Is this a good news or bad news?

The fact isn't that the accomodations and the property aren't beautiful and luxurious. Hawaii is a virtual paradise. Yes it is beautiful even when it rains. It is beautiful at the other resorts also, whether you rent or own. It is not a point of contention. It is the fact that not all people are as awash in cash or able to "just say no" like some others have said. Nor have the cash flow to purchase five or six of these "bargains" We bought towards the downswing I am sure, but with only one purchase under my belt and the bad taste in my mouth I cannot fathom anyone owning more than one of these rip-offs. I read with utter amusement the replies because although there is some merit in their rebuke apparently the authors have NOT read the exact copy in my missives. It is highly likely that some of the replies may even be from paid agents of the developers themselves. If one had enough cash flow to purchase four or five timeshares no matter where; a good, honest financial advisor worth his pay; would STRONGLY advise against it. In fact, ask any legally licensed bank or financial institution to even consider such a purchase as a collateral for a loan and listen to the laughter. As I said before, if you believe you made a good deal and you are happy then so be it. I believe I was manipulated as I mentioned in my former post and ripped off. However; I know I am not the only owner of a timeshare that feels he has been ripped off. As for the ones who think this is such a sweet deal I have one for sale cheap actually, fifty percent less than I paid to the developer. Betcha I don't get too many takers though. PS it will be listed on xxxxxxxxx when that site goes online. If you missed the big sale here you can catch it there if you're still interested!

davidh273 wrote:

The fact isn't that the accomodations and the property aren't beautiful and luxurious. Hawaii is a virtual paradise. Yes it is beautiful even when it rains. It is beautiful at the other resorts also, whether you rent or own. It is not a point of contention. It is the fact that not all people are as awash in cash or able to "just say no" like some others have said. Nor have the cash flow to purchase five or six of these "bargains" We bought towards the downswing I am sure, but with only one purchase under my belt and the bad taste in my mouth I cannot fathom anyone owning more than one of these rip-offs. I read with utter amusement the replies because although there is some merit in their rebuke apparently the authors have NOT read the exact copy in my missives. It is highly likely that some of the replies may even be from paid agents of the developers themselves. If one had enough cash flow to purchase four or five timeshares no matter where; a good, honest financial advisor worth his pay; would STRONGLY advise against it. In fact, ask any legally licensed bank or financial institution to even consider such a purchase as a collateral for a loan and listen to the laughter. As I said before, if you believe you made a good deal and you are happy then so be it. I believe I was manipulated as I mentioned in my former post and ripped off. However; I know I am not the only owner of a timeshare that feels he has been ripped off. As for the ones who think this is such a sweet deal I have one for sale cheap actually, fifty percent less than I paid to the developer. Betcha I don't get too many takers though. PS it will be listed on xxxxxxxxx when that site goes online. If you missed the big sale here you can catch it there if you're still interested!

