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I have been a Vistana Resort owner since 1990. I bought in the Courts section sight-unseen from a newspaper ad by a broker and brochures from the original owner for $5,000. That is how much the original owner paid and less than Vistana wanted directly. We have a deeded week that falls most years on Thanksgiving week. When the kids were little we'd pull them out of school and head south from Boston. It worked well. Vistana was run by the developer mostly and was relatively small. We were near everything. Then it expanded, built more units at the original site and 2 other locations. It got huge. Several year's back it was announced that we were becoming part of Sheraton Vacation Network. One of the big benefits was that we could now join SVN, swap our unit for Starpoints and travel the world. Unfortunately, because our unit was in the oldest section, we were told it did not measure up to the SVN standards and we could not join. A couple of years after that we were told that our units were being extensively renovated and would not be unavailable for 2 years. we could use other units. Additionally we had to pay $2,000 extra per year for the work. They said the Maintenance Reserves were not meant for this much renovations. We had no choice. We paid the fees. The place came out beautiful. They totally renovated the kitchen & baths, moved a door & wall, screened in the back deck, all new everything. We were then offered the chance to join SVN for the $599 fee. I looked at the cost of that vs. the cost of RCI I was using and it didn't make sense to join then. The points I would get for my 2 BR/2 BA, sleeps 8 townhouse unit would not be enough for 2 nights in a Florence, Italy Westin Hotel. I didn't join by the deadline. A couple of years ago while at an "Owner's Update" on site I asked bout the possibility of getting into SVN now. They said the only way in now is to buy another unit. I hardly use the one I have and don't want another. So I'm frozen out unless I buy another unit. Before you join SVN/Starpoints double-check what points you will get and where else you might want to go. See if it is worth it to you. Also know that if you don't take them up on their offer now you will also be frozen out. For me it has not been a problem.