hi everyone...

in our efforts to try to do anything and everything to help our members (and those lurkers that we really wish would sign up), we have added a new section.

charles sort of got it started with his timeshare section and now we are going to make it even more useful by trying to get some of the powers that be at the timeshares to help us with answers.

so lets get started. give us any timeshare questions you have. how to close a deal. how to know which type of timeshare contract you have. what's a good price on a private sale.

now, i'm not promising that we will have all of the answers but we are certainly going to try. we also want help from anyone who knows the answer to any questions posted.

this is also an open invite to all timeshare reps to just pop in and help us. you can impress us with any aid and then we will be forever grateful.

thanks everyone...let's make this a useful section!!!!

I hope I can help here as well, but I do not have much time to look in. I can be considered by many a timeshare expert. I have my own timeshare website and help moderate one in the UK as well as being an administrator of another timeshare website. I won't post the links to them as I understand these are against your rules here.
If you need me you are welcome to email me at big_frank@netzero.net Provide me with a thread link if available and If I can not answer I will get someone over here to answer for me.

can we add the Marriott aruba surf club to this list

__________________
Regards

Jim
arubasurfclub@yahoo.ca

I mean to the aruba owners corner,sorry

__________________
Regards

Jim
arubasurfclub@yahoo.ca

good idea jim... i will ask daphne, our webmaster, to do that. slowly but surely i think we will have a place for all timeshares. at least i hope we will. too many of the 'owner's' boards tend to reject anything that is a possible problem in our cases we want to know the problems. no one can solve a problem if they don't know it exists.

jim, peruse the owners' corner. your request was answered.

THANK YOU DAPHNE!!!!

Sherry thanks for this opportunity.
What is happening with Lacabana Villas. I have asked this before but have not received any replies. Villas owners are blocked from the members forum and have no forum on the Villas website. Yes, I know the website says members board but there is no forum like the one at the BRC. Thanks to Liz NJ and Andrea we know about changes re: charges to rooms etc. and split in phone system. Who is running it? Has it been sold or not?
crosby

more important than anything... what the heck does BRC stand for???? sorry, i haven't a clue and keep forgetting to ask.

Sherry,

Sorry, BRC stands for Beach & Racquet Club. That front portion of Lacabana.

thank you thank you!!! i don't know why i kept forgetting to ask every time i saw that.

i sure hope we can provide some answers for you.

Hi all,

First thank you for such a nice forum.
Looks good enough to get me registered....

Few questions about timeshare.
I'm thinking about buying timeshare in Aruba.
Probably at the Marriott Ocean Club.

Are there any One bedroom with the lock-off option or is it only for the Two bedrooms at that resort?

If I decided to use the lock-off option can I use it directly after my main reservation? Easily or only if i'm lucky...?

Since I intend to buy two weeks instead of one. (Probably platinum)
Will I be able to get 4 weeks in a row?

Thank you for your time.

Pierre from Montreal

I can't answer questions about the Marriott but would suggest you buy resale NOT from the resort UNLESS you want the Marriott points. This is when buying at any resort. Resales are always less expensive.

__________________
LynnS

You bet, I don't intend paying 40% more for reward points...
That's sad for the first buyers who paid too much for the points, marketing, free offers, incentives, etc...

Glaval, I own 4 Marriott timeshares and they are great!!! If you own 2 Marriott timeshares, then you can book your rooms 13 months before. If you only own 1 week, you can book 12 months out. You just have to get on the phone at 9:00 the first day that you can book and you will be fine. In Plat. season, there are alot of people wanting to go so make sure you are one of the first to call and like they say: The early bird gets the worm. Thanks. Kent Gerber

Hi Kent,

Thanks for your infos.
My main question is:

At the Aruba Ocean Club.

Are there any One bedroom with the lock-off option or is it only for the Two bedrooms at that resort?

If I decided to use the lock-off option can I use it directly after my main reservation? Easily or only if i'm lucky...?

Tx,

Qlaval

I own at the Surf Club but I'm sure the 1 bedrooms at the Ocean Club are lock-offs. When you call your reservation in, you pay a small lock-off fee and then you can book thje rooms back to back. Like I said, you have to call the very first day that you can at 9:00 when they open. I hear where people have trouble booking. Thats because they wait too long and don't call right away. Kent

I'm sorry Glaval but one bedrooms are not lock offs. You have to have a 2 bedroom to be able to lock them off. They have studios and 1 bedrooms and the 2 bedrooms are a studio and a 1 bedroom put together. So when you lock-off a 2 bedroom, you get a studio for 1 week and you get a 1 bedroom for a week. Kent

Kent,
I did a bit of digging into this and it seems as if you are correct on all your points.

As an additional piece of info/opinion, there are other reasons for buying from the resort directly.

• The need to make sure that all paper is correct
• To make sure that there are no payments in arrears
• To get a fuller picture of the property and company.

When you already own at that particular resort, a simple call to the exec office to check the financial status of the membership that is for sale is important.

On the down side of buying resales from a resort, you have to consider what kind of inventory you are being offered and what the current sell out position is of that resort. Resorts with mature sell-out positions (excess of 87% as a rule of thumb) will give competetive pricing for one simple reason. MAINTENANCE.

All resort cooperative organizations look for the maintenance income as a vital way to keep the resort running.

Thought I would throw in some thoughts.

charles

trying to find out e-mail address for riu palace aruba as the one they sent me in june 2007 does not work for me

we have week 16 and would like to contact them to confirm that we are going to show up

thanks for all help
aprilv

In an effort to make your list of timeshare properties more complete, I am requesting that you add The Mill Resort and Suites. We purchased our first week there in 2001 and our second in 2003. Due to some internal issues they suspended timeshare sales in 2004, but have resumed since then. The Mill bills itself as "the friendliest Resort in Aruba", and in our 8 visits there we have been thoroughly satisfied with everything about the Resort. For those who don't know where the Mill is located, it is directly behind the Windmill and across the street from the Westin. If anyone wants to check out the atmosphere of the Mill, they have an all-you-can-eat Island BBQ every Wednesday evening that is one of the best in Aruba.

will send that to the bosses. may take a few days.

Hi,
what does NON MANDATORY WEEK mean?

do you mean in a timeshare? if not, in relation to what?

Yes, non mandatory weeks at a timeshare -- I am looking to buy and one had that phrase.

if i'm not mistaken it refers to timeshares where each year you can select your week in advance. as an example, my timeshare is at costa linda week 33. it is always week 33. the one you are looking at gives you more options if you need them. there are pros and cons to both ways.

If I'm not mistaking non mandatory week means that if you don't used your week you have nothing to pay (not even the maintenance fee)

In other words you pay only if you use your unit.
And there is no obligation to use them yearly...

hi, i am new to aruba, 1st time with family and am wondering if renting someone's timeshare at Marriott Surf club is safe as opposed to going to hotel and is there anything negative i should know now beforehand? And did the dock being moved make the beach and water better and nicer? Thks