Can anyone tell me if the units at the Mill are privately owned and then
if they are the ones selling timeshares? Or is the Mill itself owned by one
or more persons and they are the ones selling timeshares? Friends of ours
had a very bad experience with owning a timeshare at the Mill. It was
someone who had bought several of the units outright and then sold them
as timeshares. After a few years selling these timeshares he decided to
start charging everyone a fee to use the timeshare. It was something like
several hundred dollars a night depending on how many units they wanted
to use. This involved a couple hundred people that owned timeshares. The
Mill did nothing to get these people their money back and they lost all the
money that they paid to buy into these timeshares. The Mill nor the
Aruba government did absolutly nothing. I would hesitate to buy there
based on this experience.

Let me see if I can answer this one as a Timeshare owner at the Mill since 2001 who has returned annually since then. If there are any inaccuracies in my reply, I hope that the Mill Management Team or the Karam Family will address them.
The Mill was originally built to be condominiums with ownership year-round. Of the units in the original construction plan (approximately 67 3-bedroom units) only 10 sold under the ownership at the time. The Karam family purchased the Resort and turned it into a Hotel with Timeshare ownership as an option. The remaining 57 units became A, B, C hotel rooms, with the 10 condos grandfathered. The owners of "the 10" were free to do and charge whatever they wanted with their units, regardless of the current owners or the rest of the resort. Needless to say, there were some problems.
It was not until 2007 that the last of "the 10" was finally bought out and the Mill was finally under the control of the Karam famaly. We can all understand thet "the 10" did as much as they could to damage the reputation of the Mill, which is probably an instance being referred to by "mambo".
From a Timeshare piont of view, the Mill is the most affordable on the island of Aruba. They don't play all of the games that the other companies do; no points games, no floating weeks or rooms games, no hidden fees games. If you buy a timeshare, you select the room for the week you want and it's yours PERIOD. Pay your maintenance fee and show up, that's IT. No expensive confirmation call required, no haggling for a better location, none of those hassles like at other locations or resorts.
You can pay a lot more for a timeshare at the Marriot, the Radisson, the Divi, the Playa, or anywhere else on the island....or you can buy at the Mill and be happy.
A quick footnote: this past May we met a couple from Philly named Ken and Gladdy who have been to Aruba annually for the past 15 years, staying at the Holiday Inn and the Marriot. This year, because of construction at the Marriot they decided to try the Mill. They have already booked next year at the Mill because of the way they were treated this year. They felt like people, not just numbers--the bartenders at the Mill remembered what they ordered the night before and had it ready for them when they "bellied up" the 2nd night.
Need I say more????

Is the Mill a deeded timeshare?
When were the rooms last renovated?

__________________
Lisa
Aruba Bound!
www.hoosierkitties.com ~ www.bloggingtoaruba.com ~ www.our-cruises.com

Timeshares at the Mill are "Lifetime ownership", which means that my wife and I own the timeshare as long as either of us are alive, but it does not pass down to our heirs.

Many of the rooms have been recently renovated, and there is an on-going renovation program to continue upgrading thr rooms.

Every time that we go back, improvements have been made over the past year, whether it be new furniture, new linens, new appliances, new table settings in the rooms, or whatever. I know that they plan to replace all of the current cabinetry and countertops in the kitchens because as an owner I am ineligible to bid on the job (oh well!!).

Two things that have not changed over the years that we have been going to the Mill: (1) It is still "the Friendliest Resort on the Island" (which is their rightly deserved slogan); and (2) they have the cleanest pool of any resort (thanks to John).

I agree that The Mill is a very friendly resort.
We've stayed there a few times and liked it.
The staff is extremely friendly and treat their guests really well.
As a matter of fact, Randal the DJ is a hoot.
The only thing that we don't like about the Mill is the fact that the beach is across a very busy two road traffic area and takes too long to get there.
The reason that we have not returned to The Mill is due to the beach area being too far away and difficult to access, as we enjoy spending the majority of our time on the beach.

Posted by 89Checkmate22

"Timeshares at the Mill are "Lifetime ownership", which means that my wife and I own the timeshare as long as either of us are alive, but it does not pass down to our heirs. "

89
You have much more knowledge about the Mills history than I and thanks for the information.

Our agreement states that our membership CAN be transfered
a-As part of Our/My estate
b-As a gift
c-Through sale.

We have been owners since 2002 and I would think your agreement is the same.

Check and see in your specific case.I was going to deed it to my children.

Hope this helps,Oldmics

Just for your info. - we own 3 weeks timeshare at Paradise Beach Villas and what I did was include my name, my wife's, our son's name and our daughter's name on the deed.
We were told that by doing it this way, if, god forbid, something was to happen to my wife & I, our son & daughter would then become the new owners.
Hope this helps.