Mexico Timeshare

Four beautiful Mexico timeshares, all Sunset World Hotels, Resorts & Vacation Experiences properties have earned  Resort Condominiums International (RCI) Gold Crown Awards. This is the highest honor given by RCI timeshare exchange for resorts that demonstrate top standards of quality and service excellence.

Orlando Arroyo Marroquin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sunset World says, “Receiving these awards is a great privilege and a sign of leadership and commitment to make Sunset World the best vacation experience in Mexico.”

The four Mexico timeshares receiving awards are:

1. Sunset Royal Beach Resort Mexico timeshare. This resort last year received a more than $7 million refurbishment, and is now receiving this award for the twentieth-first consecutive time.
2. Sunset Lagoon Resort & Marina, which received the award for the sixteenth consecutive year.
3. Sunset Fishermen Resort, which received the award for the thirteenth consecutive year.
4. Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park in the Riviera Maya, which has received this award four times in its four years of operation.

Sunset World’s 7 million plus dollar renovation of the Sunset Royal, included full renovation of the timeshare suites, new furnishings, the opening of new food and beverage centers, enhanced entertainment and activity programs, remodeling of the pool, the construction of a new beach club and the addition of other new amenities as well as new services.

This investment represents the company’s 2011 goal to establish itself as the best company in vacation experiences in the Mexican Caribbean.

Follow this link to learn more about the Sunset World Resorts and other Mexico timeshares.

Beware of misleading sales practices when buying timeshare directly from a resort in Mexico (or anywhere else).

“Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.”
– Miguel de Cervantes 

In this business, we hear all kinds of stories about timeshare resorts all over the world. Some of these reports are positive, whereas others shed light on some of the least-favored sales tactics practiced by timeshare resort salespeople.

We hear very few complaints about the timeshares themselves. This is because timeshare resorts are serious about what they do, and they almost universally offer a quality product. On the other hand, we do hear a lot of stories about how misleading sales practices cause major problems. Each day, more and more people become entangled in a timeshare agreement which turns out to be more of a burden than a boon.

Fortunately, there is hope. Armed with the right knowledge, a smart buyer can avoid this predicament entirely.

For an example, we need look no further than Mexico. A lot of non-Spanish-speaking Americans find Mexican real estate law to be extremely confusing at the best of times. This condition is often exploited in what is referred to as a “classic” timeshare sales scam.

 For those of you who don’t know, a cooling-off period is the legally-mandated grace period, during which a timeshare buyer has the right to cancel the purchase agreement without fear of penalties or charges of any kind. In Mexico, the buyer has five days to cancel a timeshare agreement.

Cooling-off periods are fairly standard in the timeshare universe, except in some countries where timeshare development is not an established industry. Clearly, Mexico is not one of these countries. There have been many timeshares in Mexico for years now. By law, in Mexico, you cannot waive your five-day cooling-off period. Any contract which tries to get you to do so is defying the law.

Solution: find a Mexican timeshare for sale on the resale market. Mexican resorts are breathtaking, and luxury timeshares are often available for far less than new units from the same resort. Additionally, the market conditions currently favor timeshare buyers, meaning that there’s a large number of properties from which to choose. Best of all, you don’t have to attend a presentation unless you want to.

if you must buy a timeshare directly from a Mexican resort, do not sign any paperwork which waives your right to a five-day cooling-off period. Make sure you can fully understand the terms of any contract or other document you are asked to sign. In many European countries, the law states that a timeshare purchase agreement must be drawn up in the buyer’s native language. In Mexico, however, this may not be the case. Enjoy the tour, but use caution!

For more information on deceptive timeshare resort sales in Mexico, go to http://www.mexicantimesharefraud.com/

Flooding, power outages, and looting continue to plague Mexico’s Yucatan resort towns.

An estimated 10,000 tourists are trying to make their way home safely following the aftermath of hurricane Wilma. Most of these tourists have spent the past three days stranded in humid, crowded shelters with few amenities, eating nothing but crackers and canned tuna. Cancun’s airport remains closed until Wednesday, so vacationers are desperately trying to reach Merida, where the nearest airport is located. Inevitably, this journey will be complicated by roads which either remain submerged under several feet of water or are still impassable because of storm debris.

“The level of destruction is without precedent” said Felix Gonzalez, Governor of Mexico’s easternmost state, Quintana Roo.

Over the weekend, 30-foot waves pounded Cancun’s oceanfront hotels and businesses. Some reports indicate that most of these were submerged up to their third stories. The hurricane’s storm surge caused widespread coastal flooding, cutting off many beach resorts from the mainland. Wilma has caused extensive beach erosion along the coast, exposing bare limestone in many locations.

After the hurricane moved on, much of the Yucatan peninsula was left without water, electricity, and other essentials. Rioting and looting soon followed, and most storefronts were stripped bare of merchandise.

It is known that most of Cancun’s resort hotels were damaged severely, but little information is available. 

Marriott issued a release earlier, stating that the three Marriott-owned properties in and around Cancun would be closed due to damages, not reopening until next year. The full text of this release can be found here. Starwood Hotels and Resorts acknowledged Sunday that their two hotels in Cancun would be closed for business, but Starwood seemed to indicate that the full scope of the damages was still unknown.

Both of these hotel chains stand to reap insurance benefits, so most agree that the cost of repairs in the wake of this disaster should be offset. However, most folks who own timeshares in this part of the world are probably wondering whether they will have to pay special assessments or other fees on properties that could remain unuseable for several months at the very least. 

For those affected by this hurricane, we extend our hopes, prayers, and best wishes. 

Thousands of tourists are taking shelter as hurricane Wilma, downgraded to category 4, brings high winds and rain to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.

At the time of this writing, hurricane Wilma is moving toward landfall on the Yucatan peninsula, bringing high winds and driving rain to Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The storm’s center is slowly moving past Cozumel, which has been lashed by rains and 145 mile-per-hour winds for much of today. Because this storm is moving so slowly, flooding is deemed likely in certain areas.

Thousands of tourists stranded in Cozumel by this storm have settled into makeshift shelters in auditoriums and other large buildings. Conditions in most shelters are uncomfortable, often described as cramped, hot and humid.  

Though huddling in a sweltering gymnasium with a hurricane raging outside is undoubtedly a frightening experience, previous category 4 storms have left surprisingly little impact along the Riviera Maya. Earlier this year, hurricane Emily scored a direct hit on Cozumel, but minimal damage was reported, though several resorts had to close briefly for repairs. Power lines and street signs were torn down or uprooted, yet Cozumel’s basic services more or less normalized within a week, thanks to cleanup efforts. Many tourists who experienced Emily firsthand credit the local Mexican authorities with responding well to the situation.

Wilma is scheduled to hit southern Florida over the weekend, and forecasts predict that Wilma will weaken to a category 2 storm by this time. Though this may come as a relief to some storm-watchers, authorities in the Florida Keys are taking no chances. Mandatory evacuations are in effect across the Keys and the rest of Florida is preparing for Wilma’s arrival.

At this time, no resort hotels in Cozumel have posted any hurricane-related information online. Timeshare owners are encouraged to contact their resorts directly at the next available opportunity.