Marriott Vacation Club Presentation — and a Day by the Pool (Day 3)

Date: 2018-10-08

Marriott Vacation Club: The Presentation

At 9:30am — compulsory attendance for both of us as a condition of the introductory stay — we went to the presentation at a dedicated office near the hotel. Around 20–30 people were attending that day.

What Is Marriott Vacation Club?

A timeshare-style ownership programme. Members pay an upfront purchase fee for the right to receive a set number of Vacation Club Points annually for a defined period, plus an annual management fee. Points can be used to:

1. Stay at Marriott Playa Andalucía or one of two other southern Spain Marriott resorts (up to 4 weeks per year combined)
2. Use at Marriott Vacation Club resorts worldwide, or luxury cruises partnered with Marriott
3. Exchange through Interval International — access to 2,900+ resorts in 80 countries (additional fee: US$89/year + US$188 exchange fee per transaction)
4. Convert to Marriott Rewards points for hotel stays or flight miles (though the presenters said this was the least efficient use)

Unused points from the current year can roll over; points from the following year can be borrowed forward. Maximum 3 years can be used at once.

Contracts at 4,000+ points per year qualify for Marriott Lifetime Platinum status.

The numbers presented to us:

• Purchase price for 6,000 points per year for 34 years (until 2052): approximately £38,800 (circa ¥5.63 million)
• Annual management fee for 6,000 points: £3,752 per year (circa ¥545,000), subject to future revision

A dedicated representative worked with each couple personally, asking about usual holiday spend and travel aspirations to suggest a suitable plan.

Our Decision: We Cancelled

The on-the-spot atmosphere was pushy — a special discount and bonus points offer, valid only if we signed that day. There was a 14-day cooling-off period, however.

We signed on the day. One night's consideration later, we cancelled.

Reasons:

1. A 34-year financial commitment with high annual management fees
2. Almost impossible to resell — the purchase is effectively non-recoverable capital, not an investment
3. Holidays would be constrained to Marriott-affiliated properties, removing freedom to choose

When we cancelled, the process was straightforward. No hard pushback. Impressively clean exit — as you might expect from Marriott.

Pool Day

We stayed inside the resort for the rest of the day. Outdoor pool in sunshine — 28–29°C, low humidity, so the shade was cool and comfortable. The water was refreshing rather than cold. The sky from a deck chair: cloudless and deep blue.

London at this time: 6–7°C. Two and a half hours by air.

Dinner: Barbecue with an Uninvited Guest

Dinner at the resort barbecue area: salad, bread, gambas al ajillo, mussels in white wine, grilled tuna, and grilled squid from the Aldi provisions. The squid smelled excellent while grilling — which immediately attracted an audience of flies. The rest of dinner was spent fanning them away. Photos: impossible. Taste: excellent. Note to self: do not grill squid outdoors.

A second uninvited guest: a black cat, who sat neatly beside our table in the correct cat posture and waited. We gave it a piece of grilled tuna. It ate with obvious appreciation. It almost certainly does this every evening at this barbecue area.