Let’s take a step back today and talk about an industry that’s not known to many: Timeshare Hotels. Without going into too much detail, it’s essentially a vacation property ownership that caters to a very specific niche of frequent travelers. And Marriott Vacation Club is probably one of the most well-known hotels in these programs.
Having the opportunity to enjoy a week long stay at Marriott Newport Coast Villas definitely captures the whole timeshare experience. The feeling of checking-in, amenities, customer services, and rooms are all vastly different from what you would normally expect at a hotel.
The rooms are condominium styles usually situated in prestigious real estate locations. It’s your vacation “home away from home”.
The property itself is stunning. With almost all the two bedroom villas hugging the Newport Coast, every room pretty much have oceanfront views.
In their club area, they even have swimming pools, games, and billiards for relaxation & entertainment. Hard to say no when you have the Pacific Ocean in front of you…
While the interior design is uninspiring, the room provides all the essential ingredients for long term stays such as a living room, couple bedrooms, washer/dryer, and a full-sized kitchen.
Thus, you can take advantage & do something totally different from your usual hotel stays such as… cooking night! As a matter of fact for one of our meals, we decided to put the kitchen to good use and made fresh sushis for dinner.
Throughout the week, you can stroll around their property and enjoy the coastal views with the option of doing beach sports like volleyball.
Since you are staying over a week long, you have plenty of time to see the sights and sounds of Orange County. In Miki’s case, that means shopping at Fashion Island. Lots of shopping.
In the end, are timeshare properties worth it? Yes and No. The only way to determine if ownership represents a good value is to perform a financial analysis.
If you are in the market for a permanent vacation property with varying locations around the world to call your own, timeshare can be a viable option to frequent travelers especially with large families.
Nevertheless, the investment is insanely expensive. For Marriott Owners, the initial buy-in can be up to $20,000 not including annual taxes and fees! Thus, with that type of purchase, you have to be extremely passionate about Marriott properties and their style of condos that they offer.
The good news is that if you have unused Marriott Timeshare Club Points expiring, you can still convert them to Marriott Rewards to stay at their luxury hotels globally. And with the official merger of Starwood, you now have the flexibility to choose some of the best lifestyle hotels in the world.
Simply put, timeshare properties are perfect for people with many bucket list destinations. Don’t get me wrong, I do too… but ever since 10+ years ago I discovered there’s an additional experience I constantly crave – it’s the magic of a great luxury hotel.
I’ll never forget the taste of breakfast that one morning in St. Regis Osaka… or the moment Miki & Paul did morning yoga in front of W Barcelona… or being treated like royalty in St. Regis Dubai…
The best luxury hotels exclusively make special memories like these. And while most timeshare properties are in gorgeous locations, the magic of that travel experience disappears just a little bit.
That being said if you happen to be considering timeshare, Marriott Vacation Club is still by far one of the best ones out there. It’s just not my style… it’s just not for me 😉
I understand that most timeshare ownership information(s) can be quite overwhelming. So if you want more assistance, just send me an inquiry and we’ll be more than happy to help.
Chai Bear World 