Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes Timeshare
Let Mercantile Claims assist you with Marriott Timeshare Release, Claims & Compensation
Let Mercantile Claims assist you with Marriott Timeshare Release, Claims & Compensation
Owners of Marriott Resorts timeshares often find themselves trapped in infinite contracts with rapidly increasing maintenance fees which ultimately stems from a mis-sold timeshare contract. Over recent years there have been a number of ground-breaking rulings regarding mis-sold timeshares by many timeshare groups and resorts which have resulted in refunds and compensation. Many owners of Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes timeshare contracts are entitled to, or have already made claims.
There has been a huge increase in timeshare release enquires and complaints from customers with Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes timeshares.
Many concerns centre on the following factors:
If you believe you had a Marriott’s OceanWatch Villas at Grande Dunes timeshare contract mis-sold to you or you wish to be released from your timeshare scheme, please contact one of our experts at Mercantile Claims or complete our timeshare compensation form
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Alternatively, give us a call on 0800 470 3900.
No value to being Lifetime Platinum or Chairman’s Club
I am a Lifetime Platinum Rewards member, a Chairman’s Club member of Marriott’s Vacation Club timeshare program, and an owner at Ocean Watch. I booked a paid stay (paying cash) at the villas and arrived the morning of January 3 ahead of schedule in order to avoid getting trapped on the road in the “Bomb Cyclone” Grayson. When I arrived at check-in (to a facility that was clearly undersold – not a lot going on in Myrtle Beach in the path of a snowstorm), I was told that early check-in was not available. I mentioned that I was Platinum/Chairman’s and an OceanWatch owner and was told: “check-in is at 4:00 pm.” I said that I was not looking forward to sitting in an icy lobby for eight hours waiting to check in and was told by the desk clerk “well… if I check you in for last night and add a night to your stay, I can get you in a room now.” This makes me furious – an open and cleaned room was clearly available but was being withheld until 4 PM unless I retroactively checked in for the night prior to my arrival. Clearly, this is consistent with Marriott’s policy, but it’s a pretty crappy way to treat a weary traveller who arrived early to avoid a crippling storm. It also tells me that there is really no advantage to loyalty to the Marriott family of brands – neither “Lifetime Platinum” or “Chairman’s Club” meant a thing to the clerk at the desk. I was treated just like any other bloke on the street. I am very unhappy about OceanWatch’s decision to be relatively indifferent about the storm situation and the perceived value of my loyalty.
The Upside Down
I have stayed at this resort numerous times and have always given it great reviews. I made my reservation two months prior to arrival, a simple weekend at the beach… but this is what happened….
The last time I stayed at the property I had the most awesome villa in the Scallop building, so when making my reservation, I requested this same center, oceanfront villa again. I soon received an email from a pre-arrival specialist, and I was told my request would be sent to the “rooms control department” as I had prepaid for the whole weekend.
So upon arrival, the desk staff greeted me with a curt almost aggravated nasty tone asking me if I had a reservation and if so what was my last name. Upon confirmation, she proceeded to blast ALL of my pertinent information out to me and everyone standing within earshot. My full name, my mailing address, my telephone number, my email address and the credit card I would be using.. all of this is understandably necessary but never had I seen this approach with such a blatant, nonchalant attitude. Very unprofessional especially with my personal data.
After this debacle, on to my room.. she says we
see you requested room # so and so but we were unable to fulfil your request. She proceeded to tell me she had me in a second floor villa that barely had clearance to see the ocean but was still oceanfront and it was the only villa available. I asked her to please check again with her manager, because I was not satisfied with what she was offering me. So she walked away and stayed in this back room behind the desk for at least ten minutes… leaving me standing there unsure of what to do. She reappeared and told me she had one other villa, I asked her if I could see them both before agreeing to check in. She again had to vanish and ask for permission.Now, this is the only good part, the staff member that showed me the villas was delightful; his name was Rob and he totally understood my issues. He ended up showing me 3 villas – (another villa was miraculously found) the third room was higher up (14th floor) but not in the closest oceanfront building. This building is behind the swimming pools, and is still considered “oceanfront” even though you are far away- at least it was high up enough to actually see the ocean.
