Are all Interval Resorts considered to be 5 Star?

[Amanda Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Amanda]

Thanks everyone! At least I know I'm not crazy, I thought I was missing something obvious here. I'm actually not a member of II, so I'm just looking at the directory while not being logged in and didn't see anything which indicated what rate resort I was looking at...

honestly, I was looking to find which resorts I would like to request with SFX; they say they will accept requests for RCI gold crowns and II 5 stars, and of course what is in their website... so, I was trying to get a better idea of what's out there in some areas..

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Has Foxrun in Lake Lure been awarded 5 stars yet? With all the maint fee hikes atop special assessment they must have fixed it up real nice by now. What's taking II so long awarding 5 stars to hugely popular resorts?

Was Foxrun ever Five Star? I think it is very difficult to get back that rating, once it is lost. It is also very difficult to acquire the rating for resorts that never had it.

We don't own any Five Star resorts with II, so our directory also does not show those ratings. It leaves us completely in the dark when it comes to exchanges. Sometimes we are better off that way!

I disagree with John Chase on this issue. I think every resort we have visited that has that rating deserved it. We have stayed at over half the resorts in Orlando and the ratings are on target, in our opinion.

There are a few that deserve the 5-Star rating but don't have it. For example, I believe that Kahana Villa Vacation Club and Hono Koa on Maui both deserve the rating. The units are very high quality, are very clean, and they have organized activities and both have views of the ocean. They are not top-notch luxury like the Westin, but both of those resorts are every bit as nice as Kona Hawaiian Village (now Fairfield/Wyndham) and Paniolo Greens, both of which rate the Gold Crown.

We have been to RCI Gold Crown resorts that did NOT deserve their ratings. For example, Orange Lake (So. Magnolia Ct.) and Vistana (Fountains). I was sorely disappointed in both of these resorts. Sunterra Grand Beach is far and away better than either one of those, yet it has been Silver Crown for years.

Gold Crown and Five Star should be difficult to attain and something all resorts aspire to become. Many owners just do not want to put the work into improving an older property. They will suffer the consequence by losing trading power, if they do not act. I would bet RCI and II make assumptions on the condition of an older resort and judge them harshly, compared to the newer ones. Twin Rivers certainly has experienced that over the years. Our kitchens are brand new, the decks were completely rebuilt from lifetime materials, the exteriors are getting major updates, and the furnishings are being replaced. All of that work and our trading power is still low. I doubt that will improve anytime soon, even though the units look better than new, when we had great trading power. I hope spending all that money was not just a waste! We spent $1,532 in assessments per week owned over the last 7 years. We need to see something come from that investment--or it was all for nothing.

[kend58 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kend58]

So if the ratings are not meaningful / reliable what is?

I am new to the process or timeshae exchange.

I had hoped that the resort designations 5* or GoldCrown were a good yardstick. The discusion on this thread seems to indicate that is not the case. What should be relied upon when making a choice in an exchange if the ratings from II or RCI are not consistent enough to be relied upon?

[CNYTraveler Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CNYTraveler]

I am new to the process or timeshae exchange.
I had hoped that the resort designations 5* or GoldCrown were a good yardstick. The discusion on this thread seems to indicate that is not the case. What should be relied upon when making a choice in an exchange if the ratings from II or RCI are not consistent enough to be relied upon?

I've had some luck in gauging resort quality with tripadvisor.com. They seem to have pretty good coverage of the timeshares that I've researched so far. One caveat...some percentage posters are amazingly negative (almost pathologically so), so I read at least 10-20 reviews to get an overall feel for the resort.

[kvp Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kvp]

I noticed that if I'm viewing Interval's directory while I am NOT logged into their site, I cannot see the Gold Crown icons. I can see the Gold Crown resorts, but not the GC icons. If I am logged in, I can see the GC icons next to the GC resorts.

Kathy

[Vanessa Member Find all posts View Profile Close Vanessa]

When I look at tripadvisor for hotel information, there is a star designation. I understand that the star denotes customer satisfaction.

My question, for hotels or resorts in general, what group (AAA, etc.) makes the determination of a 5* Hotel.