Travel
Let's outline some considerations when purchasing an Aruba timeshare. Purchasing a timeshare in Aruba is an investment. You need advice so you head to an online forum for advice. Keep in mind when seeking advice of others that many of those who reply will be owners of timeshares. They have a vested interest in their investment. It is only natural that they will give you all of the pro's of a resort and hardly ever any of the negatives.
We do not own a timeshare but have stayed at a few.
People sleep on the beach in Aruba in order to claim "their" palapa. Playa Linda IS a beautiful resort, but it is very difficult most times of the year to obtain a palapa. If you need shade and you do not wake up at 5 am each day on vacation this should be a consideration.
We did not care for the Divi Phoenix.
We're "beach people", when we stayed at the Phoenix years ago, we found that the ocean in front of the resort is shallow for a great distance and there was a lot of sea grass growing on the bottom. When we were not dodging sea grass it was still difficult trying to find a place to cool off in the ocean that was deep enough. Needless to say, this was a huge turnoff for us.
We also "attempted" to stay at a timeshare in the low rise area, admittedly many years ago, so I will not mention it by name, but we never even unpacked and switched resorts. The room though cleaned by housekeeping for our check-in, was filthy. The cooking area was dark with no lighting, our patio was roped off due to construction which we were not told about in advance, there was hair from multiple body parts all over the bathroom and the swimming pool was a cloudy mess.
My best advice would be to stay at the resort first for a week, before you make your purchase to make sure that you even like the place. Also consider whether or not you wish to be in the high rise area of Palm beach or the low rise area.
Other questions to consider include:
How much is the annual maintenance fee?
How many times has it fluctuated over the years? Does it fit within you budget?
What is the age of the resort and when was the last renovation?
Once you purchase, how long before you will receive an additional assessment beyond your annual maintenance fee, for capital and room improvements at the resort?
Do you have to travel at the same time of the year?
Will those dates change in the future?
Once you have school age children, in most cases you will be unable to travel during the school year.
If you do not have children there are a lot of timeshare bargains out there in the fall for the weeks after Labor Day. Recently I saw a studio at La Cabana on eBay for week 39 that had sold at auction for $128.51. Add in the additional fees and a total price of $677.51 for a deeded timeshare is a real bargain.
How large or small of a unit do you need?
A family depending upon its size would ideally want a unit with "x" number of bedrooms.
Will your needs for say a 2 or 3 bedroom timeshare change to a studio or one bedroom timeshare unit in later years once the children are out of the nest? Once your children have children would a deeded timeshare unit be large enough to accommodate your entire family?
Are you looking for a timeshare to pass on to your heirs?
There are two types of timeshare sales. One is deeded, which your heirs would inherit upon your death. "Right to Use" or Annual timeshare purchases include a fixed number of weeks. Once you have used all of those weeks they are gone. Some timeshares, I know in Aruba, Caribbean Palm Village offers Biennial units which are available every other year.
Are Timeshares and Vacation Clubs Worth It?
Why Don't We Own an Aruba Timeshare?
Pros & Cons of Timeshare Ownership
- Sellmytimesharenow.com Publishes 2013 Timeshare Demand Index
EXETER, NH--(Marketwired - Jul 1, 2013) - Timeshare resale and rental leader, SellMyTimeshareNOW.com, has published the 2013 Timeshare Demand Index (TDI). The report establishes the 100 most in-demand timeshare resales and timeshare rentals based on the...
- Popular Timeshares That Made The Top 100 Vacation Resorts List
DOVER, NH--Marketwire - Aug 15, 2012 - VacationOwnership.com and Sell My Timeshare NOW have released the company's annual TOP 100 timeshares report, listing the timeshare resales and timeshare rentals that receive the most offers to buy or rent through...
- Timeshare Marketplace Redweek.com Announces Top 25 Timeshare Rental Resorts
For the fifth year running, leading timeshare marketplace RedWeek.com releases its list of Top 25 timeshare rental resorts. The Top 25 ranking is calculated using statistics from the site's more than 1.5 million registered users. Seattle, WA (PRWEB)...
- How Many Divi Aruba's Are There?
I know it is extremely confusing...the only actual hotel resorts in the list below are the Divi All Inclusive and Tamarijn All Inclusive. They are full hotels and not timeshares. First I will list the Divi Resorts Divi Phoenix- timeshare Divi Village-...
- Why Don't We Own An Aruba Timeshare?
