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[Q=alfredn1] [Q=laurad79] My husband and I just came back from Sheraton Vistana for the second time and still absolutely love it! We dont have children but there are so many things to do there and the resort is immaculate! We have stayed in cascades both times. We are considering purchasing there in the future..Does anyone have input regarding their network and ease of which you can exchange weeks at other resorts? Is converting the week to starpoints or staroptions worth it? We initially purchased an explorer program to use toward a down payment but later learned that only up to10% would go to the down payment unlike 100% as was empasized to us. Any feedback would be appreciated as to dealings with starwood sales people...Have a great day![/Q] As the Explorer package was explained to my family,the ENTIRE $$$ amount will go toward a timeshare purchase.And along with your purchase,Sheraton is rewarding you with Starpoints,anywhere from 35,000 to 100,000,depending on what you purchase.The StarPoints can be redeemed for hotel stays,the Options(i.e.,the points value of your specific unit) are redeemed for units of the same value at their other Sheraton properties.We have successfully redeemed the Options on our timeshares for units on Paradise Island,the Bahamas,and at their property on Maui.This can be done fairly simply over the phone.Be certain to give them a sufficient lead time(6 to 8 months!)to conduct a "search" for an available trade. The different resorts may not be of the same/equal value,so you may be required to accept a smaller unit for the two mentioned above.The Maui resort is small compared to Vistana,but far MORE LUXURIOUS.The Paradise Island resort,Harborside,is just as fine as Vistana.We hope that this information is helpful in making your decision.[/Q] In regards to the explorer package, the FINE print reads that 100% of the 1500 dollars explorer price could be applied up to a maximum of 10% of the total ownership package price. So to get the maximum out of this offer, you need to spend 15000 dollars. However, our intentions were to spend a lot less than that, therefore, this package did not make sense to us and we cancelled our purchase of the explorer within days. Yes, we should have read the fine print ahead of time, BUT the emphasis was on the fact that 100% would be applied and therefore we looked at that as a downpayment of sorts. The 10% was verified by explorer staff via phone. We still are interested in purchasing, but we dont want to give them an extra sum of money if we dont need too. That would be done if we purchased the explorer. Our money was quickly refunded to us.