Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara

We own both Westin and Marriott timeshare but trading in to this property was the luckiest thing that ever happened to us!! After trading in several times we recently purchased a 2-bedroom Gold Season week and have just used it for the first time as owners. It is even better as an owner because you know that you are coming back again and again!

Absolutely everything is just perfect. The sheets are lovely, soft and feel just perfect and the daily maid service is so nice. We own a lot of Westin timeshare and the service and quality has gone seriously downhill on Maui where we own in terms of cleanliness, service and even the beds. Not here. Everything is truly first class and yet the maintenance is actually lower than my Westin Kannapalli North or South Ocean Front units. My last stay on Maui last January I felt that I was at home dealing with maintenance issues like leaking air conditioning flooding the rugs, broken toilets, broken springs on the beds and such. We kept complaining to the management and were told they had no other rooms but over our 4 week stay, all the rooms had similar problems. I do not believe that this property would ever have that happen. It is clear that the staff cares, does a wonderful job of staying on top of things and everything is absolutely spotless - inside and out. We had an amazing stay and were sorry to leave!

There is never a feeling of being crowded here. The staff is amazing and when we came back to our room one evening, we found a birthday cake for our Grandson who was staying with us! Such a nice touch!! Do take time to drive to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It is about a 30 minute drive and is well worth the time to see giraffes, rhinos, elephants and an amazing number of animals all living together on 1000+ acres of land. Their photo safari caravan is a wonderful 3 1/2 hour experience where you can drive through the space with a guide in a small truck and stop and film and feed the animals as you learn about them. They also have exhibits of lions and the cutest pair of tiger cubs you'd ever want to see! This is a very special place.

The most beautiful and relaxing timeshare I have ever been in. Great for families-playground on site, beautiful walking around resort, separate TS gameroom hotel game room, the front desk even loaned us an Xbox (I think, not a Wii-the other big name gaming system) with a couple games for our boys-no charge. Pools were warm and never crowded, jacuzzi was huge, there is a steam room in the lady's bathroom. Everything is first rate and the staff fabulous.

The units are beautiful, well laid out, daily maid service, with coffee and tea refreshed daily. The maintenance fees are very high-but absolutely worth it. You will love the resort, the hotel's restaurant, and the area. Great premium outlet mall, Carlsbad flower fields, Legoland and Legoland's aquarium, beautiful, wide and lifeguarded beaches nearby, and Carlsbad has a really cute downtown area. Carlsbad is ideally located if you want to go to either LA or SD. San Diego proper is much closer than LA, and an easy drive or train ride. Kids loved taking the train-very easy getting to Old Town and Downtown. A great resort, and vacation area!

NEW: A new development is that the property owner has turned management of the on-site hotel over to Hyatt, though Four Seasons continues to manage the Residence Club. However, residence club members will continue to have full access to hotel facilities. Not yet sure how matters like tennis and golf will sort out. An important development!

ORIGINAL: We purchased our fourth Four Seasons Residence Club week at Aviara in 2003. The nightly musical entertainment in the lounge is a particular plus with this resort, which is still expanding.

A wonderful place to be - we like the location north of San Diego. The property was originally a failed Japanese development venture that was sitting idle, and some have criticized the location as "other than world class." However, we like the relatively slow pace of life north of San Diego compared to the hustle of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I will add that we purchased our week at Aviara through SmartChoice Timeshare Realty, and their service was knowledgable and entirely professional.

I have voiced concern for some time at the limited exchange program offered by Four Seasons, compared to other hotel-based competitors such as Westin and Marriott, and also compared to competitors at the high end, such as Exclusive Resorts. Additionally, the new developments at Jackson Hole and Costa Rica are no longer on a traditional "timeshare" model, making exchanges at those locations considerably more difficult. An alternative way of facilitating exchange seems so far not to have been considered by Four Seasons.

However, I find that this situation has recently begun to improve. An expanded exchange program includes access to several western mountain resorts, to Villa La Estancia in Cabo San Lucas, to the Phillips Club in New York City, and also, recently, on a limited basis to available condominium units at Four Seasons Great Exuma through 2007. There is also talk that some new residence clubs will adhere to the original Aviara/Scottsdale model, for example, a development planned in Orlando at Celebration (no specific date provided).

The lack of exchange options for settings of equivalent quality has in my opinion always been the greatest drawback to the Four Seasons Residence Club program. Perhaps the company is now addressing this concern with some seriousness.

This resort if fabulous! The best of any we have traded into in 25 years. It is truly a 4 Seasons experience and we loved it. We own two Marriotts and a Disney but this was better than any place we have gone.

We exchanged the week of our daughter's wedding in San Diego, and the girls wedding party had their "girls night out", there the night before the wedding as well as got ready for the wedding there. It was very nice for them as well as us! We felt pampered, and the unit was a 5 star standard. We loved our stay and would like to go back someday.

We bought a large one bedroom last year and we stayed their in Feb. Excellent timeshare property and everything has top quality. We are not worried about hotel management change as we bought it at very cheap price ($4200). And the recent news even made this deal better. Below is the email I received from Four Seasons regarding the change.

June 2, 2010

Dear Residence Club Owner,

I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the very positive meetings we have had over the past several weeks with Park Hyatt Hotels regarding the change in hotel management that will take place on June 21, 2010. As you already know, the change affects the hotel only, and Four Seasons will continue to manage Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara with its own employees and with the same high standards as always.

I am pleased to report that access to the hotel’s facilities and amenities will continue uninterrupted. This means that Residence Club owners will enjoy the same access to the golf course, tennis courts, restaurants, spa, fitness facilities, pools, game room and children’s programs as before. In addition, the current golf packages and promotions being offered to Residence Club owners will continue to be available.

Over the past month, I have had the pleasure of speaking with many of you individually and have appreciated your feedback. I want to thank you for your patience and support during this time and assure you that Four Seasons is as committed as ever to ensuring that your experience at the Residence Club remains consistent with the high level of Four Seasons service and care that you have enjoyed in the past.

I am attaching a short list of frequently asked questions and answers that may offer additional information about the change in hotel management and its impact on the Residence Club. We will continue to keep you updated on any important developments and, as always, please feel free to contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss.

Sincerely,

Florian Riedel Director of Residences Four Seasons Residence Club Aviara