My RCI Timeshare Horror story – The Grandview Las Vegas
** UPDATED IN 2022 **
In October 2006, my fiance and I decided to get away for a weekend and visit a few of his friends in Las Vegas, Nevada. Despite our amazing hotel deal, we were pretty tight on funds and the trip was last-minute in nature, so when we were approached by two sales associates at the Mandalay Bay offering “free show tickets”, there was no hesitation to find out more. We were informed that we would be eligible for numerous Vegas show tickets that evening including Cirque de Soleil, Lance Burton, and others. We were also told that to qualify for the tickets we would need to attend a brief presentation on “real estate opportunities” lasting about 2 hours in length and that there was no obligation to buy – I would later realize that the latter part of this statement was entirely false. Within what seemed to be seconds of accepting the invitation we were whisked through back corridors of the Mandalay Bay and lead to a secluded parking area where a handful of sight-seeing vans were waiting. The 5 minute drive turned into 20 minutes and we ended up pulling into a dilapidated strip mall, far from the glitz and glamour of the strip.
Next came the waiting area. I estimate there were 50 other couples crowded in the converted grocery store that now housed the sales headquarters for the Grandview Las Vegas. We were processed by a Grand View employee and told to wait until our name was called. After waiting you were actually pretty excited when your name was called because this meant you could eat some free food, get on with your day, get your show tickets, and get on with your trip.
We were lead to a R.C.I. conference room of epic proportions and seated at a table with four chairs, our RCI assistant strategically sitting between us. To be perfectly honest, with all the commotion going on and our RCI guide throwing out as many facts and figures as humanly possible (he could have used differential calculus equations to predict the perfect ketchup to hamburger ratio and I would have been none-the-wiser), the events that transpired are somewhat of a blur to us. There are a few disturbing facts I am certain of, I do know that no credit check was ever done on either of us. The RCI salesperson had no regard for our present financial situation and in fact this was used against us to bully us into purchasing the time share because it would be “an investment we would have FOREVER”. When we asked if we could have time to think and possibly come back tomorrow or a later date, we were informed that the timeshare opportunity would have dissipated by then. Somehow R.C.I. convinced two twenty-somethings, in the midst of starting their own business, that it would be in their best interest to have a $500/month timeshare payment and additional fees if they actually decide to take a vacation. So much for no obligation to buy!
After our time share purchase, I realized that an untenable portion of our monthly income was now dead and it was at this point I sincerely believe I went through Kubler-Ross’ stages of dying:
- Denial and isolation – I simply pretended there was no time share and did not tell anyone about it or my experience with RCI.
- Anger – I wanted to sue RCI for everything they were worth, spam them everywhere, and warn everyone of their unfair business practices.
- Bargaining – Please let me bank these weeks that I can not afford to take a vacation!!
- Depression – We are never going to be able to make this time share worth it, how could I have been so stupid?
- Acceptance – I am now a part of the RCI timeshare community, how can I make this work for me? What benefits can this offer? How can I help other people?
Since this website’s inception in 2007, I have spent over 15 years helping other individuals learn more about their options regarding a timeshare they may have unwittingly agreed to purchase and/or no longer want. This site is designed to help those in all stages of their timeshare experience in hopes to create a more informed buyer, owner, and seller.
If you would like more information on your options, I encourage you to download my free eBook – The Ultimate Guide To Getting Rid Of Your Timeshare. It’s absolutely free, no strings or spam! It includes a wealth of knowledge regarding ways you may choose to release yourself from your timeshare burden.
All the best!
For me I feel like this was a worth while investment. We purchased a 1 bed at Grandview for $10,999. We get 49,000 points every other year and pay $208/month. We did get other incentives like a cruise and free week with RCI and a terrible 17.9% interest rate. HOWEVER the financing as most of you know is owner fincanced with no qualifying. Given my current credit situation I am not able to qualify for loans and such so this was an open door for us. Don't mis understand we have a beautiful house and a huge pool on an enormous lot and do not want for anything. I simply had a rough patch with some investment property (renters) that slipped into forclosure before I could sell it. I was able to pull it out of forclosure and sell the property but not before my credit was severly damaged. I know these timeshares can be bought second hand but I'm not in the situation where I can come up with thousands of dollars to pay it off from the start. People in situations like mine need special accommodations and often are stuck paying twice or sometimes three times as much as people with great credit. That's why I think this is still a great opportunity. If you can afford to buy outright from a previous owner then that's obviously the best way to go but in not then I relly think this is worth a look.
I do have a question. Because I have points and not weeks. Will I have trouble finding really nice places to vacation or will I be stuck like some of the other folks who have been posting that they have trouble trading their weeks. Is that because they are stuck with certain weeks they own and no one wants to vacation on those weeks?
Any info would be appreciated.
Hello Craig, I was just on here searching for reviews. Me, and my husband just purchased a one bdrm timeshare at the grandview on April 18, 2011 while we were on vacation & celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary. We got ours with the same interest rate, but if you have a great bank for your mortgage, you can get the loan refinanced, and get a lower interest rate. It was our first time in Vegas, and we really enjoyed it. We really loved that it was away from the strip, and quiet, and I must say you don’t have to really leave off the property for anything. I think it is a great investment. I wish you the best of luck!!!
investment? try to sell it. They are worthless
Just an update, Grandview just refunded us for the deposit. I signed the contract last Saturday, faxed my revocation form last Tuesday, then we got the refund yesterday, Thursday. I had my CC replaced right away, in case somebody accidentally charges me for the mortgage payments. Despite this whole ordeal, I'm pretty impressed with Grandview's prompt response.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. If I didn't stumble upon this discussion, my cousin (who also got their own timeshare last Saturday) & I would be frustrated & stuck with this.
Thanks Mandie. I paid by credit card. I signed the contract on a Saturday & on Monday morning, it was already in my credit card statement.
How did you pay for the deposit? If you paid with a credit card you can call your CC company and request that they stop payment, you could also do the same with a check. This article should give you some more insight as well – 10 Steps to Successfully Rescind Timeshare
Hi mandie
When we signed the contract, the same night we stopped the payment.Mailed in the revocation form,but did not send it using registered mail. We have not paid any amount so far.They are coming back to us saying we did not receive the letter , i sent it again but they r bent upon the same thing that it was not regeisterd letter. Now since we dont expect any money from them , what will happen if they execute the primisory note ? aprt from reporting to the credit beareaus?
