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Re: Global Access thru Orange Lake Resorts (by Delores T.):
Hi We are new owners of OL since April 2007 2 bed/ 2 bath in the new section in the same as where the penthouse is. My brother in law and sister in laws have been members since 1998. We have often gone with them as family trips and now that we have a family of our own wanted our own condo.
What sold me the most was we were told in the meeting that they would be opening a Orange Lake Myrtle Beach. And said it would be so easy for us to get a place there thru RCI. In the end you would only have to speak to an OL representative and they would handle all the exchange details whether within an OL affiliated resort or with RCI. We were so excited I even said we are planning on going the last week of June 08. The rep said No problem call us and we will handle everything. What a joke...... We got back from there and in October 07 we called to make our reservations for June 21-28th, 08 and to my dismay I couldn't get a thing and was then told I needed to book 1 yr to 15 months a head of time. However I could con't calling. Trust me when I say I called weekly til April and then was offered through RCI I could pay a fee on my CC and they could find me a place It may not be in the area I wanted I asked for 6 different places near where my family was staying. By then I was so upset why wasn't I told this the first time I called back in Oct I would of then considered butting the finders fee on my CC and be reimbused if they didn't find what I wanted. This year the first time in 5yrs we didn't go to Myrtle Beach, SC with my family because why pay for another condo when we was supposely be just fine and go through RCI and use our points.
We now have points that are going to expire and we have not got another trip planed til Nov 09 at OL. Any suggestions???
Not once were we ever told we needed to make reservations 1 yr a head of time and then I last talked with a Global Access Rep/OL rep I was told that they have no future plans of opening in Myrtle Beach because of just opening in Pamana City and Vermont. We ( My husband and I ) are very disappointed and even considering selling. D
rodneym42 wrote:ley2 wrote:I'd like to share my experience also about the Global Access.I have been an owner as Orange Lake Florida since 2000. I own a 1 bedroom in splash lagoon village. (Forgot it its west or north village.)
Anyhow I had not visited in 4 years. I'm actually here as I type. Basically at checkin I was identified as an owner. They offered me $50 gift certificates for use in OL and amusement park tickets at wholesale to listen to a 1 hour presentation. I agreed.
At the presentation they told me the story about OL not joining the points system when RCI had offered it to them years ago. OL was waiting to see how the points system would turn out. And now they are going to create their own OL points system to link into RCI instead. Hence the Global blahblahblah. Then they said 65% of the resorts in RCI are in points already and my week at OL would have limited trade in value because of this.
In the end you would only have to speak to an OL representative and they would handle all the exchange details whether within an OL affiliated resort or with RCI.
Then they took me on a tour of the new built buildings. Near River Island. (The 7+ story buildings.)
THEN they told me that my one bedroom had only ~77,000 points and they recommended that I should use the equity I had in my current 1 bedroom and purchase a 2 bedroom instead to get more points to use for the system. I think they quoted me about $16,000 or so for the upgrade which included the use of the equity of my 1 bedroom.
Basically sounds like OL is trying to make money off existing weeks owners by scaring them into thinking that they have to convert to points and that whatever unit they have they must upgrade to a larger unit. Funny thing is I never got the chance to ask them how much it would cost just to join the Global without upgrading my unit. Basically after I said no to the $16,000 upgrade, the OL rep said thank you and walked away and sent another guy in to give me the gift information.
OLCC will not let you convert to Global without purchasing some type of new ownership. Best Price I got was $4495 at their Panama City Unit.