Question about NO MAINTENANCE FEE Palace resorts in Mexico

Hey all, new to the boards. Wanted to see if i can get some help on a timeshare that we are looking at. My wife and i are interested in purchasing a resale timeshare at the all inclusive Palace Resort at Aventura Spa Palace for exchange purpose only. It states that there is no yearly maintenance fee. Does anyone know anything about this at all and how it all works? From all the reading and research i've done on the boards it looks like you don't have to pay any MF as long as you don't visit and just do an exchange. My question is, if we are not planning on ever visiting the resort but have a situation arise where we simply cannot exchange, do we then owe any fees or maintenance fees to the resort? Do we just lose the week? The exchange company would be RCI. Any help on this would be greatful. Thanks.

Don't do it period.

I think you are buying into a type of vacation club with no unit backing your purchase (ie....no unit with a leasehold called right to use -RTU)

You are paying to be allowed to use weeks listed in the RCI trade backs and other places. Actually, I posted a long list of Palace units from the RCI affiliated sites ( like www.afvclub.com ) with weeks at at many Palace resorts for $299 a week.....now $329 a week....and you need to purchase NOTHING for these weeks or pay anyones maintance fees....its $329 PERIOD*...even do 2 or 3 weeks in a row....( migh be some taxes involved)

*except for places with a REQUIRED AI...which some Palace resorts have. Then you have to add the AI fee. (If you were buying a RTU, the sales staff would lie & tell you how many thousands you could rent it for. AI weeks do NOT RENT WELL. (Why should they then a travel agent can beat you rental & include everything ( see below)

I also posted a list with some Palace resorts and the AI (on the TA site)( All Inclusive charge per person) (Still $299 a week).....but the per person daily AI charge was $60.00. Of course tons of smart travelers are able to book this same unit at the same place for less via a travel agent. And it includes the week, the air fare, and the AI.

You need to learn a lot more about T/S before you consider a purchase and I would advise you to read these BBS, the www.tugbbs.com and the TSforums.com websites.

Do not give these people any money.

Want to see what ebay sells some weeks for at several of the Palace Resorts? (Those that did buy RTU weeks) try one dollar to under $1000. Also check the redweek listings. Be prepared to fall over on the pricing.

How much do they want for you to be able to use the RCI and other places leftover weeks???? and for how many weeks? How much is the maint fees & the AI costs?

Don't do it.

Posted by Guys:

"...Question about NO MAINTENANCE FEE Palace resorts in Mexico Hey all, new to the boards. Wanted to see if i can get some help on a timeshare that we are looking at. My wife and i are interested in purchasing a resale timeshare at the all inclusive Palace Resort at Aventura Spa Palace for exchange purpose only. It states that there is no yearly maintenance fee. Does anyone know anything about this at all and how it all works? From all the reading and research i've done on the boards it looks like you don't have to pay any MF as long as you don't visit and just do an exchange. My question is, if we are not planning on ever visiting the resort but have a situation arise where we simply cannot exchange, do we then owe any fees or maintenance fees to the resort? Do we just lose the week? The exchange company would be RCI. Any help on this would be greatful. Thanks..."

guys27 wrote:

Hey all, new to the boards. Wanted to see if i can get some help on a timeshare that we are looking at. My wife and i are interested in purchasing a resale timeshare at the all inclusive Palace Resort at Aventura Spa Palace for exchange purpose only. It states that there is no yearly maintenance fee. Does anyone know anything about this at all and how it all works? From all the reading and research i've done on the boards it looks like you don't have to pay any MF as long as you don't visit and just do an exchange. My question is, if we are not planning on ever visiting the resort but have a situation arise where we simply cannot exchange, do we then owe any fees or maintenance fees to the resort? Do we just lose the week? The exchange company would be RCI. Any help on this would be greatful. Thanks.

kekouri wrote:

How much do they want for you to be able to use the RCI and other places leftover weeks???? and for how many weeks? How much is the maint fees & the AI costs?

Thanks for responding. From what i understand it is a RTU for a 23 year lease. The owner is asking for a purchase price of $2,700 but will accept an offer. She told me you can use 1 week a year or you can use as many as you want a year, no limit. If this is legit my wife and i are interested because of the "no maintenance" fee. I just need to find out how that works. From what i've read on a few message boards, you only pay the maintenance fee if you actually go to the resort. If u exchange then there is no fee. This is exactly what we would be doing. We have no plans on ever going there. We are just concerned with the senario if we are not able to exchange for whatever reason AND are not going to the resort, Do we then have to pay the MF in that situation? Do we lose the week without paying any fees at all? Here's a quote from the ad with all specs below. "USAGE IS ANNUAL IN FLOATING WEEK!! 25 YEAR LEASE WITH 23 YEARS REMAINING" Location: Puerto Aventuras,Outside US,Mexico Resort Address: Lote 3 Rancho El Trebol Carretera Federal Cancun-T , Kilometro 72 Municipio Solidaridad Bedrooms: 1 Bedroom Bathrooms: 1 Sleeps: 4 Lockout: N/A Points: N/A Maintenance Fees: None Ownership: Right To Use Usage Type: Annual - Every Year Week: Floating Unit: Floating Exchange Company: RCI

guys27 wrote:

kekouri wrote:

How much do they want for you to be able to use the RCI and other places leftover weeks???? and for how many weeks? How much is the maint fees & the AI costs?