Hi, I would like to know if those people who revoked their contract indeed got their deposit back. I am still within the 5-day window & I faxed my form today. I called to confirm if they got it. Still, I don't think I'd be sleeping well until I get my deposit. I also sent the form to the Florida office via certified mail. Please advise if there is anything else I could do to ensure I get the deposit back. Thanks!
I work at Grandview and sold the 1 bedroom unit to “AB” the 30th entry on this post. As he stated, I was reasonable and patient. It’s unfortanate that some clients have issues with their agents and take it from a sales agent…most of the time, the attitude you are getting from your sales agent is the attitude you are putting out there. When you are polite, respectiful and attentive to your agent, you will be treated likewise 99 percent of the time. Timeshare agents rarely get angry because you can’t afford it or think it’s not for you, though it does happen sometimes if the agent is having a bad day. Most of the time the client is unaware that they are curt, cranky, uncooperative, unwilling to participate in a dialouge or flat out rude. Or have been to dozens of presentations and are basically scamming the system. These things will most certainly piss off your agent.
“AB” obviously sees the value of Grandview as a new years two bedroom week is worth 122k points…more then the Hilton timeshares in Las Vegas. He purchased a Halloween One bedroom week for less then half the cost of a new years week and still recieved 61k points. Will he actually buy one on the secondary market? Doubtful…I just looked at Ebay and their is one with 40k points, but will he actually buy it? No probably not. Not because it’s not a great product, he knows that it is. It’s simply the fact that life takes over and it gets shuffled into the background and before you know it, you are planning on a vacation and paying rent once again.
I own a timeshare through II and let me tell you this. People who say they can’t get what they want?? That’s absurd. Take a little time on the website, plan a little bit or even not at all at times and you can get virtually anything you want, anywhere you want. I just got back from Cabo on a trade and I could have gone to Hawaii on three weeks notice but chose Cabo because the airfare was so cheap.
Timeshare is not magic. High demand times and resorts take planning, but I gaurantee you all the other timeshare owners who are staying at the resort you couldn’t get absolutely love their ownership. They simply know how to properly use them.
It is true that the points system is far superior to the old way through RCI. RCI points is the modern product and was designed to fix availability issues by completely taking the “week banking” management out of the hands of owners and do it for them automatically. I would definately recommend points over weeks and in fact prefer to sell points though they are harder for newbies to understand.
I was in fact furious that the guy cancelled his contract. I rarely entertain clients after a sale but they were young and caught me on a good day. I did spend 200 dollars entertaining them. When they cancelled, I did ask for them to cover that expense. Of course they promised, but did not send me anything. They said it was “the risk I took”. I thought this was quite insensitive as agents do not make thousands and thousands of dollars and I did this for them as a friendly gesture. Though he had my contact number, he did not discuss with me his issues prior to cancelling he just cancelled. I know nobody is gonna see my side of this, but the fact of the matter is, we are working for a living just like everybody else, and though the discontented shout from the rooftops, the vast majority of timeshare owners are very very pleased with their ownerships and in fact buy more time and pay retail to own more time.
Buying retail means a few things that buying on the secondary market does not. First? Disclosure laws, everything is in writing. Second? Most good agents will be available after point of sale to help you with your trading, though it is quite easy to do, for the first couple of times it can be helpful to have a walk through. Third? You would probably never own a timeshare without hearing a presentation from an agent and agents cannot work for free. We provide a valuable service to our owners, and building a resort takes millions of dollars so of course we have to charge a “retail” price so that we can profitably provide this product to the market place.
People who dump their timeshares are in my opinion, ignorant. The whole reason they bought from the salesperson is because we show you that your life is not about working 40 hrs a week until you die. Owning a timeshare helps you to commit to quality family time in gorgeous locations, which is why this is most apealing to the wives. Their husbands do not take the time their family needs to spend quality time away from work. These workaholics look at the money involved in owning a timeshare, and yes it can be substantial, but they are then content to not ever take a real vacation or stay in crappy motels for 100 dollars a night. Not much of an alternative. Paranthetically, if you want to vacation just two weeks a year, you will spend far more renting hotels. 1968 motel 6 was six bucks a night…now what do they charge? The room in Cabo I got was 200 dollars a night with a thirty percent discount my maintenence and exchange amounted to 367 and 154 respectively. Do the math. Not to mention I probalby would have never gone without a timeshare ownership so we’re talking about hypothetically going and paying 1400 for the same room, which I most certainly would not have done. This makes the cost of not owning a timeshare for most people….simply not going at all.
Timeshare is exciting because it hits a real emotional nerve. The fact that we, especially americans, tend to get our priorities all backwards and rarely take vacations with our familes. Timeshare is a great way to do this. Unfortunately, you have to actually use the damn timeshare to get any value out of it and some people don’t take the time to simply use them properly. Those that do find that it changes their lives.
Brie,
It is not a scam it is a marketing tactic, I am not a 100% sure about the tax thing but I do know that you have to attend a presentation while you are there. I can look into the fee thing for you. They may just need a card in case anything gets damaged in the room.
Good for you Bryan!!!
You did over pay because you can receive way more benefits for less and you walk away owning it which means you can sell it, rent it,or
you can even turn it over to the people that you like or love!!!!
I want to say to all of you don't let these bad experiences keep you from investing in a vacation home that allows you to reconnect with your spouse or significant other or your family.
There are ways around the scams.If you want to know how you can call my personal cell phone even phone me from a private line if you want.702.XXX.XXXX (edited by admin)
thank you my wife and buyed a timeshare at vegas grandview 15 of march and planning to use itwhen we get our memebrship card imfro. we got the 4 extra weeks a trfor the frist 3 yrs they said they rollever for 3 yrs only just woundering about how many weeks we have after the 3rd yr and got a 10 pay off package sence we don’t make a lot of money these days
Hi All,
I recently recieved an email from RCI offering a discounted holiday with no commitments to purchase a timeshare, my husband is away and i didn't want to commit so RCI have agreed to call me on Saturday when he returns. Is this a scam as they will take credit card details and there are fees to pay such as air and ground tax, meals and hotel tax. We have children and I would hate it to turn out in to a horror of a holiday. from what I have read about RCI I am now very reluctant to accept. HELP!!!! Any comments please!
