Back in Nov 2016 we used two privilege weeks to stay at Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an in Mexico. I kept meaning to post an update about that trip but never got around to it. I've decided I won't except for the fact that a reader of this blog ended up at the same resort at the same time so we met up for some drinks one night. I have to say that was a very cool experience. Thank you Frank!
During that trip they did ask us to sit in to another sales pitch and at some point I may write a post all about that but now that some time has past I'm not sure if I remember enough detail to do this.
The reason I'm not going to bother writing about my trip last year is we are booked in to the same resort for two weeks on Dec 3. I've decided I'll instead try to post daily during that trip ... For the next bit this blog will become a resort review in addition to being about the club. I think it may be helpful for anyone reading this to get an idea of what it's like to be a club member at this resort.
This year we booked way back in February. We asked for two membership weeks for the last two weeks of the year our gold membership would allow and got it no problem. This will be our first trip using official member weeks although last year we got some amazing upgrades so I think except for the price we experienced all that membership weeks have to offer. The reservation process went very smooth.
On November 9th however, I tried contacting the club to book our air transfers and could not get through. It took almost a week to get through. I did ask for an explanation and they responded that they were extremely busy as well as had a long weekend. This right after the US election ... Not sure if that is a coincidence. In the end all was well.
I received an email from our pre-checkin concierge last Saturday - exactly 2 weeks before our check-in date - asking about what a la carte reservations we wanted and room requests and such. This is an improvement over last year as they emailed me 5 days in advance then.
So my next updates will be live on location (in 11 days 😁). Since we were here before I can tell you this resort is amazing. It is an adult only resort so my posts won't be able to comment on family travel concerns. We have learned a few tips along the way that I will share so hopefully any future travellers will get a better idea of how the club works.
****** UPDATE Dec 10, 2016 ***** Google blogger is being nothing but trouble for me while I'm in Mexico so I will have to update after returning.
Tuesday 22 November 2016
Saturday 28 May 2016
Using RCI Exchange Weeks
Again I am way way behind in updating. So all this occurred back in 2015 .....
I had deposited a couple of our membership weeks in RCI and had one due to expire so we wanted to burn this week up rather than lose it. I was a little nervous about RCI. One of the benefits they advertise is discounted hotel rooms so I had tried this in the past and it didn't go well. The hotel I booked at didn't know I was coming and also expected me to pay for the room although I had paid RCI for the room at booking time. Because of this experience I was wary.
I have spent a lot of time searching what is available through RCI and I think for ourselves, exchanging into all-inclusive resorts doesn't seem to be a good value. In addition to your membership week and the exchange fee, you will still be paying an all-inclusive fee in addition to being on the hook for your airfare an airport transfers. As well, these all-inclusive fees are quite pricey. Bahia Principe all-inclusive fees to me seem pretty reasonable but at some of the other resorts I've looked at it's not unusual to see them ask for hundreds of dollars per day per guest for these fees.
So, that means I have focused my attentions on looking at exchanging into resorts that are just room charges where you'd be independently getting your meals. These resort suites that are available are quite attractive looking. For my exchange power its quite common to find 2 and 3 bedroom suites ... most have a kitchenette as a minimum while many have a full kitchen and some even laundry.
For instance, some time in the future I can see us going to Florida to do the Disney vacation thing. There are many resorts available in that area where I can get find pretty much anything I'd be looking for (suite size, amenities, distance from attractions) all for the 240ish exchange fee for a week. Another charge quite common I've noticed is an additional like 50 for housekeeping. You can pretty much find resorts participating in RCI at almost any vacation spot in the USA. There are also many international destinations like Europe and South America .... because of high airfare I haven't really seriously looked into these destinations. There are also a number of resorts in Canada that participate ... mostly in the Rocky Mountain area and in eastern Canada.
Unfortunately, since I am in Saskatchewan the pickings were pretty slim for anything close by. I did however find Elkhorn Resort and Spa at Riding Mountain National Park that was within a 4 hour drive for me so I decided to burn up that week there. I had found a week available starting on the May long weekend so I had decided on that.
A big bonus! RCI was offering a 1/2 price exchange sale shortly after Christmas so I booked myself into a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom chalet for a week at a price of about 120. Had I booked the chalet independently without going through RCI it would have cost about 2,300.
I got some of my family involved and we went there for that week. It was a fantastic getaway for us and with it being within driving distance we didn't have to worry about flights and more of my family was able to come along.
I would return to this resort however I'd want to go in summer and their availability for my points just aren't there for that so I'll just have to keep on the lookout for something.
The booking through RCI was simple and everything about it went without a hitch. Also, the resort seemed keen to get a good review through RCI so were very accommodating to us. My confidence in RCI has been restored.
I had deposited a couple of our membership weeks in RCI and had one due to expire so we wanted to burn this week up rather than lose it. I was a little nervous about RCI. One of the benefits they advertise is discounted hotel rooms so I had tried this in the past and it didn't go well. The hotel I booked at didn't know I was coming and also expected me to pay for the room although I had paid RCI for the room at booking time. Because of this experience I was wary.
I have spent a lot of time searching what is available through RCI and I think for ourselves, exchanging into all-inclusive resorts doesn't seem to be a good value. In addition to your membership week and the exchange fee, you will still be paying an all-inclusive fee in addition to being on the hook for your airfare an airport transfers. As well, these all-inclusive fees are quite pricey. Bahia Principe all-inclusive fees to me seem pretty reasonable but at some of the other resorts I've looked at it's not unusual to see them ask for hundreds of dollars per day per guest for these fees.
So, that means I have focused my attentions on looking at exchanging into resorts that are just room charges where you'd be independently getting your meals. These resort suites that are available are quite attractive looking. For my exchange power its quite common to find 2 and 3 bedroom suites ... most have a kitchenette as a minimum while many have a full kitchen and some even laundry.
For instance, some time in the future I can see us going to Florida to do the Disney vacation thing. There are many resorts available in that area where I can get find pretty much anything I'd be looking for (suite size, amenities, distance from attractions) all for the 240ish exchange fee for a week. Another charge quite common I've noticed is an additional like 50 for housekeeping. You can pretty much find resorts participating in RCI at almost any vacation spot in the USA. There are also many international destinations like Europe and South America .... because of high airfare I haven't really seriously looked into these destinations. There are also a number of resorts in Canada that participate ... mostly in the Rocky Mountain area and in eastern Canada.
Unfortunately, since I am in Saskatchewan the pickings were pretty slim for anything close by. I did however find Elkhorn Resort and Spa at Riding Mountain National Park that was within a 4 hour drive for me so I decided to burn up that week there. I had found a week available starting on the May long weekend so I had decided on that.
A big bonus! RCI was offering a 1/2 price exchange sale shortly after Christmas so I booked myself into a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom chalet for a week at a price of about 120. Had I booked the chalet independently without going through RCI it would have cost about 2,300.
I got some of my family involved and we went there for that week. It was a fantastic getaway for us and with it being within driving distance we didn't have to worry about flights and more of my family was able to come along.
I would return to this resort however I'd want to go in summer and their availability for my points just aren't there for that so I'll just have to keep on the lookout for something.
The booking through RCI was simple and everything about it went without a hitch. Also, the resort seemed keen to get a good review through RCI so were very accommodating to us. My confidence in RCI has been restored.
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