Original Message:
Re: Marriott Vacation Club "Destinations" - What I Like and What I've Done (by Ed G.):
Thanks, everyone in this forum. I know it's hard to believe, but we just heard about the Destinations points program on our recent visit to Waiohai. We were a bit frustrated by our unit assignment, and when we complained, we were told that we should consider 'buying' a day or two in front of our usual 7 day stay (Fri, Sat, or Sun check-in) using 'points'. We're sure the blank stare on our faces prompted the courteous Concierge to recommend we attend the presentation they offered so we could learn about this program.
The shear volume of information and the plethora of data points was overwhelming. We were very confused, and initially very angry feeling that Marriott had significantly changed the game regarding our ownership rights. Some of these feelings have yet to be assuaged.
So, we turned to the blogs and forums to get real-time owner/user experiences. It took two days of constant reading to cover most of the comments, good and bad, including those on the owner-whiner den of dismay on another forum in Redweek. BTW, extensive blog research during your vacation is something you need to avoid. Not fun.
We like the positive tone of this forum along with all the positive comments from users who are making this new program work for them. Clearly, there is benefit to be found and one merely has to consider the trade-off.
Our conclusion for us, as much as we have enjoyed our stays at Waiohai, we are not timeshare people. We don't travel that much and don't see any more value in enrolling in the Destinations program, or in continued ownership in our Waiohai property. We have other alternatives that appear to suit us better.
So, thank you all. Your experiences, as positive as they are, helped us reach this very important decision. Please stay happy and healthy, and travel as much as you can. Good job on this forum, Dennis. Very helpful to us all.