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Westin Vacation Club Reviews
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We were very shocked to recently receive a letter from Ms. ** that said she would not listen to us any longer. This was very unprofessional. When you have customers come to your company because they were lied to, you do not deny their experience and then refuse to speak to them anymore. What company acts this way? We know what we went through by the hands of Vistana. We want out of this agreement. Not listening was one thing, openly disregarding is a whole other. We just want help!
Bait and switch sales technique that leaves people financially distraught and angry. The properties cannot be sold after buying them; you can’t even give them away. We were told its re-sale value would continue to increase (NOT TRUE). Vistana offered us to repurchase it at a price that was twenty percent of what we paid, and that would only be possible after the mortgage was paid in full. The annual maintenance fees have increased by several hundred dollars in the couple of years we've owned it. They recently added another annual “Network Membership fees” fee of $238 annually. The bottom line is that we felt swindled, and they’ve done nothing to help us get out of this chokehold contract.
Please don’t be stupid like we were. They lie to have you buy, and then it's too late. We bought it in 2019 but have never used it; I’m paying $7,965 a year and $13,000 already invested. My wife died six months ago, and it's unlikely I will ever use it now, and they still won't help; they don’t care. It’s the worst decision of my life and my late wife's.
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The entire way this tour and presentation came down was very misleading. While both the lady who set us up and the sales guy who gave the tour were nice enough, there was a lot of evasion of the real questions and a lot of double talk throughout. First, we were told this Vistana/Westin Vacation Club thing was absolutely not a time share, but by the time we got all the materials, it absolutely is 100% a timeshare!!!! The documents have time share written all over them. Several times throughout the meetings with these two sales people, they misrepresented the truth.
The team lead lady said they were not going to run any credit checks, and they absolutely ran a credit check that I did not authorize, and worked around me. I told her specifically that all my credit is locked, and I told her I would need to unlock it. They ran it anyway, and the sales guy said he had to give me a copy of the report. He kept referring to benefits we could use in 2022 (with two other witnesses) but after we signed a million papers, everything now became 2023. Very salesy, lots of double talk about "owners and options" but nothing made clear. You really don't get to understand how things work sort of until the very end, meeting with the team lead, which I am sure is intentional. It's very deceitful.
Also, the lady who set us up said the tour would take 90 minutes max, and sales guy said he "wanted to do everything quickly". We were there for five hours, on my daughter's birthday, and late for her dinner reservations. Everything was very rushed. We were not allowed to even do research or think about this 100K decision, we had to decide on the tour, or not get all the benefits. After this meeting, a day later, I did the research. Vistana/Westin Vacation Club has nothing but 1 star reviews with the BBB - all horrible. If you had any happy customers there would be at least some 4 star or 3 star reviews, but no, they are all 1 stars out of 5 stars. I canceled immediately, and spent $257 in Fedex charges, telegrams, and USPS overnight to send the cancellation documents and the marketing materials back to Vistana.
Nowhere online can you find a single phone number for VSE Pacific Inc. - nowhere. No one answers the 1-800 # for Vistana. I sent FIVE emails, no one answers the emails and no one ever did. I had to do all this extra work to cancel while on vacation in Hawaii to make sure I canceled within the 7 calendar day revocation period. It's shameful. They all should be really ashamed of yourselves. I am shocked Marriott has anything to do with this outfit. In all my dealings, Marriott has been a very reputable company. Whatever this thing is, I wonder if they really know what's going on. Highly recommend not to purchase.
If there is a negative star rating, I'd give the Westin Vacation Club at the Riverfront Mountain Villas in Avon, Colorado a "negative 5 stars". During my stay at their timeshare unit, I've purchased an "Encore Vacation" package for a return stay. On September 2021, I used the vacation package for the stay. After I came home, I've noticed there was a charged from the WVC to my credit card of an amount almost the cost of the vacation package which I've already paid for. I've contacted the WVC four times and demanded an explanation of such charge. Each time of my call, I was told by a representative that someone will call me back to discuss of the charge. No response.
In the mean time, I have a due bill on the credit card of the WVC charge. I've contacted the credit card company and report of the unauthorized charge. Somehow, the WVC was able to convinced the credit card company that is a valid authorized charge. Though WVC will not return my phone call to explain of the charge detail. Consumer Beware. There is a shady scheme going on behind the Westin brand name!
I was offered 6 days/5 nights at The Westin Princeville Ocean Resorts Villas, plus a “6 day Avis rental car for sightseeing, adventure, and island travel.” All for $649, with only a $199 refundable offer to accept. When I accepted, I was later told Avis car rentals were in short supply. Substitute offers were inadequate, and unattractive, so we declined, but they refused to refund my deposit. They very much use “bait and switch tactics” to get you “in the door,” but refuse to honor their offer!