Luckily I live in CA. When I called the number in the Verification Officer business card and asked to speak with the cancellation office. The guy said since I am in CA I have 7 days to revoke and told me to fax the form to him and I did. Whews!!!
Hi all, we just bought on June 23rd a 1BR unit at Grandview for $13,990 with 49,000 points, deeded week 29, plus 2 extra vaction weeks per year, $295 HOA. After reading this blog, I feel very depressed knowing we overpaid it. The unit is on the 8th tower and is not available until 2009. We thought the sale manager was honest and gave us the best deal and the price seemed affordable. Now I feel stupid and mad that we didn't wait until we met the last (highest) ranking person (we didn't know about this scheme) to get a lower price. How much do you think I overpaid? Well we already passed the 5 day windows to cancel it. I just hope that the water park project would come through and help increase the market value of this timeshare in the next 2,3 years and that I might be able to resell it then.
Hey you guys,
I wish I saw this earlier.
All of you are doing it all wrong.
Traditional timeshare is you buy so many weeks, but you're locked into that time,that place,and that size.
The company with Thee best program is Wyndham. You not only own with them you own with RCI for no additional price.
Also you can use
travelshare which means if you have left over credits you can use them for airfare, to Rent a Car, Entertainment, and you can even cruise with them. I know of a couple who uses their credits to eat at chili's and claim jumper.
They are very flexible with their prices. If you buy 16,000 credits that will get you a great vacation, but you can always get less.
You don't own a 1 or 2 bedroom. You are a co owner of all the resorts they have.
I read that some had to pay extra for RCI. It is FREE when you become an owner with Wyndham.
You should look into it. They Don't do points they Do CREDITS which is great because you can do so much with them
WE ALSO BOUGHT OUR TIME SHARE AT WINDHAM BONNETCREEK IN ORLANDO WE LOVED IT. SINCE THEN I HAVE BOUGHT MORE POINTS SOME THROUH RESALE BUT IF YOU WANT FULL BENEFITS I BELEAVE ITS BETTER TO BUY THEM FROM THE RESORT. i BEALIVE THAT PEOPLE WHO TALK NEGETIVE ARE THE ONES THAT CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE A VACATION OR DONT HAVE THE TIME TO USE THEM
Well we stay at the Grandview as "renters" by getting this property on Priceline for about 100.00 per day..About what RCi purchasers have to pay for yearly maintenance No Timeshare purchases but we are solicited every time we check in…
The Grandview is simply not worth it.. You can saty at the Casino hotel next door for about 75.00 a day and have a better facility
Hello everone. Immediate reply is requested as we are leaving las vegas tomorrow.
today my wife and i sat through our first timeshare presentation for the free gifts and after much debate, negotiating, and thoughts I can't believe we actually grabbed it. I'm wondering if this is a good deal or not in our Grandview purchase:
49,000 points per year (no $5000 fee)
1 week in a 1 bedroom (week 28)
2 bonus weeks up to 4 bedrooms
$13,199
10% downpayment
To us this seemed like at least 3 to 5 weeks of vacation assuming we book standard or silver rate locations. We generally are ok booking hotels within 90 days of going places.
Most of the ebay $4k offers seem for every three years deals and much less points.
Thoughts? Thanks so much!
Hi all,
Long story short we bought timeshare at Grandview Las Vegas on last month. Two bedroom unit 19,000 dollars with 680 dollars maintenance fee plus 89 dollars RCI membership per year. Now I'm just wondering can we change from 2 bedroom unit to 1 bedroom unit so that we will pay little less yearly maintenance fee? Please advice.Thanks.
hi guys, we purchased a 2 bedroom condo on june 9, 2008 at grandview resort in las vegas, which costs us 15,900 US funds, downpayment of 2000 US funds, been told that we can have 2 weeks that we can use and bank and extra 4 weeks to use and lose if not use within a year. It’s our first time to buy timeshare, not sure if this was a good deal. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
thanks a lot
not a good deal…look at timeshare wholesalers. I bought that same deal for $300
I and Mr. West did purchase a unit from Vacation VIllage in Florida, four years ago. Here's how it went: we did the three hour thing, and from 30,000 they came down to 14,000, and that did include a second unit, which translates into one week in a suite of two bedrooms (8 people), or two weeks in each one, either together at one time or, separately. To that deal, we also get bonus weeks from RCI with our paid annual membership. (These are certificates you have in your folder you can use as you see fit). Pay that for say, ten years (we're paid up until 2014), and you can add on several weeks to your vacation every year. Now, it is less costly to bank your week(s) and go to a foreign country. There is no maintenance fee, (only an exchange fee). The maintenance fee only applies to your home unit, and is paid on a weekly basis, so you can see where it is more advantageous to fly and explore other lands, and meet new people.
Last November. we spent a month on the island of Crete, at the Village Apartments at Khotoulofari, and it was incredible!!!! The service impeccable, the food reasonable, you buy from the supermarket, and pick from the trees that grow there. All we spent euros on, was gas, and entertainment.
I can not emphasize enough the need for you, whoever you are to READ YOU MATERIAL that comes with your contract!!!! Also, the people at RCI are more than willing to help. When we bought, the last thing on my mind was to do any reading. I thought I knew it all.. yeah right. NOT. So, I called and called and had them break down to me everything I did not understand the first time. TAKE NOTES. And now, I can write this as an educated owner that would not trade this experience in for any thing in the world.
This time share is ours for the rest of our lives, and then it goes to our family, and if time allows, so and so on.
It is the best investment we made, short of our fixed index annuities with Allianz. It has paid for itself many times over already.
Do use your phone numbers and ask questions. You have time to use your time, remember that. It carries over to the next year so you can accumulate weeks, and have grand voyages, adding on bonus weeks to make your trip even longer.
