We bought into Sheraton Vistana in 1997; is it worth upgrading to Starwood?

Hi - my wife and I purchased a bi-annual ownership in the Lakes (1997) and Cascades (1999). When we bought we were told we could exchange our floating week at any other Gold Crown resort in the world. Now, the rules have changed. We have to buy an RCI membership and pay an 'exchange fee' every year. (Otherwise, if we don't use it we lose it). We are back at Vistana this week for a vacation and attended one of the patented sales presentations for Starwood. We did purchase the "Explorer Option" which allows us to become a "Sheraton Preferred Guest". We have tried to sell our existing timeshare but (like everyone else) cannot give them away. My question is....is it worth it to upgrade to Starwood and become a member of the Starwood Vacation Network? The only way we can bring our current 2 deeds into Starwood is to purchase a 1 B/R for $13,990. If we do that we'll receive all kinds of Star Points. For those of you who HAVE upgraded, was it worth it? Also, can someone tell me the difference b/w StarPoints and StarOptions? Thank you very much!

This up grade is a scam. In your staement you stated the company promised you the world and now all you have to do is give another 14000 and all there promises will come ture again or are you out 14000 and they will come up with another scam for you to up-grade your BAD investment again

rickg180 wrote:

Hi - my wife and I purchased a bi-annual ownership in the Lakes (1997) and Cascades (1999). When we bought we were told we could exchange our floating week at any other Gold Crown resort in the world. Now, the rules have changed. We have to buy an RCI membership and pay an 'exchange fee' every year. (Otherwise, if we don't use it we lose it). We are back at Vistana this week for a vacation and attended one of the patented sales presentations for Starwood. We did purchase the "Explorer Option" which allows us to become a "Sheraton Preferred Guest". We have tried to sell our existing timeshare but (like everyone else) cannot give them away. My question is....is it worth it to upgrade to Starwood and become a member of the Starwood Vacation Network? The only way we can bring our current 2 deeds into Starwood is to purchase a 1 B/R for $13,990. If we do that we'll receive all kinds of Star Points. For those of you who HAVE upgraded, was it worth it? Also, can someone tell me the difference b/w StarPoints and StarOptions? Thank you very much!

I don't know anything about the Starwood program, but you'd be much better off financially to join RCI, deposit your week(s) at least 9 months in advance (for a better selection of resorts) and trade for something that might interest you. The key is to deposit early. It simply looks like Starwood has pegged you as someone that knows absolutely nothing about the Starwood system and they're doing their best to drain you financially.

Also, you probably should ask all your Starwood questions on www.tugbbs.com as they have an entire Starwood forum.

Thank you both very much for your feedback. My wife and I did some research on tug.com and after learning more about it we decided to back out of the deal. We notified the sales people before we left Vistana. I think they were stunned but I feel it was the right decision. You're right. It looks like RCI looks like our best option. Thanks again.

rickg180 wrote:

Thank you both very much for your feedback. My wife and I did some research on tug.com and after learning more about it we decided to back out of the deal. We notified the sales people before we left Vistana. I think they were stunned but I feel it was the right decision. You're right. It looks like RCI looks like our best option. Thanks again.

You're most welcome .... testimonials like yours are the reason I've posted on Redweek's forums since it's inception AND reporting upfront fee resale/rental scam companies .... kudos to you for doing your homework.