Your Review: In 2017, we were contacted and offered a free stay at the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas. We specifically asked if this was going to be a timeshare presentation as we had previously experienced that with another company. The representative was quick to assure us that this was not the case, so we agreed to accept the “free” trip. When we arrived at the resort, we met with the staff that gave us a tour of the property and started talking to us about the opportunities that we had to own property in Maui.
NEVER was this represented to us as a timeshare! In fact, the paperwork specifically calls it a “Vacation Ownership Deed” which led us to believe that this was the real property that we could pass on to our children in the future. The salesperson we met with told us that this was a 3-year investment and that we would be able to use it forever but now we know that is not at all true! This was actually a 10-year timeshare loan! We trusted that employees at a company like Westin would be more truthful and clearly we were wrong!
This company only wants your money. It's too expensive and you can never get a hold of customer service. Been trying to call for days to get a hold of someone to change over my points. Recording says over an hour wait, try again....but this is the only thing you can do and it never changes. There are deadlines and you can't call to get anyone to help. The worst money ever spent is on this vacation club. If they can't answer the phones then they should make it to where you can do it online. And even the online chat says they cant help me at this time because I have to call in. Ridiculous!!!!
We have owned at Westin Kaanapali Ocean Villas in Maui since 2013. We have since added units in the Virgin Islands and at Nanea in Maui. Suffice it to say we would not have added units if we were unhappy with our experience. People seem to love or hate their time share; there is little middle ground. The key is to know what you are buying. We first bought Westin Maui because we love the location and value the brand. Our initial purchase was pre-Vistana. We were nervous/concerned about the ownership change. It has not been perfect but has largely smoothed out. We added Nanea since the change.
We are in Maui now, enjoying our time. Check in was a breeze as usual and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. We were originally scheduled to come in November but canceled due to COVID. We had no problem rolling our options into this time period. We were here in March, 2020 and basically got kicked out as the virus started to invade Maui. It was an odd time and the discomfort we all felt was not the fault of the resort. Everyone was scared. The virus has been tough on everyone including the resorts. I do not expect Vistana to be able to offer unlimited extensions to usage as the calendar would then not be able to accommodate all the owners. That said, Vistana has been flexible with us around cancellations and rebooking.
Our greatest disappointment came a couple of years ago during the buildout of Nanea. We found it impossible to book the type of unit (two bedroom oceanfront) for which we had paid. That issue has sorted itself out since construction completion. Our overall experience over the years has been very positive. We have come as a couple, brought our kids and grandkids, and let our kids use the properties on their own. We have traded options for usage multiple times, in Cancun, Scottsdale, and Palm Springs. We have never been disappointed. Funny, though we have owned in the Virgin Islands for six years we have never been. We have been canceled twice, once due to hurricane and once due to the virus. Again, not the resort’s fault. We have successfully used those star options for trading fodder at other resorts.
Again, know what you are buying. The location of your home resort is critical. Being able to book a year out at your favorite property is very important. The reason I give four stars and not five is that Vistana and Marriott need to keep proving themselves and earning our trust. Also, we get pressure every time we check in to do an “owners’ update” which is code for them trying to sell us more timeshare. We just say no but the process is distasteful.
From the beginning, this has been an exercise in deceit. The salesperson, Lucy, at Nanea, Maui lied to me about special offers for buying points then made a token offer of 10,000 points when I called her out on her dishonesty. They also misrepresent their affiliation with Marriott - you do not have access to those properties. They are kept separate. They neglect to tell you they charge you additional fees for housekeeping, and I get dinged an extra $40 with every stay on top of the maintenance fees - by the way, there's no housekeeping during the pandemic, yet they still charge the fee.
During the CoVid crisis, they won't cancel reservations even though they claim to care about the health of their members. I tried to cancel because we didn't wish to travel, and they told me I would forfeit my points. I can honestly say that getting involved with Vistana was one of the poorer decisions I have ever made. If you are considering it, reconsider and stay away.
I bought the timeshare at Westin since 2004. Recently due to Dovid-19, I have to reschedule the reservations in 2020 multiple times. All I want is to extend the reservations till 2021, but they are not flexible to extend them, without charging additional fees. Their website indicates they care for your health and safety but yet they make it difficult for you when you cannot travel due to health risks. Is there something anyone can do?
Westin Vacation Club Company Information
- Company Name:
- Westin Vacation Club
- Website:
- www.vistana.com
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