Are Dwvc’s “mega Deals” Really Mega?

Designer Way Vacation Club (DWVC) are a Holiday Club who claim to offer their members unrivaled discounts and service.
Booking through either their ABTA bonded service provider’s (Timelinx Vacation Services PLC) reservations office, or Designer Way Vacation Club's online booking system they are currently offering their members access to “Mega Deals”. These deals offer 4 to 5 star accommodation from as little as £9, up to £99 per week.

Looking at the Las Marismas de Corralejo resort, DWVC are offering a weeks accommodation in a one bedroom apartment for £19 until the end of December this year.

The resort is located in Corralejo on the northern tip of Fuerteventura, a popular tourist town with a beach and waterpark.
The complex is set in landscape gardens and features a restaurant, two large pools and a fair sized paddling pool for kids, there is also a play area next to the kid’s pool. Other activities on the complex include mini golf, volleyball and tennis.



The rooms are tastefully furnished and well equipped with a full kitchen, phone and
satellite TV.
The resort does seem to live up to the 4 to 5 star that DWVC guarantees.

We conducted a comprehensive search on rival Travel Agent’s web sites to see if they could beat or match DWVC’s price of £19 for a weeks accommodation, however the best we were able to find was £173.42 through Travel Republic for a week, commencing Saturday 1st December.
DWVC certainly live up to their claim of unbeatable prices, being £154.42 (or nearly 90%) cheaper!

So all that leaves to question is weather or not they excel with their customer service. Timelinx’s Customer Relations Director, Craig Douglas, states that DWVC and Timelinx hold customer satisfaction as a top priority.
Mr. Douglas says that the account managers in Timelinx’s reservations office “can handle any type of holiday request. If you are looking for a nice relaxing break in the sun or want to go skiing in Andorra. We take great pride in offering first class service to all the holiday clubs and agents that we service”.
Every member receives a “welcome home” call upon return from a holiday to conduct a survey on how they enjoyed their holiday and how they found the booking service. The main reason for doing this is to continue to maintain and improve their service standards and ensure the accommodation they offer is “always top notch”.
One such survey for the Las Marismas de Corralejo resort by members Peter and Ann Moir who returned home May 2nd, is shown below.

Booking System Rating
Ease of Booking 10
Pre-Booking Information 10
Accommodation Rating
Check In/Out System 10
Helpfulness of Staff 10
Quality of Room 9
Room Cleanliness 9
Room Facilities 9
Swimming Pool 10
Restaurant / Food 10
Location 10
Overall Rating
Value for Money 10
Holiday Experience 10

Another member, Lorna Lawson, sent an email with her opinions of the resort as shown below:

“Hi Rachel

I believe you spoke to my mother recently, Mrs June Lawson, asking for
some feedback on my recent stay at the above complex. I have to say we
had a great holiday. The apartment was lovely and the swimming pools
were huge - with a separate smaller one for younger children, which is
ideal for all. The whole complex was always clean and tidy including
around the pool and in the bars and restaurants.

The reception staff deserve lots of credit - they were so helpful and
friendly - booking our excursions, checking our return transport to the
airport, ordering taxis, etc. I was really impressed by them and they
certainly made our stay much easier. We were able to stay in our
apartment right up until the end of the last day (we had an evening
flight and you usually have to check out by 11am), but were told to see
reception that morning and they would see what they could do. That
certainly made our last day much better.

The resort is fantastic and I have thoroughly recommended it to my parents and
sister!

If you need anymore information, please feel free to e-mail me, or my
home phone number is ***********.

Kind Regards
Lorna Lawson”

The customer service does appear very thorough going by all this and the “What do the members say” section on their website shows.

In summary DWVC does live up to their claims with unbeatable value holidays and what seems to be an excellent customer service.

Written by Craig Harper (25/10/2007).