Thanks for responding. From what i understand it is a RTU for a 23 year lease. The owner is asking for a purchase price of $2,700 but will accept an offer. She told me you can use 1 week a year or you can use as many as you want a year, no limit. If this is legit my wife and i are interested because of the "no maintenance" fee. I just need to find out how that works. From what i've read on a few message boards, you only pay the maintenance fee if you actually go to the resort. If u exchange then there is no fee. This is exactly what we would be doing. We have no plans on ever going there. We are just concerned with the senario if we are not able to exchange for whatever reason AND are not going to the resort, Do we then have to pay the MF in that situation? Do we lose the week without paying any fees at all? Here's a quote from the ad with all specs below. "USAGE IS ANNUAL IN FLOATING WEEK!! 25 YEAR LEASE WITH 23 YEARS REMAINING" Location: Puerto Aventuras,Outside US,Mexico Resort Address: Lote 3 Rancho El Trebol Carretera Federal Cancun-T , Kilometro 72 Municipio Solidaridad Bedrooms: 1 Bedroom Bathrooms: 1 Sleeps: 4 Lockout: N/A Points: N/A Maintenance Fees: None Ownership: Right To Use Usage Type: Annual - Every Year Week: Floating Unit: Floating Exchange Company: RCI

============= I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never heard of this particular type of offer so I can’t address all your questions (except for the previously mentioned vacation clubs).

Now onto RCI… First, you would still have to pay annual RCI fees (approx $90) and exchange fees ($169 domestic, $199 for international).

Secondly, since this is not an RCI Points resort, you would need to deposit your week with RCI prior to requesting an exchange and you have NO guarantee that RCI would be able to honor your request. There are many posts on this website telling of the frustrations of not being able to get desired exchanges; to be fair, it’s not just an RCI problem. Good Luck

mike1536 wrote:

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never heard of this particular type of offer so I can’t address all your questions. Are there any hidden fees in the contract? Are you buying directly from the resort? Maybe the MF is rolled into the asking price. Maybe the all inclusive fees from the users are high enough to “cover” the MF.

Now onto RCI… First, you would still have to pay annual RCI fees (approx $90) and exchange fees ($169 domestic, $199 for international).

Secondly, since this is not an RCI Points resort, you would need to deposit your week with RCI prior to requesting an exchange and you have NO guarantee that RCI would be able to honor your request. There are many posts on this website telling of the frustrations of not being able to get desired exchanges; to be fair, it’s not just an RCI problem.

You may find it cheaper and more flexible to buy into a resort (resale) that uses a points system with a low MF. Also, buy a week at a resort where you would like to visit. If you cannot get a desirable exchange, you can at least go and enjoy your home resort. Good Luck

Thanks for your help. The owner told me the only cost besides closing costs is the purchase price. I would be purchasing it from the owner through the resale company where she has it listed. If RCI couldn't honor our exchange request and we don't use our deposited week at the resort itself what happens then? Do we just lose the week without having to pay anything to the resort? That's actually our main concern. If the exchange goes through then great but if it doesn't we are not really concerned with that being that we can just use an rci last call or extra vacation getaway in our area. We really just need to find out what happens if we can't get that exchange and don't use the week at all. Do we owe anything to the resort? We're not sure where or who to ask to find out that answer.

I saw your post on the tugbbs. I think there are owners there that might be able to help if they see your questions.....but they may not see it for awhile.

If you can do a search on tug, then search for palace resorts. Maybe some of their posts will come up and you can PM the owners.

I thought you were buying from the developer. Please be careful...some of the Palave resorts ask for a fee of 10% of the original developer price of whatever you are buying.

I would still say no to her....there are tons of Palace resorts for sale....and when you learn ( and tell us what you found) then you could proceed with this type deal. My BIL was gyped at Palave (Mayan) and has a kind of deal where he also doesn't pay a maint fee unless used....but he ALWAYS has to pay an AI fee.

guys27 wrote:

mike1536 wrote:

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never heard of this particular type of offer so I can’t address all your questions. Are there any hidden fees in the contract? Are you buying directly from the resort? Maybe the MF is rolled into the asking price. Maybe the all inclusive fees from the users are high enough to “cover” the MF.

Now onto RCI… First, you would still have to pay annual RCI fees (approx $90) and exchange fees ($169 domestic, $199 for international).

Secondly, since this is not an RCI Points resort, you would need to deposit your week with RCI prior to requesting an exchange and you have NO guarantee that RCI would be able to honor your request. There are many posts on this website telling of the frustrations of not being able to get desired exchanges; to be fair, it’s not just an RCI problem.

You may find it cheaper and more flexible to buy into a resort (resale) that uses a points system with a low MF. Also, buy a week at a resort where you would like to visit. If you cannot get a desirable exchange, you can at least go and enjoy your home resort. Good Luck

Thanks for your help. The owner told me the only cost besides closing costs is the purchase price. I would be purchasing it from the owner through the resale company where she has it listed. If RCI couldn't honor our exchange request and we don't use our deposited week at the resort itself what happens then? Do we just lose the week without having to pay anything to the resort? That's actually our main concern. If the exchange goes through then great but if it doesn't we are not really concerned with that being that we can just use an rci last call or extra vacation getaway in our area. We really just need to find out what happens if we can't get that exchange and don't use the week at all. Do we owe anything to the resort? We're not sure where or who to ask to find out that answer.

kekouri wrote:

I saw your post on the tugbbs. I think there are owners there that might be able to help if they see your questions.....but they may not see it for awhile.

If you can do a search on tug, then search for palace resorts. Maybe some of their posts will come up and you can PM the owners.

I thought you were buying from the developer. Please be careful...some of the Palave resorts ask for a fee of 10% of the original developer price of whatever you are buying.

I would still say no to her....there are tons of Palace resorts for sale....and when you learn ( and tell us what you found) then you could proceed with this type deal. My BIL was gyped at Palave (Mayan) and has a kind of deal where he also doesn't pay a maint fee unless used....but he ALWAYS has to pay an AI fee.

That sounds like a good idea, i'll try to pm any owners i can find. Well thanks again for your help!