Anyone own RTU at Wyndham El Cid Mazatlan?

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

I am currently a deeded Wyndham owner and I am looking at buying a resale on Ebay with El Cid in Mazatlan.. It's a right to use that ends in 2018, which for the price (basically free, plus closing) is fine with me if I only have it 10 years.. I want to go with Wyndham since I already own it and know the system and I was attracted to this one because the maintenance fees are low ($700 per year) for 244,000 annual points.. My questions are:

1) Anyone own Wyndham El Cid Mazatlan? What has your experience been? I may use it there but I really want it to trade through the Wyndham system.

2) Right to use in general - anything hidden I need to know about? I know it ends in 10 years and that isn't a big deal because I'm not paying much for it, but anything else?

3) $700 a year for fees for 244,000 points seems really low? Any thoughts on this? Is it because there are only 10 years left on the use or does that have nothing to do with it? Or are there hidden fees I don't know about? Someone said El Cid may charge some fees and Fairfield other fees and maybe the $700 is only one of these fees.

Any help would be appreciated.. Thanks.

Jill

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

I am currently a deeded Wyndham owner and I am looking at buying a resale on Ebay with El Cid in Mazatlan.. It's a right to use that ends in 2018, which for the price (basically free, plus closing) is fine with me if I only have it 10 years.. I want to go with Wyndham since I already own it and know the system and I was attracted to this one because the maintenance fees are low ($700 per year) for 244,000 annual points.. My questions are:

1) Anyone own Wyndham El Cid Mazatlan? What has your experience been? I may use it there but I really want it to trade through the Wyndham system.

2) Right to use in general - anything hidden I need to know about? I know it ends in 10 years and that isn't a big deal because I'm not paying much for it, but anything else?

3) $700 a year for fees for 244,000 points seems really low? Any thoughts on this? Is it because there are only 10 years left on the use or does that have nothing to do with it? Or are there hidden fees I don't know about? Someone said El Cid may charge some fees and Fairfield other fees and maybe the $700 is only one of these fees.

Any help would be appreciated.. Thanks.

Jill

Can you clarify if you are saying you are a Wyndam/Fairfield owner? I believe El Cid sales reps no longer sell Fairfield points. We own 3.4 million El Cid points per year (probably still the largest contract they sold). My recollection of meeting owners at the El Cid Marina Yacht Club when I was there Jan-Mar 2007 was that the Fairfield owners did not have the same availability at El Cid. Also 90K El Cid points = a studio. I am not sure what 77K will reserve but maybe on short notice. Or maybe Fairfield points @ El Cid are different in the number of points per room?

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I bought one 2 years ago and it took me 8 months to close. It was EXTREMELY painful.

Wyndham doesn't really support EL Cid anymore. The points work fine now since I bought another Wyndham package and the points are now merged together.

The low maintenance fees are nice, but ouch did that hurt.

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

I've been trying to find out for about 2 yrs now exactly how the fees are currently calculated so I can see is the ad is accurate in that respect.

I lost the ability and would like to have it back.

Any help here.?

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

Jill,

When I could calculate the MF it went something like this, a fixed $ amount + an amount calculated on the amount of points + the Wyndham program fee for the amount of points.

From memory the fixed dollar amount was 240? or there abouts, the points related amount was, I think $1.35/K plus the FSP fee.

So for 244K points and rounding for math ease it would have been 250 + 370 +125 = $745.

When I could no longer calculate it, it was because the total dollar amount of the MF had increased and I was unaware which of the first two components or both had changed.

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

$700 for mf for 244K points sounds like pretty good deal to me, especially since you are receiving points at very little up front cost. Does it include
FF plus and annual RCI fees??? I am one of those nuckleheads who bought full retail at Marina El Cid in Mazatlan about 5 years ago when El Cid was selling FF programs. (This was before finding TS4MS and learning NOT to buy at resorts from developers retail. )
I own 154000 FF Plus which includes RCI membership fees and costs me about
$740 per year (20 year RTU). The sales people are outright liars and some of the worse
I have come across in my years of timesharing. ( I occasionally do a presentation if I can get a $200
worth of golf, boat excursions or some comparable offer.) Amoung other things, I was told I could get a studio AND a 1 br in high season. WRONG....I had to pay 154,000 points for a 1 br in March high seasson.
Since El Cid switched to their own El Cid Club points plan, and discontinued their business relationship with Wyndham/FF, FF owners have become 2nd class citizens. Last time I stayed there, (and it WILL be the LAST time I stay there) I had to ask to be moved twice before I got an acceptable room. Better rooms are awarded to VIP El Cid point holders/owners first, cash paying hotel guests second, El Cid Club members/owners third, RCI exchangers fourth, and the FF exchangers/owners last. (All owners can book directly with El Cid at no cost.) Over last 4 years, I have received no other bills for taxes, special assessments, etc. As a owner, you do, (or use to) get El Cid card
which is good for 10% discount off spa, golf, and certain restaurants and activities. Hope this answers some of your questions.

