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Author
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Topic: SurfWatch, OceanWatch, or Surf Club?
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JimC
TUG MemberPosts: 67
From: Southeastern, PA; Owner at Disney (Old Key West, Beach Club Villas) and Marriott (Shadow Ridge, Canyon Villas, Cypress Harbour)
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-13-2005 04:25
    
We are looking at all three and trying to determine which is best value and best meets our needs. OceanWatch and SurfWatch are closer to home -- could fly or drive (but it would be a long driving trip - particularly SW). These are very new resorts and may be earlier in the pricing scheme. We use MR points so few resales and buying direct is okay. Both appear to be beach front resorts. But both lack lock-offs. OceanWatch looks like it is on a more open section of beach. Another TUGer posted photos and it appeared that it was the lone "resort" in that area. Hopefully less crowded on the beaches. SurfWatch appears to have the most interesting set-up as the buildings look like low to mid-rise as opposed to the high rise of OW and SC. Surf Club has the lock offs, but is a longer trip and would burn more FF miles for FC tickets. I understand that the deed is a bit different as it must be renewed by Aruba every 50 years or so. In my view Aruba is the east coast version of Hawaii (which is just too far away for a week's stay - need two weeks to enjoy Hawaii) We would use the resort probably two out of three or three out of four years and trade the other times. We don't need the 2nd bedroom as it is primarily just the two of us. This purchase would cover a late summer early fall trip and beach front is important. A twenty year total cost assessment yields an immaterial $3,300 dollar difference among them. Will pay cash so financing is not an issue. What am I missing? Any thoughts or comments welcome! IP: Logged |
floyddl
TUG MemberPosts: 179
From: Raleigh, NC
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 05-13-2005 07:40
You seem to have analyzed pretty well. I guess if beach front is important then you would move Surf Watch down the list since it seems to be set back a bit. If the 2nd bedroom is not required then Surf Club is good choice since you could use the 1BR and deposit the studio for other uses. You should factor that into you analysis since you could even use the studio to get a flex trade into Surf Watch or Ocean Watch. I guess the other factor is that you would be buying a Gold week at Aruba during the time you are traveling and a Platinum at Surf Watch or Ocean Watch. That will factor into your trading power when you choose to trade.
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Art
TUG MemberPosts: 1051
From: Grand Island, NY
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 05-13-2005 09:46
SurfWatch is definitely not ocean front. The closest units to the ocean are about 600 ft inland. As far as a Hilton Head resort, you would be much better off considering Grande Ocean if you want an ocean front resort as well as a resort that is more centrally located relative to things to do. The other advantage of MGO is that resales are available so you can save considerably. For example, we almost bought a silver week (we like that time of the year on Hilton Head) far, far from the water at SurfWatch for $14,900. However, for the reasons above, we decided to buy a Grande Ocean ocean front week for under $10,000. Similar savings are possible for other seasons. Art
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heislerj
Non MemberPosts: 102
From: Wexford,PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 05-16-2005 11:05
I think a lot depends on time of year you want to go. I own Surf Club because as I head toward retirement I want 2 weeks, with lock-off, to get out of the cold. The other 2 resorts are for other times olf the year. You may not need two bedrooms now but in the future you too may want to be where it is warm during the winter.IP: Logged |
Chemee
TUG MemberPosts: 160
From: Baltimore, MD; TUG member since Sept '01
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 05-16-2005 13:17
To help make a decision, ask yourself these questions:
Do you want 2 weeks of vacation for the price of one? (Aruba) Do you want to have the option of driving? (SC resorts)
Do you want to spend $550-$650 pp on airfare each year? (Aruba)The attractive feature of the Surf Club is the lock-offs. You get two weeks of vacation from buying one week. If you don't use both, you can exchange with II or rent. With exchanging, you can potentially upgrade into a larger unit. Renting an Aruba unit is an excellent way to pay your maintenance fees & earn extra cash. Also, consider the Aruba Ocean Club (we are owners). The units are nicely maintained & probably cost less. Additionally, Ocean Club platinum season contains weeks that are platinum plus for the Surf Club. The only down side of Aruba is the high cost of airfare. The SC resorts are within driving distance from PA and if you want to fly, the airfare will be less than Aruba. You'll always be in a 2 bedroom villa since the resorts are not lock-offs. If exchanging, you'll have to deposit a 2 bedroom unit & potentially have to accept a smaller unit, depending on the resort. We own at Ocean Watch & chose it over the Hilton Head resorts because Myrtle Beach is closer. Another reason was because it is next to a Marriott hotel. We like having hotel amenities right next door. IP: Logged |
ml855
TUG MemberPosts: 418
From: Eldersburg, MD USA Marriott Ocean Watch (platinum), Marriott Harbour Point (week 25), Foxrun (week 25)
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 05-16-2005 17:45
There's not a bad choice in any of the options you listed.  They are all great weeks at fantastic locations. They have strong trade power to pull the best trades and will even allow you trade to which ever resorts you didn't purchase.No doubt that the lock-off advantage is nice. However, remember you'll probably get an accomodation certificate for the weeks that you deposit & trade. So those years you'll still get "two weeks for the price of one". Instead of looking at it from a cost perspective, try to pick one that you'll want to vacation at the majority of the time. It's less stressful reserving your own week then having to use II for a trade. Using your own week gives you more control of exactly the week you travel and your exact check-in date. Finally, if your buying it to use, then pay the extra $$ for the best views.
