Marriott's OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes

Renters beware!

Robin H. · 2012-07-08T15:05:37-0700

I have rented a week off owners for Marriott villas in myrtle beach and Hilton head for the past 6 years off of Redweek. . I have never had any trouble until this year. After finding the week I want I contact the owner and make arrangements to sign the contract and make the payment. I always call Marriott and confirm the person I'm renting from is an owner before sending the money. And I have a contract faxed to me, I sign it then the owner signs it and faxes me a copy. This method has worked for me for the first 5 years and I have dealt with wonderful and helpful owners. Last February I made arrangements to secure our week for this summer just like I have in years past. We were looking to rent a week during the 4th of July at Marriott Oceanwatch villas in Myrtle Beach, SC. For those of you unfamiliar with that property there are 4 main views that correspond to the views. There are 6 buildings 3 in the front, up close to the ocean, in a "U" shape, then 3 buildings behind the front three and back from the ocean a little ways. The front 3 buildings, the Scallop, the conch and the Starfish (middle one) all have oceanfront views. Then the two on the sides of the U which are the scallop and the conch have "oceanside" views as well. They are the sides of those 2 buildings either poolside or Oceanside, both with excellent up close views of the ocean. There are no ocean views on the starfish building as that building is oceanfront views only. Then the three buildings behind the front 3 were built later on and they are called the Maple Magnolia and Pine. These buildings DO NOT have oceanfront or Oceanside views as the front three do, they only have oceanside which is from the 7th floors and up and have a limited view of the ocean, then garden view which are lower floors and have no views of the ocean. We always get an "oceanfront" view guaranteeing one of the front 3 buildings and facing the ocean. This year I contacted an owner who listed his week June 30th thru July 7th and OCEANFRONT. When I asked for a contract he said he would send me one after he got the confirmation from Marriott. I had never done things this way but had confirmed he was an owner through Marriott and went ahead with the tranaction. He cashed my check and never sent me a contrat like he said he would. I contacted Marriott and they confirmed he had made the reservation in my name so they (Marriott) sent me my confirmation number. I just assumed I was dealing with a very unorganized person who doesn't return emails in a timely manner. I felt comfortable with the transaction because I had a confirmation no from Marriott. Around June 1st I called Marriott to put in a room request, just like I always do and that's when I got the news. Marriott told me my room was OCEANSIDE AND NOT OCEANFRONT, which is what I paid for. I immediately called the owner and he told me I was getting the corner room on one of the front two building with a deck facing the pool and a deck facing the ocean and that's why Marriott terms it "Oceanside." this was a flat out lie! First of all, those rooms are OCEANFRONT, not Oceanside, and Marriott confirmed with me that this owner owned several weeks there but none were oceanfront, they were all Oceanside. Secondly, an owner CANNOT PROMISE YOU WHERE your room will be. You only get a certain view based on what they purchased. I called him back again. I asked for a full refund so I could rent a week from another owner that was oceanfront. He waited a whole week to reply to my email and told me that I had 24 hrs to tell him if I wanted a full refund or to keep the room. Well by this time we were a week away from leaving and all other oceanfront weeks for that date were now rented. He waited to refund me after he saw all the other roms rented for our week gone on Redweek. I then told him I would love a refund but there are no other weeks available for our dates, but then again, he already knew that. That was the only reason he was offering me a full refund....he knew i wouldnt take it. I told him to refund me $800 to compensate for the downgrade in views I'm getting when he advertised for a prime oceanfront room during the most busiest week of the year. I could have saved $800 if I rented an Oceanside room that week clear back in February. He wouldn't answer emails nor my phone calls. I was scammed! So Beware when renting these views you get what your paying for. I had always had a good experience before and trusted this person based on previous years experiences. Always get a contract prior to sending payment. If they won't do it, rent from someone who will. This was the whole reason this owner was not sending me a contract. He was afraid I'd read it! Redweek was no help. They said because it was a contract between an owner and myself, they could not do anything. Redweek apparently only allows 3 choices in views when owners list their weeks: Oceanfront, ocean view and garden, there is no option for Oceanside, so some owners will list their Oceanside week as oceanfront and then tell you in the description that it is considered an Oceanside view by Marriott but is a great view of the ocean and up close. Some won't tell you at all. They let you believe your getting oceanfront. Only someone like me who is familiar with the property would catch this, I only wish I caught it before I rented my week. I recommended to Redweek that they cancell all rentals by this particular owner and never allow him to rent on the site again, but they didn't agree. This man is still renting and is still misleading renters so BEWARE! I hope this story will help one person, If it does it will be worth it.

