I am so happy to have found this. I love SXM and really want to purchase a week at a resort but after reading this site I found that the two places that I was considering buying people have huge problems with!! ( atrium and sapphire ). I am young and dont have a lot of $$ but have come to love SXM so much and want to be able to go every year. Can anyone help me out with any tips,prices, ideas, suggestions on where and how to buy? Thank you!!

[www.cheapcaribbean.com]
Check out the above.
Don't buy. You can book for close to maintenances fees.

Augie;

I am an agnostic dyslexic who questions if there really is a dog.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2006 08:42AM by Augie.

LaVista has a very good reputation; very small and family-owned. We bought there last winter, and will be spending our first week there in March.

Amy,

you are right to be concerned.
as a long time timeshare owner, my advice to you is Don't buy!
save your money!

some of the companies that sell timeshares can't be trusted. they are testing the waters with non contractual illegal assessments.
$4,000,000. at the atrium alone.
if you are thinking about buying. look at the opinion posted on the web sight of the Missouri attorney general.

He states words to the effect:
A vacation should be a pleasant experience, one that families should look foward to with no grief.
he implies that the company that he sued short changed these families.
he says that they used deceptive sales tactics. that they never delivered on their promisses.

this company is operating in Sint Maarten.


riptide

have owned at the pelican for over 20 years-units can be bought for less than $2000-own several units and have never regretted it

I have been an owner at Royal Islander La Plage for the last 15 years. I read all these stories and have no problem with this timeshare. I own others on the island and would not recommend them to you. My only advise to you is buy a resale and not from the place or a broker. I would look into someone selling private.

I too would recomment La Vista. It is small and quite, reasonably central. We bought when we were young and did not have a lot of $$, and our once-every-second-year week means the up-front cost was lower. We look forward to our visits immensly. In our own experiences, we do not save a lot of money each trip (versus a flight / hotel or package), but there are other factors as well; familiarity with the resort and the island is big one. Do your homework, crunch some numbers, look up some prices on the internet, and decide what works for you.

I agree with Augie - commiting to a timeshare does not make sense - it removes the option of where to stay, opens up issues associated with maintenance fee increase and special assessments and last but not least you can rent similar accomodation for a similar price to existing annual maintenance fees.

Amy,

I have one for sale at the Pelican. It's the last week in Oct and deeded for life. Sale price $1400. Post below if there is any interest.

Amy, if your really interested in buying a timeshare go to www.tug.com or www.redweek.com or www.holidaygroup.com and check out there listings. All good and responsible sites and properties all over the place. The prices they show are usually very negotable to and then you know your getting a top price on a unit that really is salable.

Amy,

Contact me at Rowiep@aol.com, I can give you an email list of Atrium owners, some of who are turning their units back in to Festiva. With Transfer fees, special assessment fees, increases in maintenance fees, timeshare tax, utility tax, Festiva special purpose fees, Front desk check in fees, Towel rental fees, Beach chair fees, Special TV Option fees, Internet Fees( Sorry Atrium no longer has internet access)parking fees,special elevator fees, Pool fees, New Room Furniture fees,Special window treatment fees, generator fees, special new awning fees,new resort owner special assessment pay me back for all the stuff we want to do for you fees you may get into a unit for $4,000,000 or less. At least that is what Festiva Resorts is charging the current Atrium owners.

Good luck on your quest.

Amy,

Contrary to so many of the posts above, we've had our timeshare at The Towers for almost twenty years and I don't have one regret in the world. We use it every year and we look forward to being there as much now as we did when we first bought it. There have been no special assessments and no huge maintenance increases. I'd never say timeshare is for everyone but it sure has worked for us over all these years and there's no other way I could think of that we could take a family to St. Maarten all these years for the amount of money we spent on the timeshare and annual fees and stay in the type of accommodations we've become used to. The only major drawback I can see is our two bedroom condo in St. Maarten has ruined us for other vacations where we book and stay in the typical hotel rooms.

As others have said, do your homework and buy resale. Check out the properties you're interested in and then shop wisely if you decide to shop at all.

Respectfully,

pat

:-) :-)

Pat, I agree with most of what you said. I just would not buy a timeshare on SXM now.Don't know if I would buy a timeshare any place.

Augie;

I am an agnostic dyslexic who questions if there really is a dog.

Augie, my friend,

I don't think, at this point in my life I'd buy a timeshare anywhere either but I think that has more to do with me and my age now than timesharing or St. Maaren.

There comes that time in our lives, hopefully, that we 'arrive' so to speak and we are able do what we want when we want because our lifetime responsibilities and obligations are behind us, and isn't it nice to be able to have reached that point and be able to enjoy that time?

But if I were in back in those very younger days again, I think I wouldn't hesitate to find a place I loved, much as we did with The Towers and St. Maarten, and purchase only the time we could realistically use, again with an eye for the future in mind. I'd certainly check out the property and know I wanted to go back again and again and the other caveat is that I would definitely purchase resale based on lots of study beforehand. For a young person starting out, which is where I perceived Amy to be (??) it would be a very small part of a longterm plan and a good way to be able to vacation in some really nice places with a family down the road. Hotel rooms really are the pits when you've gone the way of great condo's, don't you think?

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

Towers owner forever. I recommend it. Seems we have fewer "problems/challenges" than most of the others. Yet, we have problems...nothing is Eden !!