Throughout all of this, I felt so aggravated!! Before picking my villa of the 3, I asked to see the manager in hopes he/she would understand and show me some compassion or perhaps listen to my story. Upon meeting this human named Zack, it was obvious he could give two flying poops if I was happy, unhappy, alive, or dead. It was beyond disappointing. He told me basically there was nothing else he could offer as owners have the first choice and that he felt like he had gone above and beyond giving me three villas to pick from (although none were what I had paid for or requested) and if I had a problem to check with his manager in the morning, take it or leave it.
So the villa I selected was nothing like before – I only picked it because it was the highest floor. The beds have been changed and are horribly uncomfortable and the bed pillows are equally annoying. The master bathroom, which was handicap accessible, was nothing like the master baths in the other villas. The whole room was just not the same nor as clean as I remember.
If you are an owner here, I hope like hell you get treated better. I also feel like if this property is driven more towards owner precedence, then it shouldn’t even be open for weekend rentals to non-owners, nor should it invite potential buyers if all of the best villas are taken.
The assistant manager Elise did call me the next morning to ask me what had happened – after telling her this whole exhausting story, she apologized for any inconveniences I had experienced and encouraged me to have a great day with what I had.
Nothing stays the same – sadly, everything changes. I truly hated how I was treated and didn’t enjoy my stay at all.
Interval Marriott owners ...avoid if want to enjoy your vacation
They sent email asking if we had any requests which we filled out asking for upper floor.
A week out a very nice woman called asking if we had any other preferences. We asked if we could have something where we could see the ocean. When we arrived the girl at the front desk was downright nasty.
We were put in the “Woodsy Villas”. On the 6th floor ( out of 18 floors). With an up-close view of a large tree in front of the balcony. If you lean to the far left, you can see the water of the ocean over the air conditions on the roof of a lower building. Not the waves of course, just the greyish flat water in the distance. If we want to hear the ocean, we can always play an “Ocean Waves” app on our iPhones.
The girl at the desk said we were placed there because we ” made the reservation through Interval, not Marriott. Marriott owners get preference”. We own at Marriott Cypress Harbor ( which is wonderful). This is, without a doubt, the worst Marriott experience we have ever had.
Disgusted, trip cancelled 6 days in advance
Hurricane Matthew was early October, here it is a month later and we were just notified our reservation was just cancelled, 6 days away from our arrival. They had a whole month to prepare and notify people of reservation issues, it would have been understandable AT THAT POINT. People have taken time off from work, bought tickets for shows and now we are stuck with nothing. Good thing we didn’t buy into the Marriott program, definitely won’t be now.
Loyal Marriott Owner Very Disillusioned on treatment!!!!!!!
Have been a loyal happy Marriott Oceanwatch owner since it practically opened. We own 2 weeks here and just purchased destination points last year. We also got friends that also joined last week for the first time and purchased 4000 destination points. Treated really good when handing out money.
We had the week at Oceanwatch starting 10/9/16. We left NJ to wait out the storm in NC. Called the hotline on Saturday and they said the resort was hoping to open Monday.
Made reservations at a Fairfield Inn in Myrtle Beach. Called the hotline on Monday and they said they had damage and were hoping for Wednesday opening now. OK extended our hotel stay. They wanted us to come in for another presentation since we were in Myrtle Beach for Wednesday which we did and as of that day they were hoping for a Friday opening at the resort. We decided to stay at the Fairfield to try to get in at least 2 days at Oceanwatch.
Final hotline reported it was not opening till Oct 21st. OK more damage than they thought. Purchased an Encore package from the presentation and Encore supervisor John said 3 times and promised he would definitely get back to us that night about finding out any compensation for the storm.
WELL, you know once we signed the Encore package that we of course did not hear from him. Sent an email to Him and MVC headquarters in Orlando and Orlando called back saying should have had insurance.
REALLY? By the way John has yet to call or email back. A billion dollar corporation that is forgetting about their loyal owners?? Very upset. Have been always happy with Marriott and always bragged how wonderful our timeshare was to everyone. I am not expecting a complete compensation but just something to show that we don’t have a complete loss or some respect? We paid out a large maintenance fee for the year and have nothing to show for it!!