-Matt P.S. We purchased Platinum MOW and are very happy with it. For us, the fact that it's two hours closer then HH was a big deal. IP: Logged |
JimC
TUG MemberPosts: 67
From: Southeastern, PA; Owner at Disney (Old Key West, Beach Club Villas) and Marriott (Shadow Ridge, Canyon Villas, Cypress Harbour)
Registered: May 2004
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posted 05-29-2005 12:55
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We just returned from the repositioning cruise for the Disney Magic (2 week cruise thru the Panama Canal) -- it was great fun!We decided on the Surf Club Gold Ocean Side. We like the lock-off feature, the location is fabulous (constant wonderful weather year-round; outside of hurricane track) and large gold season gives us plenty of flexibility in using the week there. Decided against the Ocean Front as being too pricey. The Ocean Side unit seemed the best value (price for view). IP: Logged |
jme
TUG MemberPosts: 599
From: Augusta, Georgia, USA; OWNER: Marriott Grande Ocean(3 weeks) and Marriott Barony Beach Club(2 weeks)
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 05-30-2005 18:22
just returned from Grande Ocean for a three-nite "Memorial Day Weekend rental" with owner's discount. (We got a call on the second day to tour SurfWatch in exchange for one nite at GO for free-----and since each nite, including owner's discount, was $356, we took the tour!) Anyway, we do rent several times a year IN ADDITION to our three weeks (2 platinum & 1 gold), plus we have two weeks at Barony which we usually trade....My observations about Surfwatch are: since it's as close as any developer could get to another beachfront resort, Marriott took several years buying up property to build it, and only one building is even close enough to call oceanfront, and that building is still far from being oceanfront, but it is a nice view of the ocean over the marshy area. (They would have done more if solid ground was anywhere to be found!)All other buildings are even farther, but all have a most tranquil view anyway. To me, because of the layout (all due to the marsh and unavailability of true solid ground on which to place a building) the resort looks as tho it would cater more to adults rather than children, and that is because the HIKE to the pools & ocean (except for the two "o/s" buildings alone, next to the inland pool) is enough to require a golf cart ride via Marriott employees, which will continue after completion----REALLY, the hike to the "oceanfront" pool--the only thing truly oceanfront-----is a long hike via the boardwalk and across a public ROAD, and heaven forbid, the other hike from the "garden and oceanside" buildings is even worse. It's a "long par 4" from the o/s and garden buildings to the ocean, and impossible to even see the ocean except from a high floor. Imagine standing in line for the golf carts during the summer, just to get to the beach. The pool at the beach is small by most resort standards, and WILL always be very, very, VERY crowded. The other large pool at the oceanside buildings is very nice, but far from the ocean, and more comparable to the Grande Ocean North and South pools, i.e., about medium-sized. Very nice tho. Aside from "location, location, location", i.e., building location, EVERYTHING is very nice here....wonderful landscaping and maybe the most tranquil of the Marriott properties, but that's because of the layout of the land and the fact that they had to place buildings next to and around the marshes, BUT it's still a wonderful and relaxing atmosphere. For kids, you'll have to always accompany them, and it'll be a halfday AT LEAST commitment to make it worthwhile to go to the beach. (Even from the one "oceanfront" building, it's a hike to either of the two pools!!!) At Barony and GO you can just go down the elevator to the pools...very easy access and convenience, and sometimes you can even see the kids playing in the pool from the windows or balcony. (I'm not referring to toddlers or small kids, but 10+ years old ....obviously the young kids should never visit the pools unattended by adults, but my point is that the long distance to the SurfWatch pools is not a trip a parent would trust even to the 10-14 year olds. If anyone's been