Vacation Club - Newport Beach, CA

My son and I checking out the surf in California. The New Port Beach Vacation Club is located across the street from the CA coast. It's worth the walk. Some portions of the beach are pretty rocky but one of the more beautiful ones you'll ever see. No real services down by the water so pack a bag.

Timeshare Resale Value

Before taking the timeshare plunge, take a look at what current "pre-owned" or used time shares are going for. A "new" timeshare from Marriott may be going for significantly higher than the one you can get "used."

Blog Under Construction - Watch for Falling Bricks

Marriott Vacation Club - Fact or Fiction

I'm a recent Marriott Vacation Club owner. Vacation Club is Marriott speak for timeshare. We purchased a platinum week at one of their many Florida locations. We've stayed at a couple of Vacation Club locations prior to purchasing. The properties are great! The sale process went smooth. Marriott has these properties at many attractive destinations. I'm still in the process of figuring out the many nuances of owning a timeshare.

The basic message - buy here and you have access to all of these great Vacation Club properties. While this fact is true, it's not that easy. Part of your timeshare experience allows you to join an organization called Interval International. A simple explanation of Interval is it is a network of many timeshare organizations that allows you to trade your timeshare at your home resort to access other timeshare locations. The theory is that you now are part of a timeshare community that you can trade your week(s) to stay at a long list of locations. Sounds good - see the world by owning a timeshare in Fla......

Marriott has some great places with consistent quality - no doubt. However, when you want to stay at another Marriott location, you trade your week through Interval International. Now you get to stand in line with every other timeshare owner in the world. No priority is given to the Marriott Vacation Club owner. You could own a timeshare at Fred's Spa & Grill Resort in Bayonne, NJ and have access to Marriott Vacation Club. Great for the owner of a Fred's timeshare week - it can be not so great for the Marriott owner. I'm sure there are some rules that determine the trade value of week a different locations. Regardless, it can be difficult to get the location you want when you want it.