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.