to the Barony pool, you know how crowded that is, and how small a space it's put into.....the SW pool near the ocean is even smaller and will be more crowded because of the grill/bar. I predict it'll look like a Holiday Inn pool crowd in its density! Not enough chair space around the pool, small pool , and cabana "rentals" by the half-day...yeah, right! (I can imagine how fast they'll go, AND how expensive they are. You'll probably have to register for them 12 months out.) The units at Surf Watch were very nice, altho I can tell that they are smaller than the Grande Ocean units, and even appear maybe a foot or so smaller than Barony's in any given room. The master BR has been chopped off by deleting the jacuzzi and having a HUGE master shower, which visually makes the Master BR very small by comparison. The huge shower is impressive, but one end is just dead space...a doorless walk-in with towel knobs for drying off or whatever. That 3 extra feet is at the expense of the Master BR, and they could have used another chest of drawers on that wall....instead all the room you have in the MBR is for the bed and 2 bedside tables, and that's it----then the solid wall where the shower starts on the other side---not even a glass see-thru to make it look spacious ! Yep, very nice look and surfaces, but visually it appeared like they were trying to cut the space down to a minimum...everywhere. The kitchen has much less storage space. Even the main dining area and living room looked "that one to two feet" shorter. The "focus groups" definitely didn't include the wives. The three-Bedroom units were exactly like the two-BR units with another BR stuck in off the entrance---one to left and one to right------I was expecting a different and more (even just SLIGHTLY more) expansive unit, but it didn't have that feel. After I thought about it, the price for that extra room isn't worth it without that "little something extra" in the living room....called SPACE....after all, you're gonna have more people congregating and dining, right? Balcony? same size. Plus, the old living room fold-out sofa is a third BR anyway at Barony and GO. The SW units were smaller, felt smaller, and it seems that with each new resort, they're cutting space. (For example, we love Summit Watch in Park City.....nice large units----then they build Mountainside, and guess what? Yep, the units were noticeably smaller...same modus operandi) So, we always like to stay at Summit Watch even tho MS is slopeside. Repeat here at Barony, then SurfWatch...each one gets smaller. I again will say that Surfwatch has a wonderful "feel" if you want the tranquility of being somewhere on an island, seeing the beautiful marshes and knowing the ocean is (like the movie) "Somewhere Out There". If I were not a young family with kids, I might be interested...if I were a young family WITH kids, I would buy nowhere but Grande Ocean. ALL buildings are CLOSER-CLOSER-CLOSER to the ocean than even the "oceanfront" at SW. We always take my wife's Mom and she would never make it to the SW beach! Those of you who know me know that I love Marriott and have been one of the greatest promoters of their properties. If any property were better than Grande Ocean, I'd be there! We bought Barony for the wonderful indoor pool and the spa, and really just to trade most of the time, and if staying, then mostly for an off-season week with a different feel...... For an off-season week, it's great, and so, I'd have to also place SW in that same category....a wonderful off-season resort. If you want spectacular beach and awesome pools for kids (and anyone), then buy GO. A resale GO week is a far, far better bargain. I still love SurfWatch and Barony, but each for very different reasons----each has a very different and unique feel, and I wouldn't turn down a vacation at any , but for my family, we adore GO.....and it's unanimous. (new addition to my "top five" restaurant list: Marley's !!! Awesome menu-especially the Australian rock lobster tails and the tuna....and live reggae music---that guy was amazing---at first I thought it was a recording!) Happy summer to all, Marty (jme)......(can't wait to get back to GO for two weeks in June!!!!) IP: Logged | |
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