Starwood Resort

What a fantastic resort!! We did a preview at the resort (2 nights) and we decided we had to have a week at Kierland. We ended up purchasing a week, Platinium 2 bd lockoff, we hope to trade to Hawaii or St. Johns, but will be happy to stay at Kierlands.

stevedykstra wrote:

What a fantastic resort!! We did a preview at the resort (2 nights) and we decided we had to have a week at Kierland. We ended up purchasing a week, Platinium 2 bd lockoff, we hope to trade to Hawaii or St. Johns, but will be happy to stay at Kierlands.

We also stayed and toured the Kierland resort. We are still thinking about buying in but have lots of questions that I think only other owners can answer. Like: How hard is it to get a reservation at say... Hawaii or St. John? Is it better to buy this deed from an owner selling? Is it better to use the points for villas then hotels? Help!!! This is all so confusing!!!

hollyc36 wrote:

stevedykstra wrote:

What a fantastic resort!! We did a preview at the resort (2 nights) and we decided we had to have a week at Kierland. We ended up purchasing a week, Platinium 2 bd lockoff, we hope to trade to Hawaii or St. Johns, but will be happy to stay at Kierlands.

We also stayed and toured the Kierland resort. We are still thinking about buying in but have lots of questions that I think only other owners can answer. Like: How hard is it to get a reservation at say... Hawaii or St. John? Is it better to buy this deed from an owner selling? Is it better to use the points for villas then hotels? Help!!! This is all so confusing!!!

St Johns is near impossible, Hawaii is possible in off peak (kids still in school) times. Owners in Hawaii pay over $2000 a year in fees they are more likely to use or rent then to trade back into Starwoods system, that is why the supply is limited. I would only purchase (and have) resale you will save 40%-50% vs buying from the developer. Most owners will agree that trading your Villa/resort points for Hotel points is not worth doing, so losing this option when purchasing resale is not a big deal. The main thing is to make sure you purchase at a "Mandatory" resort, those are the only ones that can trade within the Starwood system internally when purchased resale. Check out other "help" websites about timeshares to get more details.

Good Luck!! Happy Hunting!!

We have traded into St. John and Hawaii without much fuss. Maybe we were just lucky. We bought at Kierland though we live in Scottsdale, so we always trade.

We would like to come and see your resort. We would love to come for a week in May of 2008. This could be a family vacation every year if we like what we see. Please advise of the avaiabilty. We would like to be there the weekend of May 30th 2008 Thanking you in advance, Carol sussman 215 208 4609 clsuss2@yahoo.com

Seller Beware.

We recently looked into selling our two bedroom platinum and discovered we really hadn't read our disclosures completely. When an original owner sells their timeshare their Starpoints feature doesn't go to the secondary buyer. A buyer only has that option if they purchase at a resort. Since the Kierland is completely sold out they will still do a presentation but it is for their their newest resort in Cancun and it is pre-opening prices so it is a great deal if you have the money.

So when you list your property it is for Options, internal use or trades to II. So we have corrected our listing so we don't falsely advertise something they won't get.

traded into harborside easy as long as points are available.

What is a "mandatory" resort?

I have really enjoyed flexability of splitting time in hotel and villa use. It gives much variety in travel options.