How exactly were you abused? and ripped off? What did they do to you? How much did you pay? Have you tried renting the time out, and making money, instead of selling for half price? Has your lifestyle changed since you originally bought? I am not a member or one of the staff, and guess what? I AM a financial advisor! And my business associate, who also bought more than once there is ALSO a financial advisor! So you're saying we don't know what we are doing or talking about? lol Face it, timeshares are not for everyone...apparently they are not for you....but don't slam the whole industry just because you are unhappy. Yes, there are some bad apples in the barrel. There are in every industry. I've been to many timeshare presentations and said NO, if I didn't think it was a good deal. I didnt have a problem saying NO, and I still have both kneecaps intact! Read the comments and remarks from people who have bought at the Embassy and have stayed there. I rent my weeks out on many occasions, and consider it a great business opportunity. I didn't buy on the secondary market, I paid the price, but in the end, I think I made a very good decision, and so does my business associate. Compared to the prices a lot of other companies charge, I didn't think it was a bad deal at all. Go check out the Westin! $85,000 for an Ocean View week! We own other Hawaiian timeshares and the maintenance fees here are not that bad at all, considering the County of Maui has QUADRUPLED THE PROPERTY TAX OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS! That isn't Diamond's fault. There are plenty other places that are much higher. Some people say keep your capital and use the returns to buy your room at a hotel, but it's a fact that especially on Maui the number of hotel rooms is dwindling, even with the new construction of new timeshare resorts. Many people prefer to rent instead of owning their house,....they think it's a smart way to hold on to their money. I don't. Why do you think all the hotels are switching to timeshare in the first place....they know that people want to OWN. It's happening all over the world. And don't say its because ALL the other timeshare organizations want to rip the public off! You apparently feel you were ripped off, I as well as my friend, saw this to be a great business opportunity and bought more. You can sell your unit for much less than you paid.....I did on one of my former purchases at another Hawaii resort, now THEY were a ripoff! But you can't be right 100% of the time. BTW....Diamond Resorts is buying up all the units that go on the secondary market (when a bonafide offer comes in) as they have the first right of refusal (as all timeshare companies have), I don't know why they haven't before...So...to sum it up, YOU are unhappy and think you got ripped off....I along with many others consider it was a good business deal, and when I rent the weeks out, someone else is paying off my mortgage! Enough said! Good luck on your sale!

By the way, we were unhappy when they took the free happy hour away as well. Here is the story. One evening a lawyer who was sipping his Mai Tai observed a gentleman down 13 drinks, then go out to the valet, and ask his car to be brought up! The lawyer advised managment that they, along with all the other owners could be held liable for feeding free booze to someone who then, went out and killed someone with his car. Makes sense, not many places hand out free booze anymore do they? Even when you host a party or wedding, you can be held liable. AND, the prices for food in the snack bar etc. are a little high as well. So there....I'm not perfectly happy with the Embassy, but I sure can live with it.

How exactly were you abused? and ripped off? What did they do to you? How much did you pay? Have you tried renting the time out, and making money, instead of selling for half price? Has your lifestyle changed since you originally bought? I am not a member or one of the staff, and guess what? I AM a financial advisor! And my business associate, who also bought more than once there is ALSO a financial advisor! So you're saying we don't know what we are doing or talking about? lol Face it, timeshares are not for everyone...apparently they are not for you....but don't slam the whole industry just because you are unhappy. Yes, there are some bad apples in the barrel. There are in every industry. I've been to many timeshare presentations and said NO, if I didn't think it was a good deal. I didnt have a problem saying NO, and I still have both kneecaps intact! Read the comments and remarks from people who have bought at the Embassy and have stayed there. I rent my weeks out on many occasions, and consider it a great business opportunity. I didn't buy on the secondary market, I paid the price, but in the end, I think I made a very good decision, and so does my business associate. Compared to the prices a lot of other companies charge, I didn't think it was a bad deal at all. Go check out the Westin! $85,000 for an Ocean View week! We own other Hawaiian timeshares and the maintenance fees here are not that bad at all, considering the County of Maui has QUADRUPLED THE PROPERTY TAX OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS! That isn't Diamond's fault. There are plenty other places that are much higher. Some people say keep your capital and use the returns to buy your room at a hotel, but it's a fact that especially on Maui the number of hotel rooms is dwindling, even with the new construction of new timeshare resorts. Many people prefer to rent instead of owning their house,....they think it's a smart way to hold on to their money. I don't. Why do you think all the hotels are switching to timeshare in the first place....they know that people want to OWN. It's happening all over the world. And don't say its because ALL the other timeshare organizations want to rip the public off! You apparently feel you were ripped off, I as well as my friend, saw this to be a great business opportunity and bought more. You can sell your unit for much less than you paid.....I did on one of my former purchases at another Hawaii resort, now THEY were a ripoff! But you can't be right 100% of the time. BTW....Diamond Resorts is buying up all the units that go on the secondary market (when a bonafide offer comes in) as they have the first right of refusal (as all timeshare companies have), I don't know why they haven't before...So...to sum it up, YOU are unhappy and think you got ripped off....I along with many others consider it was a good business deal, and when I rent the weeks out, someone else is paying off my mortgage! Enough said! Good luck on your sale!

