Daddy's Christmas Angel

Monday, July 16, 2012

Timeshares--Love Them or Hate Them?

Resort at Puerta Vallarta in Mexico--MMSikes
In recent months, we've gotten many annoying unsolicited telephone calls from companies wanting to relieve us of our "timeshare burden". We have owned timeshares since 1980 and have enjoyed using them and trading them. They have made possible trips we probably never would have taken without our timeshare ownerships.

Some of our destinations have included Trinidad, Puerta Vallarta, Los Cabos, Kauai, Maui, St. Thomas, Sint Maarten, Barbados, Antigua, Key West, Palm Beach, Palm Springs, San Diego, Sedona ... The list goes on and on. We've visited numerous resorts in Canada that we would never have known about without our timeshare affiliation. Several years ago, we went on an adventure to the south of France, encountering a railroad strike en route.

Twelve years ago, we purchased a second timeshare at Island Club in Hilton Head, SC because we wanted to use it each year as our tennis week. The resort has outstanding tennis facilities and excellent teaching pros which makes it ideal for our vacations.


Horses near Avon, Colorado timeshare -- MMSikes
There are people who feel burdened by timeshares they purchased under duress of persistent sales people. Maintenance fees and other costs have risen. Still, we have enjoyed our ownerships and our trades. We have experienced many amazing adventures because of them. And I have found numerous possible settings for new books. A win/win for timeshare ownership.

4 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

We just won a free cruise! If we look at someone's time share...
Sorry, not a chance. If I want a place at the beach, I'll buy it.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

We have loved ours for the trades we've made. We enjoy travel and the writing background that provides. I don't like those pressurized promotions and refuse to participate in them!

Chuck said...

I participated in a sneaky marketing ploy in Cozumel back in 08. I got a rental car for a week for $100...the catch (after the fact) was my wife and I had to spend a day in Cancun visiting the Tre Rios resort and listening to the pitch. We ended up buying a unit that had just been sold and it is now paid off. We will be using our time for the first time next year. At least I held out for 5 free weeks that never expire as part of the deal. That ends up being worth about $6000 which equates to half of what we paid for our unit. The saga has yet to unfold...

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Good for you, Chuck! My husband has enjoyed learning about new areas from the ones in which we have participated. Early on, we took the bait but found it was very difficult to get them to believe "no" was the answer. Now, we explain up front we have no intention of buying. Usually, they lose interest in our participating just to learn... Thanks for commenting!