And last, if you can do it, pay your off your time share as soon as you can. If you have a net sum, they will work with you, so you can eliminate extra finance, and interest charges, and just pay off what you owe. It may be a strain at the time but you will be glad you did, down the road a ways, you'll see. (especially with everything going up in price)
…. and then there are the free cruises, free three days weekends, free seven day cruises, all you need is, to get to the ship. We have been on several and still have some left to do. We do have to work sometime, so they'll wait until we are ready, they do not expire.
Two years ago we came to Las Vegas for one of theses free trips, my Birth Day, and at the Golden Nugget in the lobby, we were approached by young people at one of the desks boasting free Caribbean cruises, just for listening to a presentation and free lunch at a given location. Well, we courteously listened, and after about ten minutes we let them know that we are already owners of a time share. We were given Three Seven Day cruise vouchers to the Bahamas, just for being polite and not blowing them off.
Lesson learned: don't run from what can be a freebie. Be a little patient, it will go a long way. And be firm; if after you've listened your decision is NO, then stick with it. These folks will respect that. They will go great lengths to make a sale and you never know, the magic affordable number may be said eventually, or not.
Now for the icing on the cake: this summer, we are having a family reunion in Las Vegas, at the Grand View. We have four apartments (two suites), and our single, accommodating twenty of our immediate family and friends, for seven days. Each apartment has it's weekly maintenance fee, which each family is more than willing to chip in.($139,00). It is less than one night stay at a nice hotel in Las Vegas. A whole week!!!! Just plane tickets and party $$$$ The extra apartments were open, and we got them with our free extra weeks.
So, I hope this was enlightening for who so ever has any questions/doubts as regards Vacation Village/RCI's time shares.
Take your time and work it, to your advantage. You can do it and your family will love you for it.
Hi All,
We have just got back from Las Vegas and I'm ashamed to admit that we purchased a 2 bedroom apartment, 1 week every year (week 22) and 4 weeks late booking use. This came to approx $23,000. After reading reveiws on the internet and fully reading all our paperwork we realised the deal wasn't half as good as we thought. We decided to pull out of the deal but were past our five days. I phoned different people and was told there was nothing we could do and the only way to get rid of it was to sell it. I kept phoning around until I got put through to the cancelation office at the Grandview Sales office. A nice lady told me that although we had pasted our 5 days we could still revoke the deal and just loose our deposit (you have to do this within 10 days of purchasing). It was an expensive lesson for us to learn but cheaper in the long run then being stuck with something we wouldn't use. My advice for if you want to cancel your contract is to phone the number on the Verification Officers card and ask for the cancelations office or fax your revocation form to the fax number on the same card and address it to the cancelations office.
I hope this will be of help to some people and just remember if a deal sounds to good to be true, it probably is!
Hi chukm,
This post should help to answer some of your questions about ebay timeshare sales – Selling Timeshare
Ebay is a great way to find a timeshare deal. The reason many owners are willing to sell their timeshares for as low as $1 is because they often do not want to continue using the property and do not want to have to keep paying maintenance fees on a timeshare they do not use. Timeshares are often not easy to re-sell, and many owners will use ebay as a way to practically give the timeshare away. These people are not looking to make a profit or scam anyone, they just want to get themselves out of their time share contract.
If you have never done an ebay transaction before you will want to read up on how the auctions are done and become familiar with their site so you do not become the victim of a scam.
can anyone tell me … is it really safe to buy time share in Ebay?
I find it hard to believe, some starting out with only $1 or a few
hundred dollars only. where do they (the sellers) get the time share
and how do they make money if they end up selling for so little money.
My wife and I were on vacation on Las Vegas Last week and we went to listen to a presentation at Grand View. My experience was not as bad as the others – sales person was reasonable and patient. After looking the points and the maintenance fees we decided to buy a 1-bedroom week. The price was $16,999 for 61K RCI points annually and the deeded week was Halloween week.
After we got home I looked at all the posts here and on other boards as well as prices on the secondary market. The same deal can be purchased 'second-hand' for about $4000-$5000. Thankfully, I was within my 5-day window. I called the salesperson and he was furious, he asked me to send him a check for $200 that he spent driving us around that night and buying drinks! When I called the office, they seem to have no problem with the cancellation and told me to fax the revocation form over.
I'm still waiting for my initial deposit to be refunded to my credit card. After this is done, I think I will look into purchase a week in this resort on the secondary market.
If you want to figure out if the deal is worth it – put it on Excel spreadsheet and perform a discounted cash flow analysis to compare all the fees you have to pay every year plus upfront cost with regular room prices that are approximately $100-$120 for this type of room.
Wow. I went to grandeview timeshare a week ago and after explaining over and over and over that I am not interested they then went after my girlfriend. When they were finally going to let us go there was one last chance there last guy that was going to cash us out tried one last ditch effort to sell us. He failed and I was more then rude and it actually almost came to blows. I don't believe it this guy jumped up and made motion like he was going to attack us and I moved back to protect myself and then he apologized. I am currently looking into legal action. I don't want to collect anything from these people but I wouldn't mind making them feel the pain they put me through. My advice to you? Timeshares are a scam after this grandview time share I will NEVER do another again. Thanks Grand View.
I just got my contract in the mail today for the odd year Grandview resale I bought on ebay. This is my second timeshare purchase on ebay. I am looking forward to trying points. I researched thoroughly the points to maintanence value, and I found this to be quite good compared to most others.