As I stated before; if you feel you made a good deal then you did. Don't flame out or get defensive over this missive. Good luck in your financial advisor businesses I am sure you guys have many happy customers. By the way; nothing changed in my lifestyle if anything it has gotten much better. I don't recall mentioning I was "abused?" You may have just misread something! I was manipulated and I just felt that the value received was not on par with the price paid, period. However not really knowing the value at the time due to time restrictions (by the seller) I was manipulated into a bad choice. (not my style) According to the seller and a few other buyers; I received a good deal. After much research after the fact, I just don't think it is really worth it. You however feel you got a great deal and you did as far as you are concerned. Also please don't misread this, Diamond Resorts did not sell this to me and by no means do I wish to denigrate them. They are just getting in to finally clean the mess that Embassy/Sunterra left behind. I live in Vegas (native) and have seen this crap forever here. Larger corporations sell their aging properties to the smaller guys who pony up the lucre to refurb and make a go of it. I just may feel about this purchase as you felt about the other that you mentioned, we all have our limitations. I would have no reservations in renting a week there again, it is a nice property and with Diamond I am sure it will continue to be. I just don't want to be an "owner" of a "week" there forever. Thanks for the good luck wishes I hope they ring true.

ron56 wrote:

By the way, we were unhappy when they took the free happy hour away as well. Here is the story. One evening a lawyer who was sipping his Mai Tai observed a gentleman down 13 drinks, then go out to the valet, and ask his car to be brought up! The lawyer advised managment that they, along with all the other owners could be held liable for feeding free booze to someone who then, went out and killed someone with his car. Makes sense, not many places hand out free booze anymore do they? Even when you host a party or wedding, you can be held liable. AND, the prices for food in the snack bar etc. are a little high as well. So there....I'm not perfectly happy with the Embassy, but I sure can live with it.

The happy hour was to ply the victims. I do not drink, didn't affect me one way or the other. The prices are high all over Hawaii.

Dear David,

I read your postings on RedWeek.com and I wondered if you could tell us how to go about renting out our unit at the Kaanapali Beach Club. We have a 2 bd., floating week, floating unit each year. We would like to rent it out this year (2009) and I really don't know how to do this. Also, we have a week we can use at Poipu Point (also another former Embassy property) on Kauai. They didn't have a week for us on Maui because they didn't receive our reservation paperwork and so they gave us a week at the Poipu property. I think they deposited it in RCI; we haven't scheduled any date for use, but is has to be used this year (2009). Any info you can give us would be gratefully received!

Richele Duffy

richeled wrote:

Dear David,

I read your postings on RedWeek.com and I wondered if you could tell us how to go about renting out our unit at the Kaanapali Beach Club. We have a 2 bd., floating week, floating unit each year. We would like to rent it out this year (2009) and I really don't know how to do this. Also, we have a week we can use at Poipu Point (also another former Embassy property) on Kauai. They didn't have a week for us on Maui because they didn't receive our reservation paperwork and so they gave us a week at the Poipu property. I think they deposited it in RCI; we haven't scheduled any date for use, but is has to be used this year (2009). Any info you can give us would be gratefully received!

Richele Duffy

Hi Richele, We sold our timeshare last year but I wanted to give you any help I can. You can register here on Redweek and list your timeshare rental with them. I check those if I am traveling to see if I can save a buck or two. I also suggest listing on craigslist or in your local paper. There are companies that will rent out your week for a profit. Redweek is the best bet though and then advertise that the details are here for prospective renters to see. If you have decent maintenance fees you can low ball the rental and basically recoup those fees. I hope this helps.

Cheers, Dave Williams