Doug M. Jun 12, 2013

Hi, I am relieved to know there is somebody else that is not satisfied with Marriott. We bought an OCEANFRONT villa about 5 yrs ago. My husband fell in love with this place, At the time, we told them we were not interested in exchanging or anything else, we only wanted Myrtle Beach, so that is why we bought OCEANFRONT and paid more. Well, after the first year, the problems began. Everytime we "called" for our week, we NEVER could get it. Even tho I called like 30 seconds after 9 am. So, I would try every week to get a week, to no avail. We even paid an additional $500. for this "new" pkg. We were told at that time that this would absolutely get us a better chance in getting a week. Well, wrong again!!! So we joined International Interval(more money) so we could exchange our week. We chose a week in Fla, it was ok but not mb. This is why we bought MB, so we could go to MB!!! The only answer Marriott could give us, "Well,if you buy another week, those people get first chance before the 1 week owners" My husband is still working, so we do not want 2 weeks at one place. Very disappointed, so much we have put our villa up for sale. We contacted Marriott about buying our villa and they told us at this time they were not doing this, and when they do start, they would probably only pay us 2000. to 3000. for it. So disappointed.

Kevin M. Jul 12, 2013

Hello:

I have also been following your post regarding the bait and switch. Could you kindly forward me the information on this person. I'd hate to have my first trip to Myrtle Beach be the last one. Thank you so much.

Robin H. Jul 12, 2013

hi sure. just email me at scale_32@yahoo.com

Janet C. Sep 08, 2013

Thank you for the information! I am looking to rent an oceanfront for next summer. Besides the view, how do you ensure they don't take your money then cancel the reservation? Any help/guidance would be appreciated!

Mark B. Aug 02, 2014

Its best to go thru Redweeks referred title company......NOT thru an ower/renter agreement...plain & simple.

Betty A. Jun 06, 2015

Would you mind sending me the persons name as we are getting ready to rent? Thank you in advance,Ann Briwn

Lin Sep 17, 2015

Hi, thanks for sharing your information. I too will be emailing you! Just curious why you can not list the person's name who did not treat you honestly. It's disappointing that Redweek has no dispute process. Thanks again for sharing your story.

RedWeek Support RedWeek.com Sep 17, 2015

Linda,

You can ensure a safe transaction, and file a dispute if the rental is not as advertised, if you use the escrow services of First American Title: Escrow Service

If you have further questions, please Contact Us.

Phyllis

Last edited by phyl21 on Sep 17, 2015 07:59 PM

Lin Sep 17, 2015

Hi Phyllis, Thank you for suggesting that option! Definitely, something to think about.

Best regards,

Melinda S. Aug 06, 2016

I, like the countless others, would like to know the name of this person. It will be our first time renting a timeshare at this resort and am grateful that you have taken the time to warn and prevent others from going through what you did. You are to be commended!

Robin H. Aug 07, 2016

Hello, I would be glad to. Just send me an email and I can provide that info for you. scale_32@yahoo.com

Melinda S. Feb 06, 2017

Is the man's name William Binder by chance? Thanks!

Tammy H. May 30, 2017

Last edited by tammyh344 on May 30, 2017 06:11 PM

Robert S. Jul 04, 2017

I'm sorry to hear people have been unscrupulous in their dealings. We are 2 week owners at MB and love the resort. We usually use at least one of our weeks each year, but this year we had to rent them out. Now we went the route of paying more to have RedWeek do all the work with contracts, etc. and it gives us the "Redweek Verified" tag. If you look at those weeks, you should not have any issues. I hate to have people ruin renting out our weeks by lying about their views. We are not all like that, I promise!

Our views are OceanFront (which we love) and Ocean View (higher floors on the back two buildings). We love them both for different reasons. The Oceanview buildings are back where it is quieter and are close to the indoor pool and gym, plus the serenity pool. It is a bit of a walk to the beach, but we still love it and the birds that inhabit the area are great to watch from your balcony. Ocean Front is up where there is more action at the main pool, unless you are on one of the outside corners, then not so much, but the Ocean views and watching the dolphins swim by are still wonderful.

I hope that everyone that is looking to rent reads the information, asks a lot of questions and most of all, read your contract so you are not disappointed. MB is a wonderful resort and we hope you love it too!

Lisa C. Jun 17, 2018

Could you please share the owners name?

Tanya D. Aug 26, 2018

Just emailed you as well. Thank you!

Bridgette C. Apr 23, 2019

Hi could you please email name...starting the process of renting for this summer.

Thank you !

Last edited by bridgette26 on Apr 23, 2019 06:52 AM

Steve K May 30, 2019

I reserve all of my weeks online at 9am for the Gold season OceanFront. Have always been able to get a oceanfront week, Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun. make sure you have an accurate clock for time to know when to click (refresh) to reserve your room. good luck

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