I currently own a timeshare through Fairfield Resorts, and 2 weeks with 4 bonus weeks at
Grandview Las Vegas. I love my Fairfield Resorts timeshare. No problems at all with them. Grandview on the other hand has been my worst nightmare for the past month that I have owned it. I was walking to get breakfast on the strip when I was approached by a guy trying to get my wife and I to check them out. He offered us $400 in casino cash at the Grand Royal Casino, and free breakfast. Said the presentation would take 2 hours max. I figured I would wait that long in line anyway at the buffet so we went for the free cash, and food knowing we were not going to buy. Once we got there our sales rep gave us this line about how it was his last day, and he was going to hook us up with a sweet deal. Said we would get 6 weeks for what everyone else paid for 2. He then proceeded to tell me that Grandview rents back their weeks from their owners at $1250/week. He promised me that all 6 weeks can be rented back each year if I wanted to do so. I even verified this with his manager. With that being that case I would have been an idiot not to take the deal. It would have been paying me to take it. I asked the guy 6 times if he was for real, and check 2 different times with his boss. They both said all 6 weeks and can be rented back to them for $1250/week no questions asked guaranteed. I was never told that
The 4 extra weeks were treated any differently than the other 2. They way it was told to me is that I got 6 equal value weeks. I know, because again I asked that question a few times. It all seemed hard to believe. Guess that should have tipped me off. Needless to say the guy who was quitting the company still works there, the $400 casino cash could only be used on a very limited selection of slot machines that could not be cashed out unless the jackpot was hit, the breakfast we a small selection of doughnuts, I later found that the 4 weeks were extra weeks, with minimal value, yet I still get charged the same maintenance fee as the 2 1br weeks, I can not rent back the 4 weeks, and the 2 that I can rent back are not guaranteed, but if rented back they kindly take a 30% fee off of the $750 that they really give you instead of the $1250. Horrible company. Oh yeh, and don’t try calling them to ask any questions unless your prepared to be put on hold for 15 – 20 minutes before anyone answers. I have called several times, and every time I had to wait a minimum of 15 mins before the call was even answered. For issues with your contract you will be directed to your verification officer who will conveniently be in a meeting every time you call and will also kindly NEVER call you back when their meeting is over. As for transferring my 2 deeded weeks to RCI, no problem after you pay your maintenance fee, luckily when you call RCI you get a foreigner on the line, who is conveniently hard to understand, but is as equally helpful as the Grandview Resort staff. Luckily I had the 2 powerful deeded weeks on my RCI account when trying to book my vacation this summer because I was told I can go to either Georgia, or Vermont. Everywhere else is booked. With sooooo many options I have yet to decide which of these exciting locations I should go to. Now I did get online myself and found several locations I could go to elsewhere, but that is the kind of help I was offered when calling in. Despite all of the hassle I was very nice to everyone I spoke to so I could not have received poor service for being a jerk. They just provided it willingly. Although I joke about my ordeal, none of this was an exaggeration. I rarely get suckered into anything like this. I guess that’s what I get for trusting a sales rep in Las Vegas. I would say it would be a good deal if you spent the $24,000, and your time there if your other option was losing $24,000 at the tables. If you read this, and still buy from Grandview then send me an e-mail sometime, and we’ll schedule a time to play poker online heads up. Fairfield Resorts GREAT company. I just wish I had spent the money on more points with them.
Just a note – this is not a forum for people to post discouraging remarks directed toward people who made uninformed timeshare purchases. This site is dedicated to informing consumers and to provide support for timeshare owners – whether they knew what they were getting themselves into, or not. That said, if you do not have anything constructive to say, please keep it to yourself – any posts containing disparaging remarks will be edited and/or deleted. If you need to find an outlet for your negative energy try Craigslist's Rants and Raves section. Thank you:)
Hi can you please give me and advised, I am and owner right, now we planning to stop payments, also I do have lawyer how ever anytime I am checking my credit this debt doesn’t showing on my credit report, so it minds they are not authorized to reported that I pay monthly payments? so if I don’t pay to them anymore my lawyer told me that they can’t report me for not pay, I am confuse, I need help.
We just bought a timeshare at the Grandview – 1 bd with 2 extra weeks every year for 16,999. We bought because we knew we could afford it. I don't understand people who could not say no. What is the matter with you?
I bought that same unit for $250 at a resaler last week
Mandie, you didn't buy from an RCI person. RCI arranges (for a fee) exchanges. You bought from a representative of the developer of the resort.
Mike (03-11-08) hit the nail on the head. When you go to a presentation, ONLY buy if you think it's a good deal. It rarely is. It's usually much less expensive to buy the same timeshare property as a resale. Ebay is always full of timeshares for sale for excellent prices.
Exchanging can be difficult, but not impossible. You can see from some of the above posts, that some people are doing quite well with exchanges.
If you decide to go to a presentation, the routine is almost always the same. First, you meet a salesperson who takes you on a tour and gives you a high price. If you don't bite, then a second salesperson (usually called a manager or something like that) comes in with a better deal. Frequently this is where the "Extra Vacations" are offered. Keep in mind that these are only offered to places that no one wants to go to. For instance, the Florida panhandle in mid-winter. It's quite cold, so the demand for condos is minimal so you could use your "Extra Vacation" week for something like that. The "manager" might offer lower price, or a one bedroom unit instead of a two bedroom unit. If you still don't bite a third person shows up supposedly to make sure the saleperson did a good job. SAY THAT IT WAS EXCELLENT!! You don't want to get trapped any longer than possilbe. This final salesperson will have the best price or some offer of a free vacation in addition to the unit you're considering. So, even if you think it's a good deal, hold out until you've seen 3 people.
I feel badly for all you people who have purchased something you really don't want. If you want to buy something and not have any regrets, buy Disney points. I've purchased a number of timeshares since 1988 and the only one where I could sell the unit for more than I paid is at Disney. There is no high pressure. They don't need to pressure you. The places are so desireable that people are standing in line to buy. Disney trades through Interval International (II) and you can get anything you want anytime you wnant it because the Disney properties are in such high demand. I believe Hilton and Marriott points are also very good, but I don't personally own them.
Timesharing is great. We've been all over the US and also a few places in Europe.
Good Luck!
Oh my Gawd, people act like they put a gun to your head to buy. Just say no, thank you, take your show tickets and move on. As someone posted, if you like what you see, buy it on the resale market for nickels on the dollar. You can buy the Grandview on ebay for $1500 w/ lots of points and the same $295/mo maintenance you will pay the developer $20,000 for. THE SAME EXACT THING except one person pays $2k and another pays $20k. People need to perform due diligence and use common sense. It is a real estate purchase and a complicated one at that. Would you walk into a BMW dealership because they offered a free lunch and then buy a car you couldn't afford because the salesman was pushy?! C'mon people, take some responsibility for yourselves.
I have read most of these posts and think that most everyone here do not understand all about the Grandview timeshare. We have taken the extra vacations and my wife could not have been more pleased. It was an extremely NICE place. We have banked our time to be used in 2009 for a month stay in Hawaii. I feel like this is a good deal.
