Has anybody noticed?

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

I've spent a lot of time on RCI's website looking at different properties and the reviews other travelers have left. Tonight my wife and I were focused on Aruba and it seemed that the properties with the best reviews had rooms that looked, well boring...
Aruba Beach Club is a great example, three reviews (5 stars!) saying how great it is. So we go to the website and the rooms look like a Radisson in Topeka. They're fine but why would I go to Aruba to stay in a boring hotel room?

Contrast to the Crane in Barbados, 4 stars, absolutely stunning. No crappy polyester bedspread or fake nailed to the wall headboard (my wife says thats the worst).

Are the people writing the reviews the kind of folks that when presented with somebody who doesn't speak English just talk louder? I'm seriously trying to understand this one. I'm also wondering how you figure out where to go?

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

The pictures seldom show what the room is really like. And that goes both ways. Sometimes the room is much nicer than it looks in the pictures; sometimes the picture is much nicer than the room.

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

I agree with Wacky and back it up with my last house-hunting. Pictures don't really necessarily reflect the truth.

Hard to say what room those were taken in, or whether they are updated when refurbs are done. I don't bother with pictures. I'm more interested in amenities.

If you look at reviews on TripAdvisor, remember that many of those folks aren't generally timesharers, so what might be described as "a giant room!" could be very small compared to most other timeshare accomodations.
They also might slight a resort for not having daily maid service.

I would say, if you want pictures, ask on timeshare boards as that provides a big audience for people that may actually have been to the resort recently.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I would also add that reviews are often based on expectations. So a standard (not Gold Crown, fewer amenities) resort might get rave reviews if the view/staff/location was great and the experience better than expected, despite the condition of the furnishings. A place like the Crane, well people expect a LOT, and may just take away for anything less than sublime perfection...

There are plenty of timesharers that care more about location than the room itself, and will compromise "new decor" for more space and a full kitchen... Clean and comfortable are musts, but beyond that we all have different standards. Also, I haven't found too many RCI resorts with gobs of reviews, sometimes only one or two for a resort, and I don't think that's a reasonable sample. I always ask around here, and check TripAdvisor and other reviews (I google "[resort name] review").

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

I would also add that reviews are often based on expectations. So a standard (not Gold Crown, fewer amenities) resort might get rave reviews if the view/staff/location was great and the experience better than expected, despite the condition of the furnishings. A place like the Crane, well people expect a LOT, and may just take away for anything less than sublime perfection...

There are plenty of timesharers that care more about location than the room itself, and will compromise "new decor" for more space and a full kitchen... Clean and comfortable are musts, but beyond that we all have different standards. Also, I haven't found too many RCI resorts with gobs of reviews, sometimes only one or two for a resort, and I don't think that's a reasonable sample. I always ask around here, and check TripAdvisor and other reviews (I google "[resort name] review").

Thats about what I was figuring on all fronts. 2 reviews, 1 - 5 star and 1 - 1 star are not enough to really tell what a place is like.

Thanks everybody!

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

If you want glitz you are definately with the wrong exchange company. II has all the high-end stuff with the exception of Hilton that is RCI.