Hmmm...rewind to 1999 and we had made a profit on the sale of our condo in NJ. Choices were a deeded studio timeshare purchase at Playa Linda Beach Resort in Aruba for one week or a Jacuzzi Hot Tub. $5000 same price for either one. It came down to the...
Travel
Considering purchasing an Aruba Timeshare?
We do not own a timeshare but have stayed at a few.
People sleep on the beach in Aruba in order to claim "their" palapa. Playa Linda IS a beautiful resort, but it is very difficult most times of the year to obtain a palapa. If you need shade and you do not wake up at 5 am each day on vacation this should be a consideration.
We did not care for the Divi Phoenix.
We're "beach people", when we stayed at the Phoenix years ago, we found that the ocean in front of the resort is shallow for a great distance and there was a lot of sea grass growing on the bottom. When we were not dodging sea grass it was still difficult trying to find a place to cool off in the ocean that was deep enough. Needless to say, this was a huge turnoff for us.
We also "attempted" to stay at a timeshare in the low rise area, admittedly many years ago, so I will not mention it by name, but we never even unpacked and switched resorts. The room though cleaned by housekeeping for our check-in, was filthy. The cooking area was dark with no lighting, our patio was roped off due to construction which we were not told about in advance, there was hair from multiple body parts all over the bathroom and the swimming pool was a cloudy mess.
My best advice would be to stay at the resort first for a week, before you make your purchase to make sure that you even like the place. Also consider whether or not you wish to be in the high rise area of Palm beach or the low rise area.
Other questions to consider include:
How much is the annual maintenance fee?
How many times has it fluctuated over the years? Does it fit within you budget?
What is the age of the resort and when was the last renovation?
Once you purchase, how long before you will receive an additional assessment beyond your annual maintenance fee, for capital and room improvements at the resort?
Will those dates change in the future?
Once you have school age children, in most cases you will be unable to travel during the school year.
If you do not have children there are a lot of timeshare bargains out there in the fall for the weeks after Labor Day. Recently I saw a studio at La Cabana on eBay for week 39 that had sold at auction for $128.51. Add in the additional fees and a total price of $677.51 for a deeded timeshare is a real bargain.
How large or small of a unit do you need?
A family depending upon its size would ideally want a unit with "x" number of bedrooms.
Will your needs for say a 2 or 3 bedroom timeshare change to a studio or one bedroom timeshare unit in later years once the children are out of the nest? Once your children have children would a deeded timeshare unit be large enough to accommodate your entire family?
There are two types of timeshare sales. One is deeded, which your heirs would inherit upon your death. "Right to Use" or Annual timeshare purchases include a fixed number of weeks. Once you have used all of those weeks they are gone. Some timeshares, I know in Aruba, Caribbean Palm Village offers Biennial units which are available every other year.
Are Timeshares and Vacation Clubs Worth It?
Why Don't We Own an Aruba Timeshare?
Pros & Cons of Timeshare Ownership
- Sellmytimesharenow.com Publishes 2013 Timeshare Demand Index
EXETER, NH--(Marketwired - Jul 1, 2013) - Timeshare resale and rental leader, SellMyTimeshareNOW.com, has published the 2013 Timeshare Demand Index (TDI). The report establishes the 100 most in-demand timeshare resales and timeshare rentals based on the...
- Popular Timeshares That Made The Top 100 Vacation Resorts List
DOVER, NH--Marketwire - Aug 15, 2012 - VacationOwnership.com and Sell My Timeshare NOW have released the company's annual TOP 100 timeshares report, listing the timeshare resales and timeshare rentals that receive the most offers to buy or rent through...
- Timeshare Marketplace Redweek.com Announces Top 25 Timeshare Rental Resorts
For the fifth year running, leading timeshare marketplace RedWeek.com releases its list of Top 25 timeshare rental resorts. The Top 25 ranking is calculated using statistics from the site's more than 1.5 million registered users. Seattle, WA (PRWEB)...
- How Many Divi Aruba's Are There?
I know it is extremely confusing...the only actual hotel resorts in the list below are the Divi All Inclusive and Tamarijn All Inclusive. They are full hotels and not timeshares. First I will list the Divi Resorts Divi Phoenix- timeshare Divi Village-...
- Why Don't We Own An Aruba Timeshare?
Hmmm...rewind to 1999 and we had made a profit on the sale of our condo in NJ. Choices were a deeded studio timeshare purchase at Playa Linda Beach Resort in Aruba for one week or a Jacuzzi Hot Tub. $5000 same price for either one. It came down to the...