Jan 15th 2008
Hi there. My wife and I just got back from vegas. Long story short,
we purchased a 2br suite at the grandview for 22900 plus 89 anual renewal fee and 590 per year for maintenace for 1 week in a 2br or 2 weeks in a 1br. We were also "given" 4 additional free weeks (we still have to pay the 199 fee) at any RCI affiate resort for every year for life. We were also told (it is in writing) that we can will our timeshare as well as the free weeks to our kids.
Does anybody out there think we got ripped off? We are still within the 5 days so a quick response would be greatly appreciated.
you can buy that same unit for a hundred dollars on the timeshare resale market
Tracy,
We do have a week at Vacation Village Parkway too. This is what we did with their 17% ridiculous rate. We paid them $14k and transfer balance to 0% APR credit card luckily. First a couple years after we purchased a timeshare my wife and I tried to rip off them. We went to many timeshare presentations for free perks like, breakfast, lunch, theme park tickets and dinner show tickets. And that was something very stupid, I admit. As you know, these presentations takes long time, you have to go on tour, listen not just one sales rep but like three or more. Then, at the end when they can’t convince you to buy, they give you the tickets. The whole process could take up to 6 hours. We were mentally and physically tired after spending our two small children in their office for 6 hours. Basically, we wasted one day out of our precious week vacation for stupid free park tickets. As I said it was very stupid for me to do that. Now, we are trying to make the best out of it.
I purchased a timeshare at Vacation Village Parkway, Orlando Fl in Oct. 06. As many of the horror stories of the bullying I was somewhat put into the same situation – no credit check, etc. I was also talked into buying both "A" & "B" sides and that I have a great "Trading" week as it is the 24th week of the year (when kids get out of school – what's that all about)? I asked about refinancing or getting my own financing because Lando Resorts rate is at 17% – the sales guy told me it should be no problem. Much to my dismay nobody will finance a timeshare because it is considered an entertainment home and I really have no equity per say. Secondly, I asked why they don't check my credit (although very good) what would happen if I just couldn't make the payments, they said they would just take the timeshare back – no problem – the money I paid of course I would eat…well not true either! I didn't take vacation last year and was deciding if I just wanted to forfeit my timeshare when I called RCI (or Lando Resorts) they told me that I would go into collections, etc. the whole 9 yards.
So it is I am stuck paying $208.00 p/month for 6 more years plus $89 p/year RCI plus $655.00 p/year maintenance. I only hope that I can at least get some decent vacations out of this but according to the emails above it's highly unlikely!!
By the way if anybody can shed some light on how to obtain a separate loan or something so I am not paying 17% interest, please let me know.
Here's to hopeful happy timeshare retirement at least (oh and maybe a couple of trips to Hawaii) By the way if anyone wants to come down to Orlando, Florida and needs an extra unit my "A" side is available for rent 24th week. (I believe it's about the 14th of June)
Brian, I did buy a timeshare when I was at Grandview on Dec23 2007. I think I bought it for a pretty good price. I get 1 week of vacation every 3 year at Grandview and I paid $4491.I am planning to sell this as I realized that I won't using this as much because I rarely go on vacation.Let me know if you are interested.
I wish I would have bought when I was there last november, does anyone know where I can go to purchase a timeshare at grandview (hopefully directly through them)as they have their own financing and I am currently carrying 2 mortgages and dont htink I can get a third yet.
Ebay
I would love to sell you mine if you are still interested?
I’ll sell you mine
I thought Grandview was a good place to buy well i guess you didn’t get a good week?
Always get the best week they have or don’t bother.
r u nuts? buy them at a timeshare resaler for about 100 bucks there are plenty listed at the grandview
My wife and I recently spent a week in Vegas for the first time. We were offered $200 in gift certificates for our hotel resturants or gaming for paying $50 and going to a "presentation" the next morning. We decided to do this and ended up going out to the Grandview also. I found it a little awkward that our hotel was trying to sell us out in such a way. (Different desk attendents try to sell me again for the next two days, and even another desk attendent from another casino with a similar offer). We got up early took the bus out to the grandview which currently looks like a small outlet mall with desert on the other side of the road. They herded us all into a room full of chairs where we sat, and a couple at a time were called out by a salesperson coming out of the back room. He tooks us down to the grandview to see the rooms, single and double bedroom. They looked nice but it just wasn't for us. After a tour we went back into a room and were very suprised by probably 40 other salesman and couples sitting at small tables all over the room. With all the noise, sales pitching and confusion it resembled the stock market floor! We sat down and let the gentleman do his sales presentation for about an hour. He had some very pushy sales tactics as in "You have to decide now, yes or now.; If you do not want to buy today you cannot come back to use for at least 2 years; I can let you think about it but it will cost you at least $300 today, and you can make up the difference of the deposit in the coming months." It was tempting severals times for a few seconds, but then we came back to reality and realized anyone who has anything decent to sell wouldn't have to push like that. We said if we had some time to research we might possibly consider it. That is when we were hit with the "we can do that but you have to pay $300 today…" After several adament attemps to tell the sales personwe were not interested but appreciated his tour we were wisked away to another back room. He had even went so low as to say how dissapointed he was in that he thought for sure it's exactly what I wanted (guilt trip sales?). He was not quite as friendly from that point on. In the back room we were greated by another person who was a fast talking no conversation sales closer, ABC – Always Be Closing. I think he had a time quota of 5 minutes per sale. He offered us the same 1 bdrm with 1 week a year for almost 1/3 of what the previous salesperson had. This again was very tempting but luckily reality gave us a little nudge and brought us back. We respectfully declined again and were took to yet another room to receive our gift certificates. The morale in this room was that of the DMV. At this point we just wanted to get our tickets and get back to our "vacation."
All in all it was an interesting experience but I feel bad for anyone who gets suckered into that right from the get-go. I would do it again if asked but only for the gifts. I feel the time is worth it, just keep your senses near.
Well some good news. My fiance and I did purchase timeshare and even upgraded since then and have had good experiences thus far. We have only used it once (in florida) and the resort was excellent and so was the service. We just upgraded and will be using it again next year. I've had good experiences but I will tell you this, when it comes to timeshare, its ok to walk away and not be bullied into anything. Also, negotiate well, very well. Timeshare sellers will negotiate so if you can't afford a high payment but can afford a small one, tell them that and STAND FIRM!!!! and you'll be fine. Thats what we did. Also, I recommend the points system instead of the weeks system. Points are easier to manage and use. Good luck everyone!!!