Dont waste your points by staying at El Cid...you can get much better bang for your points within Wyndham or RCI with some effort.
Best wishes,
Paul

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

I own 154000 FF Plus which includes RCI membership fees and costs me about $740 per year (20 year RTU).

The sales people are outright liars <snip> Among other things, I was told I could get a studio AND a 1 br in high season. WRONG....I had to pay 154,000 points for a 1 br in March high seasson.

<snip> FF owners have become 2nd class citizens. <snip>
Better rooms are awarded to VIP El Cid point holders/owners first, cash paying hotel guests second, El Cid Club members/owners third, RCI exchangers fourth, and the FF exchangers/owners last.

We were able to get one bedroom units for 45,000 points each week for Jan 1 - March 27, 2007. Reservations for studios were made 60 days advance at 50% cost. 45K instead of 90K. Then we were upgraded to a one bedroom from studio at no cost. I am not sure if the upgrade was for Platinum status -owning over 300K but my husband had upgraded the contract 4 times in the previous 2 months to 3.4 million annual El Cid points.

I am not sure the 50% points @ 60 days & upgrade options are available for FF point owners though. My understanding is the 'available' rooms for FF reservations was decreasing as contracts changed from FF to El Cid points. Numerous FF people couldn't get reservations even if the resort had many available rooms. Sort of like the 'capacity controls' airline have for using FF points.

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

We bought 90K Fairfield El Cid points on eBay (from Holiday group) 3-4 years ago, before they changed everything....it was an AWFUL closing, too - deed was NOT clear...took months and months, I wil never buy another Mexico unit from Holiday...I was tearing my hair out getting such Contradictory messages from EVERYone, or NOONE!

I also can use the points very easily in Wyndham, combined with my others, we have yet to go to El Cid.

IMHO, I would purchase points some other place.

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

We were able to get one bedroom units for 45,000 points each week for Jan 1 - March 27, 2007. Reservations for studios were made 60 days advance at 50% cost. 45K instead of 90K. Then we were upgraded to a one bedroom from studio at no cost. I am not sure if the upgrade was for Platinum status -owning over 300K but my husband had upgraded the contract 4 times in the previous 2 months to 3.4 million annual El Cid points.

I am not sure the 50% points @ 60 days & upgrade options are available for FF point owners though. My understanding is the 'available' rooms for FF reservations was decreasing as contracts changed from FF to El Cid points. Numerous FF people couldn't get reservations even if the resort had many available rooms. Sort of like the 'capacity controls' airline have for using FF points.

3.4 million El Cid points!!!! Do you spend the whole winter in El Cid resorts????

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

3.4 million El Cid points!!!! Do you spend the whole winter in El Cid resorts????

Not really. But we did in 2007. Now we use our points for cruises.

My husband and I met at Torres Mazatlan Vacation Internationale - Torres Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico in December 2006. VI was my first and only TS purchase. Ken had been buying TS since the 1980s. I left after 12 days. He asked me to come back to Mazatlan as he had reservations for El Cid Yacht Club for all of Jan/Feb/March. Ken's wife died earlier that year.

He started to explain his many contracts. He mentioned the El Cid points could be used for cruises. He asked me if I would go on an Alaska cruise with him. When I started to book it online, I realized we'd could go on a World Cruise with the points. We booked 21 days for Alaska (completed paid with El Cid points). We got married when we arrived in Juneau at Mendenhall Glacier. We cruised Vancouver to Anchorage, one week Princess Cruises land tour to Prudhoe Bay (where the pipeline starts), and a week back. Then we spent time in Vancouver, Victoria & Seattle. Then Hawaii for September. After Maya Riviera for Nov/Dec '07, we went on the Princess World Cruise which was completely paid with El Cid points.

We plan to use our return FF tickets to Dublin in April 2009. About 8 weeks of European TS. Then use El Cid points to completely pay Princess cruise - Dover, England RT w/8 stops Norway & 1 Russia. Then we take the same ship/same cabin for what they call "Top of the World" Greenland/Iceland/Newfoundland etc.

