seems like it would suit a pilots lifestyle.

Has anyone got any experience with them? Recommendations or not etc?

Cheers

[Frogman1484]

What are the details of the program? How much? How many weeks etc etc

[Brown Nose]

Go for the free trial, enjoy free accommodation and have a nice holiday with the family, go to the compulsory meeting, nod lots and lots of facial expressions. At the end say no thanks I will think about it. Buy a nice holiday home somewhere which you can house swap with anyone in the world and enjoy capital gains on something you can actually sell!

Only the gullible see those timeshare type things as a good deal.

[naughty johnny]

Hey Turbine,

Have been coming to the Phuket Marriott for years, and it is an awesome world class resort.

If you are thinking about buying, go to the free accomodation and presentation, resist the urge to buy, and then check out the second hand market. Timeshare weeks are advertised on sites such as ebay and timeshare hypermarket. I found this out after buying the week from the Marriott, which will cost you about 3 times as much as second hand timeshares. Validity of the timeshare is about 80 years which is the remaining lease at the hotel.

Notwithstanding, it is a great resort made outstanding by the exceptional Thai service and I come back several times each year.

Stear clear of Accor or similar timeshares as they are sh_t.

PM me if you need any more info.

[giggerty]

Hi Turb.

I've been in the Marriott scheme for a couple of years. You buy points now rather than a set week, which makes things a lot more flexible.

The upside is you can transfer your points to Interval International and get access to places worldwide ( going skiing in the US this Christmas on our points). Also you can book a place within 2 months of going and spend about a third of the normal points. We bought enough points for one week in peak season but this way we tend to get three weeks from our points per year. Plus there are a few other benefits like short stays for only $50US a night.

Down side is the annual fees can add up. $1000us plus per year.

Go along and enjoy the 3 free nights. The resort at Mai Khao and the beach club are both excellent. They sleep up to 6 so are excellent value with kids.

[CokeZero]

Agree with Naughty Johnny. We went but didn't buy at time, will are looking at second hand market. I know they say this is a one in a lifetime offer but I went back after one year on another referral and the deal was the same :)

You have to pay it all off first before you can use it. Look on second hand market.

I thought it wasn't a bad deal but have other priorities first and foremost.

[Carolsavage]

How do you know the seller is legit? Is it true you cant get points for the sale you can only go to your home location?

thanks for posting your comments

carol