FAULTY PROMISES and illusions...
BUYER BEWARE... Marriot Vacation Club lures you by promising luxious dream getaways, but don't sign on the dotted line yet...
HOW OUR ISLAND DREAM BECAME A NIGHTMARE...
Just a Short No-Obligation Presentation?
Our story of faulty promises and illusions began in April 2023 when my wife and I stayed at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villa. Like many couples that day, we were lured into attending a timeshare presentation that, on the surface, looked like nothing more than an innocent opportunity for a few salesmen to soft-sell their product and maybe get a few takers. We were a tad skeptical, but none of that really mattered because we were in no position to buy; in fact, we looked at each other and said out loud that there was no way we'd buy anything. As we listened to the pitch, however, assurances were made, and a wonderful picture was painted of luxurious getaways and dream destinations. So ultimately we were convinced and sold into a timeshare agreement. That's when things went really haywire...
Empty Promises...
As it was explained to us, we could rent a particular property, BUT... when it came down to reserving time, the property was never available during the times that we wanted. After about 30 days of being completely unsatisfied, we contacted customer service to get our money back and were immediately told that it wasn't possible – even after the customer service rep also ran into problems booking the space on our behalf. It was all very disappointing and upsetting. Allow us to save you the incredsible hassle of what we've had to go through.
And we're NOT the only ones. Read the Tripadvisor's Timeshares Vacation Rentals Forum about what others have gone through.
Don't Take Our Word For It...
DO NOT attend a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare presentation BEFORE you know the facts. This YouTube search will offer, in great detail, the parallel of what you are told in one of these presentations and WHAT IS THE TRUTH!
LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES
Avoid Marriott Vacation Club Timeshares and here's why:
First and foremost... NO ONE told us the truth, including potential limitations and booking issues that could arise.
MISREPRESENTED FACTS and OTHER PROBLEMS
Lack of Property Availability
As we unfortunately learned far too late, the select properties we wanted to use were never available, making it nearly impossible to get our money's worth. In one instance, a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare representative gave us a tour of particular property and implied that this was the SAME property we were buying (within the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas). In reality, we were actually purchasing different properties and only had access to a small portion of the Maui property we had just toured.
Omitted Details of a Mistaken Purchase
Attempting to communicate expectations to the Marriott Vacation Club does not help. In our case, we had explained that the only reason we were buying a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare was for the use of property in Breckenridge, Colorado. But after only one month of our purchase committment, we learned that the particular property we were interested in would NEVER be available at the times we wanted. IMPORTANT: Had we known this up front, we NEVER would have bought into the program.
Fast forward nine months later after our original purchase... we were told by a Marriott Vacation Club Senior Sales Executive at a completely different presentation that we were sold the WRONG package. He stated that by the contract terms we were bound to, we were restricted to only book 12 months in advance in compliance with our package. He said the next tier level package was actually the one we should have been sold. This was a small detail that would have been nice to know, but the truth was hidden from us. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE MADE.