We have reservations for the 9/23/09 SFO - Sydney 30 day cruise that visits 2 islands in Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti, American Somoa, 4 stops New Zealand and ends in Sydney.

We expect to use El Cid points for the SFO-Sydney cruise & several others. Hopefully to eventually go Hawaii back to SFO if the timing works.



georgeannmalowney's photos and albums on webshots

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Not really. But we did in 2007. Now we use our points for cruises.

My husband and I met at Torres Mazatlan Vacation Internationale - Torres Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico in December 2006. VI was my first and only TS purchase. Ken had been buying TS since the 1980s. I left after 12 days. He asked me to come back to Mazatlan as he had reservations for El Cid for all of Jan/Feb/March. Ken's wife died earlier that year.

He started to explain his many contracts. He mentioned the El Cid points could be used for cruises. He asked me if I would go on an Alaska cruise with him. When I started to book it online, I realized we'd could go on a World Cruise with the points. We booked 21 days for Alaska (completed paid with El Cid points). We got married when we arrived in Juneau at Mendenhall Glacier. We cruised Vancouver to Anchorage, one week Princess Cruises land tour to Prudhoe Bay (where the pipeline starts), and a week back. Then we spent time in Vancouver, Victoria & Seattle. Then Hawaii for September. After Maya Riviera for Nov/Dec '07, we went on the Princess World Cruise which was completely paid with El Cid points.

We plan to use our return FF tickets to Dublin in April 2009. About 8 weeks of European TS. Then use El Cid points to completely pay Princess cruise - Dover, England RT w/8 stops Norway & 1 Russia. Then we take the same ship/same cabin for what they call "Top of the World" Greenland/Iceland/Newfoundland etc.

We have reservations for the 9/23/09 SFO - Sydney 30 day cruise that visits 2 islands in Hawaii, Bora Bora, Tahiti, American Somoa, 4 stops New Zealand and ends in Sydney.

We expect to use El Cid points for the SFO-Sydney cruise & several others. Hopefully to eventually go Hawaii back to SFO if the timing works.



georgeannmalowney's photos and albums on webshots

I wish my husband came with 3.4 million points!

Years ago there was a gentleman named Ray Harper who used to TS 26+ weeks a year using mostly RCI exchanges and bonus weeks..... I am afraid that the way RCI has changed over the years, Ray and his lovely wife Darlene would not get as much 'bang for the buck' as they did before.

Flex - you are our NEW Ray !

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

Hell, for 3.4 mill points, I would have married him myself!!!!
Its now legal in Massaachusetts!!!!

You sound like you have a wonderful life...enjoy every minute of it!!!!

Best wishes,
Paul

[Deer Path Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deer Path]

El Cid Vacation Club and Fairfield

We purchased our first Fairfield points (300,000) from El Cid El Moro Towers in Mazatlan back in 2004. We used most of them at El Cid and a few for Fairfield resorts until 2006 when we were a little frustrated with Fairfield and we changed them into ELVC points when at the El Cid Marina. My DH cousin and wife were with us and each had 300,000FF pts. We did a deal where we put all our points together and each added 77,000 pts. in the process to become ELVC Gold VIP members. When we each purchased the original FF points we all got a Cid Shares card which gave us 25% discount off all food, AI, etc. at the El Cid properties. WE continue to use it which really helps on food.
We have been very happy with the ECVC points partly because we mostly use them at El Cid. We can book 60 days ahead with a 35% discount on points and do a one unit upgrade at 45 days ahead. WE have free guest Cert and free reservation transactions. One thing I really like over FF is that you can deposit your LEFTOVER points into the following year for one year to be used at El Cid properties. With FF you have to do that before your year starts. Of course these are RTU points.
We do also have Wyndham points since a resort in Hawaii that we purchased back in 2000 changed to FF a few years after we purchased. We converted it to points in 2006 when they let us do it without purchasing anyother points. It cost us a flat $2395 which was a good deal since the points are more useful than a floating 2 BR. We got 231,000 pts. for it.
In booking for March 2008 we (even gold VIP) were unable to book a second week because of unavailability of ECVC rooms(near Easter). Fortunately we were able to use our Wyndham points to book 4 nights for the 2nd week. So it worked out well for us. They have certain number of rooms that are still Wyndham and a certain number that are EL Cid rooms. I need to remember another time that lots of the Mexican owners book at least one week near Easter and sometimes 2 weeks. Our second week was very busy with lots of children in the pools. I will stay away from that week after this.
Judy