WE PURCHASED TWO WEEKS AT OAKPLANTATION RESORT IN KISSIMMEE FL TEN YEARS AGO AND I NEVER ONCE USED MY TWO BEDROOM THERE WHAT WE DO IS BANK AND REQUEST AND HAVE TAKEN GREAT VACATIONS ALL OVER I WOULD NEVER SELL MY WEEKS IT FORCES YOU TO GO ON A QUALITY VACATION MAKE YOUR TIMESHARE WORK FOR YOU PS PUERTO VALLARTA IS A GRETA DESTINATION THE MAYAN PALACE IS EXCELLENT
Hi Sandy,
You are in no way EVER required to purchase timeshare by simply attending a presentation or taking part in a courtesy getaway promotion. My advice – enjoy your vacation, attend the presentation to obtain the freebies, and if you end up being really interested in purchasing timeshare at the resort, do so on the resale market.
Here are some articles I have written in the past that will help you be more prepared to attend a timeshare presentation – 7 Tips to Avoid Timeshare ScamsCommon Timeshare Sales PracticesHave a great time and let us know how it turns out.
Best wishes,
Mandie
Hi Guys,
Me and my wife are scheduled to go for the 3 days and 2 nights trip to Vegas courtesy the Grandview promotion.
My understanding is that we both have to attend this 2 hour timesharw presentation BUT are not "required" to buy anything. Is this false? Are we in anyway legally or otherwise bound to buy anything?
We are promised 2 show tickets and $50 in gaming coins for "just attending"…am I being grievously misled?Please advise>
Thanks,
Sandy.
Hi there,
just wondering how did the presentation go? I’ll be going on the presentation like u (with the 3 night 4 days offer) this July.
Any advice for me will be helpful, and I’m not planning to buy any timeshare.
Thanks.
Stick to your guns,whatever they offer keep saying no,I`m not interested. They try to make it sound so wonderful,giving you better deals.Just say no.We went to one 4 days ago,and didn`t buy. According to them the sucker rate is about 25%,so 75% walk away without buying. Good luck,you can do it.
Stick to a plan. Mine was that my wife’s work was seasonal and that my income was the main paycheck. Stick to this story and they can never sell you anything even if it was for a steal.
I own several timeshares in Cabo San Lucas and I have found that if you enjoy taking vacations and can afford it, timeshares are nice to have. However, you can also go out to timesharesonly.com and pick up a rental to just about anywhere you want to go for the cost of the yearly maintenance fee. Don’t be bullied into buying something you can’t afford or won’t use every year. You are never under an obligation to buy anything from a presentation. I usually come up with a story about how I have 2 weeks already and only have 2 weeks of vacation so I do not need to buy anymore.
Sandy my wife and I attended a seminar while on vacation in florida and I thouht it was very interesting I was given 100 hundred dollars that I spend there in disney and was also given 3/2 hotel stay it looks like a hassel to book but I feel that i was treated really nice and got what I was prommised. sales rep was very friendly she gave us her cell # called her several times she answer all the time. and that was after we purchased our time share. this was at Bonnet Creek resort in orlando
We also bought a timeshare 45 days ago still have not received paper work. Our sales person answered his phone for a while too but now he doesn’t. Also the manager that does the closing wrote down his number and ext. but it is a bogus number. Even the email is wrong. Wish we could get out of this one. RCI in Hiltonhead….don’t do it!!!!
do not go…it is not worth the two free nights. I took that vacation village tour in Orlando that also gave us the 3 days in Vagas.
Hi Anjie,
You will be able to find the address and fax number on your contract. It will most likely be on the last page where you signed and/or in the header on the contract. Make sure if you are mailing the rescission papers you use certified mail so you can be sure it arrived. These other two articles should also be of some help to you – 10 Steps to Successfully Rescind Timeshare and Can I Return My Timeshare? Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Mandie, I just found your websiete today. I myself bouth an RCI timeshare last october (2010) on the Grand View at Las Vegas.
And the reason I found it today, was because exactly today, my wife and I decided that we didn’t want this “deal” no more, and by “deal” I mean the wonder package of weeks that they offered over there, and that we haven’t even beggin to use yet… nor do we want to do so anymore.
I am very glad I found this website, and that at least someone can guide us througout canceling our morgage and rescind our timeshare.
It’s sad to hear so many things those RCI people say are half-truth (at best), and that so many like us, feel we were tricked into buying something we didn’t really need.
Regards
Hi,
What is the grand view vegas address that we need to mail the cancellation to. I also had trouble finding the fax address. Could somebody help me with that. Where on your deed documents did you find the fax address for sending your cancellation of deed.
Thanks,
Anshu
Hi Kehaukainani,
I had been meaning to write a post about RCI 'extra' vacations, and your comment pushed me to get it done! So please visit RCI Bonus Vacations for more information. And as for a certificate for extra vacations, I have not personally heard of this before, you may want to contact your RCI salesperson and inquire about that, or contact RCI directly. Did you get it in writing that this certificate would be produced? Also, do you need to just keep up on your membership fees each year, or are you required to also pay maintenance fees for the years that you are not staying at Grandview?
I have just returned from Vegas today, November 12, 2007 and I purchased a 1 bedroom unit from Grandview at Vegas for $4,400.00. This is what I get. This is what they promised. I get one free week every year from a Extra Vacation certificate that states I can go anywhere they service the mainthing is that I keep up with my renewl fee each year. My deed week is every third year. So since I purchased in November of 2007 I can tack advantage of this in 2009 and then 2012 and so forth. Do you all think this is worthit. And does anyone know info. on Extra Vacations certificate that they promise?
I would love to hear from someone quick.
Thank you
Hi,
I have been reading all your posts and have 2 positive and 1 negative response. First the positive: We purchased a 2 Bdr. timeshare in Carlsbad Calif. 7 years ago and it was the best thing we could have ever done. This summer we wanted to go to Hawaii instead, so instead of trying to trade, which is virtually impossible, we rented our unit on Ebay and used the income to purchase 2 tickets on Princess Cruises for 2 weeks from LA roundtrip to 5 of the Hawaiian islands.
