Timeshare Vacation Offers: Deal or Scam?

Have you ever normal one of those timeshare "vacation proposal" ring calls or e-mails? You know, the ones that agreement quarters and square admission for a part of the uniform expense if you listen a timeshare presentation. If so, you may have wondered about them and if they're merit pursuing. Well, I'm not embarrassed to holder up and say, "I did it!" My mother and I went on a vacation together, and for the first three time we took help of one of those too-good-to-be-real timeshare vacation proposals.

Here are my experiences:

Last jump, my grandma normal an unsolicited ring call from an team proposaling cheap Orlando lodge quarters and Disney square tickets. My grandma had forever requisite to go, so she ringd my mother and asked her to look into it. My mom cultured that this guests (Vacation store, Inc.

) was proposaling a $99/persona "vacation package" for halts in any or all of numerous cities (Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas). The Orlando halt agreementd 3 nights in a lodge only 5 notes from the Disney squares good one one-day square fling per persona.

She was also educated that she'd have to pay a $30 booking fee, that the Orlando position would expense an further $29/persona, and that she was requisite to listen a timeshare sales presentation breakfast. judgment that this would be an affordable way to take my grandma on a vacation, she bought it. It expense her $228 to grip the package.

Alas, my grandmother flinged away before this slip, and I went in her place.

The package agreementd "worth" quarters inbank 10 notes of attractions, such as the AmeriHost, Ramada square 1000, or the Radisson Barcelo. We could not identify one of these lodges -- one would be chosen for us based on availability at the time of reservation.

As it curved out, we were booked into the Amerihost, which of the three lodges was the close to Walt Disney World. I did some explore before the slip and fixed that the Amerihost did proposal open carrys to Walt Disney World. The reservation agent mentioned we'd require to verify our belatedly (8:00 p.

m. ) arrival on the morning of confirm-in day. loyally, my mother called before we left for the airport to verify our arrival.

So far, so good.

Our getaway indoors in the early nightfall and we got a taxi to the Amerihost -- we did not rent a car, as the lodge had a carry to Walt Disney World. winning inward at the lodge, we wandered around a bit wearisome to find the vacation package confirm-in regarder, which curved out to be WAY in the back of the lodge.

We shrunken a good half hour on this. lastly, my mother confirmed-in with the Vacation store timeshare persons and normal a lodge receipt. ticket in hand, we went to the lodge's confirm-in regarder to get our area and boom.

Alas, this was not to be. When it came our twist to confirm-in, we were educated that even still we'd fixed our halt just that morning, the lodge had overbooked and that we could halt at the Ramada square 1000 instead. We both said, in harmony, "We don't have transportation!" But the lodge cane wouldn't move.

After a lot of complaining and haggling, they lastly decided to give us transportation over to and back from the Ramada. We were instructed to go back to the Vacation store task to book our timeshare presentation reunion (requisite to get the square tickets) and then go to the Ramada.

So we hauled our luggage back to the task, signed up for the timeshare presentation ($20 deposit requisite), and got a relax in a van from one of the workers ($5 tip).

It was a good 20-25 precise send over to the Ramada. When we confirmed in, we cultured that not only was there no carry to Disney, but that the restaurant had just blocked and there wasn't even an canteen inbank walking separate. So we trudged up to our area, planned subs from a mode place, and chop into exhausted snooze.

Not an auspicious launch to our slip.

The next morning we existing ourselves at the Vacation store task at prospect time (8:00 am) to query about the retwist transportation we were agreementd. My mother got deflected, so I tried.

After insisting keenly, the rep said she was receiving us transportation. It curved out that she'd called a urban car guests, and winning depositing us back at the Amerihost, the sendr insisted on $40 for the slip. No way! I marched in and spine to an worker at the confirm-in regarder and they salaried the sendr.

We did give the sendr a $5 tip, however.

lastly, we get to confirm-in to the Amerihost. A "smoking" oom was the only area unfull, but we took it so we could get on with our day.

Unfortunately, by the time we'd hauled our luggage up to the area, the last morning carry had left. We asked at the caretaker regarder about transportation to Animal Kingdom, and we were told that their sendr could take us both for $20. Eager to get open, we decided.

The slip was thin, and we tipped another $5.

The timeshare presentation was the next day. While we were both dreading this, we knew it had to be done to get the square tickets.

So we showed up in the lodge lobby at the appointed time and got a bother over to the Silver Lake Resort. There we waited for the timeshare presentation. As it curved out, individual sales reps came out and called out individual names -- one sales rep for each society.

Yikes! We stillt we'd be in a harmless, group situation.

Our timeshare sales rep led us into a large reunion area where 40 small tables and chairs were given. A very measly "breakfast rock" was set up along the bank -- it was the typical continental breakfast fare, and not very appetizing.

After receipt-chatting about his family, and accidentally spilling his auburn on my Mom, he began chatting in common about how useful vacations are and the merit of reduction money on them. All of this we knew, but hey, anything. After about an hour of this, he gave us a tour of the two- and three-bedarea condos at the Silver Lake Resort.

They looked sanction -- nothing to balance to the Disney Vacation Club resorts, but still sanction. Then it was time for the hard retail. He got out his calculator and told my Mom what her monthly payments would be when she bought the timeshare.

My mother very civilly asked questions and spoken frank advantage, but very tightly said she could not make a firmness immediately. He pressed more, and more, and more. When my mother didn't move, he got frustrated (he actually put his advance in his hands and drag a mammoth sigh!).

Eventually, after another hour, he got fuming -- no kidding. He made it disrate that we'd shrunken his time. Ha! He'd reserved us an hour longer than we'd been told the timeshare presentation would take.

When he lastly gave up and let us go, I smiled and thanked him for his time. He curved away throatily. And because he'd run over his fixed time, we got back to the Amerihost belatedly and missed the carry.

We tired another $25 to get to Epcot.

The good newscast? We did get the two one-day square tickets after the presentation. Well, they were actually receipts, but we had no challenge exchanging them for actual tickets at Guest Relations at the squares.

All in all, the experience expense us $346 when you add in the transportation expenses. At uniform toll, it would have expense $69/night to halt at the Amerihost, good $53 x 2 for the tickets, for a utter of $313. desirable, we wouldn't have had the overbooking hassle (uniform customers were given quarters), the transportation confusion, nor the shrunken half-day and aggravation of the timeshare presentation.

Was it merit it? If we'd full help of the quarters in the other cities (two nights each in Ft. Lauderdale, Williamsburg, and Las Vegas at no additional rate, if you don't regard the timeshare presentation that comes with each holiday) and had our own transportation, possibly -- but that's a big possibly. Otherwise? NO WAY! We hated the hassle, we hated the require of influence, and we hated the high-load timeshare sales presentation.

This was no deal. And while I wouldn't call it a scam, I don't think "over-priced advertise" is too far off the symbol.

My counsel? sojourn disrate of timeshare presentations save you've got time and money to unwanted.

Copyright Jennifer Marx, PassPorter voyage reporters. All Rights cool.