As a RCI member you can get great deals for hotels in Mexico and other countries. We stayed at the Westin Regina in Cabo San Lucas for $129 for the entire week. So if you love to go on vacation owning a timeshare and using RCI is a good thing.
Now the negative:
We were in Las Vegas last year and after attending a presentation, we wanted to get free Circe de Soleil tickets, we purchased 1 Bed. at Tahiti Village. It is a beautiful resort and part of Interval International. We have been trying to exchange the unit for something closer in Cal. but no go. So we decided to stay at Tahiti Village and got roped again into attending a "Owner Update", which resulted in our agreeing to trade in our 1 Bed for a 2 Bedr. suite. After 3 grueling hours the price difference went from $21 000 down to $11 000. Even though we thought this was a good deal, it isn't when you can't afford it. I read thru all the paperwork and found the page that explains we can rescind within 5 days. I sent the notice via certified mail and am waiting what happens. These guys are pros and know exactly what it takes to make a sale.
By the way, Liza, your mom must be extatic. You say she owns at the Jockey Club. Rumor has it that the owners finally agreed to sell out. She must be getting a bundle.
I am back today from 5 days in Las Vegas and bought the 2 bedroom at Grandview believing trading would be easy. I was fortunate enough to meet buyers from 2 years ago with bad experience on the bus returning to the airport and they highlight the possibility to cancel after 5 days. At business center at Luxor they told me at least one customer cancel each week which I immediately did through fax and Fedex. I didn't get one single positive comment so far as trading is almost impossible. I hope this comment would help people that are within the cancellation window
Just bought two days ago. How did you go about canceling?
You can cancel???? Let me know how???? Or how to sell, you should see the list of emails I have from Grandview, when I try to get them to tell me how I can sell, or even rent to others…. I think it is impossible!!!!
To cancell you have to go and sing a revocation paper that is inside your packege with in the first five days that cancells the contract …they do offer you a beyter deal according to them but we said no we jusy need to cancel after all the reviews we saw she said ok but you are missing out in a really good deal .am sure thats what they say to everyone
I do recognize that experience – unfortunately or not (depending on your point of view), my mom and I were veterans of that set up before we decided to buy. My mom owns a timeshare at the Jockey Club adjacent to the Bellagio, and they are owned by the same parent company. Mom's managed to snag more than a few free or discounted tickets out of these places (and she loves the idea of free food), so I am more or less resigned to giving up a half to 3/4 of a day when she wants to go to one of these.
In this case, we purchased a one bedroom instead of the entire suite. Since you can bank up to three years or borrow into future weeks, I figure we can get a two bedroom suite every other year and hopefully drag friends and family along. It can be rough going, trying to figure out when to get away and how to afford things beyond just the lodgiing (assuming you go on your exact week).
I would definitely be sure to calculate the annual cost of maintaining the timeshare (maintainence fee, RCI membership), add the cost of going any other week other than your week (that's what, $150) and see if you have any takers amongst family and friends. Even at $99 per night on an internet special at Paris or Aladdin, $550 is a little cheaper than close to $700 for a week with a kitchenette. I guess that you can also donate your week to a charity for an auction or fundraiser, though I don't know too much about the legal aspects of that idea. All of which you seem to have covered in other articles – so great job there!
I am sorry that you had such a terrible experience. I know that a lot is promised about the sort of business that is *supposed* to be creeping its way down the strip. I'm hoping that later on down the road this will turn out to be a not-so-bad situation for all of us.
Best, Liza
My wife and I are Jockey club owners also. We are new to this. Could you please give us some pointers. thanks
We have a timeshere at the grande view it is a one week. we are not a part of RCI we have our week and we tell them we will be there on our week. You don’t have to deposit your week and pay the $129 fee. You don’t have to be a part of RCI it’s your week ITS YOUR WEEK! we made that mistake the first time we went. Now we go for the free food and tickets and when it comes time for sale pitch we say is this with RCI they say yes. we say dont want to be part of RCI and the sale is over lol
Yes, it is. When we bought RCI timeshare at Vacation Village at Parkway in FL, we went through the exact experience. Now, we are stuck. My wife and I are trying to make the best out of our timeshare but it is very difficult. Can someone post their sort of happy stories? We want to pick a few tips from the happy buyers if there are any.
we received that timeshare offer with 2 free nites, with meals, at the ramada, west gate, on feb 11 & 12.
we did not buy, but there was a long wait going and coming back….
but, we live in florida year round…, that weston, florida timeshare offer was heavy, like a boiler room operation.
good luck
Mike we took the same tourin Oct 2001 and got suckered in and signed on a 2/2 for $18,000 on a friday. I cancelled the contract on the next tuesday when I found out that I could get the same deal, 74,000 pts and all, for $500 on the resale market.(that includes closing costs) People are giving these things away beause they cannot make the maintenence payments. So I got my registered letter back from Landu within the 10 day cancelation period and am still waiting for my credit card refund afer 2 weeks.
Sorry to hear about your experience with RCI,did they tell you guys that you had seven days to cancel after the day of purchase? They didn't mention this to us, but another timeshare co. told us about it. We just purchase ours and after looking at the hotels that they offer we are going to cancel this contract. Some of the hotels are in very bad shape and they look like motels and not resorts. Hope you guys are able to do something with this information. Good Luck.
Was your experience with the Grandview Las Vegas as well? Good luck with selling!! Be sure to check out some of my other posts with tips on how to sell your timeshare – I am always adding new content.
Best wishes.
Hi. I have had a timeshare at the grandview for a couple years now. Have paid my share and then some. Have yet to stay there and use my time. Anyways they have been sending cards and leaving mass messages in regards to they are changing from weeks to points and I am now obligated to pay them another 500 for the change. Wtf? Has this happened to other owners? Have seen nothing in writing?
RCI tried that tactic with us last year along with many other owners. Most, if not all of us, kept our weeks. You do not have to go to the points system, it is strictly an option.
We stood firm and kept our week.
Yikes, same boat, you want to buy ours??